Guidance

Chapter 9: Validation

Updated 25 February 2022

Applies to Scotland

This is Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) in Scotland provider guidance.

Validation Overview

9.01. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) may, at its absolute discretion, undertake performance validation. We may vary the approach to validation to ensure ultimately we only verify legitimate outcomes.

9.02. For Self-Employed Outcomes you must report a qualifying outcome to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) via Provider Referrals and Payment (PRaP) System within the time limits. Self-Employed validation will be a mix of automated and manual checks pre and/or post payment. If applicable, the Special Customer Record (SCR) clerical claims process (as detailed further in this chapter) will also be subject to manual validation checks.

9.03. For Self-Employed Outcomes you must report a qualifying outcome to DWP via PRaP when you can robustly evidence the duration of self-employment and the job outcome criteria is met.

9.04. JETS in Scotland eligibility for participants includes the receipt of Universal Credit (UC) for those in the Intensive Work-Search regime or New Style Job Seeker’s Allowance (NS JSA). Being on these benefits is compatible with the outcome definition, therefore an off-benefit check is not required to validate claims for JETS in Scotland.

9.05. Where the Participant has claimed UC during the claim period, a check may be undertaken to establish compliance with the appropriate conditionality regime. However, validators will seek assurance from various sources when conducting validation.

9.06. DWP may conduct pre-payment and/or post-payment sampling and may vary how the checks are carried out, within the terms of the contract to achieve legitimate outcomes. If DWP decides to alter the validation approach during the lifetime of the contract, DWP may include extrapolation where samples of outcomes are checked from across a wider population of claims.

9.07. DWP may conduct pre and/or post payment validation checks to determine whether you are entitled to receive payment(s) against the claims submitted and will recover any overpayment(s). This will be in accordance with the provision in your contract.

9.08. In a sampling regime where DWP identify incorrect outcomes, not only will these be recovered but the error rate will also inform any extrapolation calculation, which will be applied across untested like for like claims from the same period.

Employed Outcomes

9.09. Participants moving into employment (not self-employment) will be identified by DWP solely using HMRC PAYE Real Time Earnings (RTE) or Real Time Information (RTI) on-line earnings data submitted by employers (subject to the notification by you of any Non-Qualifying Earnings and/or Special Customer Record (SCR) provision for clerical claims). This data is submitted to HMRC each time an employee is paid by an employer and no evidence of this is required from you except in relation to paragraph 9.14.

9.10. Your outcomes will be based on the information contained within this HMRC PAYE on-line earnings data. Further details can be found in Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) in Scotland Provider Guidance Chapter 8 – Payment Model and Outcomes.

9.11. The Outcome qualifying period runs for 238 calendar days from the Participant’s start date. Only earnings received within that period will count.

9.12. DWP will track Participant earnings from HMRC PAYE data (by setting an ‘interest’ for the data) for the qualifying period - 238 calendar days from the Participant’s start date and will continue to look for late earnings received in the 61 calendar days after the 238th day up to day 299. Where a Participant exits the programme early the Department will end the registered interest with HMRC. Where an Employed Outcome is achieved DWP will also end the interest with HMRC.

9.13. The earnings will be cumulative from the Start Date of the 238 calendar days, but will be sought for 299 calendar days in case of late notification. This could be made up of earnings from any employment during the 238 calendar day period. Earnings prior to starting on the programme will not count towards an outcome. Earnings from any Non-Qualifying Period will also not count towards an outcome. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes all earnings during this period, regardless of the source of the earnings.

9.14. Tax refunds, payments in lieu of notice, payments made as a part of being Armed Forces Reservists, other retainer payments, and payments that are not related to qualifying employment generated whilst on JETS in Scotland provision, can trigger a non-qualifying Outcome Payment. You must inform DWP when you are aware of these payments so that an Outcome Payment is not made. Further information can be found in JETS in Scotland Provider Guidance Chapter 8 – Payment Model and Outcomes.

Please note – only one Outcome can be achieved per Participant and must be wholly achieved in either employment or self-employment. Self-Employed earnings cannot be combined with direct employment earnings for the purpose of achieving an Outcome.

9.15. As Employed Outcomes occur you will be able to generate a report in PRaP which details this information. This report will also contain information about when first earnings are registered for a Participant once they have started on the programme. DWP will not supply the name or address of a Participant’s employer.

9.16. The Employed Outcome process is automated. Once an Outcome has been achieved, or 299 calendar days for JETS in Scotland have elapsed from the Participant’s Start Date the payment line will be automatically closed. The line will also be closed when you notify PRaP of an early completer. You will not have a right to appeal or request reconsideration of Employed Outcomes.

Self-Employed Outcome – Validation Process

9.17. You must ensure that you only submit accurate information for self- employment outcomes to which you are entitled. Where you are aware that a Participant has started employment which cannot be counted towards an Outcome in accordance with your Contract (i.e. any Non-Qualifying Period) you must inform DWP to avoid incorrect outcomes being paid. Further information can be found in Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) in Scotland Provider Guidance Chapter 8 – Payment Model and Outcomes.

9.18. DWP will, to the extent it deems necessary, undertake checks on Outcomes you have achieved.

9.19. You are required to maintain, on an ongoing basis, a robust system of internal records and control, sufficient not only to support any Outcome claims you make, but also to allow you to undertake internal management checks and enable independent testing and validation by DWP and other external bodies. The records maintained must document how and when the appropriate supporting evidence was obtained and must be accurate at the point any validation is to/or does take place.

9.20. The risk of records being inaccurate and/or incomplete is wholly borne by you.

9.21. The onus is on you to collect and retain job outcome evidence as required.

9.22. As the data supplied by HMRC does not contain earnings from self-employment, these outcomes are based on duration of Self-Employment and you will be required to claim all Self-Employed outcomes. You must update PRaP with the date the self-employment started.

9.23. It is up to you to ensure that at the point of submitting a Self-Employed outcome you are entitled to do so.

9.24. To enable a successful Self-Employed Outcome claim, you must hold sufficient evidence for the entire claim period (up to and including the last date) proving that the Participant is Self-Employed. In addition, you must provide current, accurate and valid contact details for the Participant to enable DWP to gain a response from the Participant and allow full validation to take place.

9.25. For the avoidance of doubt, any Self-Employed Outcome claim without a date, inaccurate or invalid contact details for the Participant including but not limited to not known at this address responses, dead letter boxes and unobtainable or out of date telephone numbers, will result in a claim being categorised as an Outcome Fail.

Please note: the information must be accurate at both the point of submission and the point of validation.

9.26. Self-Employment will be tracked solely by you. DWP does not prescribe the way in which you should track or record information about self-employment activity. However, the evidence should demonstrate that it meets the JETS in Scotland definition of self-employment.

9.27. In addition to current, accurate and valid contact details for the Participant, you must obtain evidence to confirm the Participant has been Self-Employed for the relevant period, this could include:

• HMRC registration.
• Proof of benefit claim closed (letter issued to claimant by Jobcentre Plus).
• Bank statement showing details of recent transactions/earnings.
• Invoices, purchase orders received/sent recently which are clearly in relation to the running of business.

Please Note: this list is neither prescriptive, nor exhaustive

9.28. You will need to retain a suite of evidence to corroborate the totality of the trading period prior to making a claim.

9.29. There is specific information that you are required to input to the Job Details Screen within PRaP when you submit a Self-Employed Outcome claim:

• Current, accurate and valid Contact details, including the current address, contact name, full business telephone number and email address (where applicable). Please note, a valid telephone number is always required as this is the contact method used when validating a Self-Employed Outcome, unless in exceptional circumstances another method is used through your prior agreement with the Department
• The Participant’s contact details, where different from above
• Start date of self-employment
• End date of self-employment (where already known)

9.30. Where DWP identifies that there are a significant number of Self-Employed Outcome claims but the start and end dates as submitted are unaligned, DWP may review your internal assurance processes.

9.31. For Self-Employed Participants your entitlement to claim a Self-Employed Outcome will be triggered when a Participant achieves and you can robustly evidence a cumulative period of not less than 56 days/8 weeks Self-Employment. i.e. self-employment lasting for 8 weeks, achieved within 238 days from the Participant’s Start Date. Please See Chapter 8 – Payment Model and Outcomes for examples of evidence to support claims.

9.32. To achieve a Self-Employed Outcome, you must submit a claim for a Self- Employed Outcome through PRaP within the 299-day period from the Participant’s Start Date. This is made up of the maximum 238 calendar days qualifying period in which Self-Employed Outcomes are achievable, and a 61-day period to claim the Outcome. The claim must be made within 90 days of the outcome being achieved (i.e. all job outcome is criteria met and you can robustly evidence self-employment).

Please note: Self-employed claims need to be submitted up to a maximum of 90 days from achievement, or up to the 299th calendar day from the date the participant started provision, whichever is the shorter. The authority may alter/set other such periods at their absolute discretion.

Please note: for self-employment validation purposes, a week is defined as a seven-day period where a minimum of one day meets the criteria.

9.33. When a claim is received, PRaP will conduct an automated check to see if the claim is submitted within the 90-day time limit for claiming outcomes. If submitted within the time limit, the outcome will go on hold for manual validation.

9.34. A claim received outside of the 90-day time limit will be backed out of PRaP and will not count towards one of the 3 attempts to claim.

9.35 Outcomes will be released and paid if they pass the manual validation or are considered Unable to Validate (UTV). In this scenario PPVT has either not been able to contact the employer and/or participant, or they are unable/unwilling to provide the information required to validate the outcome (see 9.38). All claims will be backed out if the claim fails this manual check. You will be able to make a further attempt to claim, provided you are satisfied the outcome definition criteria has been met and you are within a maximum of 3 attempts to claim a payment for this participant.

Please note: if your claim fails manual validation, you are only allowed three attempts in total to claim. If the third claim fails it will remain a fail and be recorded as an Outcome Fail. At this point the line will be closed. If an Employed Outcome is later achieved, this will be identified and counted as a performance outcome as part of the settlement process.

9.36. All outcomes will be subjected to manual validation, which may include the following or other sources of assurance:

• checks within the UC system, to determine if participants are/were complying with the UC conditionality for self-employment
• direct contact with the Participant; and/or
• contacting the subcontractor (if appropriate)

9.37. For those claims being subjected to manual validation there are three possible validation results – pass, fail, or unable to validate:

Pass

DWP validation checks have confirmed the outcome definition (including the minimum required duration of self-employment) and associated requirements have been met. This may, at DWP’s discretion, include situations where the period(s) of self-employment confirmed by DWP overlap with but differ from those detailed by the provider in their claim. The UC system provides evidence of a cumulative 56 calendar day period of self-reported self-employment or the Participant confirms the condition for performance award, as set out in the Self-Employed Outcome validation definition, has been met

Please Note: other assurances may be sought where it is not possible to evidence the UC gainfully Self-Employed requirements. For New Style JSA claimants, the Participant (or subcontractor if appropriate) will be contacted to confirm self-employment status for the relevant period.

Fail

There is insufficient evidence within the UC system of a cumulative 56 calendar day period of self-reported self-employment or Participant (or subcontractor) supplies information which means the condition for performance award, as set out in the Self-Employed Outcome validation definition, has not been met and/or a combination of both. For the avoidance of doubt, where current, accurate and valid contact details for the Participant are not supplied, this will result in a claim being a Fail. You can run reports in PRaP to show which claims are on hold and which have been backed out, i.e. the fails. PPVT will also notify you by email of any validation ‘fails’

Unable to Validate (UTV)

DWP has either not been able to obtain a response from the Participant using the contact details supplied by you (you must ensure such details are current, accurate and valid), or the Participant is unable/unwilling to provide the information required to validate the Outcome. DWP will release payment within 30 days, but will continue to try to validate the Outcome after the claim has been approved and entered onto PRaP.

Please note: DWP will continue to validate the claim once a payment has been released for up to a maximum of 90 days from the first date of the claim being received. Should it be DWP can satisfy an outcome decision action will be taken to override the original decision (pass, fail). However, should we be unable to do so, the claim will form part of the end of cohort apportionment.

9.38. Where validation is conducted through contacting the Participant, the primary method for this contact is via the telephone. By exception, for any participant Outcome claim, DWP will consider alternative contact methods to this approach by prior agreement. In cases where DWP is experiencing difficulty making contact with the Participant via the telephone, DWP may contact you to confirm the details you have supplied in PRaP, which you must supply within five working days of request.

9.39. You are required to hold and supply correct information which is accurate at both the point of submitting an Outcome claim and at the point of validation of that Outcome and which enables DWP to gain a response from the Participant.

9.40. If you do not provide sufficient detail with the claim it will fail validation. You will be advised of this and have five working days to reply but the claim will remain as an Outcome Fail, unless sufficient information is supplied to enable DWP to gain a response within the prescribed time which then enables the claim to be successfully passed. Outcome Fails remaining at the end of the cohort will be used in the apportionment calculation.

9.41. Validation processes may differ dependent on whether the Participant is in receipt of UC.

9.42. For Participants in receipt of UC, DWP will access pertinent data within a Participant’s UC record. DWP will use this to determine if a Participant is gainfully Self-Employed for UC purposes, but may also seek other sources of assurance.

9.43. For UC claimants DWP will be checking that during a cumulative period of 56 calendar days or more the Participant is in receipt of UC and earnings are declared monthly (in line with UC requirements) to DWP.

9.44. DWP will be checking:

• if earnings are declared not the amount of the actual earnings; and
• where UC is not in payment, that the Participant continues trading continuously

9.45. Where DWP confirm a Participant is Self-Employed for UC purposes within their manual pre-payment validation checks, subject to also meeting the Self-Employed Outcome definition, the claim will be sent for outcome payment as soon as this is confirmed.

9.46. Where DWP confirm a claim has passed validation and the Participant is Self-Employed (non UC and referred to JETS whilst on New Style JSA) subject to also meeting the Self-Employed Outcome definition, the claim will be sent for outcome payment.

Review Process

9.47. There will not be a Review process for this provision as you will have three attempts to claim a valid outcome.

Attempts to validate

9.48. Self-Employed outcomes that are not submitted in the time limit will fail and will be backed out of PRaP allowing you to reclaim, should you wish to do so, having made the necessary corrections to your claim. Should a claim submitted on time fail validation and you can establish a subsequent valid Self-Employed Outcome for the Participant, the line will be available for you in PRaP, to submit or resubmit another claim. It is expected that the necessary steps will have been taken to establish the validity of the claim and the information supplied with it. However, Self-Employed claims can be submitted/resubmitted up to a maximum of three attempts in total, after this point you will only be able to secure an employed outcome for the participant.

Unable to Validate action

9.49. You will be notified when a Self-Employed Outcome has been counted but may become classed as Unable to Validate and therefore subjected to apportionment at the end of the 299 calendar days.

9.50. In these cases, DWP will continue to undertake validation activity on the Self-Employed Outcome. If still unable to verify the outcome up to day 90 of the claim being received, DWP will add the instance to a cohort of UTV claims, prior to apportionment. You will be notified when this occurs.

Apportionment

9.51. At the end of the cohort DWP will recover an appropriate proportion of the paid UTV value. This will be calculated via apportionment against the total self-employment claim population within that cohort. In instances where multiple self-employment claims for an individual have been made, only one ‘outcome’ will contribute to the apportionment calculation i.e. only the pass will be included in cases where previous failed claims were made and in instances where several failed claims are present at the end of the cohort, only one fail will be included.

9.52. In advance of the calculation a clerical Real Time Information (RTI) check will be performed to test if any legitimate employment outcomes had occurred whilst the line had remained paid as a UTV. These cases would be reclassified as an employment outcome and removed entirely from the apportionment calculation.

9.53. Individuals that have the presence of one or more unsuccessful self-employment claims but a subsequent paid employment outcome prior to the end of the cohort will be included in the apportionment calculation. The apportionment results will be shared with you and a financial recovery total will be made as and when required.

Settlement

9.54. The Department will conduct a check of the start cohort taking into account factors which may have impacted upon the total figures such as apportionment. If necessary, the Department will recoup any outcomes.

9.55. The very last Outcome payment will be made by DWP to the supplier no later than 329 days (299 days possible claim window + 30 days to pay) after the last start on programme.

Management Checking

9.56. In addition to the validation principles set out above, DWP may also conduct management checks to further verify the validity and robustness of Self-Employed Outcomes claimed.

9.57. These checks will support the exploration of controls around Self-Employed Outcome. Although these management checks will not form part of the standard validation process, they will aid DWP in identifying potential patterns or fraudulent activities.

9.58. An example of a management check might include investigating jobs undertaken by Participants or if the JETS in Scotland Participant’s business has a footprint such as an operating website, etc.

Special Customer Records (clerical claim process)

9.59. The majority of claims must be submitted via PRaP however, where you have a Participant who is granted Special Customer Records (SCR) status (as determined by HMRC) due to the very sensitive nature of data to be held on the participant e.g. witness protection, you are required to submit a claim following the SCR clerical claim process.

9.60. Where DWP identifies that SCR status is not granted the claim will be rejected.

9.61. Where you have a SCR claim, you are required to print off the PRaP11 JETS.S form available at Annex H on Jaggaer and complete manually.

Please note: You must only submit claims on these forms on the rare occasions that SCR status is granted.

9.62. This clerical process mirrors the PRaP automated process however as DWP will be unable to monitor earnings on an on-going basis you will be required to track the participant’s earnings and then invoke the clerical claim process at the point the employed earnings threshold has been met.

9.63. For self-employment the tracking, verification and requirement to have robust evidence will mirror the Self-Employed processes above (also see Chapter 8 – Payment Model and Outcomes). The Provider Payment Validation Team will check the claim has been submitted within the timeline and validate employment with employers and/or Participants. Incomplete forms will not be acted upon and will be returned.

9.64. Where you have a SCR claim, you will need to follow a clerical process. If you receive an SL2 clerical referral you must only submit claims on the PRaP11 JETS.S form after tracking a Participant’s employment and confirming an outcome has been achieved.

9.65. Guidance to assist you in the completion of the form can be found in the second tab of the spreadsheet.

9.66. For SCR employed outcomes where you submit a clerical claim, we will attempt manual validation of the claim. If the claim cannot be validated it will become classed as Unable to Validate and therefore subjected to apportionment at the end of the 299 calendar days.

9.67. You should send your fully completed claim form to:

Provider Payment Validation Team (PPVT)
Department for Work and Pensions
Finance Group - Contracted Health & Employment Services Directorate, Floor 1,
1 Hartshead Square,
Sheffield, S1 2FD

9.68. All clerical documents carrying personal information should be retained securely in line with the Data Protection Act Principles. For further information please refer to Guide to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – The Principles.

9.69 Should you require a copy of any of the forms mentioned in this chapter please email: jetsscotland.policy@dwp.gov.uk