Guidance

COVID-19 Chapter 1: Introduction and overview

Updated 15 December 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 14 April 2022

This guidance is no longer current and is not being updated. Find the latest Work and Health Programme (including JETS) provider guidance’

Applies to England and Wales

This is Work and Health Programme Coronavirus (COVID-19) specific guidance, including Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS).

Due to measures and restrictions imposed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) period, some elements of the Work and Health Programme have been varied. These variations also reflect the contract variations CV01, CV04 and CV05 & CV06.

The following temporary guidance is for use only during this COVID-19 period, as defined by the period contract variations are in place. Procedures and guidance will revert to pre-COVID-19 versions as these variations are revised or revoked. A full version of the original Work and Health Programme guidance remains in publication for reference.

Contracting Body Note

1. The Authority has issued this Work and Health Programme specific provider guidance and generic provider guidance to help provide Contractors (and sub-contractors) with operational clarity and guidance and forms part of the Work and Health Programme Contract. In the event of, and only to the extent of, any conflict or inconsistency between the clauses of these documents, the Work and Health Programme Terms and Conditions, any document referred to in those clauses and the Schedules, the conflict or inconsistency shall be resolved in accordance with the following order of precedence:

• (a) the clauses of the Work and Health Programme Terms and Conditions including all Schedules and any Appendices or Annexes to the Work Health Programme Terms and Conditions
• (b) the Work and Health Programme Specification
• (c) the Q&A for Tender
• (d) the Tender
• (e) the Tender Clarification
• (f) the Provider Guidance
• (g) the Umbrella Agreement
• (h) any other document referred to in the Work and Health Programme Contract

2. The provisions contained in this Provider Guidance (PG) relating to Universal Credit claimants have been developed on the basis of current practice for such claimants. As we continue to develop Universal Credit, the Department will introduce changes to our interaction processes with providers and claimants. We will keep you advised of these as they develop.

An introduction to the Work and Health Programme provider guidance including WHP JETS

3. The Work and Health Programme has two elements to the programme; the intensive support provided by the core programme (WHP Core) and Work and Health Programme Job Entry Targeted Support (WHP JETS) which provides specific support to help those who are unemployed and in receipt of benefits for at least 13 weeks and at the point of referral be in receipt of New Style JSA or UC Intensive Work Search regime. Please see paragraph 10 for further information.

4. This guidance supports you, the provider, by setting out the important things you need to know and do in order to provide the Work and Health Programme Services, in conjunction with other requirements set out in the Contract between the Contracting Body and the Contractor. This guidance is a contractual document and should be read in conjunction with other contractual documents which form the Work and Health Programme Contract between the Contracting Body and the Contractor.

5. In addition to this guidance you must also comply with the Generic DWP Provider Guidance which applies to all of our provision and ensure that European Social Fund (ESF) requirements are adhered to. Further information regarding ESF requirements can be found in Generic Provider Guidance Chapter 11b – ESF requirements 2014 – 2020 (England Only).

Overview of the Work and Health Programme & WHP JETS

6. Launched in November 2017 the Work and Health Programme (WHP Core) is DWP’s contracted employment provision that will help persons who have a disability, the long-term unemployed (LTU) and specified disadvantaged groups to find sustained work. The (WHP Core) will target those who are most likely to benefit from the additional support of the programme.

7. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches will use their expertise and skills to perform the key role of identifying eligible Participants from the target groups to participate in the WHP Core and the WHP JETS and then engaging them to access the provision. For referrals made by Jobcentre Plus, they will continue to be the final decision maker for determining if an individual is eligible and should be referred to the WHP Core or WHP JETS.

8. The WHP Core will (not applicable to WHP JETS):

• provide additional support that is distinct and additional to that available through Jobcentre Plus
• support current and future local plans for service integration for individuals who have multiple barriers to work and/or have a disability. DWP agreed, through the Government’s Devolution Deal and City Deal process, to work with a number of combined authorities’ /city regions to ensure local priorities influence the design and delivery of Work and Health Programme by co-designing the programme with those areas.

9. Providers must as part of achieving sustained employment outcomes:

• provide Participants with more tailored support than is available in their locality
• have strong links to national and local employers
• link up with health and social care services and other local services
• take a holistic approach to tackling the barriers to employment faced by Participants.

10. From October 2020 WHP JETS will be a separate strand of WHP Core to provide early light-touch employment support to complement the wider labour market offer of support through a sector-based approach that responds to local priorities.

11. WHP JETS provides a light touch provision that includes, but is not limited to, transferable skills analysis, CV writing, job search, interview skills, self-efficacy and confidence building in the post COVID-19 environment and take a sector-based approach and helps individuals who:

• are of working age (16 in Wales, and 18 in England to State Pension age)
• are motivated to find work and require light touch employment support
• have the right to reside and enter employment in England or Wales
• are in receipt of UC in the Intensive Work-Search Regime or New Style JSA at the point of referral; and
• be unemployed for 13 weeks or more (not in any type of employment including zero hour contracts)
• be in receipt of benefits for 13 weeks or more (periods of furlough are not counted)
• are not on any other DWP contracted provision
• do not already have a job offer or be about to start work
• are not in receipt of payments from the Self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

12. Work coaches will use the above criteria to assess eligibility and suitability for participation in WHP JETS.

Please Note:

• If the claimant is registered as self-employed with HMRC, they do not need to de-register to participate in JETS or WHP Core.
• State pension age may vary per individual.

13. In order to achieve sustained employment outcomes, Providers will be required to:

• provide Participants with targeted support which complements the wider labour market offer in their locality
• have strong links to national and local employers
• link up and integrate with local services.

14. The Contracting Body will remunerate Work and Health Programme Contractors in accordance with the payment terms set out in contract variation CV04 and CV06.

15. Participants may be referred to you by Jobcentre Plus. For WHP core, some of these referrals will come to you from Jobcentre Plus by an approved signposting organisation.

Public Sector Comparator (PSC) (not applicable to WHP JETS)

16. DWP wants to compare and contrast different delivery models and reserves the right to operate a PSC alongside the Work and Health Programme contracts and control group. This will enable DWP to quantify and isolate the impact of different delivery approaches and techniques and will support future policy design. DWP will use reasonable endeavors to ensure the PSC is managed so that it does not have a negative impact on the delivery models of suppliers in live running.

Key Responsibilities

17. Whilst Participants are on the WHP Core or WHP JETS some of your key responsibilities are:

• acknowledging a Participant referral and make contact with the Participant within two working days
• to conduct an initial conversation with the Participant to make arrangements for the initial meeting (WHP Core) initial/first appointment (WHP JETS) using appropriate means. This meeting/appointment must take place within 15 working days of the referral from DWP
• helping Participants to find and stay in sustainable work by engaging with Participants in accordance with the revised CSS during COVID-19 period (WHP Core) and CSS for WHP JETS (Further information can be found in the Work and Health Programme including Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) Provider Guidance – Chapter 16 Performance Management and Compliance Monitoring
• Exit Report Packs, which include an Exit Report, (WHP Core) and Exit Reports (WHP JETS) should continue to be produced and retained by you until requested by Jobcentre Plus. They should continue to meet DWP requirements using the revised CSS during COVID-19 period
• ensuring that ESF requirements continue to be adhered to.

18.You must continue to meet ESF specific requirements set by the European Union (EU) and failure to comply is a financial risk for both DWP and you, as funds used inappropriately or for ineligible purposes and/or where the ESF requirements have not been met may be recoverable from you. The ESF requirements include but are not limited to the following:

• adequate evidence must be kept at all stages for Participants who have started on provision
• a complete audit trail of key documents and electronic information must be captured, maintained and retained at all stages throughout the process
• the EU regulations in connection with marketing and publicising ESF must be met
• EU requirements relating to sustainable development, equality, diversity and equal opportunities must be met
• all required documentation for each Participant must be made available to DWP and EU auditors/investigators/officers/agents if required.

19. The requirements above apply to all Participants and services supplied under the Contract. If sub-contractors are used to deliver any part of the services under the contract it is your responsibility to ensure ESF requirements are met in respect of all services delivered through such sub-contractors. You therefore are ultimately accountable for the compliance of the contract with ESF requirements. Failure to comply with any of the ESF requirements may result in the reclaim of funding and claims against you for recovery of any payments received under the Contract and losses arising from the failure to comply with ESF requirements.

20. Further information regarding ESF requirements can be found in Generic Provider Guidance Chapter 11b – ESF requirements 2014 – 2020 (England Only) and throughout this guidance at the relevant points.

21. While Participants are on the WHP Core or WHP JETS, Jobcentre Plus will continue to maintain contact with them, where possible. Therefore, Providers are expected to ensure that contact and personal details are up to date on each contact.

Please Note: Not all Participants referred to WHP Core will be in receipt of a Working Age benefit. All Participants on WHP JETS will be in receipt of benefits.

22. Jobcentre Plus will continue where possible to collect any informal feedback that Participants volunteer about the services they receive from you. This will be passed to your performance managers.

23. You are expected to ensure Participants are fully informed about your complaints process. Further information can be found in the COVID-19 Work and Health Programme Provider Guidance Chapter 12 - Participant Complaints.

Travel costs and additional costs.

24. You must ensure Participants are not worse off by virtue of attending the Work and Health Programme.

25. For WHP Core you must at your expense pay each Participant’s costs for travel, childcare, replacement care and additional support costs whilst they are on the programme.

26. For WHP JETS, you must, at your expense, pay each Participant’s costs for travel. You must also at your expense pay an element of childcare care cost if it poses as a barrier to the Participant entering employment within the first month of attendance. For example; to attend interviews, short training courses or in the first month of employment until the first pay is received.

27. There is no requirement to provide a Participant with travel expenses once they have moved into work, however, should you wish to offer to fund travel costs to cover the time between any last benefit payment and first salary payment, this will be at your discretion.

Key interactions with Jobcentre Plus

28. While the Participant is on the WHP Core or WHP JETS, you will need to work together with Jobcentre Plus as outlined below.

29. DWP will notify you if we become aware that a Participant has a change in their circumstance, the following changes will be prioritised, the Participant:

• dies
• conditionality changes
• becomes a victim of domestic abuse
• becomes ill
• becomes Homeless
• develops complex needs.

30. It is essential that you are in regular contact with the Participant to ensure you have the latest personal information.

Integration with Local Authorities (LAs)

31. You must avoid duplication of existing services in your provision of the Work and Health Programme Services, whilst still ensuring that the needs of the Participants are suitably addressed.

Duration on the WHP Core and in work support

32. Once a Participant starts on WHP Core, you have 456 calendar days to work with that Participant, to help them into sustained employment.

33. Unless a Participant completes early, you will be expected to deliver 456 calendar days of continuous support, plus any in work support.

34. You remain responsible for ensuring Participants get the right support for this full period. It is for you to determine the appropriate course of action in accordance with the Contract, for providing support to Participants.

35. In work support whilst on the programme can be for any period of time, but once a Participant reaches the 456-day end point on programme, In Work Support can only be extended for a further 182 days. This may extend the period for which you support a Participant up to a maximum of 639 calendar days.

Duration on WHP JETS

36. Once a Participant starts on WHP JETS you have 182 calendar days to work with that Participant, to help them into sustained employment.

37. Unless a Participant completes early, you will be expected to deliver 182 calendar days of continuous support.

38. In work support is not applicable for WHP JETS.

39. PRaP will automatically calculate and populate the end date for a WHP JETS Participant at 182 calendar days, but this will not unset the RTE interest, which will continue to pick up earnings until day 299. This includes 182 calendar days on programme, 56 calendar days tracking period and a further 61 days for late HMRC notifications/claims based on the start date you input following initial engagement. You can continue to enter an outcome for self-employed participants after the end date has been entered at 182 days up to 299 days.

Should you require a copy of any of the forms mentioned in this chapter, please email: whp.enquiries@dwp.gov.uk