Guidance

Self-referral process: Subject to signing of CV04

Updated 15 December 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guidance is no longer current and is not being updated.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

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-and-health-programme-covid-19-provider-guidance/self-referral-process-subject-to-signing-of-cv04

This is Work and Health Programme Coronavirus (COVID-19) specific guidance.

What is Work and Health programme?

1. The Work and Health Programme (WHP) is a contracted provision to help people with disabilities, early access groups and the long term unemployed into sustainable employment.

2. The programme went live between November 2017 and March 2018 and is being delivered in England and Wales.

3. The programme duration is up to 456 days and WHP providers tailor their support to meet the individual’s needs. If the individual finds a job the provider can support the individual for up to 182 days (6 months) if they need this. Taking part in the programme (including any period of in work support) cannot be longer than 639 days (21 months).

4. The WHP:

  • utilises the expertise of private, public and voluntary sector organisations to provide targeted support for eligible customers
  • delivers high quality support and experience, and utilise contacts to offer unique support to claimants
  • has strong links to national and local employers to identify employment needs, carve out roles and provide bespoke training to enable better matching of skills to roles

Work and Health Programme eligibility

5. The WHP supports individuals from the following participant groups:

  • person with a disability, as defined in the Equality Act 2010, who can volunteer to join the Programme at any time
  • early access priority groups on a voluntary basis
  • long Term Unemployed (LTU) – these are claimants in the intensive work search regime in Universal Credit or JSA claimants who have not moved into employment within 24 months of their claim. These claimants have been mandated to the WHP since April 2018
  • an individual must have the right to reside and work in the UK
  • voluntary participants do not need to be in receipt of a benefit to be eligible for WHP, however the individual must not be in any form of paid employment (including part-time work)
  • if the individual is in any form of paid employment (including zero hour contracts), they are not eligible for WHP and will not be considered for a referral to the programme

  • the individual must not be on any other CEPD contracted provision, that is:

    • New Enterprise Allowance (NEA)
    • European Social Fund (ESF) 2014 to 2020
    • Work Choice
    • Specialist Employability Support (SES)
    • Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES)
    • Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC)
  • the individual must not already be taking part or completed the Work and Health Programme or have been in the WHP Public Sector Comparator (PSC)

Early access groups

6. The early access groups are:

  • an ex-offender (someone who has completed a custodial sentence or a community sentence) or offender (someone who is serving a community sentence)
  • a carer
  • an ex-carer
  • a homeless person
  • ex-HM Armed Forces personnel
  • an HM Armed Forces reservist participant
  • a partner of current or former Armed Forces personnel
  • a person for whom a drug or alcohol dependency (including a history of) presents a significant barrier to employment
  • a care leaver
  • a refugee
  • a young person in a gang
  • a victim of domestic violence

Please Note: Local Government Partners (LGPs) may have additional or alternative early access groups and therefore any LGP providers should gain confirmation of this list from their LGPs.

Signposting and Prime Provider self-referral process for the Work and Health Programme

7. The WHP introduced a signposting process to support further integration with other support and services at a local and national level. This process has now been expanded to include self-referrals from WHP Prime Providers.

8. The key aim for this approach is:

  • to identify individuals who meet the WHP eligibility in the disability or early entry eligibility groups (we do not expect LTU referrals for WHP via this route)
  • to identify individuals who may not have any contact with Jobcentre Plus offices and those who are currently unable to attend a jobcentre
  • at a local level, work with organisations who have a particular focus on helping and supporting individuals with a disability or health condition to find work in support of the wider departmental aim of reducing the Disability Employment gap

Please Note: WHP LTU: Due to the complex nature of assuring eligibility, individuals who are LTU and cannot access WHP voluntarily under Disability or Early Access, should be advised to discuss support options next time they are contacted by jobcentre.

9. WHP Prime Providers will now take responsibility for the eligibility of all Signposting Organisation referrals, (which includes Prime self-referrals and signposting referral) which will ensure that all individuals meet the eligibility criteria prior to referring to the programme.

10. Providers must only send emails from recognised email addresses and must not use personal email addresses to send the forms.

Provider self-referral and Signposting Organisation actions

11. When a Prime Provider (self-referral) or Signposting Organisation has identified an individual that they think would benefit from WHP, the Prime Provider must ensure that the individual meets the eligibility criteria for those with a disability or early entry status. Therefore, all WHPS01 forms (including those from Signposting Organisations) must go via the Prime Provider.

12. Providers must ensure that the customer lives within the correct Contract Package Area (CPA).

13. The Provider must collect, verify and retain the appropriate evidence to confirm eligibility for claimants and non-benefit claimants for all referrals. Providers must follow published guidance around the collection and retention of ESF evidence during COVID-19 for all referrals.

14. The eligibility criteria that requires specific documentation evidence are:

  • legally resident and have the right to take paid employment in the United Kingdom
  • of working age (Aged 18 in England and 16 years in Wales)
  • early access groups eligibility (ESF audit requirement)

Please Note: You must not keep copies of identification (for example passports, birth certificates) note the reference or serial number of these documents and hand them back. All other evidence must be copied and retained. For further information on evidence requirements please refer to ESF Data Evidence Requirements – eligibility and results.

15. The provider must gather this information prior to referring the individual to the programme to ensure that the individual is eligible for the programme.

16. For any referrals that have been identified via a Signposting Organisation, the Signposting Organisation must send the completed form (WHPSO1) to the Prime Provider. The Prime Provider must then verify eligibility and ensure that the form is completed correctly.

17. Once the Prime Provider has verified the details they must update the WHPS01 form with their contact details (replacing the signposting organisations details). This allows any errors identified to be fed back for correction to allow processing of the referral.

18. If the Prime Provider identifies an eligible individual (and they have appropriate eligibility evidence) they must complete the WHPSO1 form and forward to the designated inbox (provider.directreferrals@dwp.gsi.gov.uk).

19. The Prime Provider must annotate the email subject field with the CPA, Contract ID and WHP referral in the subject line.

20. The Prime Provider must retain and verify all appropriate eligibility evidence for each individual whether the Participant is from the Signposting Organisation or generated by themselves. The Prime Provider must explain to the voluntary potential participant that if they reach 24 months of unemployment and disengage from WHP, they may be mandated for the remainder of the time on the programme if they are on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Universal Credit intensive work support. This is when the participant meets Long Term Unemployed (LTU) eligibility criteria. The Prime Provider must advise the voluntary participant that if they become mandated to the programme, their benefits payments could be affected if they don’t participate.

21. The Prime Provider should provide the customer with any relevant paperwork (including those associated with ESF audit requirements) and advise the customer that should they be successful in achieving a place on the programme they will be issued with a ‘Welcome to the Work and Health Programme’ Letter from DWP via email or post welcoming them to the programme and to explain what will happen next for the Participant. Providers should make a note on the email stating that the customer is happy to receive the letter via email (if appropriate) for example: ‘Customer happy to receive letter via email’ in main body of the email.

22. The Prime Provider is responsible for identifying any Participant who is on the autism spectrum and must ensure that they record this information in their records. The Prime Provider must ensure that if the Participant is successful in being allocated a place on the programme, that they provide the appropriate support to the Participant as outlined in the COVID-19 Work and Health Programme provider guidance annex 1.

23. When considering making a referral the Provider or Signposting Organisation must:

  • discuss key features of WHP with the individual
  • check and confirm WHP eligibility as stated in parts 2 and 3 of the WHPSO1 form
  • gather and retain appropriate eligibility evidence where appropriate
  • gain consent from the individual to forward the WHPSO1 form to Jobcentre Plus or DWP and advise them that the programme is ESF match funded
  • be clear that the referral is not guaranteeing a place on WHP
  • check that the individual is not participating in other CEPD training or provision (as outlined in the eligibility criteria)
  • check that the individual is not participating in the WHP already
  • for all individuals the Provider must gather, and verify the appropriate eligibility evidence for the programme. This must be retained (including the Right to Reside for non-benefit claimants)

Please Note: Until further notice all sign-posting referrals (from third party signposting organisations) must go via the WHP Prime Provider in order for them to ensure that all customers meet the eligibility criteria. Each Contract Package area will have cap on the number of referrals that can be sent and it is therefore the Providers responsibility to monitor the number of referrals that are sent each month.

24. On a monthly basis the cap on the number of referrals will be reviewed and you will be notified if the number of referrals changes. Please Note: There are no guarantees that the individual will be allocated a place on the WHP and this must be made clear to the individual at the point of referral to WHP. The Prime Provider or Signposting Organisation must not work with the participant until it is confirmed they have been allocated a place on the programme.

25. The Prime Provider must provide the Central Team with a named contact and email address that will be used to return any incomplete or incorrect forms.

26. If the individual is unsuccessful in achieving a place on the programme the Prime Provider is notified via email with an explanation of the reason. The Provider or signposting organisation must inform the individual of the outcome of the referral.

27. If the individual is allocated a place on the programme, the Prime Provider is notified of this via PRaP within 10 working days of sending the form.

28. When allocation is confirmed, the Provider must complete all actions as outlined in the Work and Health Programme COVIS-19 Guidance to start the individual on the programme, including additional tasks associated with the ESF requirements.

29. There may be occasions when you receive a Special Customer Record (SCR) referral via the SL2 process. Your nominated officer must follow the current SL2 clerical process as outlined in the Work and Health Programme Covid-19 Provider Guidance and return page 1 to DWP at the address below and page 2 to POST (PRaP Operational Support Team).

Direct Referral Team
Sheffield PPVT
1st Floor
Hartshead Square
Sheffield
S1 2FDCY

Completion of the WHPSO1 form

30. Please Note: It is essential that all parts of the WHPSO1 form are completed correctly so prior to sending check all fields have been completed correctly. If any section is not complete or is incorrect, the Central Team will return an email to the named Prime Provider contact with the individual’s name and last three characters of the National Insurance number (NINO) to advise of the missing information that is required.

31. If further information is requested by the Central Team it is essential that lengthy delays do not occur before updating and re-sending the updated completed WHPSO1 form to the provider.directreferrals@dwp.gsi.gov.uk inbox. This ensures the momentum and engagement of the individual is maintained.

Part 1: Provider Details

This section must be fully completed with the Prime Provider details, including contact name and telephone number prior to issuing to the Central Team.

Part 2: About Customer

This section must be fully completed with the customer details, including contact details so that the appropriate paperwork can be issued to the customer. If the individual does not have an email address, please annotate the form in that field to state this.

As part of this section the Provider must confirm that the customer has the right to live and work in England or Wales and be satisfied that evidence has been provided for non-benefit customers.

Note: For non-benefit customers although the Provider is not required to forward the evidence to Jobcentre Plus or DWP, the customer is required to provide evidence to the provider which they must keep a copy of.

This is a key eligibility criterion for WHP and to manage customer expectations a referral must not be made to Jobcentre Plus or DWP until the customer is able to provide evidence they have the legal right to live and work in England or Wales.

Part 3: Work and Health Programme Eligibility

The customer must meet the eligibility criteria as detailed in this section. If any of the eligibility criteria does not apply, do not forward the form as the customer is not eligible for WHP.

Part 4: Work and Health Programme Provider declaration

The form must include a typed signature from the Prime Provider.

A typed signature must be included with the consent of the customer before emailing the form to the designated Central Team in box. The customer should have a copy of the form to view (if possible) when you are going through it with them, therefore you may wish to email a blank copy of the form to the customer. However, if the customer requests to see a copy of the completed form the customer should receive a copy when they are next on provider premises or be issued a copy via post, once completed. Please Note: You must ensure that all ESF requirements are captured as part of the referral process if the customer is successful as outlined in Work and Health Programme Covid-19 provider guidance chapter 3 Acknowledging referrals, initial Participant engagement and registering a start and Generic provider guidance chapter 11b European Social Fund (ESF) Requirements 2014 to 2020 (England Only).

Emailing the template

  • the WHPSO1 form must sent to the following inbox via unencrypted email: provider.directreferrals@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

  • the email title must read “WHP Referral” CPA and Contract ID, it must not contain any customer personal details in the title

  • only one WHPSO1 form must be sent per email

If you require any further help or support in the WHP Self-referral process, please contact:

Name: WHP Policy Team Email: whp.enquiries@dwp.gov.uk

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