Guidance

Chapter 11: Programme completers and early exits

Updated 4 April 2024

Please note: Please follow the processes outlined for both WHP Core and WHP Pioneer. Elements that are exempt from this can be found in Chapter 2b WHP Pioneer eligibility and entry points

ESF Requirement Changes

1. When referring to ESF Requirements within this chapter please note the following changes to ESF Requirements effective from 24 July 2023 (England)

• providers no longer need to submit or process ESF 14-20 Initial or ESF 14-20 End forms for Participants
• products can be updated to remove ESF logos. Changes to existing products and any new marketing and publicity materials should be sent to WHP.ENQUIRIES@DWP.GOV.UK for approval.
• providers should continue to use the current template for Good News Stories, until notified of amendment.
• participants you have already submitted ESF 14-20 Initial and ESF 14-20 End forms for over the lifetime of your WHP contract continue to be subject to ESF obligations. This includes Audit requirements and the ESF Document Retention Policy which at present is expected to be 2034.

In addition to the above, ESF requirements do not apply to participants started on or after 1 November 2022.

Please note: You are expected to continue to complete and to share Good News Stories with your Performance Manager as part of your contract with DWP.

Participant completes the Work and Health Programme

2. For those Participants who are not in employment or self-employment after completing their allotted time on provision, you must complete an:

• Exit Report Pack, which includes an exit report for those who were referred before 1st November 2022
• a Final Action Plan must be completed for those referred on or after 1st November 2022.

Exit Report Pack required – for Participants referred before 1 November 2022

3. For those Participants who are not in employment or self-employment after completing their allotted time on provision, you must complete an Exit Report Pack, which includes an Exit Report. This will include a summary of the Participants time on the programme along with details of additional support that can be accessed by the Participant going forward. Participants who are not in employment and/or self-employment are listed below:

• participants who complete 639 calendar days following in work support
• early completers.

4. The Exit Report Pack must be completed with the Participant within the last 10 working days of the programme and include an Exit Report which must be shared with Jobcentre Plus when requested.

5. Where you have not completed the Exit Report Pack/Form with the Participant, you should attempt to contact the Participant to make them aware an Exit Report has been completed and provide them with the opportunity to arrange for a copy to be emailed, handed or posted to them. The same opportunity should be extended to any Participant who attended their exit appointment but not in a face-to-face setting.

6. Before emailing or posting the Exit Report you must ensure the Participant is aware of the risks of sending personal information to them via email or post. A copy should be provided to the Participant within the last 10 working days of them being a Participant. Where you are unable to inform them of this risk you must ensure no sensitive personal data is sent.

7. You should not include any Participant information that may be defined as Special Category data (as defined by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in these forms.

8. You will retain a copy of the Exit Report Pack securely. Further information can be found in paragraph 12-23.

Circumstances when an Exit Report Pack is not required

9. You will not be required to complete an Exit Report Pack or Exit Report in the following circumstances, Participants who:

• move abroad, permanently, for a period at least longer than the remaining time on the programme
• are diagnosed with a terminal illness
• become deceased during time on programme
• are in employment and/or self-employment.

Obtaining a Participant Signature

10. Where you are required to obtain a Participant signature, WHP is not prescriptive about how any required signature is obtained (with the exception of any signature that is required for ESF purposes).

11. It is your responsibility for any (ESF Match Funded Participant) that you follow the latest ESF guidelines and that ESF regulations take precedence to ensure you meet all evidence requirements. Please also refer to Chapter 11b: ESF requirements 2014 to 2020 (England only) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) including paragraphs 72 – 75 for electronic signatures information.

12. For more information regarding obtaining a Participant Signature, please refer to:

• Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) section titled ‘Obtaining a Participant Signature’ which also includes more information regarding signature expectations and ESF requirements
• The paragraphs below for specific ESF documentation required
• The paragraphs below for specific Action Planning activity required.

Please Note: Now that all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and you have moved back to face-to-face delivery, all documents which require a Participant’s signature should be signed and dated by the Participant. For Non-ESF participants if the signature box is annotated ‘COVID- 19’ or ‘REMOTE DELIVERY’ you are not required to obtain a signature retrospectively when they are seen in person.

Provider completes Exit Report Pack with the Participant

13. If the Participant is not in employment or self-employment at the point they cease to be a Participant, you will produce an Exit Report Pack. This will include a summary of the Participant’s time on WHP, along with details of additional support that can be accessed to support them going forward.

14. In conjunction with the Providers IT Equipment ‘Fair Use Policy’ the Exit Report Pack should contain any discussions with the participant where any IT equipment was issued to the participant to support in overcoming barriers to work.

15. If a ‘Fair Use’ form was completed with the participant for any IT equipment issued, this should also be recorded within the Exit Report Pack. Further information on the IT Equipment ‘Fair Use Policy’ can be found in Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview

16. The Exit Report Pack must be completed with the Participant and a copy provided to them within the last 10 working days of the provision

17. When a Participant’s employment ends during the in-work support period and they return to Jobcentre Plus for support, an Exit Report Pack must be provided to the Participant within 10 working days of the date the contractor establishes the Participant is no longer in employment. You will also maintain a copy of the Exit Report Pack securely, which must be sent to Jobcentre Plus upon request

18. You must complete all Exit Report Packs with the Participant preferably face-to-face, or via a telephone conversation, video conference or any other method permitted by the contract, annotating the Exit Report.

19. If you are unable to obtain a Participant signature face to face then documentation should be annotated with “REMOTE DELIVERY”. This must be done promptly and in line with your Customer Service Standards (CSS) to ensure Jobcentre Plus can conduct a completer interview within 15 days of completion of WHP.

20. As COVID-19 restrictions have now eased and you have moved back to face-to-face delivery all ESF documents which require a participant’s signature should be signed and dated by the participant. If the signature box is annotated ‘COVID-19’ from COVID-19 Government restrictions, you should obtain a signature retrospectively when they are seen in person, and such form/s retained on file, for audit.

Please note: Obtaining retrospective signatures face to face only applies to ESF participants.

21. It is no longer appropriate when delivering provision remotely to use ‘COVID-19’ in lieu of a signature. The department supports a blended delivery model, but this must be based on participant need. Where remote delivery has taken place you should annotate the signature box with ‘REMOTE DELIVERY’. A record of the conversation as to why this method was most appropriate should also be retained.

22. The Department recommends that you follow the relevant country specific Government guidelines in relation to health and safety for all voluntary participants, and only see those who request or agree to face-to-face support. 23. When you are delivering face to face, a wet signature must be obtained.

24. Evidence should be gathered and retained to show the Government guidelines you were adhering to which meant you could not offer face–to-face delivery at the time you supported the participant. This could be due to imposed lockdown restrictions, or the COVID-19 Secure guidance required under health and safety legislation.

Please note: LTU Participants cannot be mandated to undertake this activity as any mandatory participation requirements cease on completion of the Work and Health Programme.

Provider completes an Exit Report Pack independently without Participant present

25. For any WHP Participants the Exit Report Pack must be completed for those not in employment and self-employment. This must be completed, and a copy provided to the Participant within the last 10 working days of the programme.

26. If you are no longer engaged with the Participant, you must complete this independently and note your records that the customer has disengaged.

27. The Exit Report Pack must be saved and shared with the Participant.

28. The Exit Reports must be shared with Jobcentre Plus when requested. This Exit Report must be done promptly.

29. In instances where you have been unable to obtain a Participants signature for the Exit Report, Jobcentre Plus may confirm the accuracy of the content with the Participant. Please Note: As COVID restrictions ease please see paragraphs 16-30 above.

Please note: Now that all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and you have moved back to face-to-face delivery, all documents which require a Participant’s signature should be signed and dated by the Participant. For Non-ESF participants if the signature box is annotated ‘COVID- 19’ or ‘REMOTE DELIVERY’ you are not required to obtain a signature retrospectively when they are seen in person.

Actions

• For those Participants not in employment and self-employment who are due to complete WHP, you must arrange an interview via appropriate means to complete the Exit Report Pack. This must be completed within their last 10 working days of the programme.
• If you are unable obtain a signature from a Participant, you should annotate the Exit Report with ‘REMOTE DELIVERY’ in the Participant signature box when appointments are delivered remotely.
• You should then issue a copy of the Exit report or Exit Report Pack (as appropriate) to the Participant within their last 10 working days of participation in the programme.
• The Exit Report element should include a summary of the Participants time on the programme with the remainder of the Exit Report Pack providing details of additional support that can be accessed to support them going forward.

Please note: As COVID restrictions ease please see paragraphs 9-23 above.

Jobcentre Plus Requests Exit Report (for those referred on before 1st November 2022)

30. Jobcentre Plus will request Exit Reports that they wish to see when Participants complete the programme. Requests will be sent weekly or when required by Jobcentre Plus by unencrypted email using a WHPERE2 form.

31. You must await the request from Jobcentre Plus before returning an Exit Report as they will not need to see one for every Participant who completes the WHP and is not in employment and self-employment.

Actions

• Monitor your centralised inbox regularly for incoming requests from Jobcentre Plus.

Provider returns Exit Report to Jobcentre Plus

32. All Exit Reports requested must be sent to Jobcentre Plus within 10 working days of the request being made. Day one will be the date the request is made by Jobcentre Plus.

33. You must only send Exit Reports that have been requested by Jobcentre Plus.

Actions

• Locate the completed Exit Reports for the Participants stated on the WHPER2E template.
• Send the Exit Report to Jobcentre Plus via unencrypted email within 10 working days of the request being received to the designated Jobcentre Plus inbox notified to you.

Consequence: When requested by Jobcentre Plus you should return the Exit Report within 10 working days which will be checked during the DWP compliance monitoring process. Failure to meet this standard may result in you failing the compliance check.

34. Further detail is provided in the Detailed background and further information section.

Please Note: As COVID-19 restrictions ease please see paragraphs 9-23 above.

For Participants referred on or after 1 November 2022

35. At the end of a Participants allotted time on Work and Health Programme, if your Participant has been unsuccessful in gaining employment or self-employment, they will revert wholly back to Jobcentre Plus.

36. The final Action Plan must be updated and detail all individual activities agreed and completed between you and the Participant during their time on Work and Health Programme.

37. You are not required to issue a copy of the final Action Plan to Jobcentre Plus; however, you must issue the final Action Plan to your Participant and encourage them to share this with Jobcentre Plus during your Work and Health Programme completers discussion

38. This final Action Plan becomes the Participants Exit document and will be a key tool to determine the most appropriate support required for your Participant when they return to Jobcentre Plus.

39. Where you have not updated the final Action Plan with the Participant present, you must attempt to contact the Participant to make them aware the final Action Plan has been updated and provide them with the opportunity to arrange for a copy to be handed, emailed, or posted to them.

40. The same opportunity must be extended to any Participant who attended their final appointment but not in a face-to-face setting.

41. Before emailing or posting the final Action Plan you must ensure the Participant is aware of the risk of sending personal information to them in these formats. Where you are unable to inform them of this risk you must ensure no sensitive personal information is sent.

42. You must not include any Participant information that may be defined as Special Category Data as defined by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the final Action Plan.

43. If you are no longer engaged with a Participant, you must complete the final Action Plan independently and note on your records that the Participant has disengaged.

44. You must retain a copy of the final Action Plan securely either clerically or uploaded to your systems.

Circumstances when a final Action Plan is not required for Participants referred on or after 1st November 2022

45. You will not be required to update the final Action Plan in the following circumstances, Participants who

• are in employment or self-employment
• move abroad, permanently or for a period longer than the remaining time on the programme
• are diagnosed with a terminal illness
• became deceased during time on the programme Participant falls out of work during in-work extension period

Participant falls out of work during in-work extension period

46. If your Participant falls out of work during the in-work support period they will complete the programme and at that point return to Jobcentre Plus.

Provider submits ESF1420m End Form to DWP – England Only)

47. Where a Participant completes the WHP there are additional steps for you to take to satisfy your ESF requirements.

48. It is a key requirement that you notify results for Participants who complete the Programme. This is via completion and return of the ESF1420m End Form.

49. The ESF 1420m End Form notifies of a Participants status within four weeks of programme completion. The ESF 1420m End Form, should be annotated ‘COVID-19 in the signature box to confirm the Participant was enrolled during this event. The date should be included.

Please note:

50. For ESF1420m End Forms completed after 07 May 2022, ‘Remote delivery’ can be input at Part 3 Provider Details and Declaration section where a provider wet signature cannot be obtained. For ESF1420m End Forms completed after 25 August 2022, please also refer to Chapter 11b: ESF requirements 2014 to 2020 (England only) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) including paragraphs 72 – 75 for electronic signatures information.

Actions

• Complete ESF 1420m End form within four weeks of the WHP completion
• Send completed ESF1420m End Form to the DWP ESF Admin Team via un-encrypted email within eight weeks of completion of provision.
• Where you are aware that the Participant is an SCR case or has MAPPA restrictions with SCR, you should post in a clerical 1420m End Form directly to the ESF Admin Team, annotated ‘Restrictions Apply’.

51. The exception to these timescales are when you are aware that a WHP Participant appears to be an early completer due to the earnings threshold having been achieved through the participant having received Non-Qualifying Earnings as defined in your contract.

52. For details of how to complete the ESF 1420m End Form in the above circumstances, please refer to paragraph 116.

53. Ensure you have a final action plan for each completer.

Please note: The providers nearest initial assessment building postcode should be used by staff working from home.

54. Further detail can be found in the Detailed background and further information section.

Failure to attend meeting

55. Where you are unable to complete the Exit Report appointment with the Participant, for example they refuse or fail to participate, you must complete the Exit Report and include reasons (if known) for example annotating the report ‘no signature obtained due to COVID-19 period’ or ‘declined appointment offer’ if the Participant has disengaged. Please Note: As COVID restrictions ease please see paragraphs 9-23 above COVID-19 easements should only be used for periods when government COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

56. You must record that the Exit Report was not completed with the Participant present, and include the reasons for their failure to participate where known.

57. Where you are unable to issue a copy of the Exit Report Pack/Form, you should contact the Participant to make them aware an Exit Report has been completed and provide them with the opportunity to arrange for a copy to be emailed, handed or posted to them.

58. Exit Report Pack should also be made available where appropriate.

Please note: LTU Participants cannot be mandated to undertake this activity as any mandatory participation requirements cease on completion of the WHP.

Detailed background and further information

Participant completes the Work and Health Programme

59. Participants will complete the WHP in the following circumstances detailed in paragraphs 70-79 below.

Participant reaches 456 days on WHP

60. Participation on WHP will end at 456 calendar days, where a Participant has not reached the earnings threshold, or a self-employment claim has not been paid.

61. This includes circumstances where you are aware that the earnings threshold has previously triggered through the participant having received Non-Qualifying Earnings as defined in your contract.

62. The Provider Referral and Payment System (PRaP) will automatically calculate the end date for a WHP Participant at 456 calendar days.

63. However, PRaP will not automatically calculate a Participants end date when they have previously achieved the earnings threshold through them having received Non-Qualifying Earnings ( as defined in your contract). In these circumstances, you must manually track their remaining time on programme. This will be their remaining time of the 456 calendar days, plus any extension period for In Work Support (IWS).

Participant completes after a period of in work support

64. Where a Participant is in work when they reach 456 days on programme but has not yet met the earnings threshold or a self-employment outcome claim has not been reported, you can opt to give them in work support and extend their participation for an additional 182 days (six months). This will give the Participant a maximum time on programme of 639 calendar days. This extension must be input into PRAP before day 456.

65. Where you choose to extend a Participants time on programme, the final day of the extension will be their new completion date.

Participant falls out of work during extension

66. Where a Participant falls out of work during the extension, they will complete the programme and return to Jobcentre Plus.

67. You should access PRaP, navigate to the Extension/Completion area and select the report for completion tick box and click save to end their extension period and time on programme.

68. The last date of employment will be their new completion date.

Early completers

69. An early completer is someone whose time on the Programme ends before the 456 calendar days’ time on the programme is reached.

70. A Participant will complete WHP early in the circumstance outlined in paragraphs 70-79 detailed below.

Participant reaches earnings threshold/self-employed claim fully validated

71. Where a Participant obtains employment and reaches the earnings threshold, or a self-employed outcome is achieved, they will complete the programme.

72. The exception to this is when you become aware that a Participant appears to be an early completer, due to the earnings threshold having been achieved through the Participant having received Non-Qualifying Earnings (as defined in your contract. In these circumstances, they are not considered to have completed the programme, and you should continue to support them until they either:

• reach the end of their remaining time on programme (456 calendar days from the Participants start date),
• enter subsequent paid employment
• reach the end of their IWS period
• you are notified of a subsequent validated self-employment outcome.

73. When the final outcome is achieved in respect of the Participant, the line will automatically close in PRaP.

Please note: If the participant is expected to reach an outcome or you are receiving RTE threshold pings you should not enter a PRaP leaver reason as this will be updated automatically.

Participant moves abroad

74. When a Participant moves abroad, permanently, for a period of at least longer than the remaining time on the programme, they will complete the WHP.

75. You should enter the date and completer reason ‘46 – Exceptional circumstances’ into PRaP to end their time on programme. Participant is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

76. Participants diagnosed with a terminal illness will have the choice to remain on the programme if they wish.

77. For WHP, if the Participant had initially been referred on a mandatory basis, their attendance will become voluntary.

78. If you are notified by Jobcentre Plus that they no longer wish to take part in the programme (via a change of circumstances notification form CEPD1/UC78e), you should enter the date and completer reason ‘46 – Exceptional circumstances’ into PRaP to end their time on programme.

Participant death

79. If you are notified by Jobcentre Plus of a Participant death, you should enter the end date and completer reason ‘43 – Customer deceased’ into PRAP to end their time on programme.

80. The end date entered must be their actual date of death and not the date that the notification of the Participants death was received. Further information can be found in Work and Health Programme including Pioneer Provider Guidance Chapter 10 – Change of circumstances and notifications.

Provider completes Exit Report Pack with the Participant

81. If the Participant completes their allotted time on the programme and is not in employment or self-employment at the point they cease to be a Participant, you will produce an Exit Report Pack which will include an Exit Report summarising the Participants time on WHP along with details of additional support that can be accessed to support them going forward. You will also maintain a copy of the Exit Report pack securely. The Exit Report element must be sent to Jobcentre Plus upon request.

82. If you are not engaged with the Participant and they are not in employment or self-employment at the point they cease to be a Participant, as above, you will produce an Exit Report independently, which will include a summary of the Participants time, along with details of additional support that can be accessed to support them going forward.

83. You should share a copy with the Participant by email or post within the last 10 working days of them being a Participant. You will also maintain a copy of the Exit Report securely, which must be sent to Jobcentre Plus upon request.

84. Where you have not completed the Exit Report Pack/Form with the Participant, you should attempt to contact the Participant to make them aware an Exit Report has been completed and provide them with the opportunity to arrange for a copy to be emailed, handed or posted to them. The same opportunity should be extended to any Participant who attended their exit appointment but not in a face-to-face setting.

85. Before emailing or posting the Exit Report you must ensure the Participant is aware of the risks of sending personal information to them via email or post. Where you are unable to inform them of this risk you must ensure no sensitive personal data is sent.

Provider completes Exit Report

The purpose of the Exit Report

86. The Exit Report you send to Jobcentre Plus will be a key tool used to determine the most appropriate type of support for Participants upon their return.

87. Jobcentre Plus work coaches will use the Exit Reports you produce to:

• build a profile of the Participant following their experience
• understand the level of support the Participant may require following completion of WHP.

88. Standard Exit Reports have been supplied by DWP which can be used for this purpose. If you choose to use your own version of the Exit Report template, you must ensure this has been approved by DWP prior to use.

Completing the Exit Report

89. The Exit Report must as a minimum include the following information:

• Participant surname
• Participant National Insurance number (NINO)
• summary – actions undertaken, including activities such as work, training or work experience the Participant has completed and any qualifications or skills achieved
• the period(s) that any work experience or employment covered/not completed and any reasons why actions were not completed
• next steps – your recommendations to Jobcentre Plus on the most appropriate next steps for the Participant.

90. The Exit Report should include meaningful and personalised information which will provide Jobcentre Plus with additional information and an insight to the Participants journey on the Programme. The Exit Report must contain at least 500 words written by the Participants personal adviser for WHP Participants.

91. The Exit Report may also include for example:

• summary – how the Participant benefited from WHP and the progress against the activities undertaken by the Participant whilst on WHP
• employability – your opinion on the Participants employment prospects, the type of employment which might be appropriate
• next steps – your recommendations to Jobcentre Plus on the most appropriate next steps for the Participant.

92. You should not include any Participant information that may be defined as Special Category data (as defined by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in these forms.

93. In exceptional circumstances, for example where the Participant has not engaged during most of their time on programme, the Participants personal adviser may not be able to complete 500 words. This is acceptable in these circumstances; however you must still provide meaningful information in addition to the information contained at paragraph 89 to enable Jobcentre Plus to plan next steps with the Participant.

94. The Exit Report must be signed by you and the Participant where you are not able to do this you must record the reasons on the Exit Report detailing why the Participant has not signed the form. You must comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements when processing Exit Reports, as you must throughout your provision of the Services.

95. You may arrange for the Exit Report to be emailed, or posted to the Participant where you are unable to issue it face to face. This should be shared with the Participant within the last 10 working days of them being a Participant. Before emailing or posting the Exit Report you must ensure the Participant is aware of the risks of sending personal information to them via email or post. Where you are unable to inform them of this risk you must ensure no sensitive personal data is sent. Please refer to paragraph 81 above for further information.

Jobcentre Plus Requests Exit Report if referred on programme on or before 31 October 2022

96. Jobcentre Plus will only request Exit Reports where a work coach has determined it to be appropriate.

Please note: There may be a delay to the request being made during the COVID-19 period.

97. The request will be made using a WHPER2E form, via unencrypted email. Each form should contain no more than 40 Participant records and will contain the following information for each:

• National Insurance Number (NINO)
• Jobcentre Plus Office
• request date
• report return deadline
• benefit type
• end date
• return email address.

98. The WHPER2E form will be sent weekly or as required via unencrypted email for Participants who have already completed WHP.

99. The WHPER2E form will inform you of the completion date and the deadline for receipt of the Exit Report.

100. Jobcentre Plus may send more than one WHPER2E form, however they should only attach one form per email and will set a read receipt.

101. The email will contain the header ‘Work and Health Programme Exit Report Request’.

102. Jobcentre Plus will record the date of request of the Exit Report for each Participant.

103. On receipt you should accept the read receipt.

104. You may receive an Exit Report request from Jobcentre Plus for a Participant outside of your Contract Package Area (CPA) who you have been supporting. These requests should be actioned in the same way as for Participants in your CPA.

Provider returns Exit Report to Jobcentre Plus

105. On receipt of the request, you should locate the Exit Report for each Participant and return to the Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox notified to you via unencrypted email.

106. You must return only one Exit Report per email to the Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox. This will be stated on the WHPER2E form.

107. When emailing the Exit Report, you should ensure the subject field contains only the term ‘Exit Report – (Participant surname)’ and the last three digits of the NINO.

108. You must return the Exit Report to the Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox within 10 working days of the request being made by Jobcentre Plus.

109. If your sub-contractors complete an Exit Report, they may email the Exit Report back to the Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox. All Exit Reports must be returned to Jobcentre Plus via the designated provider SPoC email address. It is your responsibility to ensure all Exit Reports are received on time and to the quality expected.

Please note: Providers have overall responsibility for their sub-contractors following this process and for the quality of information included in the Exit Reports.

Jobcentre Plus receive Exit Report

110. On receipt of the Exit Report, Jobcentre Plus will check if the Participant stated on the Exit Report is within their District. If an error has been identified by the Jobcentre Plus District SPoC or you identify that you have sent the Exit Report to the wrong district, either party must contact the other by phone.

111. When an agreement is reached that an Exit Report has been sent to the wrong Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox, they will delete the Exit Report from their systems. The provider SPoC will email the Exit Report to the correct Jobcentre Plus centralised district inbox. The provider SPoC must keep a record of the actions taken for three months purposes and report the incident to DWP security as per Generic Provider Guidance Chapter 8 – Information Security.

112. Jobcentre Plus will record the date of return of the Exit Report for each Participant.

Ad hoc Exit Report requests

113. Jobcentre Plus may request ad hoc Exit Report for Participants who have completed WHP and subsequently return to Jobcentre Plus, where they feel the Exit Report may inform further support.

114. These requests will be made on the WHPER2E form.

Provider submits ESF1420 End Form to DWP

115. You must report the Labour Market Status for all Participants that complete provision and where it is established that the Participant has gained basic skills or a qualification whilst on provision or moved into education or training. The ESF1420 End Form notifies of a Participants status within 28 calendar days of completion date.

116. Where you are unable to ascertain the latest status of a Participant, the ESF1420 End Form should be completed with their last known status details. All attempts made to contact the Participant and confirm their status within 28 calendar days after completing the programme should be clearly annotated on the Action Plan and sent to the DWP ESF Admin Team within eight weeks of their completion date.

117. In exceptional circumstances where you cannot meet the eight-week deadline or it comes to light at a future date that an ESF1420 End Form hasn’t been sent for whatever reason, you are still required to complete the form and return it as soon as possible.

118. This will include circumstances when you are aware that a Participant appears to be an early completer due to the earnings threshold having been achieved through the Participant having received Non-Qualifying Earnings as defined in your contract.

119. In these circumstances, for WHP, you must complete and return the ESF1420 ESF End Form when either the Participant.

• reaches the end of their remaining time on programme (456 calendar days from the Participants start date), and has not entered either paid employment or self-employment or
• enters subsequent paid employment and you are notified by DWP of validated job outcome following the End of Cohort reconciliation process or
• you are notified by DWP of a subsequent validated self-employment outcome

120. In some instances, you may only become aware that the outcome achieved was due to Non-Qualifying Earnings after you have already returned the ESF1420 End Form reporting that the Participant has gone into employment. It is important that you notify us that the outcome was due to Non-Qualifying Earnings as soon as you know about it. You must do this by using form Work and Health Programme Non-qualifying Earnings Notification and returning it to: whp.enquiries@dwp.gov.uk.

Please note: If this does happen, the Department may ask for the reasons why you have not been able to meet this deadline.

121. If a Participants representative notifies you that the Participant has died, you are not required to submit an ESF14-20 End Form but record details of the notification on your system.

Completing the ESF1420 End Forms – Signatures

122. The ESF 1420 End Form, should be annotated ‘COVID-19’ in the signature box to confirm the Participant was enrolled during this event. The date should be included. You should get a provider advisor signature later.

123. As COVID-19 restrictions ease and you move back to face-to-face delivery all ESF documents which require a provider’s signature should be signed and dated by the provider. If the signature box is annotated ‘COVID-19’ you should obtain a signature retrospectively and such form/s retained on file, for audit. This applies only to Participants on programme when Government COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

124. For ESF1420m End Forms completed after 07 May 2022, ‘Remote delivery’ can be input at Part 3 Provider Details and Declaration section where a provider wet signature cannot be obtained. For ESF1420m End Forms completed after 25 August 2022, please also refer to Chapter 11b: ESF requirements 2014 to 2020 (England only) including paragraphs 72 – 75 for electronic signatures information.

Completing the ESF1420 End Forms – Postcode for Engagement Meeting

125. The providers nearest initial assessment building postcode should be used by staff working from home.

126. The ESF1420 End Form must be sent to the DWP ESF Admin team via unencrypted email once fully completed. You must send this, one Participant record per time.

127. When emailing the completed ESF1420 End Form to DWP, annotate the subject field with the following wording ‘ESF 1420 Export End Form’

128. Results information must be securely submitted to DWP. Information sent as part of this process is sensitive personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and handling, processing and transmission rules apply.

129. You must adhere to ESF requirements on document retention when undertaking this activity. Further information regarding ESF requirements can be found in Generic Provider Guidance Chapter 11b - European Social Fund Requirements (ESF) 2014 - 2020 (England Only).

Should you require a copy of any of the forms mentioned in this chapter, please email: WHP.ENQUIRIES@DWP.GOV.UK