Becca Stacey, Senior Research Officer, Money and Mental Health
Work coaches and the mental health knowledge gap
28 August 2024
- The new government is reforming the benefits system, in part with a view to supporting more people back into work. Work coaches are a vital part of that system.
- To fully engage with and understand the barriers people with mental health problems face to working or looking for work, work coaches should have a strong understanding of mental health.
- But, unfortunately, tens of thousands of DWP staff – including work coaches – who come into contact with members of the public have not yet received the training that would enable a stronger understanding of mental health.
- We want all customer contact staff at DWP to have this training. It should also be rolled out alongside systemic shifts in the DWP’s policies and culture to create better outcomes for people with mental health problems who are out of work.
The new government is pushing for jobcentre reforms to make them more effective in helping people return to work. However, our research highlights a critical gap in work coaches’ knowledge that must be addressed if jobcentres are to better support individuals with mental health problems.
For those of us receiving benefits, a work coach is often our most regular point of contact in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Work coaches decide what commitments we must agree to receive our benefits; they monitor our compliance with these and ultimately have the power to deliver repercussions if we aren’t meeting these expectations.
However, having a mental health problem can make it challenging to manage a claim and keep up with commitments. Our research has consistently identified a concerning gap in many work coaches’ understanding of this, leaving people with mental health problems at risk of having their benefits cut.
Experiences of engaging with Work Coaches
Common symptoms of mental health problems – like low motivation, memory difficulties, limited concentration and reduced planning and problem-solving abilities – can make applying for benefits and managing claims especially difficult. Members of our Research Community often feel unsupported by their work coach throughout these processes.
“I find Universal Credit is deliberately difficult to cause mental health issues. I need an independent support worker to manage it all, I cannot cope with how it makes me feel, the benefit system negatively affects my mental health and dealing with issues is extremely hard. It’s a constant battle to sort.” Expert by experience
Our estimates using Stat Xplore show that as of February 2024, 720,000 people receiving Universal Credit with a mental health problem were required to engage with a work coach to search, plan, prepare for work, or increase their hours. But again, we routinely hear how work coaches fail to accurately understand a person’s mental health needs and push people down generic routes to prepare for work.
People describe being sent to CV writing workshops when their mental health problems mean they find group work challenging. Others are required to take independent, online training courses despite struggling to use online systems, needing extra personalised support, and lacking the confidence to complete tasks independently.
“I am nowhere near capable of work. The courses seem promising, but I feel pressured to say I am improving when I am not. [I] fear being unable to pay [my] rent and bills, so [I] go along with what the coach wants me to do.” Expert by experience
Mental Health, Behaviour and Relationships training
DWP staff in customer contact roles – which includes work coaches – must receive Mental Health, Behaviour, and Relationships training. This training aims to equip staff with the ability to recognise the impact of a mental health problem and respond by adapting communications, meetings, and expectations accordingly. It also equips staff to direct people to sources of help and support where appropriate.
This Mental Health, Behaviour, and Relationships training was introduced in 2018 and all new staff are required to receive it. However, the DWP’s own figures show that – as of February 2024 – there were still 20,399 members of DWP staff who were yet to receive it.
What this makes clear is that many people with mental health problems are still at risk of engaging with a work coach who doesn’t necessarily understand the impact of having a mental health problem and who might not be equipped to tailor their support and requirements accordingly.
This mental health knowledge gap leaves people with mental health problems at risk of having their vital income cut – a threat that has become all the more pressing since the November 2023 budget announcement of a stricter sanctions regime. This fear is neither conducive to people with mental health problems getting better nor preparing for work.
Complete the roll-out of mental health training
As it stands, the DWP has said that all colleagues in customer contact roles will receive this training by March 2025. But the rollout of this training should be completed as a matter of urgency for the new government. Ensuring all DWP staff in customer contact roles receive high-quality training on how mental health problems impact individuals is vital if work coaches are to better support people with mental health problems, many of whom will be facing challenges in managing their claim and preparing for work.
These steps must be accompanied by shifts in DWP culture to ensure staff are empowered to put what they have learned from this training into practice. As it stands, too many people with mental health problems continue to have negative experiences when engaging with work coaches. This suggests that even when work coaches are in a position to understand and respond to individuals’ mental health needs, there is a wider systemic barrier that is stopping this understanding from being translated into action.