Specialist Jobcentre staff are being redeployed to give skills and employment support to people on Universal Credit.
09:16, 22 Sep 2025Updated 09:17, 22 Sep 2025
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced tens of thousands of people with mental health conditions, bad backs or high blood pressure are among those to be offered skills and employment support due to the redeployment of 1,000 specialist Jobcentre staff to help those on sickness benefits.
DWP said the redeployment will provide voluntary help to people on Universal Credit with no requirement to look for work or engage with job help because of their condition – the first ever national offer to support this group.
The work coaches – known as Pathways to Work advisers – are now based in every Jobcentre in Scotland, England and Wales, fulfilling the commitment made by the UK Government in March to ramp up efforts to get more people into work.
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The DWP aims to help 65,000 people with Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) by the end of this financial year – April 5, 2026.
They will work with claimants to overcome barriers to work and support them by signposting them to additional employment and skills services, such as IT and HGV driving, UK Government funded Connect to Work support, or on the job training in some key sectors including construction and hospitality.
Recent data shows around 2.2 million people are on the country’s main benefit, told they’re too sick to work, and have been left behind with no support and no help – with approximately 1.3m because of a mental illness and 900,000 with back pain, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
With more than 2.8 million people signed off long-term sick – one of the highest rates in the G7 – the redeployment is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again and deliver an 80 per cent employment rate by overhauling Jobcentres, tackling economic inactivity through local plans, and delivering a Youth Guarantee so every young person is either earning or learning.
The use of additional work coach support is proven to help people into work with recent research finding LCWRA claimants who accepted this were a third more likely to be in work a year later, and twice as likely to take up more support.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Two million people stuck on benefits with no opportunities, no help and no prospects is the shocking inheritance we must tackle.
“I’m determined to give people the skills they need to thrive in the modern economy, and help them move into good, secure jobs.
“These dedicated staff are key to unlocking work for tens of thousands of people as we get on with our plan to get Britain working, ensure our welfare system is fit for the future and deliver economic growth, as part of our Plan for Change.”
The offer is voluntary and will be made to LCWRA claimants through their Universal Credit journal with tailored appointments taking place monthly.
DWP said more than 10,000 people have taken up the offer so far, with thousands more expected over the coming weeks.
It’s important to be aware those with the most severe and lifelong health conditions, and those treated under Special Rules End of Life will not be contacted.
The advisers use this additional time to provide tailored support and activities to support the claimants’ progress. This includes helping individuals identify and overcome obstacles which may be stopping them from moving towards or into work.
Support could include being directed to Government employment support programmes like Connect to Work, which provides personalised job-search assistance, employer engagement and on and off the job support, or WorkWell, which combines medical help with career guidance.
They may also be signposted to work placed training schemes in sectors including construction, hospitality, and manufacturing, or offered skills training in programmes such as IT or HGV driving.
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