Ramped up job support for people on sickness benefits

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 thanks to the redeployment of 1,000 specialist Jobcentre staff to help those on sickness benefits.

Behind the effort is the redeployment of 1,000 existing Jobcentre staff who 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 England, Wales, and Scotland – fulfilling the commitment made by the Government in March to ramp up efforts to get more people into work, with a target to help 65,000 people with Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) by the end of this financial year.

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, 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 1.3 million 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% 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 via their Universal Credit journal with tailored appointments taking place monthly. More than 10,000 people have taken up the offer so far, with thousands more expected over the coming weeks. 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.

Sukvinder, a claimant working with Jobcentre staff in Barking, said:

I’ve been on benefits without help for so long but after the Jobcentre referred me, I now have an incredible adviser who’s finally giving me the support I need.

I’ve been trying so hard to move on and build a better life for myself, and it finally feels like I have a purpose again and have hope for the future.

Today’s announcement follows the launch and expansion of the tailored Supported Employment programme Connect to Work, with over £490 million agreed in total so far across 21 delivery areas. Connect to Work will be open across England and Wales by early 2026, with the programme set to support over 300,000 people over the next five years.

This is in addition to investment in WorkWell, a joint pilot by DWP and DHSC that is transforming how people with health conditions are supported in and back into work through better integration of work and health services. Backed by £64m funding, WorkWell is being delivered in 15 pilot sites until Spring 2026.

These measures are opening up opportunities for those who have been locked out of work, helping to boost skills, open up opportunities, and drive economic growth across the country as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.

Additional Information

• Statistics on the number of UC WCA decisions by outcome and medical condition can be found here: uc-wca-stats-june-2025.ods

• The figure of 10,000 claimants supported is taken from Management Information collected by Jobcentre Plus. It is a rounded number and covers the people who have started and had at least one appointment with a Pathway Work Coach since April 2025.

• The latest figures from June show that there are 2.2 million people on UC in the LCWRA group. The numbers of people cited with mental health and MSK issues cover the period January 2022 to May 2025.

• There are overlapping medical conditions for claimants, meaning they may be counted under more than one category.