Work coaches are an incredible resource but they are currently being ineffectively deployed. Work coaches often do not have enough time with claimants to have an impact, with many appointments no more than 10 minutes long: not nearly enough to address the needs of many claimants who are further from employment. What time they do have is frequently poorly directed, with too little time spent building relationships and coaching people into work, and too much spent checking compliance with benef...

Work coaches are an incredible resource but they are currently being ineffectively deployed. Work coaches often do not have enough time with claimants to have an impact, with many appointments no more than 10 minutes long: not nearly enough to address the needs of many claimants who are further from employment. What time they do have is frequently poorly directed, with too little time spent building relationships and coaching people into work, and too much spent checking compliance with benefit conditions. (Conclusion, Paragraph 63) Type: conclusion | Number: 9 | Response status: accepted Government response: The department has completed an internal review of the Claimant Commitment and from this we have developed a draft policy framework that aims to move the focus from compliance checking to genuine personalised employment support. We are now testing a two-stage approach to the meetings setting Claiman