Statutory guidance

Access to Work Mental Health Support Service Provider guidance

Updated 26 June 2026

Chapter 1 - introduction and overview 

Introduction

1.1 People with mental health conditions have low employment rates and can fall out of work without the right support. The Access to Work Mental Health Support Service (AtW MHSS) is an essential element of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) support to individuals with a mental health condition. Its aim is to help more people to stay in work.  

1.2 This AtW MHSS Provider Guidance supports you, the Provider, in the delivery of this provision on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. It provides guidance on processes for the AtW MHSS Programme and its requirements, supporting the Programme arrangements for delivery outlined in your AtW MHSS Contract.  

1.3 DWP has issued this AtW MHSS specific Provider Guidance and DWP Generic Provider Guidance to help provide you (and your sub-contractors, if applicable) with operational clarity and guidance. 

1.4 This guidance must be read in conjunction with: 

• your AtW MHSS contract 

• DWP generic Provider guidance, and Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme 

• DWP IT systems user guidance 

• DWP supplier code of conduct 

1.5 You must ensure that any organisations with which you have a sub-contractual relationship also have access to, and have read, this guidance. 

1.6 If you have any questions which are not covered by this guidance, please raise them with your Performance Manager in the first instance. 

Overview of the AtW MHSS

1.7 The AtW MHSS is one element of support offered by AtW and was established in December 2011 to improve the government’s offer for individuals who are at risk of falling out of work due to mental health conditions.   

1.8 The AtW MHSS provides flexible and personalised non-clinical support for, up to a maximum of 9 months, to individuals who need mental health assistance whilst in employment.  

1.9 The Programme typically runs for 182 calendar days (6 months) but where the Customer and you agree it can be extended for an optional 91 days (3 months) to a maximum of 273 calendar days (9 months), starting on and including the submission date of an approved Support Plan.  

1.10 The AtW MHSS is a confidential service which is delivered at no cost to the Customer or their employer and can be delivered with or without the support or knowledge of the Customer’s employer. It will include a Support Plan, identifying coping strategies, advice on adjustments the Customer or employer can make and where appropriate, helping the employer to understand the Customer’s condition and what they can do to support them to remain in work.  

1.11 The Support Plan will include initial key milestones for the Customer to work towards, an interim 6 month Report evidencing the Customer progress and an - Exit Report for those that complete the sustainment period. If a Customer disengages prior to 6 or 9 months a report isn’t required.

Please note: initial milestones can alter based on the Customers current needs.  

1.12 Supported conversations can be provided to the employer to help them understand the Customers condition and the adjustments that they (the employer) can implement to support them. You must gain Customer consent prior to contacting an employer if the Customer wishes for their employer to be contacted, this is contained within Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan. 

Please note: unlike other mental health services, the employer does not need to be involved if the Customer chooses not to involve them. 

1.13 To receive AtW MHSS support, the Customer must meet the AtW eligibility criteria in Chapter 2 of this guidance.  

1.14 The AtW Service Delivery (SD) team will check eligibility for all individuals applying for AtW MHSS.

Chapter 2 - eligibility conditions and Service requirements

Eligibility

2.1 To receive AtW MHSS support, the following eligibility conditions must be satisfied.   

• be 16 or over (there’s no upper age limit for support if employment is likely to continue) 

• be in full or part-time paid work, whether permanent, casual or temporary (or be about to start or return to paid work in the next 12 weeks)

• live and work in England, Scotland or Wales 

• have a disability, illness or health condition that means the Customer needs support to do their job (does not need to be diagnosed with a condition to apply)

• for those Customers who are undertaking voluntary work, AtW MHSS is not available 

• if a Customer has previously completed 6 months of support on AtW MHSS, they are unable to receive further support

2.2 Paid work can include: 

• employment 

• self-employment 

• an apprenticeship 

• an internship 

• a work trial or work experience  

• a work placement 

2.3 More information regarding eligibility can be found at: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: Eligibility

2.4 A Customer may be absent from work without a known return date. The Customer can continue to receive mental health support if they remain in paid employment. Support will discontinue if employment ceases as the Customer will no longer meet the eligibility criteria. 

Please note: not applicable to work trials or work experience or placement

2.5 Participants on the Work and Health Programme (WHP), Connect to Work, Restart Scheme and Fair Start Scotland are not eligible to use the AtW MHSS. It is the responsibility of the Providers of those provisions to source and fund all appropriate mental health support for Customers who require it.  

2.6 Civil Servants are not eligible for AtW MHSS. Public Sector Employees or Public Servants, such as NHS England Employees, police, local government employees and some employees of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) are not civil servants and therefore eligible. 

2.7 DWP will check the eligibility of all individuals applying for AtW MHSS.

AtW MHSS Service requirements

2.8 The Service requirements for AtW MHSS include:

• provision of specified AtW MHSS reports. The Support Plan (Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan), and a 6 month Report (Annex D: Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report) for every Customer in receipt of support within the timescales specified by DWP 

• provision of mental health focused work-related support by a suitably experienced professional to help the Customer to maintain sustainable employment over the following periods: 

  • the initial Support Period will be a period of 182 calendar days from the date of submission of an approved Support Plan, as specified by DWP

  • an optional Sustainment Period of up to 91 calendar days may then follow. This continues immediately after the Support Period. During this period, the Supplier and Customer will determine the extent of any ongoing engagement, if required, based on the Customers needs

• for those who require further support and agreement has been given by the Customer, you must indicate why the sustainment period was required on the Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report – Annex D 

• provision of an AtW MHSS Exit Report (Annex E: Access to Work MHSS Exit Report) and what specific support was provided during the additional 3 month period 

• all MHSS Reports are required to meet the quality standards (as set out in Annex F: Access to Work MHSS Specified Standard) 

• signposting Customers to other appropriate external support provisions

• provision of relevant management information, as specified by DWP

Chapter 3 - quality assurance and Contract requirements   

Quality assurance

3.1 You should ensure that you have robust arrangements in place for managing and monitoring service delivery to ensure that the Programme is of a sufficiently high quality for all its Customers. 

3.2 You are responsible for ensuring that Customers have access to appropriate, high-quality support that meets service standards and delivers an excellent Customer experience.  

3.3 It is imperative that the support discussed or provided within an Annex cannot be interpreted as giving clinical advice to the Customer. Clinical advice refers to any information, guidance or recommendations that involve diagnosis, treatment, symptom interpretation, or therapeutic intervention.

Providers must not: 

• diagnose or suggest a diagnosis for a Customer

• interpret, analyse, or explain the clinical meaning of symptoms or behaviours

• recommend, review, or advise on medication or medical treatment

• provide psychotherapy, or other therapeutic interventions 

• assess clinical risk or develop clinical safety plans

• comment on the severity, progression, or prognosis of any health condition

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list.

3.4 Support should address work-related mental health needs to help the Customer achieve and maintain sustainable employment, in line with the original objectives and principles of the Programme. 

3.5 The AtW MHSS Support Plan, 6 month Report and Exit Report (if required) enable AtW SD team to determine whether the Customer is receiving or has received the support required to help them sustain employment.  

3.6 It is essential that the AtW MHSS Support Plan and Reports meet the required high standards of completeness and accuracy. The AtW SD team will define whether they are to the specified standard. For more information, please see Annex F: Access to Work MHSS Specified Standard.  

3.7 AtW MHSS Support Plans, 6 Month Reports or Exit Reports may be deemed as not meeting the specified standard and therefore rejected and returned for rework if one or more of the following reasons applies:

• incorrect information is reported

• there is no confirmation of whether the Customer is or is not in employment or self-employment

• there are spelling and grammatical errors

• there is no full justification or insufficient detail for the support recommended or provided

• there is insufficient detail on the work-related support or progress of the Customer throughout the Support Period or Sustainment Period (as applicable)

• there is no explanation of how the support recommended or provided will help the Customer overcome their mental health needs in the workplace 

• it contains personal or confidential information reported to your staff that the Customer requested be confidential and did not want to be disclosed on the report

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list.

3.8 The AtW MHSS Coach should ensure that they advise the Customer that they will report anything that the Customer tells them unless otherwise stated.  

3.9 If the AtW MHSS Coach wants to make the AtW SD team aware of any issues, a separate document can be added to the AtW MHSS report for the AtW SD team.  

3.10 If the AtW SD team rejects the AtW MHSS Report, as it is not to the specified standard, you will be notified of the reason, by email within 5 Working Days of the receipt of the report.   

3.11 You will be required to rework and resubmit the report using secure email (Trusted Partners) within 1 Working Day of its return.    

Please note: trusted Partners are organisations that we know have appropriate security in place for us to regard them as trusted for the purposes of exchanging information. They can be identified by their email suffix. Certain OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE material may, subject to the Email Policy,  be sent to Trusted Partner organisations without encryption. A list of trusted partners can be found on the  Trusted Partners webpage.

3.12 If you are concerned about AtW MHSS Reports that have been returned for Rework, you should send an email to accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk.   

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which is specifically for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response. 

3.13 The AtW SD team will monitor the quality of AtW MHSS Reports, and the number returned to you for rework as unacceptable on a monthly basis, for example, mismatch of information or out of date information. Please refer to your individual contracts for further information on Management Information (MI) requirements. 

3.14 This management information will be discussed formally as part of your contract performance reviews, led by your Performance Manager. When appropriate, remedial measures, including, but not limited to a Performance Improvement Plan, will be agreed to address areas requiring improvement.

Contract requirements

3.15 Services should be delivered as per your AtW MHSS contract. Your particular attention is drawn to some of those requirements below.

• you should:  

  • provide a telephone Help Desk that will be the contact point for DWP and Customers

• the Help Desk must:  

  • provide an adequately staffed telephone service within the hours detailed in your MHSS Contract

  • answer all telephone calls within 10 rings

  • call the Customer or DWP back within 3 hours if enquiries cannot be concluded immediately

  • monitor your own response rates and be able to demonstrate that the specified levels of service are being met, making this evidence available on DWP’s request

  • provide an electronic means of contact (such as email address/es) for accessibility purposes and acknowledge receipt of enquiries

  • process requests made by DWP or Customers and be able to demonstrate that they are prioritised and processed in an efficient, quick and Customer-focused and cost-effective manner

  • attend additional ad hoc meetings when required by DWP. For more information, please refer to your AtW MHSS Contract

  • have a risk management process in place which is available for review and approval by DWP monthly upon request

3.16 DWP requirements for your Staff are detailed in your AtW MHSS Contract.

Additional needs

3.17 You should comply with (and provide at your own cost) any reasonable requests to accommodate Customers who have additional needs. Additional needs include, but are not limited to:  

• staff of the same gender as the Customer 

• an interpreter or a signer capable of BSL including AI Interpretations services

3.18 When an additional need is identified at the initial contact meeting and it is not practical to accommodate this immediately, you should ensure that an alternative appointment is arranged and held within 2 Working Days. You should ensure the Customers additional need is accommodated at future scheduled appointments and interventions.  

Use of artificial intelligence 

3.19 Any use of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of delivering the Programme must comply with DWP policies and procedures and be formally agreed by the Department. Please refer to the following: 

3.20 DWP security policies 

3.21 AI Security Policy 

If you have any questions regarding AI, please consult with your Performance Manager in the first instance.

Chapter 4 - Customer journey Referral, Start, Support Period and Leaver process  

Applications to AtW MHSS

4.1 AtW is delivered through the DWP Access to Work Service Delivery (AtW SD) team who can offer advice to Customers.  

4.2 Individuals can apply for AtW MHSS by making an application in any of the following ways:  

• online at Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is

• by telephoning the AtW Helpline on 0800 121 7479, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm  

• Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone) on 18001 then 0800 121 7479  

• British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet  

• directly applying to either of the Providers (Supplier Generated Candidate Referrals)  

4.3 Applications made to DWP for the AtW MHSS will be processed by the AtW SD team.

Supplier Generated Candidates 

4.4 For individuals applying directly to you as a result of your marketing and promotional activity (Supplier Generated Candidates), you should send the AtW MHSS Supplier Generated Candidate form, Annex A: Access to Work MHSS Supplier Generated Candidate Form, by secure email to the AtW SD team to determine eligibility.  

4.5 For Supplier Generated Candidates, the AtW SD team will check eligibility for all applications but will only contact the applicant if there are eligibility doubts (for example; self-employed applicants).    

4.6 The AtW SD team will notify you and the individual if the AtW MHSS eligibility criteria has not been met and the AtW MHSS referral cannot proceed.  

4.7 All queries regarding Supplier Generated Candidate forms, Referrals and Reports should be sent to accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk. 

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which is specifically for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response.

Authority Referrals

4.8 DWP intends to allocate Authority Referrals to Providers on a National Insurance number split. Please see your AtW MHSS Contract for more detail.    

4.9 DWP intends that Customers who are employees of one of the AtW MHSS Providers will be referred to the alternative Provider to maintain confidentiality.  

4.10 You should not process your own employees’ or supply chain partners referrals to AtW MHSS.   

4.11 If one of your employees is mistakenly referred to you, you should let the AtW SD team know immediately by email accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk so that a re-referral to the other Provider can be made. You must not provide the services under AtW MHSS to any of your own employees, from any referral route.  

4.12 The decision of Customer eligibility for AtW MHSS always remains with the AtW SD team.  

4.13 For applicants who are eligible for AtW MHSS, the AtW SD team will email the AtW MHSS Referral Form to the relevant Provider, and a referral will be made via the Provider Referrals and Payment system (PRaP).  

4.14 You may only commence engagement activities once you receive the PRaP Referral.  If you have not received the associated PRaP referral by the following Working Day, you must email the AtW SD team accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk immediately.

4.15 Secure and encrypted email must be used for sending and receiving AtW MHSS Referrals to accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk 

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which is specifically for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response.

Inappropriate referrals and errors recorded in PRaP

4.16 Situations may arise where the AtW SD team make an inappropriate PRaP referral in error. When the error is discovered by the AtW SD team they will contact you and advise how the error occurred. If you discover the error, you must contact the AtW SD team immediately by email accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk to inform them.    

4.17 Where the error is discovered prior to acknowledging the PRaP referral, you should reject the referral in PRaP with the rejection reason ‘Other’.  

4.18 Where the error is discovered after acknowledging the PRaP referral, prior to a start in PRaP, you should cancel the referral in PRaP recording the reason as ‘Did Not Start’.  

4.19 When an error is discovered after the AtW MHSS Support Plan Start has been recorded, you should complete a PRaP14 form and send it to the AtW Live Running Policy inbox atwproviderguidance.policy@dwp.gov.uk.   

4.20 The AtW Policy team will then consider your request, we may need to gather further information from you to enable us to process your request and you will be notified of the outcome.   

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which is specifically for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response.

Required actions following referral to AtW MHSS

4.21 Once you have received the PRaP referral you should aim to contact the Customer within 2 days.  

4.22 This is important to ensure that a meeting can be scheduled promptly to develop and agree the Support Plan. When arranging the meeting, you should consider the availability of all parties involved. 

4.23 You should take the following actions: 

• contact the Customer within 2 Working Days of receiving the PRaP referral, (the day you receive the PRaP referral is the 1st Working Day) 

• you should arrange and agree an initial date and time to meet with the Customer, to develop and agree a Support Plan (Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan)

• make several attempts at various times within 2 Working Days of the PRaP Referral to contact the Customer to agree an initial meeting

• use a variety of methods to contact Customers, using the Customers preferred method wherever possible (for example, mobile phone, landline, email, video link). You must record all information regarding attempted Customer contact

• ensure that the attempts to contact the Customer are made at different times of the day to avoid conflicting with regular scheduled commitments the Customer may have (for example, school run)

• offer the Customer several appointment slots within 2 Working Days

• keep a record of all appointments offered to the Customer  

4.24 If you are unable to contact the Customer within 2 Working Days upon receipt of the PRaP referral, (the day you receive the PRaP referral is the 1st Working Day) you should confirm the Customer contact details with the AtW SD team.  

4.25 You must inform them of the dates and methods you have used when attempting to contact the Customer. The AtW SD team will offer advice on further action to be taken.     

Cancellation of an AtW Mental Health Support Service Referral prior to the Support Period

Cancellation by the Provider  

4.26 If you need to cancel a scheduled appointment to meet with the Customer to develop and agree the Support Plan, you should contact the AtW SD team for advice, giving the reasons for cancelling the appointment.  

4.27 It is not acceptable to return Referrals due to your staff availability.  

Cancellation by the Customer   

4.28 If a Customer cancels a scheduled appointment to develop and agree the Support Plan, it is important that you act quickly, as delays could impact on the achievement of KPI3 specified in your contract. This also applies if the Customer no longer requires AtW MHSS.   

4.29 In the event of a cancellation by the Customer, you should try to reschedule a new appointment. However, you should notify the AtW SD team if it is not possible to reschedule.  

4.30 You need to notify the AtW SD team if any of the following apply:  

• the Customer does not want to join AtW MHSS

• the Customer is not sure when they will be available

• you are unable to contact the Customer within 2 Working Days of receipt of the PRaP referral (the day you receive the PRaP referral is the 1st Working Day), and the Customer has not contacted you

• the AtW SD team must be informed of all the dates and times you have attempted to contact the Customer and the method of contact used

• where you are unable to contact a Supplier Generated Candidate within 2 Working Days of receiving the PRaP Referral, (the day you receive the PRaP referral is the 1st Working Day), you must contact the AtW SD team on the 2nd Working Day (if the AtW SD team confirms that no further contact attempts are required, “No Contact” can be input to PRaP)  

4.31 You will need to notify the AtW SD team if the Customer does not wish to join the AtW MHSS provision or create a Support Plan. You must close the PRaP Referral, accordingly, please see ’Chapter 6 – The Provider Referrals and Payments System’ for further information.    

Please note: PRaP Referrals should not be cancelled prior to contacting the AtW SD team.

Identity checks

4.32 You must ensure that in all communication with Customers you are satisfied that you are engaging with the correct person. 

4.33 To confirm identity, you must ask the Customer to state a combination of their personal information, such as:  

• full name  

• address

• National Insurance number

• other information that was included in the AtW SD team Referral

• details held in your records  

4.34 AtW MHSS is not prescriptive about how you collect signatures from Customers and an electronic signature is valid as a wet signature. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities.

Initial meeting 

4.35 You should arrange and undertake the initial meeting, either face to face or virtually, based on the Customers preference, to ascertain and agree delivery of the Customers work-related mental health support needs (this preference should be noted on the AtW MHSS Support Plan – Annex C). 

4.36 At the start of the discussion the Customer should be informed that the MHSS meeting is confidential, unless there is a risk of harm to themselves or others, in which case the Mental Health Coach (MHC) may need to escalate to a third party.  

4.37 During the meeting you must develop and agree an AtW MHSS work-related Support Plan with the Customer – Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan. All questions within this report apply to the work-related support that will be provided to the Customer during the 6 month support period.  

4.38 The report should focus on specific work-related non-clinical support or interventions that will be provided to the Customer during the Support Period. 

4.39 A completed AtW MHSS Support Plan (Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan) must be signed and agreed by the Customer either electronically or with a wet signature within 31 calendar days of receiving the PRaP referral.  

4.40 Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities. For further information refer to Chapter 3 and Annex F: Access to Work MHSS Specified Standard of the AtW MHSS Provider Guidance for comprehensive requirements and quality standards for completion of reports. 

4.41 The AtW MHSS Support Plan should be sent to the AtW SD team by email to atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk within 31 calendar days of receiving the PRaP Referral, ensuring this meets the required quality and standard (outlined at Annex F: Access to Work MHSS Specified Standard and Chapter 3) and it has been signed by you and the Customer.  

4.42 The AtW SD team will send you an email with “Approved” and the date of approval in the subject line. After you receive this email, you should input the start date on PRaP.   

Please note: the start date is defined as the date you submitted the AtW MHSS plan even if the date on which approval is given is later than the date of submission.

Work-related support provided throughout the Programme 

Support Period 

4.43 During the Programme you should deliver the agreed, and any subsequently identified, work-related mental health support to the Customer to the agreed timescales, providing non-clinical solution-focused interventions to help keep the Customer in work.  

4.44 Customers can receive the initial work-related Support Period of 182 calendar days from the date of submission of the Support Plan to the AtW SD team.  

4.45 Customers can work independently to manage their mental health condition in the workplace in between meetings/interventions with you.  

4.46 At the end of the Support Period, you and the Customer should agree and complete the AtW MHSS Annex D: Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report. This report must include comprehensive detail on the interventions and support offered to the Customer, along with an account of the Customers progress throughout the support period, in accordance with the specified standards. This report should be completed as close to the end of the support period as possible. 

4.47 A completed AtW MHSS 6 month Report, as outlined in Annex D: Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report, must be produced within 10 Working Days following the conclusion of the Support Period.  

4.48 The report must be signed by the Customer, either electronically or with a wet signature, to confirm agreement. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities. The AtW MHSS 6 month Report should be sent to the AtW SD team atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk.  

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which is specifically for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response.

Sustainment Period

4.49 Following the end of the Support Period, a further period of support (Sustainment Period) is available, only if this is required by the Customer and agreed by you. 

4.50 At the end of the Sustainment Period, (273 calendar days from the date that you submitted the Support Plan) the AtW MHSS Exit Report (Annex E: Access to Work MHSS Exit Report) should be completed to the specified standard and signed by the Customer, either electronically or with a wet signature. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities. 

4.51 This Sustainment report should be completed as close to the end of the sustainment period as possible. 

4.52 The report should include details of why the Sustainment Period was required, and what specific work-related support was provided during the additional 3 months. 

4.53 You should send this report to the AtW SD team within 10 Working Days of the end of the Sustainment Period.   

4.54 If the AtW SD team rejects the AtW MHSS Report, as it is not to the specified standard, you will be notified of the reason by email within 5 Working Days of the receipt of the report.   

4.55 You will be required to rework and resubmit the report using secure email (Trusted Partners) within one Working Day of its return. 

4.56 The end date should be recorded in PRaP within one month of approval being given by AtW SD Team. More information regarding PRaP can be found in Chapter 6 in this Provider Guidance.

Recording interventions and progress  

4.57 You are required to document all specified details of the interventions and support delivered to the Customer throughout the Support or Sustainment Period, as applicable. This information must be accurately recorded in the relevant AtW MHSS Report, linking back to previous reports to show clearly the progress made. You should also ensure compliance is maintained. 

4.58 You must maintain an awareness of external support which may be suitable for the Customer and signpost these where appropriate, either in addition to or instead of MHSS. You are expected to have a thorough understanding of the purpose of AtW MHSS and all relevant factors that may impact the Customers workplace-based mental health condition.  

4.59 You must also demonstrate a sound understanding of the range of workplace-based mental health conditions that AtW MHSS Customers may experience and identify appropriate support options to address these needs. Wherever possible, the same AtW MHSS Coach should remain assigned to the Customer throughout the entire Support Period to ensure continuity of care. 

4.60 Finally, you must notify the AtW SD team immediately if the Customer leaves their job, becomes long-term sick, or no longer wishes to receive support within the Support or Sustainment Period.

Submission of AtW MHSS reports to DWP 

4.61 An electronic copy of the completed AtW MHSS Report must be submitted to the DWP via secure email to atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk.  

Please note: upon submission of any MHSS report to DWP you will receive an automated response which specifically is for external Customers and stakeholders only. Please ignore and delete the auto response.

Re-referrals to AtW MHSS

4.62 Customers can only complete the AtW MHSS Programme once and receive a maximum of 273 calendar days. 

4.63 Once an AtW MHSS 6 month Report has been sent, the Customer will be deemed to have completed the full Programme regardless of whether the Customer has completed the sustainment period or not. Once the AtW MHSS 6 month Report has been completed the Customer will then no longer be eligible for any re-referral to MHSS.  

4.64 If the Customer requires further support after completing the AtW MHSS Programme, they should be signposted to other alternative, more appropriate support which may be available.  

4.65 You should have a strategy in place to prevent Customers who have previously completed the AtW MHSS Programme (with any current or previous Provider) from being sent to DWP as Supplier Generated Candidates.  

4.66 DWP will reject any Supplier Generated Candidates that have previously completed the AtW MHSS Programme (with any current or previous Provider). These will be deemed as ineligible. 

Change of circumstances  

4.67 During their time on the AtW MHSS provision, the Customers circumstances may change. Their agreement to participate in the Programme may also change. You must inform the AtW SD Team by email atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk if you are made aware of any changes to the Customers circumstances, for example, change of employer, change of address.

4.68 You should make any adjustments to the Support Plan if applicable, and forward to atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk . You must ensure that all changes documented are saved for audit purposes. 

Please note: if the Customer is no longer in employment or subsequently moves into a role within the Civil Service after starting the Programme, they are no longer eligible for support. In such cases support should cease. You should make any adjustment to the Support Plan and forward to atw.mhsupportservice@dwp.gov.uk.

Disengaged Customers

4.69 DWP expects you to have a strategy in place to minimise the instances where Customers disengage from the AtW MHSS Programme.  

Disengaged  

Typically indicates that the Customer: 

• requests a short temporary break due to unforeseen circumstances such as a holiday or medical reason, however support should be put in place around any known or planned absences

• misses a scheduled appointment and there’s no contact from the Customer to arrange a new appointment 

• has not been in contact for 6 consecutive weeks and despite several attempts to engage you are unable to obtain any form of response from the Customer. In these instances, they immediately fall into the withdrawn category as outlined below  

4.70 You must track and monitor every occasion that a Customer disengages and re engages from the AtW MHSS Programme on your own IT systems, to help identify whether a Customer has withdrawn from the Programme entirely.  

4.71 If the Customer has been uncontactable and you cannot confirm the Customer will not return, you can choose to keep reengagement options open up to 6 consecutive weeks, for example, this may be by sending periodical reminders to the Customer, so they know support is still available. 

4.72 During any disengagement period you should notify the Customer at the earliest opportunity via email, text or voicemail that they have 6 weeks in total to re-engage and if they do not re engage during this period they may be withdrawn from support.  

4.73 If through tracking, it’s identified that a Customer has hit the triggers for withdrawal (as outlined below) you must withdraw the Customer from the Programme. 

Withdrawn:  

Typically indicates that the Customer: 

• has continuously disengaged for 6 weeks i.e. no contact has been made from the Customer despite attempts made by you to initiate a response  

• is no longer in employment or self-employment 

• explicitly states they no longer want or is able to engage with the Programme  

• they remain disengaged on the last day of the Support Period (or Sustainment Period) regardless of how long there’s been no contact with them 

This list is not exhaustive  

Please note: if the Customer contacts you on or before the 6-week trigger point the disengagement clock should be reset. 

Customer is withdrawn 

4.74 You must notify the AtW SD team immediately by email when a Customer withdraws from AtW MHSS.  

4.75 An end date in PRaP should only be recorded for a withdrawn Customer when directed to by the AtW SD team and you are certain that the Customer will not re engage. 

4.76 If a Customer has been deemed withdrawn from the Programme, as outlined above, you are not required to submit the relevant AtW MHSS Annex D: Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report or Annex E: Access to Work MHSS Exit Report reports at day 182 or day 273, nor are you eligible to claim the associated outcome payment. 

Customer requests no contact 

4.77 Where a Customer has informed you not to attempt to contact them again (because they have decided that they will not re-engage with AtW MHSS) you should advise the AtW SD team by email within 10 Working Days. You must record the date of the final contact, and a brief explanation of why the Customer requested no further contact.   

4.78 An end date in PRaP should only be recorded when directed to by the AtW SD team.   

Disengaged Customer wants to re-engage  

4.79 Where a Customer wishes to re-engage during the Support Period (or Sustainment Period, as appropriate), within 6 weeks, the Customer will only receive the balance of time remaining. You should agree with the Customer to provide additional support meetings/interventions before the end of the Support Period (or Sustainment Period as appropriate) if required.  

Withdrawn Customer wishes to rejoin prior to completing the Support Period (or Sustainment period, if appropriate) 

4.80 Where a Customer who has previously withdrawn from AtW MHSS before completing their original Support Period (or Sustainment Period) and wishes to re-join the Programme, you should notify the AtW SD team by secure email. The AtW SD team will confirm if the Customer can re-join the Programme and, if approved, a new PRaP Referral and AtW Unique Reference Number will be provided.

Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements

4.81 Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are statutory arrangements for managing sexual, violent, and certain other offenders in the community in Scotland, England and Wales. 

4.82 MAPPA is not a statutory body but a mechanism through which agencies can better discharge their statutory responsibilities and protect the public in a co-ordinated manner.  

4.83 The DWP Designated Officer will contact your AtW nominated officer to discuss any restrictions that should be in place for each MAPPA referral. 

4.84 There are exceptional circumstances when you may receive the MAPPA J Form, but this will only be for those occasions where the Jobcentre Plus MAPPA  SPOC has sought the permission of the Responsible Authority/Lead Agency to share the MAPPA J form with you. Where there is a need to share this information with you, the Jobcentre Plus MAPPA  SPOC will inform you how and when this will be shared. 

4.85 The MAPPA J form and any other clerical documents for each claim must be held securely, with restricted access. Under no circumstances should a MAPPA J form be held on an IT system.  

4.86 The DWP Designated Officer will also confirm the Customers contact details.   

4.87 You can set up normal electronic records on your IT systems for MAPPA Customers. However, the record must only contain minimal information and should be marked training and employment restrictions apply and that further information can be obtained from your nominated officer. Therefore, access to this record does not need to be restricted.  

4.88 Further information on document retention can be found in the Generic Guidance, Chapter 2.

Referral – Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements cases 

4.89 MAPPA cases who will be referred through PRaP. 

Actions 

• the DWP Designated Officer will contact your nominated officer to confirm contact details and any restrictions that may be imposed on the Customer 

• you must take the same action on PRaP as for non-MAPPA cases to acknowledge and start the Customer

MAPPA referrals made to provision but with no notification from Jobcentre Plus 

4.90 In exceptional circumstances, you may receive a referral for a Customer who has MAPPA restrictions applied but there has been no contact from the DWP Designated Officer to advise of those restrictions. 

4.91 If you have acknowledged the referral in PRaP and the Customer discloses that they have a restriction, or you identify through discussions that MAPPA restrictions may apply, you will need to liaise with your nominated officer.  

4.92 You should stop the meeting and enter DNS into PRaP. You should advise the Customer this information will be referred back to DWP for additional checks, and if DWPs checks are approved, a new meeting will be arranged.   

4.93 You should contact your nominated officer immediately and ask them to contact the DWP Designated Officer to discuss any restrictions. 

4.94 If the DWP Designated Officer is unaware of the restrictions, they should contact the Responsible Authority (RA) for information on the restrictions. 

4.95 Once the discussion with the RA has taken place and information on the restrictions has been received by Jobcentre Plus, they will re-refer the Participant to the Programme, if appropriate. 

MAPPA Customer has started on the Programme 

4.96 If the Customer has started on the Programme, and the Customer discloses that they have a restriction, or you identify through discussions that MAPPA restrictions may apply, you will need to liaise with your nominated officer. You should stop the meeting and enter code 37 (not eligible) into PRaP and update Annex D monthly management information return (MMIR) spreadsheet.  

4.97 You should advise the Customer this has been referred back to DWP for additional checks and, if DWPs checks are approved, a new meeting will be arranged.

4.98 You should contact your nominated officer immediately and ask them to contact the DWP Designated Officer to discuss any restrictions. If the DWP Designated Officer is unaware of the restrictions, they will contact the RA for information on the restrictions. 

4.99 Once the discussion with the RA has taken place and information on the restrictions has been received by Jobcentre Plus, they will re-refer the Participant to the Programme, if appropriate.  

Keep Customer Interactions Safe safety measure marker  

4.100 If the Case Manager is made aware there is a Keep Customer Interactions Safe (KCIS) marker noted on DWP systems, you will be notified of this to enable you to put precautions in place for your staff. This notification may come either directly from the Access to Work Business Support Team or may be digitally shared at the point of referral. 

4.101 Further information regarding managing Incident Markers is available in Chapter 2 of DWP Generic Provider Guidance.

Chapter 5 - financial procedures and claiming payment 

AtW MHSS Payments  

5.1 Payment for the provision will be via the PRaP system (please see Chapter 6 for PRaP processes). 

5.2 You must ensure that payment requests for approved AtW MHSS Reports and the MHSS Support Plan are input to the PRaP system within 1 month of approval being given by DWP.   

5.3 The AtW MHSS payment model is based on a payment by results model with an Outcome Payment as specified in your AtW MHSS Contract. 

5.4 The total fee that may be payable in relation to a particular Customer (assuming the Customer is on the Programme during the Support Period and Sustainment Period and all payment criteria are met) will be paid in up to 3 amounts:

• The initial payment will consist of 30% of the Total Possible Fee. This will be paid on receipt of the specified MHSS Support Plan – Annex C which must be signed by the Customer, (electronic or wet signature) and be approved as being to the required quality standard by the AtW SD team. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities. 

• The second payment will consist of 50% of the Total Possible Fee. This will be paid on receipt of the specified MHSS 6 month Report – Annex D which must be signed by the Customer, (electronic or wet signature) and be approved as being to the required quality standard by the AtW SD team, provided that the Customer remains on the Programme and is in employment on the last day of the Support Period. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities. 

• The final payment will consist of 20% of the Total Possible Fee. This will be paid on receipt of the specified MHSS Exit Report – Annex E which must be signed by the Customer, (electronic or wet signature) and be approved as being to the required quality standard by the AtW SD team, provided that the Customer remains on the Programme and is in employment on the last day of the Sustainment Period. Where digital processes are used for signatures, you must ensure that these processes are suitably robust and will allow the storing of Customer signatures as evidence of any key activities.

5.5 You are only entitled to claim either or both second and third payments if the Customer is employed at the given date, however such payments are not interdependent, and you may continue to be entitled to the third payment (if the relevant criteria are met) even if the criteria for the second payment were not met (and vice versa).  

5.6 You must undertake any required Rework, at your own cost for any MHSS Reports that do not meet DWP required quality standards. 

Please note: DWP requires justification (including customer signatures and dates) for all Outcome Payment claims. PCO checks and Service Delivery standards checks may require this information for audit purposes.

Payment validation 

5.7 For all Outcome Payment claims, you are required to maintain a robust system of internal control, that needs to be sufficient, not only to support claims but also to allow you to include appropriate checks, monitoring arrangements and adequate records to demonstrate that you are entitled to make the claims. The records maintained should be sufficient to not only support the claim for the Outcome Payments, but also to allow internal management checks, scrutiny from external bodies and DWP validation checks. 

5.8 DWP does not prescribe the way in which you should track Customers or record information about their employment activity. There is however specific information that you are required to input in the Job Details screen within the PRaP system when you submit the claims, including Employment Type, Job Title, Job Start Date and Employer Contact Details (please see Chapter 6). 

5.9 This information must be provided for each Customer and failure to provide all, or part of this information may result in the payment being recovered, if DWP invalidate the Outcome as a result. For more information on Ineligible Outcomes and recovery of sums due, please see your AtW MHSS Contract. 

5.10 You must ensure that you only submit claims for Outcome Payments to which you are entitled and have received the necessary approval from the AtW SD team. DWP may conduct pre-payment checks and a sample of post payment validation checks on claims, to the extent it deems necessary (as per your AtW MHSS Contract). DWP will record and monitor Ineligible Outcomes and may recover any amount due as a result. For more information, see your AtW MHSS Contract.

Chapter 6 - the Provider Referrals and payments system

General information 

6.1 The PRaP system enables secure, automated exchanges of information about Customers referred to DWP provision and payments from DWP for these Customers.  

6.2 You will access PRaP via DWP Authenticate and download information to manage on your IT system, where you will be able to manage and update information about Customer progress into PRaP.  

6.3 Outcome Payment claims and calculations are generated automatically.  

6.4 The PRaP system also provides transparent data about the cost and performance of DWP provision and payments, supporting contract and performance management.  

6.5 Further information about PRaP including frequently asked questions and answers can be found at PRaP system for DWP.  

The PRaP Operational, Digital and Database Support team  

6.6 The PRaP Operational, Digital and Database Support (PODDS) team will carry out administration and approval functions to support your Referrals on PRaP. Further information and full details of the PODDS team’s role can be found in the PRaP User Productivity Kit (UPK) guidance, which is available within the PRaP online help function.  

6.7 If you have further queries about the system, you can request live help from the PODDS team by emailing prap.support@dwp.gov.uk. 

Security 

6.8 To access and use the system, you must meet their responsibilities under the Data Protection legislation and their AtW MHSS Contract to keep all data securely and confidentially. You should be aware that system security monitoring is carried out. 

6.9 You must ensure you meet relevant security requirements as per your AtW MHSS Contract. Details on Provider security information can be found in the security policies and standards.  

Using the PRaP system  

6.10 There are points within the Programme for each Customer where you must update the PRaP system. 

6.11 The Oracle UPK is available to access via the ‘Help’ function within PRaP. UPK should be used in conjunction with this guidance to ensure accurate and timely input.   

6.12 You will use the PRaP system to receive your Referrals and to record Customer activity. 

6.13 Direct Provider access to PRaP is limited to Suppliers only and is not available to Sub-contractors. 

6.14 You must ensure that you update the PRaP system promptly and accurately, in line with your AtW MHSS Contract. 

6.15 The Job Details screen must be completed prior to recording certain activities, including input against all outcome lines. Instructions on how to complete the Job Details screen can be found within the Oracle UPK under topic ‘Provider Manage Outcomes’, with the relevant recordings being ‘Enter Job Details’, ‘Update Job Details’, ’View Job Details’ and ‘Delete Job Details’.  

6.16 The following lines are available to be claimed:  

• ATWMHSS001 – AtW MHSS Support Plan start

• ATWMHSS002 – AtW 6 month Report outcome 

• ATWMHSS003 – AtW - Exit Report outcome

• ATWMHSS004 – AtW MHSS end  

Provider acknowledges a Referral  

6.17 Upon receipt of the Referral, you should acknowledge (or reject) the Referral on PRaP within one Working Day of receipt. Chapter 6 of this guidance should be used in conjunction with The PRaP User Guidance for AtW MHSS. Further information regarding the use of the PRaP system can be found within the online UPK guidance.  

6.18 If you have not received the associated PRaP Referral the following Working Day from receiving the MHSS Referral Form, you must email the AtW SD team immediately and copy to accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk .

6.19 Failure to ensure the PRaP Referral has been received could adversely affect payments and Provider performance. 

6.20 You must ensure that claims for Outcome Payments are input to the PRaP system within 1 month of approval being given by DWP. You must have adequate contingency plans in place in case you experience temporary issues accessing PRaP, to enable the continued processing of Referrals. 

MHSS Support Plan Start 

6.21 The AtW SD team will review the Support Plan, notify you of any rework required and, upon completion, will notify you that they have approved the Support Plan. The Support Plan Start Line for payment can be claimed. 

6.22 You are required to input details into PRaP to confirm the MHSS Support Plan Start. These are:  

• a Unique Reference Number (URN) - this is something to easily identify this Advance Shipping Notice (ASN) to you
  • it could be a reference which relates directly to your own system, or something to help you identify this Customer
  • this must not contain a National Insurance number

• date 1: the date the Support Plan was submitted and approved by the AtW SD team 

• date 2: the same date as date 1

6.23 The AtW MHSS Support Plan has 3 options if a referral is cancelled. These are:  

• did not attend (DNA) when the Customer did not attend the Support Plan meeting  

• did not start (DNS) when the Customer does not want to join AtW MHSS

• no contact (NC) when you are unable to contact the Customer to arrange the Support Plan meeting

Please note: all these options must be approved in advance by the AtW SD team.  

MHSS 6 month Report outcome 

6.25 Once all the criteria for claiming a 6 month Report outcome have been met (including when the AtW SD team has notified you that they have approved the 6 month Report), the 6 month Report outcome payment can be claimed in PRaP. 

6.26 You are required to input details into PRaP to confirm the AtW MHSS 6 month Report outcome. These are:  

• a unique reference - this is something to easily identify this ASN to you
  • it could be a reference which relates directly to your own system, or something to help you identify this Customer
  • this must not contain a National Insurance number and must be different to the reference used on previous lines

• date 1: the date the Support Plan was submitted and subsequently approved by to the AtW SD team

• date 2: the date you submitted the 6 month Report (calendar day 182) to the AtW SD team, as notified by the AtW SD teams in the 6 month Report approval email

MHSS Exit Report outcome 

6.27 Once all the criteria for claiming an Exit Report Outcome have been met (including when the AtW SD team has notified you that they have approved the Exit Report), the Exit Report Outcome can be claimed in PRaP. 

6.28 You are required to input details into PRaP to confirm the AtW MHSS Exit Report Outcome. These are:  

• a unique reference - this is something to easily identify this ASN to you
  • it could be a reference which relates directly to your own system, or something to help you identify this Customer
  • this must not contain a National Insurance number and must be different to the reference used on previous lines

• date 1: the date the Support Plan was submitted and approved by the AtW SD team

• date 2: the date you submitted the Exit Report (Calendar Day 273) to the AtW SD team as notified by the AtW SD team in the Exit Report approval email 

Referral end date 

6.29 You should always record an end date in PRaP in the following circumstances: 

• If a start has already been recorded and the Customer does not want to continue AtW MHSS

• the Customer has withdrawn from the Programme and does not re-engage (see Chapter 4 of this Provider Guidance)

• the Customer has finished the Support Period and does not want to continue receiving AtW MHSS in the Sustainment Period 

• the Customer has finished the Sustainment Period  

6.30 For each Referral, PRaP will automatically record an end date 364 days after the AtW MHSS Support Plan start date, after which, it will not be possible to claim any Outcome Payments. All Outcome Payments must be claimed within 364 days of the AtW MHSS Support Plan Start. 

6.31 The following End Date information needs to be entered: 

• a unique reference: this is something to easily identify this ASN to you
  • it could be a reference which relates directly to your own system, or something to help you identify this Customer
  • this must not contain a National Insurance number

• date 1: the date the Support Plan was submitted and approved by the AtW SD team (as notified by the AtW SD team in the Support Plan approval email)

• date 2: the date the end has been entered into the system

• end reason: the reason the provision has ended

Standard end reason codes and descriptions

PRaP Leaver Code number	Reason	AtW MHSS end reason descriptor
36	No longer engaging with JCP	Cancelled by the Customer.
37	No longer eligible	Cancelled by the Provider.
39	Completed Provision	Customer has Completed the Programme.

Chapter 7 - Performance Management, compliance and management information

Introduction 

7.1 DWP operate a robust Performance Management regime to ensure contracts deliver value for money for the taxpayer and to ensure you are accountable for delivering what is outlined in your contract. 

7.2 DWP Employment Account Division (EAD), which has responsibility for performance management, has developed a Performance Management and Intervention Regime (PMIR) to support the delivery of provision and to underpin your contract. 

7.3 You will be responsible for managing your performance, including the performance of your sub-contractors, and will need to ensure that all systems and processes (including tracking) used for the monitoring and recording of performance are robust, provide a clear audit trail of evidence, and give confidence to DWP that you and your supply chain (if applicable) are delivering the Services as outlined within this guidance. 

Performance management intervention regime

7.4 DWP intends to utilise (without being bound by) its PMIR. This will centre on Contract Performance Review (CPR) meetings which will be the key vehicle through which DWP drives delivery of performance and service delivery through the AtW MHSS. 

7.5 CPRs will be conducted by DWP with you and will focus on reviewing your delivery of services against the contractual performance levels. Your performance will be managed on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the AtW MHSS Contract, including, but not limited to, an in-month, rolling 3 month, rolling 12 month and cumulative basis from the Service Start Date. 

7.6 Every month you must submit an Action Plan to DWP. The purpose of the Action Plan is to assure DWP that you have identified the top areas for improvement and recorded or documented specific actions to improve them. The Action Plan will be reviewed at each CPR. 

7.7 DWP will use MI from PRaP for the ongoing management of the Programme. DWP will also expect you to capture and use your own MI and retain evidence for contractual and performance purposes. 

7.8 DWP’s performance teams may visit your premises or undertake assurance remotely on an ad hoc (announced or unannounced) basis to investigate performance, for example, under-performance or high performance. 

7.9 At a national level, DWP will host regular Operations, Partnership and Stakeholder Forums to give a strategic focus to Programme performance and delivery. 

7.10 As DWP is committed to transparency on how its Programmes are working, you need to be aware that MI may be shared across AtW MHSS Providers and may also be fed into published official DWP statistics. You must treat information you have access to as restricted, and for your use only, ahead of formal publication. Official statistics may also cover DWP’s assessment of your delivery of the Services against the contractual KPIs at AtW MHSS Provider level. 

7.11 Where applicable, DWP may exercise its right to move through the 4 stages of intervention, as deemed appropriate by DWP according to your level of performance and responsiveness to meeting requirements. This is in addition to any other rights or remedies available to DWP under the AtW MHSS Contract. 

7.12 Checks will be conducted on the service delivery requirements as described in the Customer Journey, the KPIs and the PMIR outlined in your AtW MHSS Contract. These measures, and your ability to meet them, will be regularly assessed by DWP Performance Managers (PMs) as part of business as usual. 

7.13 You must have the necessary remote IT equipment, which must comply with the relevant DWP policies as defined in your AtW MHSS Contract, to enable DWP to carry out centralised checks of your systems including the provision of any necessary electronic evidence that is required to undertake effective checks. 

Performance management and intervention regime levels 

7.14 The 4 Levels of the Performance Management and Intervention Regime are: 

Level 1: standard action – DWP Performance Manager led. Performance will be managed on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the contract as detailed above.  

Level 2: enhanced action – DWP Performance Manager or DWP Senior Performance Manager lead. An Action Plan will be used to capture all agreed actions for performance improvement including incremental performance and pipeline data that may lead to outcomes, review dates and the Management Information to inform the KPIs. 

Level 3: informal action – DWP Provision Lead or above led. You will be invited to a meeting to discuss performance and will receive a management letter to request that performance improves. At this stage you will be informed that formal action could be taken in the event that performance does not improve. 

Level 4: formal action - DWP Provision Lead and DWP Commercial Lead led. DWP will take formal default action by issuing a notice to address failure to respond to previous intervention activities undertaken. In the event that performance does not improve to the levels stipulated in the KPIs, DWP may take action to terminate the contract.   

Key Performance Indicators and performance requirements 

7.15 You are under an obligation to meet or exceed the following performance targets. PMIR escalation process may be followed if you fail to meet any or all the agreed defined target performance levels described below.  

7.16 The agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are detailed below. The KPI Targets are minimum performance levels and DWP expects them to be maintained for the duration of the Programme. Where there is room for improvement, DWP expects performance to improve over the course of the Programme.

Agreed Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators	Description	Target for Customers referred between Aug 24 and Aug 26	Target for Customers referred from Sep 26 onwards
KPI 1: acknowledging the referral	Referral acknowledged on PRaP by the Provider within one Working Day of receipt from DWP	99%	99%
KPI 2: arranging the appointment	Initial contact and appointment made by the Provider with the Customer within 2 Working Days following receipt of the referral from DWP	96%	96%
KPI 3: submitting the Support Plan	Support Plan meets the required quality standard and is returned within 31 calendar days starting with the date of referral by DWP	90%	95%
KPI 4: submitting the 6 month Report	6 month Report meets the required quality standard and is returned to DWP within 10 Working Days following the end of the Support Period	90%	95%
KPI 5: submitting the Exit Report	Exit Report meets the required quality standard and is returned to DWP within 10 Working Days following the end of the Sustainment Period	90%	95%

Social Value Key Performance Indicators

Social Value: improve Health and Wellbeing	Description	Target for Customers referred between Aug 24 and Aug 26	Target for Customers referred from Sep 26 onwards
Social Value KPI – 1	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain of the Provider under the contract to have implemented measures to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of employees. (Note: Treat as ‘achieved’ if 100%)	100% ‘achieved’	100% ‘achieved’
Social Value KPI – 2	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain under the contract to have implemented the 6 standards in the Mental Health at Work commitment. (Note: Treat as ‘achieved’ if 100%)	100% ‘achieved’	100% ‘achieved’
Social Value KPI – 3	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain under the contract to have implemented the mental health enhanced standards, for companies with more than 500 employees, in Thriving at Work. (Note: Treat as ‘achieved’ if either a) achieved or b) no companies with more than 500 employees) in the Supply Chain	100% ‘achieved’	100% ‘achieved’

7.17 Complete the template and send it to DWP by the 15th day of the month after each quarter.

Quarter ending in:

• September – submit by 15 October
• December – submit by 15 January
• March – submit by 15 April
• June – submit by 15 July

If the 15th falls on a non-Working Day, send your return on the next Working Day.

Publication of KPIs 

7.18 DWP is required to capture the performance of the AtW MHSS Providers by recording their achievements against the top 3 KPIs, plus any Social Value KPIs, with the performance data being reported to the Cabinet Office quarterly for publication on GOV.UK. 

7.19 For AtW MHSS, the top 3 KPIs are KPIs 3, 4 and 5 and the performance data will be captured on a rolling 12 month basis and reported quarterly in arrears. The Social Value KPI data shall also be reported quarterly in arrears. Performance levels will be measured as per the Specification. 

7.20 The KPIs that will be published, and the associated “Cabinet Office 4 Tier Performance Levels” are as follows:

Cabinet Office reporting and publication of KPIs

Cabinet Office 4 tier performance Levels for Customers referred between Aug 24 and Aug 26:

• 4 - Good = 90% and above
• 3 - Near Target = 87.5% to 89.9%
• 2 - Needs Improvement = 85% to 87.4%
• 1 - Inadequate = Less than 85%

Cabinet Office 4 tier performance levels for Customers referred from Sep 26 onwards:

• 4 - Good = 95% and above 
• 3 - Near Target = 92.5% to 94.9%
• 2 - Needs Improvement = 90% to 92.4%
• 1 - Inadequate = Less than 90%

Key Performance Indicators	Description
KPI 3: Submitting the Support Plan	Support Plan meets the required quality standard and is returned within 31 calendar days starting with the date of referral by DWP
KPI 4: Submitting the 6 month Report	6 month Report meets the required quality standard and is returned to DWP within 10 Working Days following the end of the Support Period
KPI 5: Submitting the Exit Report	Exit Report meets the required quality standard and is returned to DWP within 10 Working Days following the end of the Sustainment Period

The 3 Social Value measures are measured individually but marked collectively. For example, in order to achieve a score of 3 (Near Target), the AtW MHSS Bidder must have achieved 2 out of 3 of these measures.

Cabinet Office 4 Tier Performance Levels for Customers referred between Aug 24 and Aug 26

• 4 - Good = 100%

• 3 - Near Target = 66.0% to 99.9%

• 2 - Needs Improvement = 33.0% to 65.9%

• 1 - Inadequate = Less than 33%

Cabinet Office 4 tier performance levels for Customers referred from Sep 26 onwards

• 4 - Good = 100%

• 3 - Near Target = 66.0% to 99.9%

• 2 - Needs Improvement = 33.0% to 65.9%

• 1 - Inadequate = Less than 33%

Key Performance Indicators	Description
Social Value KPI – 1	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain of the Provider under the contract to have implemented measures to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of employees. (Note: treat as ‘achieved’ if 100%)
Social Value KPI – 2	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain under the contract to have implemented the 6 standards in the Mental Health at Work commitment. (Note: treat as ‘achieved’ if 100%)
Social Value KPI – 3	Percentage of all companies in the supply chain under the contract to have implemented the mental health enhanced standards, for companies with more than 500 employees, in Thriving at Work. (Note: treat as ‘achieved’ if either a) achieved or b) no companies with more than 500 employees) in the Supply Chain

Contract performance review

7.21 You will have regular discussions with your PM and the AtW SD team to review performance and trend performance achieved against contractual requirements. 

7.22 You will update your PM and commercial contact immediately on any changes to the way you deliver the services or any issues that may affect delivery of the services, including (but not limited to) any changes in information, data, progress, processes or procedures. 

7.23 Action Plans will be used to monitor and support continuous improvement and agreed performance improvement actions. 

Monthly Management Information Return 

7.24 The DWP will use MI presented by PRaP for the on-going management of the Programme and for discussion with you. To further support active performance management of your AtW MHSS Contract, you will also be required to submit an MMIR return to DWP (Annex G: Monthly Management Information Return). 

7.25 You should submit your monthly MI by the Reporting Date by uploading to the Fileshare via Atamis.  

7.26 The MMIR should include as a minimum, but shall not be limited to, the following information: 

• number of Referrals received in month and year to date

• number of Support Plans approved by DWP in month and year to date

• number of 6 month Report approved by DWP in month and year to date

• number of Exit Reports approved by DWP in month and year to date

• number of Reworks in month and year to date

• number of MAPPA Cancellations 

• specific details of the reasons for each Rework required, in month and year to date 

• specific details of Reworks returned outside one Working Day and the reasons for the delay

• specific details of Support Plans as set out in Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan returned outside one calendar month and the reasons for the delay

• specific details of 6 month Report – Annex D returned outside 10 Working Days and the reasons for the delay

• specific details of Exit Reports – Annex E returned outside 10 Working Days and the reasons for the delay 

• specific details of withdrawals made by Customers (including reasons for withdrawal) in month and year to date prior to completion of the following AtW MHSS reports

  • Support Plan (Annex C: Access to Work MHSS Support Plan) 

  • 6 month Report (Annex D: Access to Work MHSS 6 Month Report) 

  • Exit Report (Annex E: Access to Work MHSS Exit Report) 

• a breakdown of Referrals, in month and Programme to date, detailing the referral route (for example, Authority Candidate or Supplier Generated Candidate). For all Referrals, data should be provided on how each Customer heard about MHSS (for example supplier marketing event, via their General Practitioner, via Occupational Health, via their employer) 

• the number of Customers who have required the Sustainment Period

• specific details of complaints handled by you and time taken to resolve to the Customers satisfaction (in Working Days)

• an anonymised list of all Staff engaged with Customers on the Programme, detailing their skills, experience and clearances

• an anonymised list of all Supplier Personnel engaged with Customers under the Agreement detailing their skills, experience and clearances

• number of cases within, and outside KPIs, and reasons, for KPI 1 to KPI 5

Yearly MI 

7.27 You should submit yearly MI within 7 calendar days following the end of each Contract Year to DWP Commercials via Atamis, the AtW SD team via email: accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk and your PM. 

7.28 Yearly MI must comprise: 

• a full list of all primary mental health difficulties that affect Customers (excluding all Customers Personal Data)

• Customer demographics (including age, and geographical location)

• a report (using data from the AtW MHSS Reports) covering Customers evaluations of their mental health and journey using the Services. Alongside this, the raw data must be submitted in an anonymised format for the Support Plan, 6 month Report and Exit Report. This should include: 

  • all questions from the second table (completed by the Customer) of the Support Plan, 6 month Report and Exit Report

  • mental health disclosure rates from the Support Plan, 6month Report and Exit Report

  • Customer’s employer (or where relevant that they are self-employed), segregated by size and sector

  • any other support that Customers have accessed during, or immediately prior to accessing the Services, such as any employee wellbeing courses provided by their employer

  • reasons why Customers (where applicable) required the Sustainment Period

  • any other information that the Authority deems reasonable to request from the Supplier

  • a summary report for all delivery Staff detailing all CPD activities undertaken in the last 12 months and a forward look plan for the next 12 months. This should include how and why the activities were selected and the benefits of these activities to the delivery of the Programme

Customer insight 

7.29 In month 2, 5 and 7 of the Customer journeys, you will be required to obtain information from Customers on the usefulness of the Programme. This will be done by asking the specific question(s) and follow up (by email, link to a Provider portal, website or online survey and where no other option available, by telephone) detailed below. 

Question 1: “Thinking about your overall experience of the services provided, how satisfied are you with the AtW Mental Health Support Service?” 

• very satisfied

• fairly satisfied 

• fairly dissatisfied 

• very dissatisfied 

Question 2: “Please can you tell us more about why you chose your response? Please be as detailed and specific as possible.”  

7.30 Customers will be required to record their response to the questions. Where Customers provide responses by telephone, you will create and maintain a detailed written record of the response. You are required to collate and anonymise the Customer responses. 

7.31 You will send the completed document to DWP by 5pm on the 15th day of the following month. If the 15th day happens to be a non-Working Day, then the deadline shall move to the next Working Day. You must retain all Customer responses for the duration of your AtW MHSS Contract, and for a period of 7 years following the expiry or termination of your AtW MHSS Contract, which DWP may request to review following the expiry or termination of your contract.  

7.32 DWP reserves the right to publish Customer responses (anonymised) or a summary of Customer responses. DWP also reserves the right to add to or amend the specific questions that you ask Customers each month. 

7.33 Additionally, DWP reserves the right to require you to ask the Customer the questions on a more or less regular basis. The frequency in which you are required to collate Customer responses and the deadline for providing DWP with the completed document itself can also be varied or amended by DWP at its sole discretion.

Ad hoc MI requests 

7.34 Occasionally you may be asked to provide other statistical data that is relative to the services you deliver. In these circumstances you should make available for inspection all such records within the timescale requested by DWP. 

7.35 You shall allow DWP access to all MI throughout the life of your AtW MHSS Contract and maintain all data as specified in your AtW MHSS Contract. 

7.36 As and when directed by DWP, you shall collect statistical data relevant to the Services being provided. You shall make available for inspection all such records upon the request of DWP within 10 Working Days. 

Compliance monitoring and additional Checks 

Performance Compliance Officers Checks   

7.37 DWP staff, including Performance Compliance Officers (PCO), perform regular evidence-based Compliance Checks to identify if you are adhering to the delivery models set out in their contracts. 

7.38 This includes checking samples of Customer records held by you for all related activity. 

7.39 You must create a system record for each Referral and ensure it includes details of all interventions and copies of all documentation. 

7.40 DWP will specify the location where the Compliance Checks will take place and expects them to be centralised in DWP locations or undertaken digitally and remotely by sharing of screens through Microsoft Teams. However, DWP retains the option for PCOs to carry out the Compliance Checks on your premises where DWP decides this is appropriate. All records must be available on your system for inspection. 

7.41 The sample of Customers to be checked will be sent to you 12 days prior to the PCO checks being carried out. You shall undertake your own compliance checks on the sample and return their completed checks to the PCO before the agreed compliance meeting date. This is to ensure you have fully informed discussions regarding the sample when the Compliance Checks are carried out. 

7.42 You must have the necessary remote IT equipment (which must comply with the relevant DWP policies as defined in the appropriate section of your AtW MHSS Contract) which you can bring to the location to enable DWP to carry out centralised checks of your systems; this includes the provision of any necessary electronic evidence that is required by the PCO to undertake the Compliance Checks effectively.  

7.43 The sample of records to be checked will be selected randomly using a method chosen by DWP. The frequency, periodicity and size of the samples may vary throughout the life of the AtW MHSS Contract.  

7.44 All issues arising from PCO checks are reported to you and relevant DWP stakeholders. Persistent issues or areas of extreme concern can be escalated further if deemed appropriate. CPR meetings with DWP and PMs will include discussions around compliance issues identified by PCOs. Actions to address areas of concern with regard to compliance should be included in your PMIR Action Plan. 

7.45 DWP reserves the right to carry out physical checks on documentation as part of this process.

Good practice recommendations for PCO report checks 

For AtW MHSS to offer the most effective support to Customers, several key features detailed below are integral to delivery. We expect you to:  

• provide quality work-related reports that are specific, measurable and timebound (SMT) to ensure the Customer has a direction and clear next steps

• create reports that reflect each Customers unique situation and goals

• demonstrate a sound understanding of the breadth of mental health conditions which may be experienced by AtW MHSS Customers

• provide appropriate work-related support options to address Customers mental health needs in the workplace

• maintain a strong focus on producing reports that are accurate, timely, and of high quality 

• avoid clinical or diagnostic language – this is a non-clinical work-related mental health support 

• confidentiality and safeguarding – address confidentiality and safeguarding in line with AtW MHSS policy

• include quotes with quotation marks to represent the Customer perspectives throughout the report

• clear structure – break issues into aims and milestones and show progress logically

• resource and signposting – include relevant resources

• mental health impacts – describe work-related mental health support considerations accurately 

• support and contact plans – communicate support arrangements and contact details 

• customer empowerment – guide Customers to self-help resources 

• crisis advice – If a Customer enters crisis during their time on the Programme, you will safeguard them and signpost to appropriate support 

• logical flow – ensure reports are structured and reflect progress 

This list is not exhaustive. 

Further information is provided in the table below:

Clear and Understandable​	Work-Focussed​	Non-Clinical Advice​
Keep the narrative simple​	Separate Headings for Workplace and General (narrative for each)​	Rating scales should be clear it is for general wellbeing advice​
Anyone should be able to read and understand the annexes​	Explain how support strategies will help in the workplace​	Use quotations to show the Customers words or statements​
No abbreviations or acronyms​	Keep cross-referencing Customer issues with workplace barriers​	Use simplified medical terms for Customer understanding​
Clear ownership (who owns the task)​	Break down needs/barriers with adjustments (clearly set out)​	Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) references should be very clear this is for general wellbeing – not clinical​
Avoid large blocks of text with no spacing​	Tasks are broken into smaller steps rather than the end-goal impact​	Therapeutic Support should be clear this is for general wellbeing – not clinical​
Use SMT:​ Specific, Measurable, Timebound​	Responsibilities are clear – Customer, Line Manager, HR​	Avoid clinical assumptions, for example, “this may be contributing to….”​
Personalise the narrative to the Customer​	Advice is broken into quick wins and longer term​	Avoid clinical Judgement, for example “…given the nature of customers trauma”​

Performance Manager Checks 

7.46 DWP staff, including PMs, may undertake checks to complement those already undertaken by the PCOs by looking at individual cases in more depth. 

7.47 The checks may also include a ‘go-look-see’ approach where the PM will observe a range of activities you deliver in line with your AtW MHSS Contract. These will not only be with you, but also end-to-end delivery partners and Sub-contractors (if appropriate). PMs may also undertake ‘deep dives’ into specific areas to understand where there are specific areas of weakness.  

7.48 The findings from the checks will feed into a Provider’s CPR meeting. 

Provider Assurance Team  

7.49 Information regarding Provider Assurance Team (PAT) can be found on the DWP Generic Provider Guidance Chapter 6 Provider Assurance.

Chapter 8 - complaints, document retention and data sharing 

Enquiries and complaints

8.1 You must have an appropriate and effective complaints process across your whole supply chain to resolve Customers complaints. You must explain your complaints process to the Customer in your first contact with them.     

8.2 A signature or an email response from the Customer confirming they understand and agree with the complaints procedure is acceptable evidence of the Customers agreement to proceed. 

8.3 Where a formal complaint has been received from a Customer, a drafted response should be submitted to the AtW SD team at accesstowork.mhss@dwp.gov.uk before replying to the Customers complaint. AtW SD team will review the draft response and either request it to be reworded or confirm their approval. Once you have received an approval, the response should then be sent to the Customer. 

8.4 You should refer to the Complaint resolution core briefing pack in the DWP Generic Provider Guidance and the DWP Customer Charter when reviewing your complaints processes. 

8.5 If a Customer is unhappy about any aspect of the supply of the services received from you (and/or any of your sub-contractors) and raises a complaint, you should ensure that you follow each step of your process robustly, in order to bring the complaint to a satisfactory conclusion. 

8.6 After following all steps in your process, you must include in your final response a standard text which signposts the Customer to contact the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) should they wish to pursue their complaint. The text can be found in Annex H: Access to Work MHSS Standard Wording. 

8.7 Complainants should be advised that they can escalate their complaint to the ICE within 6 months from the date of the final response that you issue.  

8.8 ICE will first look to see if there is scope to resolve the concerns raised without requesting any evidence from you. If a complaint is relatively straightforward, and the Customer has reasonable expectations about what you could do to resolve it, ICE will liaise between the parties involved and try to reach an agreement which is satisfactory to all. ICE will write to the Customer with details of what action you have agreed to take and will monitor the case until that action has been completed. If a complaint is resolved at this stage, then no determination of fault will be made. 

8.9 If the complaint cannot be resolved, ICE will request the evidence from you to establish what happened. Following the review of evidence, ICE will propose a way forward. If you agree the actions that ICE propose, and if your Customer is satisfied that they address their complaint, the case will be closed. Again, no determination of fault will be made. 

8.10 ICE will contact you to confirm that each step of your internal process has been completed. If they feel that you have not completed your process satisfactorily, you may be asked to revisit some steps to seek resolution before ICE are prepared to investigate further. 

8.11 You must action and (if applicable) respond to any correspondence of any nature from ICE within the stated timescales.

8.12 ICE does not act on behalf of individuals, but as an independent arbiter. The ICE Office has 2 primary purposes: 

• to provide a free complaint resolution and investigation service to individuals who are unhappy with the final response to their complaint from the relevant DWP Agency, Business, Access to Work Provider

• to support DWP Agencies, Businesses, Access to Work Providers in improving their services, by highlighting where things have gone wrong and making constructive recommendations based on the complaints the ICE Office identify. Recommendations might be systemic in nature, or case specific.

8.13 The ICE will mediate between you and the Customer to broker a resolution. If a resolution cannot be agreed between either party, ICE will ask to see the evidence. You must provide all the evidence which relates to the complaint. ICE will again attempt mediation between you and the Customer (known as a ‘settlement’ if the evidence is needed to broker an agreement). If this cannot be achieved, ICE will undertake a full investigation of the complaint. 

8.14 ICE has 3 stages of complaint examination, which will be applied to any complaints made about you. At every stage, you will have the opportunity to give your version of events and offer any supporting evidence.  

8.15 These stages will apply to any complaints made about you. At every stage, you will have the opportunity to give your version of events and offer any supporting evidence. More information about each stage can be found in Chapter 2 of the grievance and complaints procedure. 

8.16 All draft ICE investigation reports include findings and recommendations. If any aspect of a draft ICE report is disputed, the grounds for the challenge need to be raised by your complaints lead/senior manager. Disputes should be addressed to the ICE Adjudication Manager, who will review the response and establish the nature and extent of the dispute.   

8.17 Any challenges to an ICE report must be clearly articulated. This part of the process is only concerned with factual inaccuracies contained in the draft report or misinterpretation of case events, procedures, or policy. ICE will not revise a report based on a difference of opinion, such as the level of redress recommended. It is for the ICE to determine the findings and any appropriate remedy based on the case evidence presented. 

8.18 In some instances, an informal discussion between yourselves and the ICE Adjudication Manager may resolve any concerns or misunderstanding around the content of the draft ICE report and remove the need to trigger the formal escalation process. 

8.19 Your response will be shared and discussed with the ICE, who will provide a view. If the ICE agrees, the report will be amended, and a revised copy shared for comment. If the ICE does not fully agree, the formal escalation process will commence. 

8.20 The formal escalation route is in 2 stages, firstly the ICE Adjudication Manager will reply to you within 10 Working Days of receipt of the challenge, providing their view and if appropriate, a copy of the revised draft report, allowing 10 Working Days to respond. If agreement is reached, the escalation will be closed.  

8.21 Stage 2 of the process will be instigated if the ICE is not persuaded by the response to the stage one escalation, or your dispute of the draft report remains unresolved, the ICE Head of Office will write to your director to seek agreement on a way forward.   

8.22 Further information regarding the 3 stages of complaints can be found in DWP Generic Provider Guidance- Chapter 2 Delivering Provision.  

8.23 Please note that under normal circumstances, if a complaint is upheld against you at investigation stage, a financial contribution will be recovered from you to go towards funding the ICE service for Provider complaints in the following year.  

8.24 Further information on complaints procedures can be found in your contract and in DWP Generic Provider Guidance- Chapter 2 Delivering Provision.  

8.25 For more information about ICE, please visit the ICE website.

Issues management  

8.26 When you identify problems relating to any aspects of the services you deliver, you should resolve such problems as per the obligations in your MHSS contract. 

8.27 You should report any proposed changes to the way in which your services are accessed or suggestions for improving the efficiency of the services provided to your Performance Manager in writing. Their approval is required prior to implementation. Any change that requires a change to the AtW MHSS Contract will need to be approved by DWP through the “Change Control Procedure” (please refer to the AtW MHSS Contract). 

Document security 

8.28 Please refer to Chapter 8 of the Generic Provider Guidance - Information Security  and your AtW MHSS Contract. 

Document retention 

8.29 You must keep during the contract term and for 7 years following the expiry or termination of the contract, complete and accurate records of all contract documentation including the services supplied under it, all expenditure reimbursed by the department and all payments made by the department except for personal data that is required to be returned or destroyed under the AtW MHSS Contract. 

8.30 In respect of completed specified reports, documents, and personal notes, these can be retained for up to 6 months after the - Exit Report payment. At which point they can either be: 

• securely destroyed and disposed of

• anonymised and retained, as outlined in your AtW MHSS contract data processing schedule 11 

Data Protection Legislation and Data Sharing  

8.31 You must follow United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) taking into account as per your AtW MHSS Contract. 

8.32 In relation to the sharing of data, you should also adhere to all requirements as laid out in Chapter 8 of the Generic Provider Guidance for DWP Providers - Information Security

8.33 You must retain all Customer responses to each stage of the complaint for the duration of your contract, as outlined in your AtW MHSS contract data processing schedule 11. 

Provider receives a Customer request to erase Customer information 

8.34 There may be occasions when you receive a request from a Customer to erase their personal information from your records. 

8.35 Upon receipt of the request, you should acknowledge the Customer and issue a holding response immediately detailing that the query will be responded to within one month. 

8.36 You should forward the details of the request to the following email addresses: DATA.PROTECTIONOFFICER@DWP.GOV.UK and copy in the AtW Live Running team, email address: atwproviderguidance.policy@dwp.gov.uk.  

8.37 You will receive a generic email containing a reference number from the Data Protection Office (DPO) team. The reference number must be used with all correspondence with the DPO team and the AtW Live Running Policy team.  

8.38 Before responding to the Customer, you should consider the following information before agreeing to any information being removed. 

For Customers who have been referred to AtW and did not start you should take the following action: 

8.39 If the Customer never formally started on the Programme, there is no requirement to retain any of the personal information as the referral information will be kept on DWP systems. 

8.40 Therefore, if you have established that the Customer did not start on the Programme, you can remove the Customer ‘s personal information from your systems.  

8.41 You should notify the AtW Live Running Policy team email address: atwproviderguidance.policy@dwp.gov.uk, with your decision (and DPO reference number). 

8.42 They will issue you with a standard letter that you will need to update with the Customers information and issue to the Customer. 

8.43 You should then forward the response email (including the letter) with the reference number to the Data Protection Office, email address: DATA.PROTECTIONOFFICER@DWP.GOV.UK and copy in the AtW Live Running Policy team inbox, email address: atwproviderguidance.policy@dwp.gov.uk. 

For Customers who have been referred to AtW and have started on the Programme 

8.44 For any Customers who have started on the Programme, you must retain all information for official functions and duties, the right of erasure does not apply in these circumstances.   

The following information must be kept: 

• evidence demonstrating Customer journey

• payments

8.45 You must notify the AtW Live Running Policy team that the Customer has started on the Programme, and they will supply you with a standard rejection letter that you should update with the Customers information. 

8.46 You must issue the rejection letter to the Customer detailing the right to erasure of personal information has been rejected. 

8.47 You must forward the response email (including the letter/communication) with the reference number to the data protection office. Email:  DATA.PROTECTION@DWP.GOV.UK and send a copy to the AtW Live Running Policy team inbox - email address: atwproviderguidance.policy@dwp.gov.uk. 

Please note: all responses must be issued within one month of receipt of the request from the Customer and must contain the reference number supplied to you by the data protection team. 

8.48 Under all circumstances, you must keep evidence and personal information in line with your own retention periods as outlined in your contracts.

Chapter 9 - marketing and communications 

Marketing

9.1 You are expected to promote AtW MHSS and recruit Customers externally through marketing and engagement activity. This activity should be targeted specifically at potential Customers who are employees of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as defined in your AtW MHSS Contract.  

9.2 Unless otherwise expressly approved by DWP, you are prohibited from actively marketing AtW MHSS to large employers (as defined in your contract). You are also prohibited from establishing new or continuing existing working relationships with large employers with a view to obtaining Supplier Generated Candidates (as defined in your contract). 

9.3 You must not engage in direct marketing of any individual for whom you have claimed a 6 month outcome payment (in this or any previous AtW MHSS contract). 

9.4 ‘Blanket’ marketing that is unlikely to specifically target employees of SMEs and self-employed individuals, for example via social media, flyers or posters, is unlikely to be approved by DWP and should be avoided. 

9.5 Should you be approached directly by any large employers looking to establish new, or continue existing, working relationships with a view to providing Supplier Generated Candidates, you should not engage with any employer requests, but rather inform DWP at your next CPR.  

9.6 DWP retains final approval on all marketing activities and initiatives. All planned materials and activities for marketing should be submitted to DWP Marketing for approval (via Performance Manager) with details of the target audience before they are used or delivered.  

Please note: DWP will seek to turn around approvals for marketing materials and activities within 3 weeks.  

9.7 DWP can direct you to cease all marketing activity at any time, including pausing or cancelling social media marketing activities, and you will immediately comply with any such direction. 

9.8 If DWP has concerns about your marketing approach, they can call for a scrutiny meeting between you and senior DWP management to address any concerns. Failure to comply with any DWP instruction to cease, pause or alter marketing activity shall constitute a non-service failure default under your AtW MHSS contract. 

9.9 You will be expected to accept applications online and via telephony. AtW SD team will retain control over Customer eligibility for all applications to the AtW MHSS.  

9.10 You will prepare and share yearly marketing plans with DWP Strategic Communications for their approval. All creative concepts should be reviewed by the DWP Marketing team, and any content produced should align with approved concepts and brand guidelines. 

• this plan should be shared with all meeting attendees of CPR 

• marketing plans need to be in the format specified by DWP at the marketing launch meeting

9.11 You will attend monthly CPRs which will contain a section to analyse marketing activities. These meetings will provide a forum for you to showcase your activities. They will cover:   

• a review of all marketing activity (online, literature, sessions and so on) that you have delivered in the previous month and all planned marketing activity for the following month  

• management information related to social media impressions, engagements and click throughs, and how many people attended any events

• evidence of increasing participation from employees of SMEs and self-employed individuals as a direct result of your marketing

• demonstrating that your marketing plans focus only on increasing participation from employees of SMEs and self-employed individuals

• ensuring that the number of starts achieved remains in line with the volumes indicated in your contract Specification or as otherwise indicated to you to meet the needs and requirements of DWP 

• the names of companies which have received marketing packs  

• the number of supplier generated candidates per month

• a breakdown of referrals by company name for the preceding months  

• any other information on marketing activities as requested by DWP

9.12 All promotional activity must be evaluated robustly, and outcomes shared with DWP Strategic Communications at CPR meetings. To support this evaluation, as a minimum all applicants must be asked, and it should be recorded:  

• which promotional activity or channel prompted their application at the time of initial contact 

• their employer’s name and size  

Branding and marketing approach  

9.13 The creative approach to the products can reflect your own design criteria but they must carry the DWP logo as the primary logo. It must be clear that the service is delivered as part of AtW and all mentions to the service should state it is the AtW MHSS. 

9.14 Some key issues you must consider for the content of your communications, marketing and press activity are:  

• reputational risk: materials you produce must not adversely affect the reputation of the service being provided by the government, DWP or JCP, for example, risks that could lead to adverse media attention, or messages that could be misunderstood or misinterpreted  

• Equality Act 2010: you must ensure that all our participants can access our information by providing a variety of alternative formats (for example, large print, audio format, Braille) on request; and ensuring that people can still access our information when their chosen alternative format is not available

9.15 In producing your marketing material, you must be aware that there are propriety conventions that you will have to follow. Please see Chapter 9 of the Generic Provider Guidance - Marketing and Communications for further information. Adhering to these conventions ensures that the government, department, ministers, civil servants and those delivering on their behalf act properly and are seen to be acting properly.  

9.16 If you pay a sub-contractor to do your marketing, you are both responsible for complying with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). You should ensure you have a written contract setting out your sub-contractor’s responsibilities.  

Communications 

9.17 You should establish and maintain effective communication channels with all delivery partners to ensure prompt and accurate transmission of information.  

9.18 All proposed press activity must be cleared through the DWP press office and you must inform your Performance Manager in the first instance.