Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches receive disability awareness training in relation to (a) service users and (b) colleagues.

DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, particularly disabilities and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products.

The learning provides Work Coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to:

• treat each claimant as an individual;
• to be aware and support claimants with their disability and the impacts of their condition;
• help overcome any barriers; and
• support them into moving closer to the working environment.

Learning includes DWP Fundamental Learning Journey which contains a number of training courses that cover disability awareness:

• Becoming Disability Confident - seeing past the misconceptions that can exist around disabilities and being able to have open, honest and well-informed conversations with disabled colleagues in order to create, or contribute to, an inclusive work environment in which disabled colleagues can thrive;
• Helping customers who need additional support – working with customers who need additional support either because they are in a vulnerable situation, are disabled, or suggest suicide or self-harm, requires additional customer service skills; and
• Vulnerable Customers and Complex Needs.

Learning also includes technical learning which enables Work Coaches to determine what is required and never assume to know and to cultivate effective communication skills, including the sensitive use of questions, to reach joint decisions with the claimant.

DWP also provides the Work Coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge.

Work Coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition.