DWP-funded trial in Greater Manchester backs hundreds of disabled adults in employment

A radical employment trial taking place in Greater Manchester has helped almost 200 disabled people into rewarding employment, amid a government crackdown on the long-term sick. Called Working Well, the scheme aims to help people with disabilities to not only find a job, but keep it too.

Since September 2023, Working Well has supported 600 people living with disability with tailored employment coaching, with 188 of those taking part now in work. The scheme is delivered by the charity Growth Company in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, with funding for the trial coming from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Disability has become a major barrier to employment for many following the pandemic, with 2.6 million people now out of the workforce due to long term sickness or disability. This prompted Rishi Sunak to announce a crackdown on disability benefits last month, amid a sharp rise in Personal Independence Payment claimants that could see the taxpayer footing a £27.4bn bill for disability benefits by the end of the decade.

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Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, to give the trial its full name, follows a "place, train, and maintain" model that provides participants with flexible one-to-one support to find a job, as well as other CV and career advice. Importantly, when someone enters employment, they continue to receive support to help them stay in work.

Rather than having people apply for jobs that might not be best suited to their individual needs, Working Well creates partnerships with employers to make sure that necessary adjustments can be made to accommodate workers