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Non-digital relationships
Contents
Introduction
Reasons for not using the digital service
Communicating with non-digital claimants
Tailoring support for non-digital claimants
Labour Market flexibilities
Examples of dealing with non-digital claimants
Useful links and products
Introduction
The majority of claimants will be able to make and maintain their claim for Universal
Credit online. For more information on the support available for claimants who need
help to do this, see Assisted Digital overview.
However, not everyone will be able to make and maintain their claim online for a
variety of good reasons.
Some claimants may not have family or friends they can trust to help them manage
their claim and the assistance of Universal Credit staff may be the only help they
have.
Reasons for not using the digital service
There are a number of reasons why a claimant may not be able to make and
maintain their claim online including:
physical or mental ill health or disability
visual impairments
lack of basic literacy
lack of skills and training
legal limitations such as Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements
(MAPPA) or Terrorism Prevention Investigation Measures (TPIM)
The claim by phone process is in place to enable non-digital claimants to make and
maintain their claim and to ensure they receive the right support while claiming
Universal Credit.
Communicating with non-digital claimants
Claimants who have made their claim by phone do not have an online account so
will not have access to important information such as:
appointment dates and times
requests for further information, for example - Statements of Fitness for Work
or Fit Notes
suspensions
sanctions
requests for further information
payment details and statements
This information must be communicated to claimants by alternative
forms of contact
For claimants who are not able to access their Journal, methods of contact could
include:
SMS messaging to prompt the claimant to make contact (ensure that the
claimant has a mobile phone and the preference is set to SMS instead of
email)
via mobile phone or landline, but consider:
o do they have sufficient credit on their phone?
o do they need us to call them back?
o if a call-back is required ensure they can access their phone
o is there a good time to call them?
face-to-face contact
home visit – but only in exceptional circumstances and after all other options
have been considered
Alternatively, consider if an appointee or corporate appointee is appropriate. See
Appointees, Personal Acting Bodies and Corporate Acting Bodies.
It is important to remember that if a claimant cannot interact online, a call-back must
be offered anytime they call us.
When claimants do agree to a call-back, Universal Credit staff must be proactive in
returning those calls.
The method of contact must be reviewed regularly with the claimant to ensure it
remains the most appropriate option.
Tailoring support for non-digital claimants
Staff flexibilities
Staff flexibilities could include:
attempting to contact the claimant if they miss a face-to-face appointment
before referring for a decision
offering an alternative to the online channel
accepting that telephony contact could take longer
allowing the claimant to use the Jobcentre as a care-of address if they are
unable to provide an alternative (agreed locally and reviewed regularly)
more than one attempt may be needed when making outbound calls to the
claimant
Labour Market flexibilities Labour Market flexibilities could include:
Conditionality
If a claimant has characteristics that mean they could fall into more than one
regime, the lowest conditionality intensity must be applied.
Alternative work search activities
Universal Credit staff must identify any restrictions a claimant may have and record
these in a profile note in the claimant history. For claimants who can’t use
computers, don’t make online job search part of the Claimant Commitment.
Alternative work search activities can be agreed - such as searching in the
newspapers, contacting employers directly, registering with agencies that will search
for vacancies on the claimant’s behalf, using computers under supervision from
jobcentre or probation staff and obtaining assistance from support agencies (for
example, the local authority or charities).
Remote management
Remote areas are where a claimant, using public transport to get to get to their
nearest jobcentre would:
take longer than 1-hour door to door in either direction, and
result in an absence from home of over 4 hours
To support claimants living in remote areas alternative attendance arrangements
should be discussed. This is to help claimants provide their work search evidence
and show that they are fulfilling the terms of their claimant commitment.
Staff can remotely manage claimants who live in remote areas and have difficulty
attending appointments, this can include contact through telephone interventions.
The way this is undertaken will be agreed at the claimant’s initial Claimant
Commitment interview or at any point they declare a change of circumstances
leading to remote management.
Accepting the Claimant Commitment
For claimants who can’t access the ‘to-do’ on their journal, they are able to accept
their Claimant Commitment clerically during either face-to-face or telephone
interventions.
Providing work-related evidence
Regulations provide flexibility in regards to how a claimant can provide evidence of
when their work-related requirements have been met. Alternative options include
providing evidence face-to-face, using clerical records or through telephony
channels.
Examples of dealing with non-digital claimants A claimant who cannot read or write English (and so cannot use a computer to make
a claim on-line), wishes to make a claim for Universal Credit.
The claimant must phone Universal Credit and ask to make their claim by phone.
Their suitability will be assessed, the first part of their claim will be completed and an
appointment booked so that they can be contacted for completion of the information
gather.
Once the claim has been completed, an appointment will be booked for them to
attend the Jobcentre for their Initial Evidence Interview.
As the claimant cannot access their Journal, they must be contacted by phone about
any important messages.
When the claimant attends an appointment, future appointments will be made at this
time so that they are aware of when they next need to attend.
The claimant must also be placed in a conditionality regime according to their
circumstances. Any restrictions to employment and training must be taken into
account when setting requirements on their tailored Commitment.
The claimant’s ability to read and write in English, and their digital capability, must be
reviewed regularly as part of their ongoing interaction with DWP. If their language
and digital skills reach an appropriate standard, their account must be converted
from a phone claim to an online claim.
Useful information
You can find more information by visiting the Complex needs section.
View or further information:
Assisted digital
Complex needs overview
Spotlight on complex needs
Consent and disclosure
Health and disabilities
Home visits
Appointees
MAPPA
Spotlight on claims by phone