Atos seeks exit from £550m DWP work capability test contract
25 February 2014
Atos Healthcare, the French company responsible for providing the government with work capability tests to assess whether people are well enough to work, is seeking an early exit from it £500m contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Tue, 25 Feb 2014Atos Healthcare, the French company responsible for providing the government with work capability tests to assess whether people are well enough to work, is seeking an early exit from it £500m contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
According to media reports the company intends to exit the contract following persistent threats against its staff. More than 160 incidents of the public assaulting or abusing staff were recorded each month last year.
A source close to the company told the Financial Times: “It is becoming incredibly difficult for our staff; it’s pretty unpleasant.” Atos has been in discussions with the DWP about exiting the contract since October.
The tests have come under fire from claimant support groups with claims that people with terminal cancer and other serious benefits are having their claims for benefits denied.
In a statement, the DWP tells Recruiter: “Atos were appointed the sole provider for delivering Work Capability Assessments by the previous government. In July we announced Atos had been instructed to enact a quality improvement plan to remedy the unacceptable reduction in quality identified in the written reports provided to the Department.
“We also announced in the summer we will be bringing in additional provision to deliver Work Capability Assessments with the aim of increasing delivery capacity and reducing waiting times. The invitation to tender will set out that the quality of assessments and service delivery is central to how Work Capability Assessments are delivered.”
Recruiter contacted Atos, but no response had been received as recruiter.co.uk went to press.
According to media reports the company intends to exit the contract following persistent threats against its staff. More than 160 incidents of the public assaulting or abusing staff were recorded each month last year.
A source close to the company told the Financial Times: “It is becoming incredibly difficult for our staff; it’s pretty unpleasant.” Atos has been in discussions with the DWP about exiting the contract since October.
The tests have come under fire from claimant support groups with claims that people with terminal cancer and other serious benefits are having their claims for benefits denied.
In a statement, the DWP tells Recruiter: “Atos were appointed the sole provider for delivering Work Capability Assessments by the previous government. In July we announced Atos had been instructed to enact a quality improvement plan to remedy the unacceptable reduction in quality identified in the written reports provided to the Department.
“We also announced in the summer we will be bringing in additional provision to deliver Work Capability Assessments with the aim of increasing delivery capacity and reducing waiting times. The invitation to tender will set out that the quality of assessments and service delivery is central to how Work Capability Assessments are delivered.”
Recruiter contacted Atos, but no response had been received as recruiter.co.uk went to press.
- Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
