ONS: NHS Talking Therapies Employment Support Cuts Benefits for Jobless, But… Raises Them for the Employed

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today (11 August 2026) published new analysis titled “The impact of employment advisors in NHS Talking Therapies on benefits receipt, England: April 2014 to April 2024,” examining how Employment Advisor (EA) support within NHS Talking Therapies (NHSTT) affects benefits receipt. The analysis looks at the change in the probability of benefits receipt after receiving employment advisor support and psychological therapy, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy only.

Employment Advisor support is a voluntary service available alongside NHS psychological therapy, offering tailored advice on finding work for people who are out of work, and on managing the effects of stress, anxiety or depression for people already in employment. The research forms part of the Support2Work programme, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) under its Work and Health Research Initiative.

Jobless patients less likely to be claiming benefits after three years

Among people not working at the start of treatment, those receiving EA support alongside psychological therapy saw an average 2.7 percentage point decrease in the probability of receiving any benefit after three years, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy only.

Employed patients more likely to be claiming benefits after three years

Among people already employed and working at the start of treatment, EA support alongside psychological therapy was linked to a 4.2 percentage point increase in the probability of receiving any benefit after three years, compared with the expected change from psychological therapy alone.

Disability benefits move in the opposite direction

Among individuals not working and reporting a long-term sickness or disability at the start of treatment, those who received EA support alongside therapy were 3.2 percentage points less likely to be receiving Universal Credit or employment support benefits after three years. However, the same group were 2.4 percentage points more likely to be receiving disability benefits over the same period.

ONS notes that some disability benefits, including Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment, are not means-tested, so receipt of a disability benefit does not necessarily mean an individual is not working. The increase may also reflect underlying health conditions unrelated to the presenting mental health difficulty, and therefore unlikely to be affected by psychological therapy.

The five benefit categories examined

The impact of EA support was estimated across five benefit categories: any benefit, disability benefits, employment support benefits, Universal Credit benefits excluding employment support benefits, and Universal Credit benefits including employment support benefits. Full results, including breakdowns by age group, sex, presenting symptoms, number of EA sessions, mental health recovery status and Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile, are available in the accompanying dataset.

Method

Individuals receiving EA support alongside psychological therapy were matched, using genetic matching, with similar individuals receiving psychological therapy only in a geographical area where EA support was unavailable, rather than individuals who had chosen not to take up employment support. A staggered difference-in-differences approach was then used to estimate the additional impact of EA support over time.

Only 8.3% of people eligible for EA support in areas where it was available took up the service, so ONS caution that any estimated effects are likely to reflect outcomes for a relatively small proportion of the eligible NHSTT population, rather than the wider group of NHSTT users. ONS also note that unmeasured differences between the groups, such as work-related difficulties among those in employment, may mean some effects are not down to EA support alone.

Dr Emma Sharland from the Office for National Statistics said:

“This study looked at what happened to people’s circumstances and benefits after receiving employment support alongside NHS psychological therapy.

“The results highlight that employment advisor support does not have the same impact for everyone. We found that employment support alongside psychological therapy was linked to people out of work being less likely to receive benefits after treatment, perhaps due to entering employment.

“However, people who were already working when they received employment support alongside psychological therapy were more likely to receive benefits afterwards. This may reflect more challenging work-related circumstances facing this group when seeking support.

“This is an important reminder that people’s lives and experiences are often more complicated than we think. The next phase of research from the Support2Work project will help us better understand the complex challenges people face.”

Further work by the Support2Work team will include in-depth qualitative interviews with EA staff, service leads, therapists and service users, alongside examination of the wider impacts of EA support, including impacts on population health and healthcare costs.