Helping people into work

We define work as any suitable employment that the person:

• knows how to do, or
• could reasonably be expected to do, considering their limitations.

For Supported Living Payment, work refers to open employment. Open employment is any mainstream employment in the open labour market which pays no less than the minimum wage. It excludes any employment designed to cater for the needs of a severely disabled person.

Work offers financial benefits for a person, their whānau and community. It can also support:

• physical and mental wellbeing
• a sense of purpose and routine, and
• connectedness.

Physical wellbeing

Staying physically active is important to a person's health.

Work gives people the opportunity for physical activity, for example, walking to their job.

Emotional wellbeing

Being employed provides routine and a sense of purpose. Both of these have a positive impact on our mental health.

Being productive and learning new skills can also help improve self-confidence and self-esteem.

Connectedness

Work can help someone have a sense of belonging because they're contributing to something bigger than themselves.

Some workplaces provide great social opportunities and a chance to connect with others.

Since work has positive impacts on health and wellbeing, consider employment as part of your management plan. It may be as useful as any other intervention or treatment you suggest.

Disability Allowance

If your patient has ongoing health needs that aren’t funded already, consider supporting them to apply for Disability Allowance. The sooner a health need is met (eg counselling for someone with mental health challenges), the sooner they can return to work.

Suitable work and work environment

Discuss with your patient what type of work might be suitable for them and how many hours a week might be realistic.  

Consider any accommodations your patient may need, like flexible hours or the ability to work from home.  

Encourage them to think about alternate types of work if their health condition is a barrier to their previous occupation. Work and Income may be able to support them to retrain or upskill.

Plan towards employment

Create a plan with your patient to move them towards employment. This may include: 

• gradually increasing their work capacity over time, or 
• connecting them with Work and Income’s employment team. 

Re-visit this plan at each appointment and adapt your medical certificate based on their progress.

Work Capacity Medical Certificate

If you're filling in a Work Capacity Medical Certificate - Q11, give as many ideas as possible. This is so we can better support them into employment or training, for example:

• retraining in another type of work
• flexible hours including the ability to work from home
• specific equipment
• workplace modifications
• social skills training
• advice on what type of work they might be suitable for.

We can match the person to the best support available.

Second opinion

If you and your patient disagree about their work capacity, please still provide your opinion on the Work Capacity Medical Certificate. Suggest they seek a second opinion from a Designated Health Practitioner, which Work and Income can arrange on their behalf.

We have a large work services team available. We also partner with employers and training organisations. We can connect your patients to these programmes.  

Assessments and Role Suitability 

We’ll use the information you’ve provided to understand a person’s work capacity. We’ll also talk with them about their interests and skills to help find roles that suit them.

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Help to find suitable work

For patients who are disabled or have a health condition, we can provide specific support depending on their needs. The programmes below are a selection of what we can offer, depending on an individual’s circumstances:

Employment service

Get an employment provider who will help them:

• prepare for work
• find a job that suits, and
• make sure they have everything they need.

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Mainstream Programmes

Get a work placement, on-the-job training, and a long-term job. There's different programmes for their situation and goals.

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Job and Training Support Funds

We may be able to help people that are disabled or have a health condition and need training or have extra costs to work.

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Other payments to help people at work

We can help pay for things people may need to do their job. This could include things like training, transport, gear and clothing, or help to keep their job.

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If you’re unsure what support might be best for a patient, contact our Regional Health and Disability team. Their contact details are in your local Work and Income Community Health Pathway.

You can also email the Principal Health and Disability Advisor on health_and_disability_NO@msd.govt.nz who will provide the local teams contact details for you.