On the 25th of April 2011 a new Statutory Instrument will become law and give further cause for concern for people who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance and their legal representatives. The new legislation brings into force the Mandatory Work Activity Scheme; which is aimed at moving people from unemployment benefits and, ostensibly, into employment.
At first glance the scheme may seem to be fair enough, requiring claimants, selected by Jobcentre Plus advisors, to take part in 4 weeks of work (or work related activity) for up to 30 hours a week. Though this may seem straightforward there are many issues worth highlighting.
The new scheme also ushers in a new sanctions regime where those who are selected for it and do not participate lose 13 weeks of benefit entitlement. For the second such offence the claimant will lose 26 weeks of entitlement. Unfortunately the law only allows the claimant 5 days to appeal a sanction decision from being notified, given that these sanctions begin at losing a quarter of a years worth of benefit income this is a very tight timetable to work to.
As the Citizens Advice Bureau has pointed out, in its response to the consultation issued by the DWP, there are grave fears that this new punitive sanction scheme will have short, medium and longer term effects on young children in job seeking households and will also punish those who have higher barriers to work (of particular concern given the likelihood that a number of people on sickness benefits are likely to be moved onto job seeking benefit).
Another interesting counterpoint to the government’s new initiative can be seen in Barbara Petrongolo’s (London School of Economics) research into the long-term effect of job search requirements on the people subject to them. In this report the findings are that “while tighter… requirements were successful in moving individuals off unemployment benefits, they were not successful in moving them onto long-lasting or better jobs".
The above statement ties in with other creditable research which suggests that a harsher sanctions regime leads to worse employment prospects for those under it.
Another concern is that the new sanctions regime will perpetuate a 'them and us' attitude between the staff at the job centre and the benefit claimants it is meant to serve. As participation in this scheme is at the discretion of the claimant’s personal adviser it is a possibility that the trust built up between the claimant and adviser will be lost. It is important to claimants to have a belief that their adviser is there to help them to find work, not punish them for not having it, in order for them to engage fully and gain long term employment.
It is to be hoped that the new sanctions regime is applied sparingly.
As ever, if you are having problems with your welfare benefits seek legal assistance, to speak to one of our experts call us on 01616 966 229 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will contact you.
By welfare benefits expert, Ryan Bradshaw