Dwp universal credit claimants could have benefits cut over behaviour

FRESH GUIDANCE ON THE DWP’S BACK TO WORK SCHEMES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED, REVEALING THE DIFFERENT WAYS SANCTIONS CAN BE IMPOSED 11:54, 29 Nov 2024 Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance

(JSA) claimants now have fresh guidelines on the Back to Work schemes and assistance available to them, as well as the potential consequences they face if they don’t follow through on their

promises to the benefits system. The DWP’s update features five different schemes to help people in a range of circumstances get back to work, each with their own set of criteria claimants

will have to fulfil. Also in the updated guidance is a fresh insight on what could get your benefits sanctioned. This consequence cuts a portion or completely stops a person’s benefit

payments in certain situations. For Universal Credit and new-style JSA claimants, the main sanctionable offence is not sticking to the promises you made in your claimant commitment. With the

5 Back to Work schemes now in place claimants could also be sanctioned if they don’t take part in them despite being told to by their work coach. READ MORE: Over a million households will

see payments of up to £300 land in bank accounts this week from DWPREAD MORE: What DWP benefits crackdown means for you and your money If they have a good reason for not taking part they

could save their benefits. However, even if they attend and fulfil all the requirements for their Back to Work scheme, claimants could still have their benefits sanctioned based on their

behaviour while taking part. Article continues below The guide explained: “If you’re asked to leave a scheme because of gross misconduct, such as stealing, violence or verbal abuse, your

benefit payments could be sanctioned.” The level of sanction you receive can differ based on a variety of factors from the amount of benefits you receive to the offence you’re being

sanctioned for. The 5 types of schemes the guide unveiled included training or other help to gain new skills, work experience, work trials, sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPS) or

Restart. The latter of which offers regular and tailored one-to-one support for claimants trying to get back into the workforce. Work coaches can refer claimants to one or more of these

schemes to help them make the move from benefits to employment. Some local support is also still available through jobcentres such as apprenticeships, skills bootcamps and the ReAct+ scheme

which is exclusively for claimants over the age of 20 in Wales who have been made redundant. Article continues below Labour’s plans to push more unemployed people Back to Work has put many

on edge worried about what may be expected from them. Particularly those who are unemployed for reasons out of their control such as disability.