Jobseeker's Allowance#Sanctioning

{{Main article|Unemployment benefits}}

{{see|National Insurance|National Assistance|Supplementary Benefit}}

Unemployment Benefit was first introduced in 1911 under the National Insurance Act 1911 to job seekers who had paid National Insurance contributions ("the stamp"). The maximum amount payable was seven shillings a week ({{inflation|UK|0.35|1911|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/insurance-introduced.htm|title=The Cabinet Papers - Insurance introduced|work=nationalarchives.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417024645/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/insurance-introduced.htm|archive-date=17 April 2015|df=dmy-all}} These payments were thus made only to people who had recently been in work, and not simply to those on low incomes. Furthermore, benefits were only paid for up to twelve months, by which time a claimant had to have regained work.

The Unemployment Insurance Act of March 1921 introduced a 'seeking work' test which required claimants to be actively seeking work and willing to accept employment paying a fair wage. In February 1922 a means test was introduced which excluded some, such as single adults who lived with relatives, from receiving benefit payments.

As a direct consequence of the return from war of injured servicemen,Hansard →{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhansrd.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-09-01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813222059/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhansrd.htm |archive-date=13 August 2017 |df=dmy-all }} – UK Parliament [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/acts/j HANSARD 1803–2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126175806/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/acts/j |date=26 November 2012 }} – Retrieved 6 June 2012secondary – The World at War 1973 (Jeremy Isaacs) – [https://www.imdb.com/media/rm1202887936/tt0071075 The Internet Movie Database] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315045017/http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1202887936/tt0071075 |date=15 March 2016 }} & [http://www.tkone.co.uk/index.php/projects/2-world-at-war TK one Ltd] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125081840/http://www.tkone.co.uk/index.php/projects/2-world-at-war |date=25 November 2010 }} – Retrieved 6 June 2012 the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 was brought into force to enable these to secure employment.{{Cite web |title=Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/7-8/10/contents |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FoDkxqEjlUcC |title=Business Planning: A Guide to Business Start-Up |date=2007-06-07 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-42348-2 |language=en}}

After the Second World War, National Assistance was introduced by the National Assistance Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 29), allowing anyone of working age on a low income to apply for support.

National Assistance was replaced by Supplementary Benefit in November 1966, and Unemployment Benefit claimants could transfer to this after their initial entitlement had expired. Supplementary Benefit was later replaced by Income Support in April 1988.

In 1995, legislation was passed through the House of Commons entitled the Jobseekers Act 1995.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ye_eN5adagIC&pg=PA20 |title=Welfare Reform Bill |date=2011 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-215-55775-9 |language=en}}{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1995 |chapter=18 |act=Jobseekers Act 1995}} The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996{{cite legislation UK|type=si|year=1996|number=207|si=The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996}} were produced within a period of six months from the act coming into force, with the change of Income Support provision to Jobseekers Allowance occurring on 7 October 1996.{{Cite legislation UK |type=si|year=1996|number=2567|si=The Jobseeker's Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 1996}}{{Cite web |last1=Slynn |first1=Gordon |author-link=Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley |last2=Cooke |first2=Robin |author-link2=Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon |last3=Hope |first3=David |author-link3=David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead |last4=Millett |first4=Peter |author-link4=Peter Millett, Baron Millett |last5=Scott |first5=Richard |author-link5=Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote |date=2001-06-28 |title=Judgments - Chief Adjudication Officer v. Stafford and Another |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldjudgmt/jd010628/staff-1.htm |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=parliament.uk}} Previously, on 11 September 1996, the Social Security (Credits and Contributions) (Jobseeker's Allowance Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1996{{cite legislation UK|type=si|year=1996|number=2367|si=The Social Security (Credits and Contributions) (Jobseeker's Allowance Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1996}} were created, brought before parliament five days later and subsequently made policy coming into force also on 7 October.

The change was introduced to streamline the systematic administration of benefits by improving claimant compliance and to partially remove the distinction between means-tested claimants and those claiming against contribution records.{{cite legislation UK |type=si |si=The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 2013 |year=2013 |number=378}}

{{confusing|date=July 2014}}

in April 2011 Iain Duncan Smith introduced a period of mandatory work activity amounting to a maximum of four weeks of thirty hours each week in employment. It was expected this activity would be required of approximately 10,000 individuals. The main claimants who it was expected would be subject to mandatory work activity were those who had been 'signing on' for at least thirteen weeks. Despite this any recipient of Jobseeker-benefit could be required to take part in work activity regardless of how long that person had been 'signing on'.{{cite book | url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:dZyfM3L2wBQJ:www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/GSSW/schram/whitemead.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShxtfRb_9KLif7rJzDiphXckAOCY13gholTGBnx0nVUeiXWBPlbUDeB9UwIIm0XiyAS4M-_O9esKQKTIEp9kVmIqpUMtGC_fmnydZicGbn34xtloamU0dNhlnvbQk6nIZgnqRLy|id=B.J.Pol.S.507–532 30 |title=The Jobseeker's Allowance (Mandatory Work Activity Scheme) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011 No. 688): report by the Social Security Advisory Committee under Section 174 (1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in accordance with Section 174 (2) of that Act| author=Social Security Advisory Committee, Great Britain Department for Work and Pensions|date=14 March 2011 | access-date =6 June 2012|publisher=The Stationery Office, 14 March 2011|isbn=978-0-10-851040-3 }} provided by Sir Tilt{{better source needed|reason=Google Docs is not an authoritative source, it is an open file storage site – anyone can upload any old rubbish there|date=March 2024}}

At some time the Social Security Advisory Committee felt a need for an initiative so the Employment Skills and Regulations Scheme was considered. The governmental bodies had a look at the ideas and felt they were not altogether correct. So the government only accepted the need for two-thirds of the total of changes suggested.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1eM2gzrzM0C |title=The Jobseeker's Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme) Regulations 2011 (S.I.2011 No.917) |date=2011-03-31 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-10-180582-7 |language=en}} In 2011 the Jobseeker's Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise) Regulations were brought into force. One part of the scheme required the long-term unemployed to participate in unpaid work activity for a maximum of six-months.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.publicinterestlawyers.co.uk/news_details.php?id=209 |title=Graduate Issues Judicial Review Over Poundland Work |website=Public Interest Lawyers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125085025/http://www.publicinterestlawyers.co.uk/news_details.php?id=209 |archive-date=25 January 2012 |access-date=6 June 2012}}{{cite legislation UK|type=si|year=2011|number=917|si=The Jobseeker's Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise) Regulations 2011}}

According to The Economist, in 2015 roughly 2% of welfare expenditure in the UK was spent on unemployment benefits; the bulk was spent in other areas.{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657397-conservative-chancellor-has-managed-politically-tricky-welfare-cut-millions-may|title=George Osborne's sad triumph|department=Bagehot's notebook|date=9 July 2015|newspaper=The Economist|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912180108/https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657397-conservative-chancellor-has-managed-politically-tricky-welfare-cut-millions-may|archive-date=12 September 2017|df=dmy-all|quote=A majority of Britons think the government spends too much on benefits. Yet that is based on an exaggerated idea of how much of the £220-billion ($340-billion) welfare bill goes on dole [unemployment benefits]. Only about 2% does. Most of the budget is swallowed by pensioner benefits; child, disability and incapacity benefits account for much of the rest.}}

The average number of claimants between the years 2003 and 2008 was 814,000 and average number of new claims was approximately 2,463,000.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwKGr3mVJ4MC&pg=PA18 |title=Department for Work and Pensions: Communicating with Customers : Report |date=2009 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-10-295478-4 |language=en}} Nearly 40% of income-based claimants during 2003 were also claiming Housing Benefit.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avu-V_ybOaUC&pg=RA1-PA14 |title=Dealing with the Complexity of the Benefits System: Department for Work and Pensions |date=2005-11-18 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-10-293615-5 |language=en}} The DWP for England and Wales showed one third of the total number of claimants for JSA were persons having been convicted of a crime resulting in their act(s) having been recorded by the police authorities.{{Cite book |last=Herring |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1K7DzgEACAAJ |title=Criminal Law: Text, Cases, and Materials |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-285592-3 |language=en}} In The Guardian newspaper in March 2001, the success of the New Deal scheme was reported; the report stated that 270,000 people were found full-time employment and the cost of achieving this end was half of the estimated amount.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/08/welfare.budget2001 |first=P. |last=Inman |date=8 March 2001|work=The Guardian|title=New Deal enters the fast lane|access-date=11 June 2012|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308035658/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/08/welfare.budget2001|archive-date=8 March 2014|df=dmy-all}} According to a report in 2008 by the Social Market Foundation there were approximately 100,000 long-term unemployed persons claiming JSA, at any given time.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QTtY2qtgSPUJ:www.smf.co.uk/assets/files/publications/SMF_Flexible_New_Deal.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgjbJ2F3c6M9vO_wCWWdPAsLs8WmIYBfoCyxsk3nu5dqAy6vYPYw4NtSL7J_P7SKGKqqYRyH8G8OFBQWX6mUQkxP0MpHy8NqAOIi66dmf932TzGvDS5t7iCJgjYFFjKMdivuspm |first1=I. |last1=Mulheirn |first2=V. |last2=Menne|publisher=Social Market Foundation |date=September 2008 |title=The Flexible New Deal: Making it work|access-date=11 June 2012}}{{better source needed|reason=Google Docs is not an authoritative source – anyone can put any old rubbish there|date=March 2024}} From 2010 to April 2011 the number of claimants having sanctions imposed increased to 75,000 persons amid claims that DWP staff deliberately made claiming more difficult and were required to refer 3 people a week for sanctions. The number of disabled people sanctioned doubled to 20,000 over the same period. The Department for Work and Pensions denied persecuting vulnerable people.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/jobcentres-tricking-people-benefit-sanctions|title=Jobcentres 'tricking' people out of benefits to cut costs, says whistleblower|first=John |last=Domokos|work=The Guardian|date=1 April 2011|access-date=9 July 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001203710/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/jobcentres-tricking-people-benefit-sanctions|archive-date=1 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}

According to the UK government webpage on how to apply, application can be made online or by phone.{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/how-to-claim|title=Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)|work=www.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164803/https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/how-to-claim|archive-date=14 July 2014|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |title=Coronavirus PAYE employee financial help assessment |url=https://lifetise.com/coronavirus-money-help/coronavirus-paye-employee-app/ |website=lifetise.com |access-date=2 May 2020}} Application can also be made on paper forms; JSA1, or JSA4RR if reclaiming JSA.{{cite web|url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/how_to_claim_jsa_without_using_t|title=How to claim JSA without using the Government Gateway|work=whatdotheyknow.com|date=23 August 2013 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714174754/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/how_to_claim_jsa_without_using_t|archive-date=14 July 2014|df=dmy-all}}

When claimants attended their first 'Jobseeker Interview', they were required to sign a contract with their advisor, called a claimant commitment.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zTc83WPJ8oEC&q=Employability%3A+From+Theory+to+Practice|first=P. |last=Weinert|publisher=Transaction |title=Employability: From Theory to Practice|year=2001|isbn=0-7658-0879-X|access-date=11 June 2012}} The contract can be changed at one-to-one interviews. Its terms include that claimants state:

• what activities they will perform to look for work
• The maximum commuting time they will accept
• The type of work they are ideally looking for (although claimants should be prepared to accept anything within their capabilities)
• How many times they will search suitable job search websites each week
• Whether they will use any magazines/newspapers to find jobs
• The maximum hours they are able to work, taking into consideration barriers such as health, child care etc.

Whether claimants are paid therefore depends on whether they uphold the contract they have agreed to – from a political theory known as Welfare Contractualism, first expressed in the 1998 paper "New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare".{{cite book|first1=J. P. A.|last1=Van Vugt|first2=J.|last2=Peet|title=Social Security and Solidarity in the European Union: Facts, Evaluations, and Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PyUdt8Mcm3YC&pg=PA186|access-date=11 January 2014|publisher=Springer|year=2000|page=186|isbn=9783790813340}}{{failed verification|date=January 2014|note=Only as referenced footnote}}{{cite book|editor-first1=T.|editor-last1=Carney|editor-first2=G.|editor-last2= Ramia|editor-first3=A.|editor-last3=Yeatman|title=Liberalism Contractualism and Citizenship|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1vkgWX7GRr0C&pg=PA57|access-date=11 January 2014|publisher=Federation Press|date=1 December 2001|page=57|first=Kanishka|last=Jayashuri|chapter=Autonomy, Liberalism and the new Contractualism|isbn=9781862873667}}{{verify inline|reason=Not the supposed source of this theory. Verify that it actually supports the notion that this theory is the basis for JSA|date=March 2024}}

{{quote|at the heart of the new state will be a contract between citizen and government based on responsibilities and right{{cite web | url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:dZyfM3L2wBQJ:www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/GSSW/schram/whitemead.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShxtfRb_9KLif7rJzDiphXckAOCY13gholTGBnx0nVUeiXWBPlbUDeB9UwIIm0XiyAS4M-_O9esKQKTIEp9kVmIqpUMtGC_fmnydZicGbn34xtloamU0dNhlnvbQk6nIZgnqRLy|title=B.J.Pol.S.507–532 30 |first=S. |last=White| access-date =6 June 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press 2000 }}}}

Applicants qualified by conforming to all of the following requirements:

1. being 18 or over but below State Pension age. There were some exceptions for 16 and 17 year olds.{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/eligibility/ |title=Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) |publisher=GOV.UK |date=25 September 2015 |access-date=3 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106031128/https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/eligibility |archive-date=6 November 2015 |df=dmy-all }}
2. Not being in full-time education.
3. Living in England, Scotland or Wales.
4. Being available for work.
5. Actively seeking work.
6. Working on average less than 16 hours per week.
7. Attending a JSA interview after application.

New-style (contribution-based) Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA(C)) entitlement is based on Class 1 National Insurance contributions in the two complete tax years preceding the benefit year of claim. This allowance is paid regardless of assets;{{citation|url=http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/stellent/groups/jcp/documents/websitecontent/dev_011741.pdf|title=Jobseeker's Allowance|date=June 2006|publisher=Department for Work and Pensions|id=Leaflet QCJSAA5JP|isbn=978-1-84695-235-7|access-date=23 April 2010|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080107224141/http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/stellent/groups/jcp/documents/websitecontent/dev_011741.pdf|archive-date=7 January 2008|df=dmy-all}} however, any personal or occupational pension over £50 a week would result in deductions. There were also other caveats (related to job-seeking activity) which excluded payment.

Many older citizens seeking work could not receive payments, despite qualifying through NI contributions, because they had pension income. Self-employed people do not pay Class 1 contributions, and may not have been able to claim JSA(C) until their case had been decided. However, they were both still eligible for NI credits (see below).

JSA(C) may be claimed for only 26 weeks in any benefit year. In order to make a claim, a customer must have actually paid NI contributions for the same number of weeks in one of the last two tax years (the remaining 18 months could be either paid, or credited contributions). When entitlement to JSA(C) is exhausted, Universal Credit may then have become payable if eligible (see below).

Certain other benefits including Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, statutory adoption pay, Employment and Support Allowance, bereavement benefit, Carer's Allowance and JSA(C) itself also counted towards Class 1 contributions and were called "Credited Class 1 contributions".

If there was no entitlement to Universal Credit, a person could re-qualify for JSA(C) in a subsequent benefit year based on contributions paid in the relevant contribution years, providing that there had been a break of at least twelve weeks. They had to wait until the beginning of a new benefit year before they could claim again.

People who were eligible for JSA(C) could also claim JSA(IB) for any additional payments due under that benefit (for family dependents, for example). JSA(IB) was payable only if the claimant had less than £16,000 in capital (correct as of May 2022). Payments are reduced if the claimant has savings between £6,000 and £16,000.

Both forms of benefit faced 100% marginal deductions if the individual earned more than a small amount – the 'disregard' – which was £5 per week for single people, £10 per week for couples and £20 per week for certain other groups such as some lone parents and disabled people. The 'disregard' remained at the same nominal amount since the 1980s and was never uprated with inflation, unlike benefits themselves. The benefit was withdrawn from those working 16 or more hours a week (though this did not apply to voluntary work).{{citation|url=http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp1023.pdf|title=Volunteering while getting benefits|publisher=Department for Work and Pensions|date=February 2010|isbn=978-1-84763-054-4|id=DWP1023 v2.1|access-date=4 May 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014072318/http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp1023.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2010|df=dmy-all}} Part-time students could claim provided they did not have more than 16 hours a week in teacher contact time and the course was not officially designated as full-time by the college (irrespective of the number of hours of contact time).

{{Main article|New Deal (United Kingdom)}}

Starting in 2001, the New Deal introduced a second stage to the claim period. Initially, there was the jobseeker's agreement and allowance. If a claimant who was below the female state pension was unemployed for over twelve months, they were placed on the New Deal scheme. They may also have entered the New Deal process early if they fell in special categories. From 2009, a Flexible New Deal scheme started using the private sector to provide tailored employment and skills support, with return-to-work performance incentives for the providers.

In Northern Ireland the New Deal was replaced in 2008 by a similar scheme known as Steps to Work. This scheme was administered by the Department for Employment and Learning which operates Jobs & Benefits Offices jointly with the Social Security Agency.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

During October 2009 the New Deal programmes were replaced by the Flexible New Deal programmes, which were available to claimants still unemployed after a period of twelve months.

{{Main article|Work Programme (United Kingdom)}}

Various work programmes, under the collective label of "New Deal" (including Flexible New Deal, New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25+, New Deal for Disabled people, New Deal for Lone parents, Pathways to Work, Progress2Work and Employment Zones), were replaced by The Work Programme during June 2011.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP_k7efmdesC&q=job+seekers+allowance&pg=PA49 |title=Work Programme: providers and contracting arrangements, fourth report of session 2010-12, Vol. 1: Rreport, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence |date=2011-05-08 |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-215-55940-1 |language=en}} On 6 March 2012 the UK Government announced benefits changes for prisoners at the end of their sentence and those claiming JSA. They would be sent on the work programme, as would JSA claimants who had been claiming for the previous 26 weeks. On the work programme they were required to sign a form to agree to 30 hours a week of unpaid work or face sanctions of 6 months.{{Cite web |title=2010 to 2015 government policy: employment |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-employment/2010-to-2015-government-policy-employment#appendix-1-managing-the-work-programme |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} Unlike New Deal there was no choice of training or help setting up a business, nor could the job seeker choose what type of unpaid work they did. In nearly all cases the unpaid placement involved shop work.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} From 2012, work placement advisors would receive £5,600 should they find work for a person leaving prison who keeps the job for two years.{{cite press release |url=http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/mar-2012/dwp021-12.shtml |publisher=Department for Work and Pensions |title=Government launches employment support for prisoners |date=6 March 2012 |access-date=11 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127082818/http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/mar-2012/dwp021-12.shtml |archive-date=27 January 2013 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/finding-employment-finding-staff/fe-fs-help-to-find-employment/stepstowork.htm|work=Department for Employment and Learning|title=Steps to Work|year=2010|access-date=29 December 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225134405/http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/finding-employment-finding-staff/fe-fs-help-to-find-employment/stepstowork.htm|archive-date=25 December 2013|df=dmy-all}} According to the Government, from June 2011 only 1 in 5 participants in the Work Programme remained off benefits for over six months.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49882/work-programme-first-year.pdf|title=The Work Programme: The First Year|date=November 2012|access-date=11 January 2014|page=5|work=Department for Work and Pensions|publisher=The Stationery Office|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016122737/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49882/work-programme-first-year.pdf|archive-date=16 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}

Until 2020, men who reached the women's State Pension age had two options. They could still claim Jobseeker's Allowance, but had to remain actively seeking work. They would continue to receive the contribution-based rate of JSA if they were claiming it.

Alternatively, a man on a low income could apply for Pension Credit on reaching the women's state pension age. This replaced Jobseeker's Allowance payments and he would no longer need to "sign on" at the JobCentre. In both cases, the amount of benefit paid was the same (an additional Pensioner Premium was added to Income-based JSA).

National Insurance credits were paid by the Government on his behalf, even if he claimed another benefit; this came to an end in 2016, with the new State Pension.

Women could only claim until they reached the State Pension age; this increased gradually between 2010 and 2020. The State Pension age is now 66 for both men and women, as of 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181343/spa-timetable.pdf|work=Department for Work and Pensions|date=3 April 2013|access-date=11 January 2014|title=State Pension age timetables|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013134910/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181343/spa-timetable.pdf|archive-date=13 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}

All customers must move from JSA to either State Pension, or Pension Credit (if eligible) at the State Pension age. A special part-week payment of State Pension is paid for the benefit week including the customer's birthday, making the claim continuous.

A claimant's Jobseeker's Allowance may be stopped as a punishment. A person choosing to remain out of employment should a vacancy be available is obliged to give a "good reason" for the choice or their monies are to be withheld. The Work and Pensions Committee of the House of Commons discovered single parents, care leavers and claimants with health problems and disabilities were "disproportionately vulnerable" to, and impacted by, sanctions. There was an excessive human cost. Children could become "collateral damage" since parents losing benefits affects them. Examples of "extreme hardship and distress" included a wheelchair user who "sofa-surfed" or slept in a college library for a year when her whole benefit was wrongly withdrawn. A man was sanctioned because he missed a job centre appointment three days after he went to hospital with severe epileptic seizures. The committee found the impact of sanctions had not been properly evaluated and was "pointlessly cruel".{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46104333 |title=Benefit sanctions scheme 'pointlessly cruel', say MPs |date=6 November 2018 |work=BBC News}}

Other reasons to be denied money are:

• Not being available for or actively seeking work or not signing the Jobseeker's Agreement: if a claimant does not declare on the Jobseeker's Agreement that they are available for and actively seeking work and sign the Agreement, the benefit will be suspended until the claimant completes and signs the agreement. Once the agreement has been signed, a decision maker will decide how much of the claim should be backdated, if any.
• Failing to attend a Jobcentre appointment: the claimant may be docked 4 or 13 weeks' income.
• Voluntarily leaving work or refusing a notified vacancy: The claimant may be sanctioned for up to 13 weeks' or 26 weeks' income in the case of repeated transgressions.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24839865 |title=Benefits suspended for 18,750 jobseekers in Wales |date=6 November 2013 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610163601/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24839865 |archive-date=10 June 2016 }}
• Refusing to attend compulsory scheme or failing to comply with a direction: A punishment of 4 weeks' loss of income for the first instance and 13 weeks' for second and subsequent instances.
• Not accepting or keeping to the Claimant Commitment{{cite web |title=Jobseeker's Allowance sanctions: how to keep your benefit payment |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions-leaflet/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions-how-to-keep-your-benefit-payment |website=GOV.UK |access-date=25 October 2020 |language=en}}
• Not going to a Jobcentre Plus when asked.
• Turning down a job or training course.
• Not applying for any jobs the claimant is told about.
• Not taking part in any interviews the claimant is invited to.
• Not going to any training booked for the claimant or not taking part in employment schemes.
• Leaving the last job or training without good reason or because of the claimant's behaviour.

Sanctions have been found to be ineffective in getting claimants into work but do great harm to the claimants, especially to disabled claimants who are disproportionately targeted with sanctions.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/22/benefit-sanctions-found-to-be-ineffective-and-damaging |title=Benefit sanctions found to be ineffective and damaging |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522105047/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/22/benefit-sanctions-found-to-be-ineffective-and-damaging |archive-date=22 May 2018 |work=The Guardian}}

The charity Oxfam oppose what they consider unfair sanctions:

{{blockquote|We [Oxfam] have spoken to people who have had delays and sanctions for mundane reasons, such as not having the right ink to fill an application or missing appointments due to sickness which is unacceptable. Any sanctions system needs to operate in a way that does not push people further into poverty. People need support not punishment. They need understanding not condemnation.}}

The Guardian has listed ten cases of stopped benefits which it regards as either for "trivial reasons" or due to DWP "administrative errors". The former included three people who were in hospital due to their own sickness or attending a sick partner and a person who went for a job interview instead of attending the job centre. The latter included letters sent by the DWP to the wrong address and people who arrived on time at the job centre but found an unusually long queue.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/24/benefit-sanctions-trivial-breaches-and-administrative-errors|title=Benefit sanctions: the 10 trivial breaches and administrative errors|first=Patrick |last=Butler|work=The Guardian|date=24 March 2015|access-date=21 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725171858/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/24/benefit-sanctions-trivial-breaches-and-administrative-errors|archive-date=25 July 2015|df=dmy-all}} The Independent cited a man who had a heart attack during a work capability assessment and was sanctioned for not completing it.{{cite news |work=The Independent |url=http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/the-11-most-senseless-benefit-sanction-decisions-known-to-man--x1dmkd2_Me |title=The 11 most senseless benefit sanction decisions known to man |first=Dina |last=Rickman |date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911025249/http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/the-11-most-senseless-benefit-sanction-decisions-known-to-man--x1dmkd2_Me |archive-date=11 September 2015 }} Two cases show reasonably foreseeable consequences for sanctioned diabetic claimants: one resorted to begging for food,{{cite news|author=John Domokos|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/22/jobseekers-story-benefit-sanctions|title=The jobseeker's story: 'I'm not proud to say I've gone begging'|work=The Guardian|date=22 March 2013|access-date=14 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430211450/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/22/jobseekers-story-benefit-sanctions|archive-date=30 April 2015|df=dmy-all}} whilst another who was apparently unable to afford to keep his insulin properly refrigerated was found dead, leading to a parliamentary select committee investigation of sanctions.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/23/benefit-sanctions-investigated-mps|title=Benefit sanctions regime for unemployed to be investigated by MPs|first=Patrick |last=Wintour|work=The Guardian |date=23 October 2014|access-date=24 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708070910/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/23/benefit-sanctions-investigated-mps|archive-date=8 July 2015|df=dmy-all}} In the last quarter of 2013 there were 227,629 claimants sanctioned, a rise of 69,600 compared to the equivalent time in 2012. Over a million British claimants were sanctioned between October 2012 and December 2013. 633,000 got their benefits back after referral and 580,273 referrals were cancelled. Even when benefits are restored on appeal the stress sanctions cause can worsen mental health.{{cite news |work=BBC News |date=7 September 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34158176 |title='Benefit sanctions harmed my mental health' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127221657/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34158176 |archive-date=27 November 2016 }}

Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, who previously worked for Rethink Mental Illness, criticised the reintroduction of sanctions, which were suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. He said benefit sanctions policy was "really cruel and ineffective".{{cite news |title=Trust CEO slams 'cruel and ineffective' government policy |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/trust-ceo-slams-cruel-and-ineffective-government-policy/7027956.article |access-date=18 August 2020 |work=Health Service Journal |date=2 July 2020}}

According to Patrick Wintour in The Guardian, job centre staff were threatened they would be disciplined and given targets because it was felt too few claimants were sanctioned. Statistics are kept about the proportion of claimants sanctioned at each job centre and those with relatively low proportions of claimants sanctioned can face questions. There was reportedly a 'climate of fear' at job centres with staff under pressure to sanction innocent people to meet targets.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/21/jobcentre-set-targets-benefit-sanctions|title=Jobcentre was set targets for benefit sanctions|last=Wintour|first=Patrick|work=The Guardian|date=21 March 2013|access-date=29 December 2013|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229044123/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/21/jobcentre-set-targets-benefit-sanctions|archive-date=29 December 2013|df=dmy-all}} Sanctions also harm the children of sanctioned claimants. Sanctioned claimants and their families sometimes need food banks to get something to eat.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/14/more-jobseekers-allowance-claimants-subject-benefit-sanctions|title=More sanctions imposed on jobseeker's allowance claimants|first=Patrick |last=Wintour|work=The Guardian|date=14 May 2014|access-date=24 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708030540/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/14/more-jobseekers-allowance-claimants-subject-benefit-sanctions|archive-date=8 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/18/food-banks-on-hand-outs|title=Food banks: a life on handouts|first=Amelia |last=Gentleman|work=The Guardian|date=18 July 2012|access-date=24 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707011851/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/18/food-banks-on-hand-outs|archive-date=7 July 2015|df=dmy-all}} The government was urged to review the effects of sanctions in particular on claimants with psychiatric problems and disabilities.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/08/benefit-sactions-government-urged-suspend-vulnerable|title=Government urged to suspend benefit sanctions regime|first=Patrick |last=Wintour|work=The Guardian|date=8 January 2015|access-date=24 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711032341/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/08/benefit-sactions-government-urged-suspend-vulnerable|archive-date=11 July 2015|df=dmy-all}} People with learning difficulties frequently have trouble understanding what is required of them. James Bolton of Mencap said:

{{blockquote|Learning disability is often misunderstood or ignored by advisors and, as a result, essential simple adjustments aren't made to help individuals complete the tasks they are often unfairly set, or even help them understand what sanctions are. Instead, people with a learning disability have been sanctioned again and again for not completing tasks which they simply were not able due to their learning disability.{{cite web|url=https://www.mencap.org.uk/news/article/mencap-deems-jsa-sanctions-grossly-unfair-people-learning-disability|publisher=Mencap |title=Mencap deems JSA sanctions 'grossly unfair for people with a learning disability' |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711101603/https://www.mencap.org.uk/news/article/mencap-deems-jsa-sanctions-grossly-unfair-people-learning-disability|archive-date=11 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}}}

• Unemployment benefits
• Welfare (financial aid)
• Workfare

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• [https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/how-to-claim/ Jobseeker's Allowance on Gov.uk]

{{UK benefits}}

Category:Unemployment in the United Kingdom

Category:Social security in the United Kingdom