Sanctions
Welfare is designed to help people in genuine need. Receiving financial support from the Government comes with an obligation to do something in return for that help. It’s important that you understand the implications of not meeting those obligations.
Implications come in the form of sanctions. Sanctions can be used when people don’t meet their work obligations - they may lose some or all of their benefit payments.
How we sanction people
Sole parents on Domestic Purposes Benefit may face part-time work obligations depending on the age of their children. This means, if they don’t meet the requirements to be actively looking, or preparing, for part-time work of at least 15 hours or more, their benefit may be reduced or stopped.
Partners of beneficiaries face full-time or part-time work obligations depending on the ages of any children they have in their care.
People on Unemployment Benefit face full-time work obligations. This means, if they don’t meet the requirements to be actively looking, or preparing, for full-time work, their benefit may be reduced or stopped.
People receiving Sickness Benefit who have been assessed as able to work at least 15 hours a week may also face part-time work obligations.
Invalid's Beneficiaries, Widow's Beneficiaries, and people receiving Domestic Purposes Benefit - Care of Sick and Infirm and Domestic Purposes Benefit - Women Alone, don’t face work obligations.
If you have work obligations, you’ll face the following sanctions:
- a 50% reduction in your benefit payment the first time you don’t meet your obligations (currently people face a 100% suspension)
- a 100% suspension the second time you don’t meet your obligations, as is currently the case, and
- a 100% cancellation for the third time, as is currently the case.
Sole parents and couples with dependent children face a maximum 50% reduction, suspension, or cancellation of their main benefit.
The impact of these sanctions on Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support or Special Benefit includes:
- no reduction in these types of supplementary assistance for a first failure
- supplementary assistance is stopped the second and third times you fail to meet your obligations if you’re single or without children
- sole parents will continue to receive their full supplementary assistance.
Disability Allowance and Child Disability Allowance are not affected by sanctions.
To re-comply with your work obligations the first or second time you fail them, you’ll have to carry out the same activity as the failed activity where possible or a substantially similar one. For example, if you don’t turn up for a scheduled interview, you will have to attend another interview before you have your benefit re-instated.
Once you start this activity, you can get your benefit back.
The third time you fail your work obligations, you’ll need to do an approved activity for six weeks.
If you have good and sufficient reason for failing to meet your work obligations you will not be sanctioned.
