Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Power to Sanction Drives People Mad.


Originally posted on Ipswich Unemployed Action.:

New regime for JSA from October 2012

From October 2012, new sanctions rules for JSA were introduced:
  • 3 categories of sanction – ‘higher’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘lower’ – depending on the nature of the offence
  • different levels of sanction for first, second and third offences
  • changes to the date a sanction starts
These new rules broadly align the rules for JSA sanctions with the rules for Universal Credit.

Previously, a sanction started from the beginning of the benefit week after the Decision Maker (DM) decided to impose the sanction. However, to ensure that claimants see the consequences of their actions or inactions sooner, the new rules enable DMs to impose sanctions at a time closer to the offence. The new sanction period begins either:
  • on the first day of the benefit week in which the offence occurred, if the claimant has not been paid JSA for that week
  • on…
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