Claimant commitment

One of the basic conditions of entitlement is the acceptance of a claimant commitment. This is a record of the claimant’s responsibilities in relation to their award. In the vast majority of cases, where a couple claim, both members must accept this commitment. It is updated and reviewed regularly. Each time it is changed the claimant must accept the new commitment.

The claimant will be given a copy of the commitment at their work search interview. If it is not accepted, the claim will be closed.

The commitment must state what will happen if the claimant fails to meet their responsibilities. This could be a cut in benefit, or sanction which can last for up to three years (see page 35).

University of Cambridge professor of law Simon Deakin warned at a recent Institute of Employment Rights (IER) conference that the increasing “conditionality” in the administration of unemployment-related benefits, as well as the introduction of workfare (see box on page 38) mean that unemployed people are increasingly being required to accept low-paid and casualised work or face benefit sanctions. These can lead to loss of all benefits for long periods of time.

Universal Credit makes things even worse, Deakin says, and will apply the sanctions regime not only to those who are unemployed, but also to those in work and receiving tax credits, where they are working part-time or on a short-term basis.

Speaking at a recent TUC conference on welfare, Eleanor Firman from Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) told trade unionists gathered at the event that Universal Credit will mean that in addition to losing Jobseeker’s Allowance, claimants could also lose other benefits such as housing benefit if they did not meet the conditions and find themselves sanctioned. “People can be sanctioned for not taking work and sanctioned for accepting work on too little pay,” she said.