Benefit advice needed please!

[MumPo71]

Sorry - not sure where to post this. A mum at the school I work at has said her benefits have been stopped because she didn’t make / missed an appointment. She’s a single parent with 3 children. I don’t know much about benefits but does this sound right? Is it expected that she will work now her 3 children are at school?
Looking for advice here please. Happy to repost in another more relevant forum if there is one!
Thanks

Could possibly be correct although without knowing more of the circumstances it is impossible to comment properly
If for example, she had failed to attend a fraud and/or compliance interview without contacting them then they will suspend benefit until she makes contact

There is just not enough to go on that information. I would suggest that she seeks advice from CAb or another welfare benefits organisation. Take all the paperwork or know how to access online journal if on universal credit. They will also know about local support available like food banks.

Only thing I would point her to is a deadline that challenge most benefits decisions is one month.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-benefit-decision-where-to-start/

Sounds like she's been sanctioned, although hard to say without all of the details. A sanction is when they stop or greatly reduce benefits and can be for any number of infractions including missing an appointment. FIL was once sanctioned for not sending back a form in time. The deadline for returning it was something like the 24th of the month, he handed it into the office in person on the 20th but even though it was returned before the deadline they counted it as late because it takes seven days to process it.

Is it expected that she will work now her 3 children are at school?

Yes. Has been the case for years now.
Why are you so interested in someone else’s benefits?

Thanks for your reply. Do you know if she would be expected to be actively looking for work? I wasn’t sure of the rules as she is a single parent. She claims she can’t work because of getting the children ( a long way ) to school and not having any family support to help with them. I want to give her good advice on who she might be able to contact to help her.
Thanks.

She’s asked us for help. That’s why.Id like to know where to direct her for support.

You don't come across as someone who's concerned. More wanting to find out if someone is lying for whatever reason

The best person for her to ask is her adviser at the jobcentre.

She should know this information as she would have been informed by her work coach what she is expected to do and she would have had to agree to those terms.

I’ve heard we can be very judgy on here. Sorry for asking a genuine question about how to help someone. I’ve sat in a meeting with this poor woman in tears today. Unbelievable that it seems I cannot just ask for some advice.

Thanks. She doesn’t speak very good English so I’m not sure if something has been lost in translation.I’ll tell her to go back to the job centre.

She should be eligible for a hardship payment too. Tell her to ring up about that.
She will be expected to actively look for work and also attend regular appointments.

If child over 5 expectation is Work a maximum of 25 hours a week (or spend 25 hours a week looking for work)

Thanks guest2013 I will tell her.

Benefits have changed quite a bit in recent years since they were my safety net but my basic understanding is that she will need to work if not a carer and children at school.

Depending on particular benefits sometimes it appears to be children at school, sometimes youngest child 7. Thats my interpretation of what Ive read on here. Entitledto.co.uk gives a basic overview of benefits that she may be able to claim.

Benefit sanctions for not attending appointments can be quite severe. She really needs to urgently challenge this. Sometimes people need a hand hold to go through this sort if thing - maybe you could offer to be by her side when she rings and help her with a plan or accompany her to citizens advice so she can get herself properly advised if how to proceed.

In the immediate situation it's worth mentioning quietly to the safeguard lead at school that the family are in significant hardship. I mention safeguard because they tend to be more descreet than mentioning at the school desk. Schools can help to ensure the children are getting and eating their lunch plus on ocassion I've known them to top up with morning snack etc.