Universal Credit Sanctions are so unfair

[Fluffysocks700]

Hi all, this is my first ever post so sorry in advance for the long rant. My 30 year old son is currently unemployed since the company he worked for went bust and now gets universal credit. He has attended every single fit for work interview, job course etc as well as actively seeking work through sites on the internet. He has depression/anxiety/ADHD/PTSD but still want's to work obviously. However, he had a Job Centre interview last week but couldn't attend because he was ill with Norovirus, he let his job coach at the DWP know this prior to the appointment and she said it was fine and another appointment would be made for him to attend. However, he then got an email via his online journal to say that his universal credit has been sanctioned by £12.70 a day for 7 days because he failed to attend his appointment, he queried this and explained he was ill. But then got another email from his work coach to say the sanctions were now for 14 days, when he emailed her to ask why she said the exact thing..that he hadn't attended his mandatory appointment. When my son challenged this, he then received yet another email to say his U/C was now sanctioned to 21 days.Clearly this is not right, he has asked for a mandatory reconsideration but has heard nothing back because by this they are putting him into severe hardship, he receives £302.60 per month so these sanctions at £12.70 a day are £266.70 which leaves him with £38.30 to live on for a whole MONTH. He lives in a privately rented one bedroom flat and will not be able to pay his rent, buy food and top up his utility meters but obviously the DWP don't care a jot about this and this is also affecting his mental health. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what he can do to get this put right?

He has tried everywhere so far, from managerial work (He used to be a manager at M&S) post office,security work, factories, even stacking shelves at various supermarkets, retail, you name it but still nothing comes his way.

I will just quietly creep on to say that I’ve found my work coaches quite supportive. My ex was abusive and when we first separated he was being really difficult about dc going to childcare so I could work. My work coach then was really lovely and reassuring, she organised some kind of grant to pay first months childcare and first months mileage to help with commuting costs. I found her really helpful at a difficult time.

I think there can be a worrying narrative about how difficult UC is to navigate but it’s not the case for everyone provided you meet your commitments. Also surely you keep them updated on your job search not the other way round?

Sounds extremely unfair OP. He has done nothing wrong.

Put the same effort into appealing/challenging as job seeking and it will be a moot point
That’s the thing you got from this? You think those on benefits don’t deserve to eat, pay bills etc. .

My son was sanctioned for missing an appointment while in hospital after he'd hanged himself. So you'll get no argument from me.

That’s a bit of a leap isn’t it?

God thats awful, I'm so sorry that happened to you.

Did they know he was in hospital for trying to hang himself when they sanctioned him?

Turn up for your appointment is my main take away.

They did.

When he's throwing up and has diarrhoea with Noro?

No it's not mixed it. You can get housing benefit

Still*

Housing benefits do not pay the full rent. A percentage is paid from your benefits.

No, you can't, unless you're a pensioner.

Housing benefit doesn't exist for working age people any more. It's now "housing element" and is part of UC. So his total UC award will include any help towards rent that he is entitled to.

It just says housing on my thing. Luckily I get the full amount.

I get the full amount

Housing benefit does not exist for most universal credit claimants, it's all one benefit now. ffs get your facts right or don't post.

Op, he needs to appeal asap. Get MP involved or whatever it takes

Well it's a separate thing in mine and I get paid the full amount

Could he not have had a phone consultation with his work coach?

Sounds horrendous that he was given further sanctions for enquiring it especially if his first one.

I'm clueless on the system, if he has those conditions surely they have some leniency.

@Starlight7080 Please don’t post scaremongering stuff like this. Your friends are not telling the truth.

It really isn’t quick or easy to just sanction a UC claimant who has missed an appointment.

a first sanction will be for a seven day fixed period, plus the number of days between missing the appointment and requesting a new appointment.
so if he misses an appointment on the 7th, but contacted them the same day to say he was too unwell to attend, (and the reason given is not classed as ‘good cause’ or if he has already been allowed good cause twice previously) his sanction would be 7 days.
if he left it till the 20th to contact them, the sanction would be for 20 days total (7 days fixed period plus 13 days from the 7th to the 20th).

the second time, the fixed period increases and again on the third time.

I agree with PP that you haven’t been given the full story here.

Get on the phone and keep hassling them.
My WC told me not to come in to the jobcentre as we would have an appt over the phone. My employer wasn't declaring my earnings on time. There had been multiple complaints to get it all sorted out.
He didn't update the system properly so I got sanctioned! I put a message in the journal and got on the phone to put them straight. Keep going OP x

Does it show up on your UC statement? If so then it's the housing element of UC and it's subject to the same conditionality/sanctions/deductions as the rest of your UC award.

You can't claim it on its own like you could with old style housing benefit.

Or you could be helpful instead of unnecessarily parading your faux morality around.

Sorry, but this scaremongering nonsense is categorically untrue.

DW0 staff member for nearly 20 years.