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?

As you said yourself people in emergency accomodation can. Op said her son privately rents a one bedroom flat so it's very unlikely that he can
. He will already have a housing element in his universal credit which he's being sanctioned on. Honestly some work coaches are just assholes as in all careers there are always some rotten eggs

This is bullshit.

You have a housing element listed in the breakdown of your universal credit payment. This is not housing benefit.

Housing benefit is one of the 6 legacy benefits universal credit is replacing.

How do you know? Not being snarky just genuinely wondering if you work there and know for sure it's not true.

In my job we have targets to reach on certain things which clients aren't aware of. So I don't think it's completely implausible what that poster said. There's probably pressure not to appear "weak" at the least.

@30percent I do know . I have worked there on and off for over 30 years. Posts like that are dangerous as they scare people off claiming . Especially on sites like these where potentially vulnerable women ( e.g. those fleeing violence) may be deterred from claiming what they are entitled to because someone is posting shit like that. It makes me so angry.

Yes I do work for dwp. It is completely bullshit.

@30percent there are no targets for sanctions. Never have been. I have worked there for 20 years.

There's actually been quite a few dwp employees scattered through this thread calling that post out for being dangerous, scaremongering nonsense as well.

Ah fair enough. Yeah, I know everywhere is different to how much they're entitled to. I'm just glad my rents not high.

Yes yes was being genuine in my message not snarky. I've just finished reading two and I see what you mean. Page one was originally enough for me with people asking "what about jobseekers allowance and housing benefit" on a thread about someone claiming universal credit. Clueless

I can guarantee you that this is absolutely not true, there is no target at all to sanctions. There is no quota's to make etc etc

Has he arranged and attended an appointment since the one he missed? If not, that's the reason the sanction is increasing in length, not because he has queried it.

Sorry to quote you again, but you can claim new style JSA and UC at the same time.

id your UC is sanctioned for failing to attend a UC appointment, it won’t stop the new style JSA. That just carries on being paid.

Hi,

If your son has been working and can meet the criteria for new style job seekers allowance then he needs to claim this.

He will still receive his Universal Credit as he needs this to pay his housing element but new style job seekers allowance will be paid forthrightly to him for living costs. This is known as a dual claim.

There is no conditionality on new style job seekers allowance and therefore makes it near impossible to get sanctioned.

He can claim online at gov.uk. The eligibility criteria is:

• worked as an employee
• paid Class 1 National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years (National Insurance credits can also count)

If he claims and meets the criteria he will be paid as I said every fortnight.

Hope this helps.

Welfare rights lawyer.

They don’t have targets to sanction a certain proportion of people.

They do sanction unfairly and break the law all the time.

Sympathies OP. The UC system is horrendous. I'd encourage him to do all his communication via his online journal and screenshot notifications. If he's notified in advance that he can't make a meeting then there is no justification for sanctions. Escalate to a manager if necessary.

As others have said unless you've experience of the systemit's hard to imagine how awful it can be. I had to rearrange a meeting three times due to previous commitments. Third date offered clashed with a client, so I cancelled the client. I told the member of staff in the meeting that I'd had to cancel work to attend. Was told I should never cancel work. I explained that given third time of rearranging I didn't want to risk a sanction and she mumbled something about challenging it with my work coach - ie I would have been sanctioned.

I am PAYE and self employed and most months am called in for a meeting to explain why my earnings are down this month, in a tone I would never use to anyone. They're not down, the "system" simply hasn't added the two sources of income together. When I explain that, there is never an apology of any sort. I'm treated like I'm lazy/not motivated/not working enough despite working three jobs with family caring commitments and am highly motivated to work. If I didn't need UC so much I'd not claim - probably what they're hoping...

Some not all. I was between jobs recently and needed to claim. The process was very simple.
I had to miss an appointment to wait in for a 24 hour plumber. I explained if he arrived I could attend but they said not to worry.
Following week I had a temporary work coach whilst mine was on holiday. I missed that appointment because I had a start date for my new job so didn't see the point. They rang me, I didn't answer and just wrote it up a few days later that I didn't hear it. My reason was accepted, all fine.

I think something else is going on here or your son isn't following what he needs to do.

Hi

If I were in ur shoes I would journal prior to attending appointment to explain why earnings are not down etc. This would benefit u and the work coach. Also you need to discuss ur family/caring commitments with ur work coach as this may affect ur expected hours of work.

Hi @bonzoman I did this re highlighting PAYE and self employed income for September. They've still called me in for a work commitments meeting. And I also have Covid. So frustrating and stressful.

Unfortunately only employed income counts towards the AET (administrative earnings threshold, the point at which your work coach can stop calling you in for meetings), self employed income is not included.
Your work coach knows this is crazy, they don’t make the rules. Believe me, this has been fed up the system by staff literally hundreds of times. It annoys the hell out of every work coach, but there is nothing they can do, they have to book you a commitments review appointment when your earnings are less than the AET and that has to be followed by work search reviews. It’s not your work coach being a Pratt or picking on you or not listening, it’s one stupid rule that they are trying to change, but that takes time.

Thank you, that is some consolation!