Unfair benefits sanction?

[Snowymorning]

Not a begging post and I’ll make things work but just wanted opinions whether I’ve been unfairly treated. I lost my job about 9 months ago due to cuts at work and I’m currently on Universal Credit and have been looking for work around school hours as I’m a single parent and my daughter is in reception . I was signed up for a back to work programme called Restart. Restart kept booking appointments in at school pick up time even though I had told them I can’t attend at these times. I always let them know and asked to rearrange but they kept doing it. I’ve now been sanctioned by the job centre for not attending two Restart appointments booked in at 3pm and they’ve took £363 off me this month. I just think this is unfair at Christmas time especially as a single mum with a 4 year old. I really don’t have anyone else who could have collected my daughter for me either. Fairly new to area and don’t know anybody who could have. Is this fair for them to have done this?

thing is, You need to be working with a child of 4. You’re not likely to find a job that fits in school hours alone, with the travel to and from work and the school ect, and make the amount uc will ask of you. Find a job, and find childcare like everyone else does. Sorry I’m being blunt, do feel for you losing that money right before Christmas but, they have to have these rules. Although, I do think they could have probably done these appointments in school hours, a bit picky of them. You can apply for a hardship payment.

Do you have a written record of the conversations regarding appointment changes - if so you can maybe appeal the decision

The op is on a different scheme though, due to being unemployed for a longer period, so different rules apply.

erm I think you'll find that there is a massive shortage of wraparound care in this country. look here just 26% of local authorities have sufficient wrap around care And even more is unaffordable to someone on benefits (and fwiw, although UC is meant to cover 85% of childcare costs - (which incidentally she's not entitled to until she's actually started work), in very few places does it actually cover 85%.

The question of choice is a different issue.

And yes the sanction is not only unfair, but it's wrong. work coaches are actually meant to take account of childcare issues etc, but in this case they haven't.

Benefit Sanctions are basically a punishment for being Poor. They do nothing to help.people into work at all.

Benefit Sanctions are basically a punishment for being Poor. They do nothing to help.people into work at all.

Not always. Maybe this will give OP the push to get a job instead of hanging round waiting for a ‘fits within school hours’ job. I just don’t think it’s a good enough reason to choose to stay unemployed.

No she can't, she already explained that. Stop making things up. Your unwillingness to imagine that people's lives may be different to your own is remarkable.

I think a lack of childcare or family to help is a pretty good reason actually.

tell me what person who’s already on UC can afford to £10+ an hour for emergency childcare?

What lack of childcare?

It’s fair enough she doesn’t have childcare to attend the appointment. But that doesn’t mean she cant pay for proper childcare if she was to get a job.

Sure, I don’t disagree, but the point is, the rule is she needs to be available for work. Just as plenty of people in employment can’t afford child care, Keeping fighting on mumsnet isn’t going to change that.

There are ways round it tho @Soontobe60

I know 2 working mums whose childcare fell through last minute (one with a days notice and one with less than a week). Both kids in reception, no childcare available locally, no family locally. Neither in jobs where "my childcare fell through" would wash. Both married and whose husbands also can't just not be in work.

They used the class WhatsApp groups to communicate and another mum picked up for them until they could sort more permanent childcare.

OP, this may be something to look into. If you have a class WhatsApp group it can be invaluable. Also, you could use the school run to get to know other parents so that you start to build a network in your new area.

I think that is a big sanction but you can’t just look for work during school hours, you need to use wrap around care which will mostly be covered by UC.

Restart have a dreadful reputation. I don't know how deserved that is but this doesn't inspire confidence.

No, of course it's not fair. I don't know how this works, but agree with posters that you should be able to appeal and I would also make a complaint about the appointments not being fitted around your commitments involving your daughter.

Terrible advice to take her out school early in order to make the appointment, or paid childcare when claiming universal credit.

If she could find childcare, why would she be choosing to stay unemployed? I can assure you that unemployment benefits are not the life of riley. When I was unemployed earlier this year (single parent of one child) I received a grand total of £1300 a month. Working full time, I receive a salary of £1500 plus £600 in UC.

Is there no after school club available?

I work full time and get a UC top-up for wraparound care.

The OP hasn’t actually said she hasn’t been able to find childcare for working. She said she wants a job within school hours.

Wonder if she’ll ever come back to this thread…

I think it seems high, too. I thought missing a JCP interview was a low level sanction, so only 40% of the standard allowance should be deducted.

I'd put a note on your journal, OP, saying that you want a mandatory reconsideration of the decision to sanction you and explaining that a) you told them you wouldn't be able to attend at that time because you have child care responsibilities and have no-one who could pick your child up from school and care for them and b) that you explained this when you cancelled the appointment.

Bear in mind though that with a child over 3, you will be expected to be available for work/work-related activities for 30 hours pw.

the op needs to be careful , from late next year, and when/if the op has been unemployed for 18 months after completing restart. She will be placed in mandatory employment and if she doesn’t do it, her benefits will be stopped. So she’s got some time, but if she’s not employed by the 18 month point, she will be given mandatory employment.

@Frasers

Isn't this similar to workfare

That was scrapped, and for good reason, years ago. There was outrage at the time.

To be fair, I think most people would. I did a school hours job when DS was that age, that was back when it was tax credits though and the rules weren't as strict. I went full time when he was 7.

Not sure about anywhere else but when I was on Restart they had extra money for exactly this, childcare. They gave me £10 one week as I had a 3.30pm appointment and had to get my mum to get my DC from school so it was to cover her fuel costs as she lives out of the schools catchment.

I don’t think this is correct, actually. I own a nursery and have received many payments from UC in the past couple of years for parents attending job interviews. It’s usually parents of children receiving ‘free’ hours.

So if UC pay for childcare so that parents can attend job interviews, what’s the issue? There is literally no excuse.

OP's child isn't nursery age. I don't think many nurseries would take a school age child at short notice for a one off day for a parent to go to an interview?

Isn’t that what after school clubs are for? Or childminders?

And anything which discriminates against single parents also indirectly discriminates against women, because the vast majority of single parents are women.