The Work Programme Network has revealed concerns that the Mandatory Work Activity scheme is:

• An extension to the Employment Officer/Jobcentre plus advisers existing sanction targets
• A bribe of paying private businesses between £200 and £800 to save the “public purse” up to £1,775 of benefit “savings” over 6 months (£955 after the maximum bribe, increasing with smaller bribe amounts)
• Falsely incriminating Jobseekers Allowance claimants by accusing jobseekers of being benefit fraudsters
• A sham scheme as a front for less accountability of sanctions by getting private providers to do the dirty work and being one of the first employment programmes without a clear selection process which can be forced upon new benefit claimants in their first week of a claim
• Directly designed to create welfare budget savings, and not to give a person the valuable work experience (we wouldn’t be surprised if in most areas such placements not even existing).

[1] Employment Officers are finding it hard of how to trip people up to create sanction doubts against them. These are becoming unsafe especially with The Guardian exposing such scam, and increasing amount of successful appeals.

[2] As its a scam scheme (see number 4) the false tender process with paying providers with taxpayers money as an incentive to get people sanctioned from their benefits, is nothing less than a bribe. By bribe we mean a financial award for influencing decisions or changing a persons judgement than they would have otherwise done.

[3] Employment Officers/Jobcentre Plus advisers have discretion to select those its suspects (whilst under pressure for sanction targets) of not matching the conditions. Those who do not match the conditions are benefit fraudsters. This is unfounded allegations and with exception to any sanctions awarded, up until that point the claim remains 1) active and 2) no investigation or sanction for not meeting the conditions (as alleged).

[4] The Regulations states to be selected for the scheme that a person must be 1) aged at least 18 or over and 2) required to meet the jobseeker conditions. This practically is everyone claiming Jobseekers Allowance (exception to under 18s claiming under hardship)!!  The selection process by discretion is therefore going to be discriminative.

There is room for the provider to make notification of attendance and to try to trip up the jobseeker.

[5] The increased sanctions (from 2 weeks to 13 weeks) and eligibility from day 1 of a benefit claim proves this is a benefit saving exercise. Nothing more, nothing less.