Avoiding Unlawful Benefit Sanctions
Sometimes its best to avoid the opportunity to get an unlawful benefit sanction (known from now on as “sanction dodging“). You cannot always avoid sanctions by sanction dodging all types of benefit sanctions but some you can.
Signing On Sanctions
You can be sanctioned for being late or failing to sign on. This could lose you benefit of between 1 and 2 weeks.
Whether you were hibernating (in bed), bus arrived late (or failed to turn up) or had an appointment (of any sort) and missed your signing on appointment, you can simply fill in your ES40JP signing on booklet and hand it in to Jobcentre Plus. You can then pick up your claim a day later by making a rapid reclaim via the telephone. (Read all points below – at your own risk!)
Basically you are legally required to attend Jobcentre Plus to sign Labour Market Declarations (“sign on”) every 2 weeks (every week for some people for a certain period) with social security “bolt on” legislation giving penalty for violators of up to 2 weeks benefit sanctions, but only with an active claim. If you sign off, you no longer are required to do so. You may sign off while backdating the period (although we advise not to take the piss; keep it to the previous day, or failing that 2 days ago.)
They aren’t able to reject a request so sign off. They generally like people signing off as its good for their statistics. You do not have to request a reason for signing off (although they will request one). This is not a loophole and it is not benefit fraud.
Some important points:
- You must stick the last date you want to claim as the day before you (were supposed to) sign on. It is also best to date the signature the same day too.
- You will lose one day benefit by this method (which is better than losing 1-2 weeks benefit!).
- We suggest that as procedure for each time you sign on: enter the Jobcentre, use the Jobpoints print off a job, look at the date and time. If you are more than 2 minutes late you are likely to be sanctioned so leave the Jobcentre and fill in the ES40JP. If you are on time but there is a queue its probably better to take the risk if the staff can see you are waiting clearly.
- Do not fill in the ES40JP in the Jobcentre – if staff notice they might give you a little trouble. Alternatively you may wish to require their assistance to sign off but don’t mention you are supposed to sign on today. It complicates things and if you have a bad member of staff, they can cause you trouble.
- Jobcentre Plus will wise up to this… If they are clever enough to realise (unlikely) its a signing on week today for you (or assume it because it states the same day name on the ES40JP) and ask you along the lines of “Are you sanction dodging?” or are you avoiding sanctions etc. do not confess. They will try this – its none of their business and under law they are not allowed to deny you ending your own claim. If you cower, your claim will remain active and will result in a benefit sanction guaranteed.
- If your request to sign off is refused. Ask for a manager. If one isn’t available, you are talking to him/her already or they refuse to, call the police (non-emergency number). It is outside the police remit as Jobcentre Plus not being a person, although would shortly become a breach of the peace which is under their remit. The chances are if you aren’t assaulted by security they would call the police anyway.
Now
I bring my signing on booklet to each Flexible New Deal appointment
If I think they are about to sanction me and I had not signed anything at the provider, I go to Jobcentre and sign off for the previous day
I had done this – a sanction doubt failed as I wasn’t signed on
LOL!
I pickled this idea up from your sanction dodging article – this might be of help to your readers
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I’m finding a lot of this still very vague. First the facts: The facts seem to be a very large number of jobseekers have fallen victim to a political process of so-called sanctions. I can only guess a signifcant number of these people immediately go to Citizens Advice where they get legal advice. I’m told Citizens Advice is now flooded with cases. Meantime it seems people borrow money off friends and relatives. In extreme cases they wind up on the street.
Next the actual legalities. This is where I get confused. Nobody seems to know for sure whether the Government is acting illegally to the extent you can legally challenge the ongoing situation. There is an argument the Government is relying more on exploitation of public ignorance with regard to human rights law and getting away with murder. The other argument is they do have the right to cease social security payments.
Last point: I oppose this 100 per cent because I think what we’re seeing is a very subtle shift in blame over unemployment. High unemployment used to be a political issue where polititicians were called to account to do something about it. Now the shift in blame is being directed at the jobseeker. Yet the jobseeker cannot create vacancies where they are lacking.
Anyway, please can someone inform me accuirately over the implication sof this in terms of human rights and European law.
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Amanda, So if I understand this correctly, say you had a Flexible New Deal Appointment on Tuesday where you anticipated that you would be “getting sent back to the Job Centre”, so you then signed off on the Monday and re-claimed on the Wednesday? I am not 100% certain but I think that the Job Centre count the last day of attendance at the Provider as being the day before your last appointment. So if you had an appointment on the Tuesday your last day of attendance would be the Monday so not signed on when the “doubt was raised”?
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I’m going to be 30 mins late for an appointment with a JSA adviser on Friday due to them booking me in at a time incompatible with the bus. Any advice? (They may not sanction me, but who knows. The only other alternative is to spend hours sat on a park bench which isn’t an option).
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Ask them by phone to change the time and state the reason .
go to a cafe if deny it
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Id give you a lift if ya lived in grimsby area
Sorry
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Could this strategy be used to avoid 4 weeks of compulsory work placements ?
Jobcentre Plus staff are currently ordering claimants to attend 4 weeks of mandatory “training” (in other words, one month of slavery)under threats of sanctions for non compliance for three months. But by signing off benefit on the day the placement is due to start and making a rapid reclaim the following day, the jobseeker can escape the sanction at the cost of one day’s benefit.
However, there is a downside to this scenario. Much will depend on how often these placements are scheduled to begin over the course of a year. For example, if the placements are arranged to start every month then the jobseekers will be forced to go through this exercise every month which is not really an onerous task; but if the placements are set up to start every fortnight then jobseekers will have to take the appropriate take the action every 2 weeks and thereby lose days benefit every month.
But even so, this action is far better than either of the alternatives : trying to survive without money for three months or unjustly enriching some private organisation by working for nothing for 4 weeks.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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i will let you know if this works because i have signed off the day before my 4 week placement (ie slavery) was due to start. i have just applied for a rapid reclaim so fingers crossed i will get away with being sanctioned
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Michelle… the requirement to participate in MWA ceases when your JSA claim terminates. So signing off does (and should) allow you to bypass it.
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They wont liek you for it but you should continue to do this to avoid MWA. It is legal and they will give up eventually mandating you to it as will be expensive to keep opening and closing your claim!!
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do you think people on the work programme will also be able to avoid doing unpaid work by signing off the day before it’s due to start as well??
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