UC conditionality

What about a formal complaint - get it to your local Complaints Resolution Team - that the CC is unreasonable, that it breaches DWP’s own regulations (Reg 88 for expected hours Reg 96 re. caring responsibilities, and the rather useless and loaded provisions at Reg 15 for reviewing a CC) I am finding CRT to be the only way to get through certain problems without a long, fruitless wait.

Sanwyp, JCP partnership managers locally are promoting a ‘Case Conference Stencil’ - which is apparently a form that organisations can complete if we have concerns about the content of the claimant commitment and feel amendments should be made to take account of the client’s particular needs or difficulties.  I have missed all the meetings where this has been discussed and I will need to have an email trawl to see if the said document has actually been circulated yet. 

I can easily envisage a situation in which eventually the majority of UC claimants will be permanently on a sanction.

Apologies Sandra I was mistaken.  The ‘Case Conference Request Form’ which has been circulated is for the purpose of helping customers ‘move towards employment’ by identifying employment goals, barriers and training needs.

It expressly says it is not for sharing any medical-related or non-employment related information!

I will suggest at next meeting that a similar template could be used to outline concerns.

JCP now suggesting use this form to highlight that there are amendments needed but don’t disclose the medical info, come into job centre for a Meeting with client and work coach to discuss. I think the time constraints on advisers would prevent that in most cases, meaning phone is more likely.

Myself and a colleague successfully got an unreasonable claimant commitment changed about two years ago by making a complaint, and in the written complaint, spelled out where the CC broke the regulations and drafted a new CC that the client considered reasonable. She got what she asked for. But before the claimant commitment was changed, we got a phone call from the client’s job centre adviser saying, in effect, that she didn’t understand the regulations and would have to refer the request to her supervisor.
I have heard occasional complaints from job centre staff that new recruits are usually given short term (though in theory renewable) employment contracts and are not being given adequate training.