By James Simons-
Job Centres in the UK are imposing ridiculous sanctions in the unemployed for ridiculous reasons.
Britain is one of the most accommodating countries when it comes to supporting the unemployed, but sanctions meted out in different parts of the country and unfair.
Job seekers allowance helps those seeking employment sustain their well being with the very minimum support of £70 a week, paid fortnightly. Those in receipt of this benefit are expected to show sufficient evidence of search for work and turn up for appointments.
However, the eye of media.com have learned that even for things as trivial as turning up late for an appointment, a number of people are left without money for weeks as part of a disciplinary sanction imposed by the government and applied by various job Centres.
The system itself makes sense in that it ensures those registered as seeking employment do not abuse the system by sitting on their ass like lazy imbeciles. Where it goes wrong us in depriving those on already very low income because they turned up late for an appointment or even missed one.
HARMFUL
Being penniless for extended periods of time is harmful to the mental health and may drive some vulnerable people to more crime. Punishment that includes sanctions is not a bad thing, but when that sanction is made toasy for long periods, it becomes wrong and without moral reason.
An unemployed man from Leytonstone, East London , told the eye of media.com he has been sanctioned for two months for missing an appointment, forcing him to resort to crime. The man who didn’t want to be named said:
” I have been sanctioned now for a month and have another month to go. I have no money and have accumulated a debt that means that even when I get money again, it will all go immediately “.
Explaining why he missed his appointment and failed to contact the jobcentre, the 25-year-old anonymous man said ” I forgot about the appointment.
I have memory issues. I didn’t have enough money to call the benefit people to explain, and when I eventually called hem from a friend’s phone, they took ages to answer, so I dropped the phone.
EXCUSE
There is never a good enough excuse to commit crime, but the system also has a duty to operate properly and logically. Sanctions are important to keep unemployed people on their toes, but they should not be longer than necessary.
Many of the unemployed in Britain can apply themselves to some job of they tried hard enough. The trouble is that they don’t . A spokesperson from Leytonstone job centre told the eye of media.com:
Individuals who fail to show up to appointments are always given an opportunity to show good reason for the missed appointment. Those reasons are always considered by an adjudicator who decides he next step of action.
Sanctions are only given when it is decided that this is necessary to signify the importance of complying with the rules. The government makes the rules, we just enforce them”.
DISCRETION
Enforcing the rules is truly their job, but they have discretion over the length of time they impose sanctions for. The government has not set any guidelines about the duration of sanctions, and here is where decision makers must use good judgment.
A reduction in the amount paid makes more sense than a total denial of benefit payments, except where an individual continues not to co-operate with requirements of the job center.