Sanctions

seven-day-weekend

Morlock wrote: »

Being too ill to turn up to the Work Programme would result in a sanction. A claimant is allowed two 'sick days', any further non-attendance for illness results in a sanction, even if the work programme provider has had prior notification of non-attendance.

Even if they have a Dr's note? I can understand it if someone is 'too ill' to turn up because they have a headache, or period pains, or idle-itis, but surely if it is a genuine illness verified by a professional they would not get sanctioned?

~Chameleon~

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Even if they have a Dr's note? I can understand it if someone is 'too ill' to turn up because they have a headache, or period pains, or idle-itis, but surely if it is a genuine illness verified by a professional they would not get sanctioned?

I've already told you that YES, you do get sanctioned even if ill but you conveniently ignored my earlier posts.

Morlock

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Even if they have a Dr's note? I can understand it if someone is 'too ill' to turn up because they have a headache, or period pains, or idle-itis, but surely if it is a genuine illness verified by a professional they would not get sanctioned?

Even where a work programme/work focussed interview appointment is missed with prior notification, the DWP are informed of a non-attendance. Any reasons for non-attendance are assessed by the DWP and a decision is made whether or not to sanction. A doctor's note will usually sway the DWP's decision in the claimants favour, but still only two sickness periods are allowed, with or without a doctor's note. The same applies to JSA claimants, only two sicknesses are allowed in any given 12 month period.

Dunroamin

clemmatis wrote: »

New member?

Yes indeed we can all trot out stories. Dunroamin and seven-day-weekend, who thanked you, did that very thing...

But some of our stories are true and based on in depth family knowledge rather than " I know x number of people down the pub who say......" There's a difference.

Morlock

Dunroamin wrote: »

But some of our stories are true and based on in depth family knowledge rather than " I know x number of people down the pub who say......" There's a difference.

And based on things that mostly happened decades ago, this is the 21st century not 1930, which is getting on for a century ago.

Dunroamin

clemmatis wrote: »

So he didn't claim JSA during those years? I'd have had no problem with his doing that and not moving to look for a job. There are reasons -- valid ones -- why people might not. I am really sorry to hear his jobs have been so precarious -- that is, have been less than full-time -- too. The issue for me is one of consistency and of an understanding that -- as I said in my first post -- we cannot necessarily generalise from "X moved to a different English county to get a job" to "the long term unemployed can and should up sticks" *particularly at a time of high unemployment*.

I

There are, of course, many reasons why not everybody can move to look for employment, particularly when a parter's own employment needs to be taken into consideration and/or there are caring responsibilities involved. However, there are very many people who do not have these restrictions who could often relocate from areas of high unemployment if they were seriously motivated to get a job.

Dunroamin

Morlock wrote: »

And based on things that mostly happened decades ago, this is the 21st century not 1930, which is getting on for a century ago.

Hasn't the world become smaller in the last 80 years? Don't most of us have wider horizons and travel more?

Why should relocating be a viable option for someone in the 1930s and not in 2013, particularly with the support of a generous benefit system which wasn't available at that time?

seven-day-weekend

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I've already told you that YES, you do get sanctioned even if ill but you conveniently ignored my earlier posts.

I haven't ignored them, I haven't even seen them!

seven-day-weekend

Morlock wrote: »

Even where a work programme/work focussed interview appointment is missed with prior notification, the DWP are informed of a non-attendance. Any reasons for non-attendance are assessed by the DWP and a decision is made whether or not to sanction. A doctor's note will usually sway the DWP's decision in the claimants favour, but still only two sickness periods are allowed, with or without a doctor's note. The same applies to JSA claimants, only two sicknesses are allowed in any given 12 month period.

So it's two sickness periods, not two sickness days, as was claimed earlier. That is entirely different. It's quite often like that in employment too.

Morlock

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

So it's two sickness periods, not two sickness days, as was claimed earlier. That is entirely different. It's quite often like that in employment too.

Two sickness periods of (up to) seven days each, one day counts as one period. For example, if a claimant was ill for two weeks, and had an appointment on one day of each week, that would count as two periods of sickness. So theoretically, yes, two days of sickness per annum.