Jobcentre staff who manage to get the most people back into work will be given up to £250 in vouchers under a new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) scheme. The DWP says Universal Credit claimants will also have to visit a Jobcentre every fortnight, after having been on the benefit for 13 weeks.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has previously warned the scheme could increase the number of claimants being sanctioned. Martin Cavanagh, the union’s DWP Group President, said: "Asking more customers to travel more often into job centres does nothing to help our staff or their workloads."
A total of 90 Jobcentres will be involved in the trial, with 30 testing just the rewards scheme and 30 trialling just the "enhanced daily support" scheme. A further 30 Jobcentres will test both the rewards and "enhanced daily support", the Mirror reports.
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A spokesperson for the DWP told The Mirror: "It is right that we reward our staff when they go above and beyond, and helping people to secure, stay in, and succeed in work is a key government priority.
"DWP has an existing in-year reward policy which allows for recognition in the form of both individual and team-based awards in the form of vouchers to colleagues."
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