Tough new rules put in place by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for Universal Credit claimants have been slammed by a key committee.
A new law was passed in February — without any scrutiny or a vote — that reduced the length of time that claimants were allowed to seek a relevant job before being forced to take a position outside of their "preferred sector" from three months to four week.
Under the new rules, Universal Credit claimants can now be hit with sanctions if they choose not to take a job offered to them four weeks after their initial application.
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As reported by The Mirror, the rules were implemented as part of the UK Government's 'Way to Work' initiative, which seeks to get 500,000 Universal Credit claimants into work before June.
It was pushed through as an emergency law, meaning it was not required to have the approval of the Social Security Advisory Committee and was not voted on by MPs.
However, the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee stated that using emergency powers to force through the new rules was "unjustified", and stated that the June target was "arbitrary" with “no clear means of measuring success”.
In an uncommon move, the Committee brought the move to the "special attention" of the Lords, and stated that the DWP should inform Parliament whether it meets its target.
It said: “Extensive additional evidence still left us with the view that the target is aspirational, its delivery not yet fully thought through, and the Department’s ability to say whether its target has been achieved somewhat uncertain.”
It added that the DWP was not able to explain how it will reach or measure its target, nor whether those who take on part-time work would be included.
The rules have been slammed as "ridiculous" as they could force Universal Credit claimants to change their careers and deal wit commutes up to three hours per day.
The DWP previously announced that claimants would be required to accept a job offer even if it involved a 90-minute commute to and from their home — or else face sanctions.
SNP MP David Linden stated in February: “Norman Tebbit callously told people to ‘get on their bike’ to look for work when there was mass unemployment under the Tories in the 1980s.
“This ridiculous rule is taking up the Tebbit mantra and forcing people to go miles further or face having their benefits cut.”
A spokesperson previously stated that the 90-minute rule has not changed with the introduction of Way to Work.
They continued: “Work coaches take an individual’s circumstances and capability into consideration when setting commitments, ensuring they are realistic and achievable.”
A warning has been issued by charities that the “forceful approach” could “create huge amounts of anxiety and stress”.
The precise nature of the target has also been called into question.
Back when Boris Johnson unveiled the scheme he stated: “We are launching a plan to get half a million people off welfare and into work.”
However, it is thought that the initiative will only aims to get 500,000 people into work — not necessarily off of Universal Credit.
Millions of Universal Credit claimants also have a job, but it doesn’t pay enough for them to come fully out of the welfare system.
Labour peer Lord Rowlands, a member of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said: “We remain unconvinced that emergency legislation was necessary which, as a consequence, curtailed proper parliamentary scrutiny of a measure that affects the rights of hundreds of thousands of claimants.
“We also remain concerned that the implementation of the plan did not take into account the regional differences in job vacancies.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “This isn’t about sanctioning people – it’s about getting people to consider jobs in other sectors earlier, helping them find work faster.
“As has always been the case, people are only sanctioned if they fail, without good reason to meet the conditions which they agreed to, which could include attending a job interview, or completing training, and the latest data shows the sanctions rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.
“With a record 1.3 million jobs available, it’s right that people who can work, are encouraged to take up available roles.”
