Changes starting this month will mean thousands of Universal Credit claimants face more pressure to get a job or boost their current income.
Claimants that have no income or that have one but below a certain threshold - known as the Administration Earnings Threshold (AET) - are placed into in the Intensive Work Search regime. These people - which include those who have health issues that do not impact their ability to work - usually have to attend compulsory, in-person work search reviews.
And, when the AET increases this month, around 114,000 people will be will be moved to the criteria for the Intensive Work Search regime, meaning they will have to attend weekly or fortnightly appointments at the job centre, reports the Echo.
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the AET will be raised from £355 to £494 a month for a single claimant, or from £567 to £782 a month for a couple. Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said the government's new approach will "help claimants get quickly back into the world of work while helping ensure employers get the people they and the economy needs."
If people find work they could see their Universal Credit payments reduced, or stopped altogether.
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