This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Failing to apply for a job'.

Handling sanction referrals and notifications 
Summary 
What to do when there is reason to believe a claimant has not met a work 
related requirement 
Content 
When there is reason to believe a claimant has not met a work-related 
requirement, an agent should invite the claimant to show good reason.  
There are no specified time constraints in law for a claimant to show good 
reason for a failure.  
Claimants should be given sufficient time to comment and to provide evidence 
appropriate to the particular circumstances of the failure. This should be flexible 
to reflect an individual's circumstances. 
In most cases the benchmark should continue to be 5 days where the 
information is to be by post. (Reference to days is working days excluding 
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. Allowance must be made for posting 
where a notification is made by post.  
Depending on the individuals circumstances the agent can set the date for less 
than 5 days where: 
  the agent contacts the claimant by phone or face to face (and the agent 
is satisfied that the claimant is clear about what they are being asked to 
provide and do not need to collate and provide evidence)  
  the claimant has agreed the preferred method of contact is by electronic 
means such as by text, email or their UC account. (If the claimant agrees 
to provide evidence face to face, by telephone or by electronic means the 
claimant must be informed of the consequences of not providing good 
reason by a certain time). Some of the methods by electronic means will 
not be available during Pathfinder, for example, their UC account. 
The agent can set the date for longer than 5 days where the claimant, for 
example: 
  needs to seek information or evidence from a third party  
  has an agent or representative  
  has complex needs/requirement for additional support – such as a health 
condition, life event, personal circumstances that may have prevented 
them from replying at this time (e.g. a pre existing health condition that is 
relevant or existing caring or parental responsibilities that may be 
relevant) 
Note: Sanction referrals are not appropriate if a 2nd opinion of the Claimant 
Commitment results in changed requirements and the claimant fails to do 
something which on review is no longer relevant. 

Recording on WSP that a claimant may have failed to meet a work related 
requirement 

When the agent identifies that the claimant may not have met a requirement 
then this is recorded on the claimant's record on Work Services Platform 
(WSP). The agent: 
1.  Selects 'Doubt' from the 'Common' menu in the claimant's record – a 
history of previous doubts raised will be displayed.  
2.  Selects 'Add New Doubt' – this opens at the 'Doubt' screen.  
3.  Selects a 'Doubt Type' to open a new window. 
4.  Makes a selection from the 'Name' column (the 'AR code' field will 
automatically be populated once a 'Doubt Type' has been selected). A 
full list of AR codes and descriptions in WSP can be found in the table 
below. 
5.  Selects 'From date' and enters date of failure. 
6.  Selects 'To date' if relates to a low or lowest level sanction (for a work 
preparation or interview requirement) and claimant has met compliance 
condition (date should be the day before the claimant meets the 
compliance condition). 
7.  Records if evidence has been asked for by updating the 'Evidence 
Requested' radio button (this defaults to 'No') and sets to 'Yes' if 
evidence has been requested. (If this is set to 'Yes', the 'Review Date' 
field appears and sets a date 5 working days from today. This can be 
changed if appropriate). The agent should leave the radio button as 'No' 
if all the evidence has been received at the point of the doubt being 
raised on WSP. 
8.  Selects the 'Source' from the look up e.g. 'Provider'.  
The agent identifies the correct good reason data gather notification letter 
relevant to the sanction level: 
  High and Medium (LTR Good reason gather) 
  Low (LTR Good reason gather low level sanction) 
  Lowest (LTR Good reason gather lowest level sanction) 
The agent copies the exact wording of the failed Work Related Requirement 
from the current Claimant Commitment and any compliance conditions stated 
including dates and times if appropriate. The agent issues the notification to the 
claimant by hand if they are in the office or by post if not, informing them we are 
not satisfied they have met one of their Work Related Requirements and to give 
them the opportunity to provide any evidence and the date the form must be 
returned to the Mail Opening Unit (MOU) by.  
If issuing the notification by hand, the agent should encourage claimant to 
complete the questions on the good reason data gather notification whilst in the 
office and emphasise the importance and relevance of providing reasons. If the 
claimant does not need any supporting documentary evidence and completes 
the questions whilst in the office, the WSC sends the completed notification to 
the MOU for uploading in to the Document Repository Service (DRS). 

If the claimant has a potential Low or Lowest sanctionable failure, their UC 
could be cut for every day until the claimant complies followed by fixed periods. 
This must be explained to the claimant. The agent must ensure the claimant 
understands what they need to do to meet the requirement and stop their 
potential Low or Lowest sanction period from building. The claimant's work 
search activity will be reviewed as part of the process if necessary. 
The agent records the following in the 'Notes' section of the 'Doubt' screen: 
  type of notification issued (see notification list above) 
  the date of issue and when it has to be returned by 
  method of notification  
  for low and lowest level sanctions, include the compliance condition and 
the date of compliance if appropriate 
  details of the failure. For example, claimant failed to attend a Work 
Search Interview 
  any contact with the claimant since the failure 
  any other relevant information  
Reviewing the task where evidence has been requested 
When a sanction referral has been raised, WSP automatically sets a task to 
review the evidence that has been requested. On receipt of the task the agent: 
1.  Selects the appropriate task from 'My Activities' and checks for notes 
held in the task, claimant record and the 'Doubt' screen for the 
information/evidence requested. 
2.  Checks if the evidence has been received. 
3.  Checks DRS for related post. 
4.  Adds a new note in the 'Doubt' screen to record any items of evidence 
received. 
5.  Records 'Mark Complete' to close the task and remove from 'My 
activities'. 
6.  Selects 'Save and Close'. 
DRS takes 48hrs to upload information therefore this must be taken into 
account when determining whether the claimant has met the date set for the 
return of evidence. 
Evidence not received and claimant identified as having complex needs 
and/or requires additional support 

Where a claimant is identified as having complex needs and/or requires 
additional support, the agent should consider these and determine whether 
additional action is required.  
When appropriate the agent calls the claimant to discuss if they are able to 
provide evidence and if they require any additional support to do this. 
The claimant's contact details can be obtained from the 'Contact Details' section 
in their WSP record. 

Where the call is successful, the agent asks the standard security questions to 
confirm the claimant's identity before continuing with the call. 
Where the claimant's identity is confirmed, they explain to the claimant that 
there has been a request for evidence relating to a sanctionable failure and this 
evidence has not been received. 
The agent explains to the claimant the importance of providing evidence as a 
decision will be made without their input if they do not provide the evidence.  
If the agent is satisfied that the claimant can provide the evidence the agent 
asks the questions listed on the original notification held in WSP notes. The 
agent records the responses in a new note word for word. If the claimant 
intends to provide supporting documentary evidence the agent advises them to 
post this with the original notification to MOU. 
If the agent decides during the call that the claimant requires further support, a 
referral to an intermediary should be considered. If this is the case, the agent 
determines a suitable return date based on the claimants circumstances and 
explains this to the claimant. The agent then sets a task to review receipt of 
evidence. 
If the claimant is unable to get support from an intermediary, the agent refers 
them to DWP Visiting Service. See 'Considering claimants complex 
needs/requirement for additional support before taking sanction action'. The 
agent then sets a WSP task to review the outcome of the visit. 
Where the call is unsuccessful or the claimant fails the security questions, the 
agent sends a further good reason data gather notification and re-sets the WSP 
task to review receipt of evidence.  
When the task matures, the agent repeats the process (as explained above). 
Where the call is unsuccessful for a second time, the agent prepares for referral 
to a Decision Maker (DM). 
Recording a decision for cases of failure to attend Work Related 
Interview/Work Search Review 

In cases of failure to attend Work Related Interview/Work Search Review cases 
only: if the claimant provides information or evidence that complies with the list 
below then there is no need to refer the matter to a Decision Maker (DM). 
The factors that count as good reason are: 
  suffering a temporary period of sickness (for 2 periods of sickness in any 
12 months. The 2 periods cannot run consecutively) 
  a domestic emergency (life event) – including serious illness, death, 
funeral or emergency affecting a relative or close friend or death of 
someone the claimant is caring for  
  claimant was detained in police custody for 96 hours or less then 
released 
  claimant was required to attend court or tribunal 

  claimant has attended a job interview and can provide sufficient 
evidence, for example, letter from employer/name of interviewer 
  adverse weather conditions – consider are the local conditions such that 
the claimant could not reasonably be expected to attend  
  claimant has accessed the domestic violence conditionality easement 
within the past 12 months  
  the claimant was at work or travelling to work 
The agent should be satisfied that the reasons given apply to the above list and 
can be treated as straight forward without a referral to the DM. However, if the 
reasons given meet the criteria above but the agent doubts validity, good 
reason cannot be accepted and the case must be referred to the DM.  
To record the decision, with the claimant's WSP record open at the 'Doubt' 
screen, the agent: 
1.  Selects the relevant 'Doubt'. 
2.  Selects 'Close Doubt' icon from the tool bar menu. 
3.  Selects look up menu under 'Outcome'. 
4.  Selects 'Good Reason' from the list displayed then 'OK'. 
5.  Selects 'Date Calendar' from 'Decision Made On' field and selects 
relevant date.  
6.  Selects 'Decision Made By' field and records name of the agent who 
made decision and 'OK'. 
7.  Selects 'Save and Close'. 
If the agent is face-to-face with the claimant they inform them that good reason 
has been accepted and no further action will be taken. If the agent is not face-
to-face with the claimant, the agent attempts to contact the claimant by 
telephone to inform them of the decision. 
If the claimant can't be contacted by phone and the agent is not in face-to-face 
conversation with the claimant, the agent completes and sends a 'LTR Good 
Reason accepted' notification to the claimant. The agent also sends a copy of 
the notification to the MOU marked 'No CAMLite Action'.  
If the evidence provided by the claimant is not accepted as good reason the 
agent refers the case to a DM. 
Referring the case to a Decision Maker 
When a case needs referring to a DM, the agent sends details of the failure to 
the Account Developer (AD) to be forwarded to the National Decision Making 
team. 
For further information on the details to include in a referral see 'Gathering 
evidence for DM referrals'.  
To record the referral on WSP, the agent: 
1.  Selects the 'Refer Doubt' icon on the toolbar. List of AR codes can be 
found in the table below. 

2.  Enters today's date in the 'Referred On' field. 
3.  Completes the 'Destination' field with 'National Decision Making'.  
4.  Records if evidence has been received by updating the 'Evidence 
Received' radio button, this defaults to 'No' and should be set to 'Yes' if 
evidence has been received. The agent updates 'Notes' with: 

a list of any evidence provided by the claimant including the 
evidence held on DRS and the date it was sent to the MOU 

any relevant contact with the claimant 

where the claimant has failed to attend a Work Related Interview 
any interviews booked or conducted since the failure was 
identified 

any details of compliance. For example, claimant attended with 
CV 
5.  Selects 'Save and Close'. 
The agent sets an immediate generic clerical CAMLite task sub type 'Action 
Required' to the AD to refer the sanctionable failure for a decision. The task 
notes include “refer to DM, data gather letter sent on dd/mm/yy and sanction 
referral type”. The AD reassigns the task to their team leader who reassigns the 
task to the DM. 
Sanction referral from a Work Programme or Mandatory Work Activity 
provider 

When a sanction referral on either a MWA1(UC) or WP08(UC) form is received 
from either the Work Programme (WP) or MWA provider, the Account 
Developer (AD) records the sanctionable failure onto the claimant's WSP 
record. 
The MWA1(UC) or WP08(UC) form will be received by either: 
  fax 
  post 
  e-mail 
If the form is received by fax or post, the AD receives a CAMLite task from the 
specialist admin team to review the notification in Document Repository System 
(DRS). 
If the form is received by email, the AD uploads the MWA1(UC) or the 
WP08(UC) to DRS.  
To record the sanctionable failure on WSP, the AD: 
1.  Selects 'Doubt' from the 'Common' menu in the claimant's record – a 
history of previous doubts raised will be displayed.  
2.  Selects 'Add New Doubt' – this opens at the 'Doubt' screen.  
3.  Selects a 'Doubt Type' to open a new window. 
4.  Makes a selection from the 'Name' column (the 'AR code' field will 
automatically be populated once a 'Doubt Type' has been selected). A 
full list of AR codes and descriptions in WSP can be found in the table 
below. 

5.  Selects 'From date' and enters date of failure. 
6.  Selects the 'Source' from the look up e.g. 'Provider'.  
7.  Selects 'Save' on WSP. 
8.  Sets a WSP task for the Work Services Coach (WSC) to inform them that 
a potential sanctionable failure has been identified by the provider. 
9.  Sends the sanction referral to the DM. See 'Referring the case to a 
Decision Maker' above. 
Work Services Platform AR Codes for sanction referrals 
When recording a sanction referral on WSP, the agent will choose the relevant 
category from the table below. 
Work related 
Conditionality 
requirement type 
Code Name Level Group 
and example of 
failure 
Loss of 
All work-related 
employment 
UCH/001 
High 
requirements 
 
through 
group     
misconduct 
Leaving 
All work-related 
UCH/002 employment 
High 
 
requirements group 
voluntarily  
Lose pay through 
All work-related 
UCH/003 
High 
 
misconduct 
requirements group 
Lose pay 
All work-related 
UCH/004 
High 
 
voluntarily 
requirements group 
Fail to apply for a 
All work-related 
A work availability 
UCH/005 
High 
job 
requirements group requirement 
Failing to accept a 
All work-related 
A work availability 
UCH/006 
High 
job 
requirements group requirement 
A work preparation 
Fail to undertake 
requirement, e.g. 
All work-related 
UCH/007 Mandatory Work 
High 
provider told claimant 
requirements group 
Activity 
to take work based 
placement 
A work search 
Fail to undertake 
requirement, for 
All work-related 
UCH/008 all reasonable 
Medium
example look in 
requirements group 
work search action 
newspapers, UJ 
account etc. 
A work search 
Fail to be available 
All work-related 
requirement, for 
UCH/009 
Medium
to take up work 
requirements group example on holiday, 
caring 
A work related 
Fail to comply with 
interview requirement, 
All work-related 
UCH/010 an interview 
Low 
for example work 
requirements group 
requirement 
search review, WSC 
interview 

Fail to comply with 
an interview 
All work-related 
A work-related 
UCH/011 
Low 
requirement (self 
requirements group interview requirement 
employed) 
A work-preparation 
Fail to attend a 
All work-related 
requirement, for 
UCH/012 
Low 
skills assessment 
requirements group example Maths and 
English 
A work-preparation 
Fail to participate 
All work-related 
requirement, for 
UCH/013 in an employment  Low 
requirements group example work 
programme 
programme 
Fail to undertake 
All work-related 
A work preparation 
UCH/014 work experience or Low 
requirements group requirement 
work placement 
A work preparation 
Fail to develop a 
All work-related 
UCH/015 
Low 
requirement, Self 
business plan 
requirements group employed 
A work preparation 
requirement, for 
Fail to 
example dress 
improvement 
All work-related 
UCH/016 
Low 
appropriately for 
personal 
requirements group interviews, have a 
presentation 
wash, take studs out 
of nose 
A work preparation 
Fail to participate 
All work-related 
UCH/017 
Low 
requirement, for 
in training 
requirements group example ESOL 
Fail to prepare or 
All work-related 
A work preparation 
UCH/018 
Low 
maintain a CV 
requirements group requirement 
For example print off 
Fail to comply with 
of UJ access, as they 
requirement to 
All work-related 
are not compelled to 
UCH/019 provide evidence  Low 
requirements group give us access but 
or confirm 
have to show they 
compliance 
have an account 
Fail to comply with 
For example reduced 
requirement to 
hours of volunteering 
report specified 
but didn't inform of 
change in 
All work-related 
UCH/020 
Low 
greater availability to 
circumstances 
requirements group job search, caring 
relevant to work 
responsibilities end 
related 
but they don't inform 
requirements 
All Work Related 
Fail to undertake 
All work-related 
Requirements Group, 
UCH/021 particular specific  Low 
requirements group didn't upload CV to UJ 
work search action 
or set up UJ 
Fail to comply with 
Work preparation  Requirements which 
UCH/022 work preparation  Low 
group, (claimants  help keep them 
requirement 
have LCW but not  motivated by 

LCWA) All work-
preparing them to 
related 
return to work as soon 
requirements group as they are able to, 
taking into account 
their capability, for 
example attend 
computer course 
Work-focused 
interview group, 
Fail to comply with 
(e.g. LP's and 
Work Services Coach 
a work focussed 
carers), work 
UCH/023 
Lowest
Work-focused 
interview 
preparation group  interview only 
requirement 
(claimants have 
LCW but not 
LCWA) 
Work-focused 
interview group, 
Fail to comply with 
For example - show 
(e.g. LP's and 
requirement to 
they have enquired 
carers), work 
UCH/024 provide evidence  Lowest
about college courses 
preparation group 
of confirmation 
by bringing in 
(claimants have 
compliance 
prospectus 
LCW but not 
LCWA) 
Fail to comply with 
Work-focused 
requirement to 
interview group, 
report specified 
(e.g. LP's and 
change in 
carers), work 
UCH/025 
Lowest
 
circumstances 
preparation group 
relevant to work 
(claimants have 
related 
LCW but not 
requirements 
LCWA) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Overview of work-related requirement sanctions in Universal 
Credit 

Summary 
Information on the various sanction levels and the reasons and durations 
applicable to Universal Credit 
Content 
For Universal Credit we will focus on setting suitable work-related requirements, 
tailored to the claimant's circumstances. These requirements are important 
because claimants are more likely to enter full-time work if they meet them.  
Work Related Requirement Sanctions (sometimes known as conditionality 
sanctions for Jobseeker's Allowance) should act as a deterrent for claimants 
against failing to meet these important requirements. Therefore we should 
ensure that claimants fully understand both the requirement and the sanction 
consequences of not meeting it.  
Sanctions can only be effective in encouraging claimants to meet work-related 
requirements if the possible sanctions they may face are communicated to and 
understood by the claimant. Evidence shows that claimants are more likely to 
meet a requirement if they understand they will receive a sanction if they fail to 
do so.  
Ensure sanctions are explained when requirements are set and be clear to 
claimants that if they fail to meet a requirement without a good reason they will 
receive a sanction. The agent must explain that a sanction means their 
Universal Credit payments will be cut. The more times that a claimant fails to 
meet requirements, the longer a sanction will be. 
A sanction will cut a claimant's Universal Credit payment by a daily amount. 
That daily amount, and how long the cut could last for, is recorded on the 
Claimant Commitment. Further important information is in the Commitment 
Pack. This information should be drawn to the claimant's attention and 
explained to them. 
Where a claimant is aware that a requirement is mandatory but nevertheless 
fails without a good reason to meet a suitable requirement that was clearly 
notified to them, then a sanction should be applied.  
A trained decision maker determines whether the claimant had good reason 
and if a sanction should apply.  
Differences and similarities between legacy Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) 
and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) sanctions regimes and the 
Universal Credit sanctions regime 

For Universal Credit there will be four sanction levels – higher, medium, low and 
lowest. 

JSA and Universal Credit 
The higher level sanction periods are the same for JSA and Universal Credit, 
the only difference is that under Universal Credit the sanctions are expressed in 
days. 
In JSA there is disentitlement for failure to be available for, or seeking work 
followed by an intermediate sanction. Under Universal Credit there is no 
disentitlement for these failures and a medium level sanction is applied instead 
(note also that the work search and availability requirements in Universal Credit 
are different to JSA). 
In JSA the low level sanctions are for fixed periods. In Universal Credit the low 
level sanctions will have two elements – an open-ended period which will run for 
a period equal to the number of days from the date of failure until the day before 
the claimant meets a compliance condition, followed by a fixed period. 
ESA and Universal Credit 
The low level sanctions in ESA will work in the same way in Universal Credit, 
that is, an open ended period followed by a fixed period. The only difference is 
that they will be expressed in days. 
In Universal Credit there will also be lowest level sanctions for claimants in the 
Work Focused Interview Only Group. 
How sanctions will operate for Universal Credit 
For higher, medium and low level sanctions, claimants will be sanctioned an 
amount broadly equivalent to 100% of their Standard Allowance. For lowest 
level sanctions they will be sanctioned an amount equivalent to 40% of their 
Standard Allowance. 
For Universal Credit sanctions will run consecutively and the claimant's award 
amounts will therefore be reduced for the entire duration of all sanctions. So 
where a claimant is subject to one sanction and receives another, the period of 
the second sanction will be added to their Total Outstanding Reduction Period 
(TORP).  
This is different to the current position in JSA whereby if a claimant is subject to 
one sanction and receives another, the sanctions run concurrently with one 
reduction suppressed so that for the period in which the two sanctions overlap 
the second sanction has no impact.  
Once a DM decides that a sanction should apply, then that sanction period will 
be added to the claimant's TORP. The TORP is the total of all sanction days 
imposed on a claimant which has not yet resulted in a reduction to the award 
and is limited to 1095 days. A new sanction which would take the TORP over 
1095 days must be reduced in length accordingly. 
Daily sanction amounts 

The daily sanction amount for claimants has been determined in accordance 
with a formula based on the Standard Allowance for each category of claimant.  
For claimants receiving a high, medium or low level sanction the formula will be: 
Standard Allowance x 12 divided by 365, rounded down to the nearest 10p.  
For lowest level sanctions it will be 40% of the Standard Allowance x 12 divided 
by 365, rounded down to the nearest 10p.  
In cases where there are joint claimants the formula is based on half of the joint 
Standard Allowance paid to the couple. 
A claimant's Standard Allowance is based on their age and whether they are 
single or part of a joint claim. For a list of daily sanction amounts for each 
category of claimant see Advice for Decision Makers (ADM). 
Application of a reduction to the claimant's award in Universal Credit 
The reduction for a particular assessment period is then calculated (based on 
the daily sanction amount on the last working day of that assessment period). In 
cases where the TORP is less than the number of days in the given 
assessment period, then the reduction will be calculated by multiplying the 
number of days in the TORP by the daily sanction amount for the claimant.  
In cases where the TORP exceeds the number of days in the given assessment 
period, the reduction will be calculated by multiplying the number of days in the 
assessment period by the daily reduction amount. Any residual sanction days 
are carried forward and applied to future assessment periods.  
If the reduction would exceed the Standard Allowance (or half the Standard 
Allowance for a joint claimant) the sum is reduced accordingly so it does not 
exceed these amounts. 
16/17 year olds 
16 and 17 year olds will be able to claim Universal Credit in their own right in 
some circumstances and could fall into any one of the four conditionality groups 
(All Work-Related Requirements, Work Preparation, Work-Focused Interview 
Only and No Work-Related Activity Requirements) depending on their capability 
and circumstances. 
The sanctions regime for 16 and 17 year olds mirrors the adult regime but has 
lower sanction amounts and shorter durations. The durations are set out 
alongside the over 18 periods below. 
16 and 17 year olds will be sanctioned 40% of the Standard Allowance. 
Sanction levels 
There are four levels of sanction: higher, medium, low and lowest. Sanction 
durations range from fixed higher level sanctions of up to three years for 
claimants who repeatedly fail to meet their responsibilities to lowest level 

sanctions which are open-ended and build up, usually until the claimant meets a 
compliance condition. 
Where a claimant has good reason for a failure, a sanction will not be applied.  
Higher level sanctions 
Higher level sanctions will be applied to claimants subject to All Work-Related 
Requirements who without good reason:  
  fail to undertake Mandatory Work Activity 
  fail to apply for a particular vacancy  
  fail to take up an offer of paid work  
  by reason of misconduct or voluntarily and without good reason (i) cease 
paid work or (ii) lose pay 
For claimants aged 18+ high level sanctions will usually be for a fixed duration 
of:  
  91 days for a first failure 
  182 days if there has been a 91 day higher level sanction applied for a 
failure in the 365 days prior to the current failure date. 
  1095 days if there has been a 182 or 1095 day higher level sanction 
applied for a failure in the 365 days prior to the current failure date. 
For claimants aged 16-17 higher level sanctions will usually be for a fixed 
duration of:  
  14 days for a first failure 
  28 days if there has been a 14 or 28 day higher level sanction applied for 
a failure in the 365 days prior to the date of the current failure. 
Pre-claim failures –higher level sanctions 
Where a claimant: 
  leaves employment voluntarily  
  loses pay voluntarily 
  loses employment or pay because of misconduct& 
  fails to take up an offer of employment  
before applying for Universal Credit the applicable sanction period will be 
reduced by the length of time between that failure and the date of the UC claim.  
Sanctions for pre-claim failures do not count for the purposes of escalation, so if 
a claimant fails to meet a higher level requirement any pre-claim higher level 
sanction in the preceding 365 days is ignored for the purposes of escalation. 
If the pre-claim failure relates to employment which was expected to last for a 
limited period, the applicable sanction period will be the shorter of the standard 
duration or the length the employment was expected to last, minus the number 
of days between the failure and claim. 

Medium level sanctions 
Medium level sanctions will be applied to claimants subject to All Work-Related 
Requirements who without good reason:  
  fail to undertake all reasonable work search action  
  fail to be able and willing to immediately take up work 
Medium level sanctions for claimants aged 18+ will be of a fixed duration of:  
  28 days for a first failure 
  91 days if there has already been one or more medium level 
sanctionable failures in the 365 days before the date of the current 
failure. 
Medium level sanctions for claimants aged 16-17 will be of a fixed duration of:  
  7 days for a first failure 
  14 days if there has been one or more medium level sanction applied for 
a failure in the 365 days before the date of the current failure  
Low level sanctions 
Low level sanctions will be applied to claimants who are subject to All Work-
Related Requirements or are in the Work Preparation Group (i.e. subject to 
work-preparation and Work Focused Interview requirements) and who fail 
without good reason to meet any work-related requirement (or connected 
requirement) that is not sanctionable at the higher or medium level. 
There will be two components to a low level sanction for claimants aged 18+. 
An open ended component equal to the number of days from the date of failure 
until: 
  the day before the date the claimant meets a compliance condition  
  the day before the date the claimant moves to the No Work-Related 
Requirements Group 
  the day before the date the claimant is no longer required to undertake a 
particular action under the work-preparation requirement 
  the date the award is terminated (other than by reason of the claimant 
ceasing to be or becoming a member of a couple) 
plus 
  a fixed period of 7 days  
  14 days if there has been a lower level sanction with a fixed period of 7 
days applied for a failure in the 365 days prior to the date of the current 
failure. 
  28 days if there has been a lower level sanction with a fixed period of 14 
or 28 days applied for a failure in the 365 days prior to the date of the 
current failure  

For claimants aged 16-17, low level sanctions will be for an open period which 
will run for a period equal to the number of days from the date of failure until: 
  the day before the date the claimant meets a compliance condition 
  the day before the date the claimant moves to the No Work-Related 
Requirements Group 
  the day before the date the claimant is no longer required to undertake a 
particular action under the work-preparation requirement 
  the date the award is terminated (other than by reason of the claimant 
ceasing to be or becoming a member of a couple) 
plus 
  for second and subsequent failures with a previous failure within the 365 
days prior to the current failure, a fixed period of 7 days 
Lowest level sanctions 
Lowest level sanctions will be applied to those claimants subject to Work 
Focused Interview Requirements Only who fail to attend or participate in a Work 
Focused Interview without good reason. 
Lowest level sanctions will be open-ended for a period equal to the number of 
days between the date of failure and: 
  the day before the date the claimant meets a compliance condition  
  the day before the date the claimant moves to the No Work-Related 
Requirements Group  
  the date the award is terminated (other than by reason of the claimant 
ceasing to be or becoming a member of a couple) 
Compliance condition 
A compliance condition is the action a claimant must take to stop the open-
ended element of the sanction building. It can be the original requirement 
imposed on the claimant or a new requirement where the original is no longer 
appropriate, for example if the original requirement is time-limited, such as a 
training course on a specific day. 
Escalation of sanctions  
Sanctions will only escalate when there is a previous sanction at the same level 
(higher, medium or low). Only previous sanctions with a date of failure in the 
365 days prior to the current failure date are counted.  
The date of failure is used to determine progression up the sanctions ladder. 
A previous higher level sanctionable failure with a failure date prior to the date 
of UC claim (a pre-claim failure) is disregarded for escalation purposes. 

A previous sanctionable failure at the same level is disregarded for the 
purposes of escalation if it occurred in the 14 days immediately preceding the 
current failure. 
Escalation of sanctions does not apply to lowest level sanctions. 
Sanctions in place until exhausted 
Where a claimant's award is terminated and they subsequently reclaim and 
receive a new award of Universal Credit, any unexpired TORP will apply to the 
new award.  
The reduction remains in place until exhausted. Therefore, the TORP is 
reduced by one day for each day a sanctioned individual does not have a 
Universal Credit award. 
Termination of sanctions 
Sanctions will remain in place until exhausted subject to three exceptions: 
1.  All unexpired sanctions will be terminated (i.e. the TORP is reduced to 
zero) if the claimant can prove they have been in employment earning at 
or above their earnings threshold for at least 26 weeks since their last 
sanctionable failure. The period in employment above the threshold need 
not be continuous. 
2.  The sanctionable amount will be reduced to zero whilst a claimant has 
been assessed as or treated as having both a Limited Capability for 
Work (LCW) and a Limited Capability for Work Related Activity 
(LCWRA). Sanctions will remain in place whilst claimants await the Work 
Capability Assessment (WCA) determination 
3.  The TORP will be reduced to zero where a claimant with a sanction dies. 
Change to sanction amount when claimant moves conditionality group 
For claimants who move into the No Work-Related Requirements group on the 
grounds of childcare responsibilities, the sanction amount will change to 40% of 
the Standard Allowance. This includes: 
  a responsible carer for a child under 1 
  a claimant who is pregnant and it is 11 weeks or less before her 
expected week of confinement 
  claimants who adopt a child and it is 52 weeks or less since the date the 
child was placed with the claimant 
  claimants who adopt a child and have elected that the 52 weeks should 
run from a date within 14 days before the child was expected to be 
placed, that date 
General principle of sanctions 
The daily reduction amount used to calculate the reduction for an assessment 
period should reflect the claimant's conditionality and circumstances on the last 
day of the assessment period for which the award is being reduced. This 

approach is intended to avoid the situation whereby different daily reduction 
amounts apply in the same assessment period because claimants move 
between conditionality groups.  
Failure to report change of circumstances 
Claimants are required to report the loss of a job within 5 working days unless 
they fall into the No Work-Related Requirements Group for a reason other than 
earnings above the conditionality earnings threshold. However, in practice 
initially, a sanction will only be imposed if as a result of the loss of a job their 
pay has reduced so that they/their household are below the lower conditionality 
threshold (subject to full work search requirements).  
The sanction starts from the 5th day after losing the job and stops building when 
the claimant notifies Universal Credit.  
Similarly, loss of pay/paid work sanctions will also only apply if as a result of the 
loss their pay has reduced so that they/their household are below the lower 
conditionality threshold (subject to full worksearch requirements).  
Fraud penalties 
Work-related sanctions will be suspended when a fraud penalty is in effect. The 
work-related requirement sanction will resume once fraud penalty has expired. 
This approach will ensure that claimants will serve the full duration of both 
sanctions without both amounts being deducted at the same time. 
A previous fraud/loss of Benefit penalty will not count towards escalation of 
conditionality sanctions.  
The 1095 day cap on the TORP will only apply to work-related requirement 
sanctions. Fraud penalties may be over and above this. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Potential failure to meet work related requirements 
Summary 
Action to take where a claimant fails to meet work related requirements 
Content 
 Agents may become aware of scenarios where possible sanctions apply 
through their normal contact with the claimant. Where an agent is not satisfied 
that a claimant has met all their work related requirements, a Decision Maker 
(DM) referral is required. 
An agent may also receive feedback from a provider that the claimant is failing 
to meet their requirements whilst undertaking provision, or they have failed to 
attend a pre arranged interview or appointment. Again if identified a referral to 
the DM will be required. 
High level sanctions 
Losing pay or paid work voluntarily or through misconduct 
Any questions arising around a claimant losing pay or paid work will usually be 
identified from the Initial Work Search Interview for new claimants or Real Time 
Information (RTI) feed/self reported earnings for existing claimants.  
Where it has been identified that the claimant has lost paid work or lost pay, 
either voluntarily or through misconduct a form is issued to the claimant for 
them to give their reasons for leaving, reason for dismissal or loss of pay.  
The two forms are: 
  FM Loss of Paid Work  
  FM Loss of Pay 
The form is issued to the claimant either by post or face to face but it must be 
returned fully completed within 7 calendar days. The agent records in WSP that 
evidence has been requested. WSP sets a review date for 7 calendar days ( 
See Handling Sanction Referrals and Notifications for when this can be 
changed)  
The form will be issued by a UC agent, with the correspondence address so it 
can be returned to the correct office.  
Failure to participate in Mandatory Work Activity  
Referrals to Decision Making and Appeals Teams are usually made directly by 
the Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) provider.  An agent may be required to take 
action where it is identified that a claimant behaves in such a way that they lose 
the chance of a place on the MWA programme. Examples of such conduct are 
where the claimant: 

  arrives late or does not turn up for an interview 
  arrives at the wrong place through their own negligence 
If it appears that a claimant may be deliberately avoiding the chance of a place, 
submit the case to the Decision Maker on failure to participate. 
Failure to apply for a particular vacancy & failure to take up the offer of 
paid work 

A claimant can receive a sanction where they, without good reason, fail to apply 
for a particular vacancy for paid work. 
It should be made clear to the claimant, at the time they are informed about a 
suitable vacancy, that refusal or failure to apply for the position, or subsequent 
non-acceptance of the job when offered without good reason, will result in a 
reduction of Universal Credit. This ensures that the claimant can make their 
decision in the full knowledge of the possible consequences. 
Claimant’s behaviour 
Claimants may behave in such a way that they lose the chance of employment, 
for example they may arrive late for an interview or go to the wrong place 
through their own negligence. In these cases a DM referral is required. 
Exempt Vacancies 
There are some occasions when a vacancy has been notified to a claimant by 
an agent, where refusal and failure to apply for or accept employment, further 
action is not appropriate. These include: 
  a job is vacant because of a Trade Dispute  
  the job notified is self-employed work  
This list is not exhaustive 
Medium level sanctions 
Failing to comply with a Work Search Requirement  
The work search requirement is a requirement that a claimant take 
  all reasonable action and 
  any particular action that has been specified by the Secretary of State to 
get paid work, more paid work or better paid work.  
When deciding if the work search “all reasonable action” requirement has been 
met, agents should have regard to the 
  time spent by the claimant looking for work and 
  quality of the claimant’s work search including the range of actions that 
they have taken (for example, contacting employers, registering with 
employment agencies, investigating self-employment opportunities etc). 

For full details see ‘Work Search Review’ 
Failing to comply with a Work Availability requirement 
To be available for work, a claimant must be able and willing immediately to 
take up paid work, more paid work or better-paid work. 
To be available for work, claimants must be available in an active, positive 
sense and draw attention to their availability. Claimants will not be available for 
paid work if they are passive and merely wait for someone to find and offer 
them work.  
In order to demonstrate that they are willing and able immediately to take up 
paid work, claimants should: 
  be physically able to take up work within the appropriate timescale 
  be contactable (through mail, e-mail or phone) for interviews or work0 
  be willing and able to give up any commitments which may interfere with 
their ability to start work (subject to agreed restrictions) 
  attend all job interviews that have been arranged for them 
  consider their appearance and behaviour to ensure this does not reduce 
their prospects of finding paid work 
For full details see ‘Work Search Review’ 
Low level sanctions 
The agent must refer a case to the DM for consideration, where the claimant 
fails without good reason to comply with: 
  a work focussed interview requirement 
  a work preparation requirement 
  a work search requirement – but only in relation to a requirement to take 
particular action specified by the Secretary of State  
Or a requirement to: 
  take part in an interview about the imposition of or compliance with a 
work–related requirement 
  provide information or evidence of compliance with a work–related 
requirement 
  report loss of employment within 5 working days  
Employment Programmes 
A claimant is deemed to have failed to comply with a requirement if they fail to 
take part in any activity which is specified by the Secretary of State in relation 
to; 
  the specific placement with a provider 
  any requirements imposed by the provider that is considered reasonable 
and acceptable. 

Individual programmes are not defined in UC legislation, but relevant 
employment programmes include:  
  Day One Support for Young People 
  The Derbyshire Mandatory Youth Activity Programme 
  Full–time training or education in England and Scotland 
  Part-time training or education in England and Scotland 
  Part-time or full-time training in Wales funded by DWP 
  An in depth skills assessment delivered by the National Careers Service 
or by a training provider in England and by Skills Development Scotland 
or a training provider in Scotland  
  Careers Advice in England 
  New Enterprise Allowance 
  A sector-based work academy 
  Prince’s Trust programmes 
  Traineeships (currently being developed) 
  A skills programme 
  The Work Programme 
All these employment programmes aim to support UC claimants towards or into 
paid work, more paid work or better paid work, and address various issues such 
as a lack of experience of work and the associated skills needed within the work 
place which can have a significant effect on the chances of unemployed people. 
Work experience placements in Work Programme or sector-based work 
academies 

Participation in a work experience opportunity is voluntary, and claimants who 
leave or lose a place on such a placement are treated as having good reason 
for the failure to comply, unless they lose the place through gross misconduct. 
Gross misconduct is not defined in legislation but suggests misconduct that is  
1.  'blatantly wrong' or  
2. 'unacceptable'. 
It is conduct that is so serious that only one instance of such behaviour will 
warrant the employer’s immediate termination of the work experience 
opportunity. 
Lowest Level Sanctions 
When does a lowest–level sanction apply 
A lowest–level sanction is a reduction of UC for a sanctionable failure by a 
claimant who: 
  falls within the work–focused interview (WFI) requirement only group and 
  fails without good reason to take part in a WFI 
Failure to comply with this requirement will be identified when the claimant fails 
to take part in a work focused interview.  

Notifying the claimant that a Work Related Requirement may not have 
been met  

The agent notifies the claimant by letter. The letter explains that we are not 
satisfied they have met a work related requirement and that they will have the 
opportunity to provide further evidence. To ensure consistency, the letter is 
populated by copying and pasting the relevant Claimant Commitment 
requirement(s) from Work Services Platform.  
If it’s a low or lowest level sanction the letter must remind the claimant of their 
compliance condition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Setting work related requirements 
Summary 
How to set work related requirements for a claimant during interview 
Content 
During every work search interview, the Work Services Coach (WSC) identifies 
the things that affect the type of work a claimant is expected to look for and 
accept if offered. The WSC establishes the type, location, hours and pattern of 
work a claimant is expected to look for and be available for. Claimants are 
normally expected to look for any work that they are capable of doing that pays 
the national minimum wage(or above) and that is within 90 minutes travelling 
distance from their home. Claimants are normally expected to look for full time 
work. 
Claimants in the all work related requirements group must normally be available 
to attend an interview and take up a job immediately. 
Claimant's particular personal circumstances will determine the actual 
requirements set.  
A full diagnosis of the claimant's circumstances and capacity for work helps 
determine: 
  realistic job requirements 
  required hours of availability 
  availability for interview / to start work 
  travel to work time 
  work search requirements 
  work preparation requirements 
  any other work related activities 
These should be reviewed and updated throughout the claim. 
Claimants must understand: 
  their goal will be to get paid work, more work or better paid work as 
quickly as possible 
  they will be expected to take up a full time job. We will not require any 
claimant to take employment which requires them to work for more hours 
than the European Working Time Directive which is up to 48 hours per 
week  
  they should undertake work search and work preparation activity for up 
to a maximum of 35 hours a week or the same number of hours they 
would normally be available for work. 
  the work search and work preparation activities must give them the best 
prospects of finding work quickly 
  if without good reason they have not carried out their work related 
requirements, their UC payments will be cut. These cuts are known as 
sanctions. The information about sanctions in the Claimant Commitment 

and the Commitment Pack should be shown to the claimant and 
explained to them  
Job requirements 
Where the claimant does not have a permitted period they are required to look 
for and take any job that they are capable of doing that pays the National 
Minimum Wage or above. However it can be helpful to focus effective work 
search for the claimant to identify a job or jobs that they are most suited to or 
most capable of doing. 
Looking for any job and accepting the first job offered, will help the claimant 
back into work as quickly as possible. Once the claimant is in paid work they 
can continue to look for their preferred job. 
All elements of the claimant's job requirement must be realistic and achievable 
for each type of work the following should be explored: 
  Capability for work. Does the claimant have the relevant qualifications, 
experience, skills, etc 
  Capacity for work. For example are there any health or social issues or 
caring responsibilities that might make it difficult to find, obtain and retain 
the job in question 
  Wage expectations. For example, does the job requirement pay the 
wages that the claimant is looking for and does the claimant understand 
how much the National Minimum Wage is 
  The local labour market. Consideration must be given to what jobs are 
available within that area. If the work the claimant is looking for is not 
available within the claimant's travel to work area, the job requirement is 
not realistic 
Recording job requirement 
The claimant's agreed job requirement(s) are recorded on the 'Job Goals' 
section of the claimant's record. 
To input job goals for the claimant, the 'Active Job Goals' box is selected on the 
footer bar, then 'Add New Job Goal' is selected from the toolbar menu this 
opens the 'Job Goal' screen. The following fields are selected and completed: 
  Job Title or Type (mandatory free text box) 
  Claimant (already populated with claimant's name) 
  Rate of Pay 
  Payment Frequency 
  Minimum Hours Per Week 
  Applies to Claimant Commitment during Permitted Period 
The entry is saved by selecting 'Save & Close' from the toolbar menu. The job 
goal(s) will then show in the 'Active Job Goals' box.  
Permitted period 

Where a claimant has a strong work history the WSC can allow a claimant to 
limit their work related requirements to look for work relating to a particular type 
of job and salary that they have recent experience of. This limitation can apply 
for any period up to a maximum of 3 months from the date they claimed 
Universal Credit or 3 months from the date they ceased work which paid above 
the conditionality earnings threshold, whichever is the later. This is known as a 
'permitted period'. The WSC must be satisfied that the claimant has reasonable 
prospects of getting a job that fits this limitation before agreeing it. After this 
period, they will be required to look for full time work at the national minimum 
wage. 
  Recording a Permitted Period 
  To record a Permitted Period: 
  Select Job Goals 
  Select 'Yes' for Permitted Period 
  Input the Job Title or Type 
  Select the Job Title or Type to get the pay rate 
Availability 
After gathering all the relevant information regarding the claimant's 
circumstances, the number of hours the claimant is required to be available for 
work is determined.  
Consideration must be given to the claimant's circumstances, to identify 
whether any limitations on their hours or pattern of availability should be 
applied. 
A limitation on hours or pattern of availability may apply where a claimant: 
  has a health condition(see Diagnosing Claimant Capability and 
Circumstances) 
  has caring responsibilities (see Diagnosing Claimant Capability and 
Circumstances) 
  is engaging in treatment for drug and/or alcohol dependency 
  has sincerely held religious beliefs 
  is participating in agreed work preparation activities  
provided that the claimant is available for paid work for as many hours as the 
limitation allows.  
The claimant's hours of availability are set by the WSC, taking into account their 
circumstances. The claimant must usually have reasonable prospects of finding 
paid work, more work or better paid work. 
Recording availability 
The claimant's availability for work and any agreed restrictions are recorded on 
the 'Availability' section of the claimant's record. 
When recording the claimant's availability the following fields will be presented: 

  Available For Work 
  Work Search Hours Per Week 
  Currently Undertaking Part Time Work 
If the claimant is available for work 'Yes' is selected from the 'Available For 
Work' drop-down menu.  
The 'Active Availability For Work' box on the footer bar is selected, and then the 
'Add New Availability For Work' is selected from the toolbar menu. This opens 
the 'Availability For Work' screen. The following fields are selected and 
completed: 
  Day (Monday to Sunday) 
  Start Time (30 minute time slots from 00:00 to 23:30) 
  End Time (30 minute time slots from 00:00 to 23:30) 
The entry is saved by selecting 'Save & Close' from the toolbar menu. 
The 'Total available Hours Per Week' field must be completed showing the 
claimant's hours of availability. 
The 'Restrict Claimant's Availability' field is completed to show if the claimant is 
restricting their availability. 
If the claimant is restricting their availability the reason(s) are recorded in the 
'Notes On Availability For Work' field.  
Availability to start work and attend a job interview 
Claimants in the All Work-related Requirement Conditionality Group must be 
willing and able to start work and attend a job interview immediately unless one 
of the following circumstances apply. 
For claimants where the WSC is satisfied that they need a longer period 
because they: 
Are undertaking voluntary work 
Where the WSC is satisfied that the claimant needs a longer period because 
they are undertaking voluntary work, WSCs can agree that the claimant is able 
to take up employment on being given up to one week's notice and / or attend a 
job interview with up to 48 hours notice.  
Have caring responsibilities 
Where the WSC is satisfied that the claimant needs a longer period because 
they are a nominated responsible carer or relevant carer for a child or disabled 
person, WSCs can agree that the claimant is able to take up employment on 
being given up to one month's notice and / or attend a job interview with 48 
hours notice.  
Are employed under a contract of service 

Claimants who are required to give notice must be willing and able to take up 
employment immediately following the statutory or contracted period of notice 
they are required to give their employer to end the contract of employment and 
attend a job interview with 48 hours notice. 
Recording Availability to start work and attend a job interview 
The claimant's availability to start work and attend a job interview is recorded on 
the 'Availability' section of the claimant's record. 
The claimant's availability to attend an interview is recorded by selecting the 
drop-down menu in the 'Availability For Interview' field and selecting either:  
  Immediately 
  Within 48 hours 
The claimant's availability to start work is recorded by selecting the drop-down 
menu in the 'Available To Start Work' and selecting either: 
  Immediately 
  Within 7 days 
  Within one month 
  From 
If 'From' is selected, the 'Available To Start Work Date' field will appear. The 
earliest possible date by which the claimant can start work is recorded from 
information provided by the claimant. This option is used when the claimant is 
not available to start work within one month.& For example, if the claimant has 
broken a limb and the cast is to be removed on a specific date. Where 'From' is 
used a specific task should be set to review this or a Work Search Interview 
booked to discuss further and consider the effect in the Claimant Commitment.  
Travel to work time 
Claimants must be willing to travel 90 minutes each way to work, by a route and 
means of transport appropriate to their circumstances (for example, car for 
some, public transport for others, walking etc). Limitations can be agreed due to 
health conditions or caring responsibilities where it means that a shorter 
distance is necessary.  
The claimant's travel to work time is recorded on the 'Availability' section of the 
claimant's record. 
The claimant's travel to work time is recorded by selecting the drop-down menu 
in the 'Travel Time In Minutes' field and selecting the appropriate time. This will 
default to 90 minutes but can be changed if limitations have been agreed. 
Setting work preparation and work search requirements to give claimants 
the best prospects of finding work 


In setting requirements, the WSC will set out a detailed plan of action, 
articulating the steps a claimant must take to give themselves the best 
prospects of getting paid work quickly.  
It is important the claimant understands that if they fail without good reason 
complete a work preparation, work search or interview requirement then their 
Universal Credit payments will be cut. These cuts are known as sanctions. The 
WSC should ask the claimant to read the sanctions information in their claimant 
commitment and commitment pack and explain it to them. The WSC should 
explain the length and amount of the sanction that may apply in relation to each 
requirement and that sanctions may be longer for each successive failure. 
A claimant will be expected to undertake the same number of hours of work 
search and work preparation activity as they are available for work up to a 
maximum of 35 hours a week). 
A WSC will mandate any work preparation activity that the WSC thinks will 
make it more likely that the claimant will obtain paid work (or more paid work or 
better-paid work. 
Claimants must take all reasonable actions to get paid work. They must usually 
engage in work search and work preparation activity for the same number of 
hours as they are available for work up to a maximum of 35 hours a week. For 
example, if they are expected to be available to work for 30 hours per week, 
they must spend at least 30 hours each week on their work search and work 
preparation requirements.  
WSCs must set work search and work preparation requirements that meet this 
expectation, taking into account the claimant's personal circumstances. These 
should be the most effective activities which, when undertaken, give the 
claimant the best possible chance of getting paid work quickly. 
Looking for work often and in the right way is critical in terms of securing 
employment quickly. Claimants who undertake work search actively, effectively 
and persistently usually get work more quickly than would otherwise be the 
case. It is important when setting work search and work preparation 
requirements, to consider the following 10 factors: 
  Self Perception – the claimant believes that they can work, find specific 
jobs, has the capability to do those jobs, and is confident of being able to 
gain and keep employment 
  Specific Job Requirement – the claimant knows their job requirements 
  Local Labour Market – that specific work is available in the local market 
  Knowledge Skills and Experience – the claimant has the knowledge, 
skills and experience that match their job requirements 
  Commitment to undertake Work Search – the claimant is committed to 
carry out effective and sustained work search 
  Resources for Work Search – the claimant knows how to access the 
resources required to undertake sustained work search 
  Demonstrating Capability for a Specific Job – the claimant is able to 
demonstrate their capability effectively to employers 

  Presenting themselves to an Employer – the claimant is able to 
present themselves effectively to potential employers 
  Managing Personal Circumstances – the claimant is able to 
successfully manage, anything that makes it harder to get and keep paid 
work 
  Keeping a job – the claimant could keep a job offered by an employer 
And ensure that steps are taken to address anything that makes it harder for the 
claimant to get and keep paid work.  
The claimant's work search requirements and work preparation requirements 
must be SMART. That is: 
  Specific – it must state the claimant's precise job requirements and the 
specific activity they will take to give them the best chance of finding and 
securing a job. For example, generic job descriptions such as 'Driver' 
should be avoided and more specific terms such as 'bus driver', 'HGV 
driver' or 'van driver' used 
  Measurable – for work search activities to be undertaken regularly, how 
many and how often must be specified 
  Achievable – any activities set must be achievable. Activities that are 
clearly beyond the claimant's capabilities or that are simply unreasonable 
should not be included 
  Realistic – job requirements and work related requirements must be 
realistic, taking into account the claimant's skills, experience, capabilities, 
etc. and the local labour market 
  Time bound – activities should be time bound and will be reviewed at 
appropriate points. Activities may be regular (weekly) and reviewed 
within Work Search Reviews, or be one-off, time bound and reviewed 
within Work Search Interviews or Work Search Reviews 
Work preparation requirements 
Work preparation requirements are those specific activities that a claimant must 
take for the purpose of making it more likely in the opinion of the WSC that the 
claimant will obtain paid work (or more paid work or better-paid work).  
These may include, for example: 
  attending a skills assessment 
  improving personal presentation 
  taking part in training 
  taking part in programmes or provision 
  undertaking work experience or a work placement 
  developing a business plan 
This is not an exhaustive list. These requirements must be SMART. 
Although the requirement to register and use Universal Jobmatch is entered in 
the Work Preparation Requirements, it is a work search requirement. 

If a claimant fails to comply with a Work Preparation activity this attracts a low 
level sanction. A low level sanction has two elements : 
  an open-ended period equal to the number of days from the date of 
failure until the day before the requirement or alternative requirement is 
met or lifted, followed by  
  a fixed period of between 7 and 28 days (dependent on whether there 
are any previous failures in the 365 days before the current failure) 
When setting a work preparation requirement the WSC must explain that if the 
claimant fails to do that activity Universal Credit will be cut for a period equal to 
the number of days between the date of failure until they do so or until they 
undertake an alternative activity decided by the WSC. Their payments will then 
be cut for a further fixed period of up to 28 days (depending on how many 
requirements they failed to meet and when). 
When setting the Work Preparation requirement the WSC must tell the claimant 
and record what the claimant must do if they fail to meet the requirement on 
time. Where the requirement is an on-going task for example, create a CV by a 
set date and if the claimant does not do this, their UC payments may be cut for 
the number of days from the failure date until they meet the requirement (ie they 
create a CV).  
Where the requirement set is time-limited e.g. attend a forklift truck driving 
course on 8th March, once 8th March has passed the claimant cannot meet the 
requirement.  
When setting a requirement the WSC must consider and tell the claimant what 
they must do if they fail to undertake the original requirement. This (alternative 
requirement) must also be recorded on the claimant record so that it is noted on 
the Claimant Commitment. 
Work preparation requirements (and specific work search requirements) should 
be recorded on the claimant commitment as follows: 
Section 2: Specific actions I will take 
By 
Review
Fully take part in a forklift truck training course 
15th June 
 
 
If without good reason I don't do this, my Universal Credit 
As soon 
17th 
payments will be cut by (amount) for each day until (I call 
as 
June 
my WSC to arrange a new course) My payments will then 
possible 
be cut by (amount) a day for a further period of up to 28 
after 15th 
days. 
June 
15th June 
I will create a profile and public CV within Universal 
 
Jobmatch by the 15th June.  
As soon 
 
as 
17th 
If without good reason I don't do this, my Universal Credit 
possible 
June 
payments will be cut by (amount) for each day until I have 
after 
done so. My payments will then be cut by (amount) a day 
15thth 
for a further period of up to 28 days. 
June 
Bring my CV to my appointment on 17th June 
17th June  17th 

 
 
June 
If without good reason I don't do this, my Universal Credit 
As soon 
payments will be cut by (amount) for each day until I bring 
as 
my CV to this office. My payments will then be cut by 
possible 
(amount) a day for a further period of up to 28 days. 
after 17th 
June 
In some circumstances the WSC may also agree that the claimant should 
undertake a voluntary Work Preparation activity. There is no sanction if the 
claimant does not do this activity. However, if a claimant fails to do the voluntary 
activity they must make up the extra time in their work search. For example, if 
the claimant agrees to do 5 hours of voluntary work preparation activity (such as 
attending their local Work Club for 5 hours a week), this may be deducted from 
the amount of time they are expected to undertake Work Search (see Setting 
Work Search Activities below).If the claimant does not do their voluntary activity 
in a particular week they need to make up their Expected Hours of work search. 
The WSC must explain this to the claimant. 
Recording Work Preparation Activities 
The claimant's Work Preparation requirements are recorded on the 'Work 
Preparation Activities' section of the claimant's record.  
To input a new Work Preparation Action, the 'Add New Work Preparation 
Action' is selected from the toolbar. 
The WSC completes the 'Specific Action' field and selects 'Yes' or 'No' for 
'Mandatory Work Activity'. This field by default is set to 'No' and must only be 
used when referring to the provision called 'Mandatory Work Activity', this is 
provider led with its own sanctions. It must not be checked when specifying any 
other Work Preparation Activity. Failure to comply will result in the Claimant 
Commitment incorrect in law and linking of incorrect sanctions.  
The WSC inputs the dates the activity is to be completed and reviewed by.  
If there are more work preparation activities to be considered, the WSC selects 
'Save & New' and adds a new activity. 
If the Work Preparation Activity is to be completed before the next Work Search 
Review, set a task to follow up the agreed action. See 'Setting a task on the 
Work Services Platform'. 
The details of the Work Preparation Action are recorded and the entry is saved 
by selecting 'Save & Close' from the toolbar menu. The Work Preparation 
Action will then show in the 'Work Preparation Actions' box.  
Voluntary Work Preparation activities are recorded on the 'Other Work Related 
Activities' section of the claimant's record. 
Requiring a claimant to apply for a specific vacancy 

A WSC can require a claimant to apply for a specific vacancy that they are 
capable of doing by recording this as Work Preparation activity. The WSC will 
need to include all of the information that the claimant will require to identify the 
vacancy. Although this is recorded in the Work Preparation Activities section of 
the claimant record it attracts a high level sanction. 
If a WSC requires the claimant to apply for a specific vacancy on Universal 
Jobmatch, the following wording must be included in the Claimant Commitment: 
I will apply for any jobs that my adviser tells me to apply for, including any saved 
by my adviser in the 'Saved Jobs' section of my Universal Jobmatch account. 
Setting regular Work Search Activities 
Work Search Activities are those that the claimant is expected to undertake 
regularly. The claimant must take all reasonable action for the purpose of 
obtaining paid work. The WSC will set work search activities such that the 
claimant will conduct work search for their Expected Hours. This is the number 
of hours that the claimant is available for work or 35 hours whichever is the 
lower figure less the total amount of time spent undertaking agreed Work 
Preparation activities, Voluntary Work and Paid Work.  
Any paid work, including part time or casual self-employment the claimant 
undertakes can be considered by the WSC to reduce the usual requirement for 
looking and preparing for work. This is at the discretion of the WSC and should 
be recorded on the Claimant Commitment.  
The claimant must be prepared to give up the paid work, including part 
time/casual self-employment to take up employment to move them over their 
individual threshold. This could also include combining their part time/casual 
self-employment with another job or increasing the hours of their part 
time/casual self-employment to move them over their individual threshold. 
Accounting for self-employment 
A reduction to the claimant's expected work search hours is most likely to be 
identified at a WSI following a Gateway Interview 
When considering the appropriate number of hours to apply as a relevant 
deduction in the case of self-employment, the WSC must take account of the 
following:  
  the self employed activity has not been deemed gainful self-employment 
during the gateway interview and therefore should not be regarded as 
such 
  the relevant deduction must be appropriate for the work undertaken and 
the payment received 
The WSC checks Work Services Platform (WSP) notes and looks at the reason 
for the decision that the claimant is not gainfully self-employed. This may help to 
decide how the self-employed activity should be treated at the WSI.  

When deciding how much time to deduct, the WSC considers, the amount the 
claimant earns from self-employment divided by the National Minimum Wage 
(NMW) for the claimant's age group. This gives an approximate number of 
hours to use as a guide for making a relevant deduction from the claimant's 
expected hours of work. 
For example, a small amount of self-employed work is considered useful to 
keep a claimant's skills current by the WSC. This could provide a return to work 
route if they have a long period of absence. The WSC may also consider 
whether earnings from self-employment were lower than usual in a month 
because of normal business patterns rather than because the claimant was 
spending less time on it, and whether earnings are likely to increase in the near 
future. In these cases the WSC considers allowing a greater hours deduction 
than suggested to reflect the self-employed activity by dividing the claimant's 
self-employed earnings by NMW. 
The WSC may consider that a reduction in hours is not appropriate as the self-
employment is not significant enough to change the claimant commitment. 
If the reason for the original 'not gainfully self-employed' decision no longer 
applies and the WSC considers that a new gateway interview will lead to a 
different result, the WSC considers booking another gateway interview. For 
example, if the claimant was deemed 'not gainfully self-employed' because they 
were unable to provide significant development plans for their business but 
have since produced a credible business plan and carried out significant 
marketing activity, a repeat gateway interview would be appropriate.  
If the WSC considers that further support will develop the claimant's self-
employment further giving a better chance of being deemed gainfully self 
employed in the future the WSC considers referring or signposting the claimant 
to the appropriate support.  
When considering Voluntary Work, the WSC will deduct the hours the claimant 
spends undertaking agreed Voluntary Work, up to a maximum of 50% of the 
Claimant's Expected Hours: 
For example, Mary's Claimant Commitment requires her to be available for work 
for 28 hours per week. These are her Expected Hours. She does voluntary work 
for a local charity for 18 hours per week. Mary's WSC can deduct 14 hours 
(being 50% of the 28 hours that she is available for work) from the hours that 
she is available for work when determining the amount of time she must spend 
on Work Search activities. Mary can still do more hours at the charity but these 
will not count as work search or preparation activities.  
The work search activities set should be the most effective activities which, 
when undertaken, give the claimant the best possible chance of getting paid 
work quickly. 
How long any particular activity will take will vary from claimant to claimant and 
the WSC must judge this in line with the claimant's circumstances and abilities. 

Work Search activities will differ for each claimant based on their job 
requirement(s) and circumstances and may include for example: 
  using Universal Jobmatch 
  registering with and using other job search websites 
  carrying out other activities to look for work 
  making applications 
  registering with an employment agency 
  seeking references 
This list is not exhaustive. All Work Search Activities must be SMART. 
Having set all the reasonable and effective actions that the claimant could do, 
the claimant will have met their work search requirement if they undertake all 
these actions.  
If the claimant does not undertake these actions the WSC will consider whether 
they have done all that can be reasonably expected of them. (See Work Search 
Reviews). 
Recording Work Search Activities 
The claimant's Work Search Activities are recorded on the 'Work Search 
Activities' section of the claimant's record. 
To input a new Work Search Activity, the 'Add New Work Search Activity' is 
selected from the toolbar. The details of the Work Search Activity are recorded 
and the entry is saved by selecting 'Save & Close' from the toolbar menu. The 
Work Search Activity will then show in the 'Work Search Activities' box. 
Temporarily switching off requirements 
There will be some circumstances, where WSCs will identify claimant 
circumstances that mean work search and availability requirements will be 
temporarily switched off. 
Regulations give a list of the particular circumstances where this is appropriate. 
This applies to claimants: 
  with a self certificate/medical evidence of illness of up to 14 days  
  receiving medical treatment outside of Great Britain (for up to 6 months) 
  on jury service or attending court or a tribunal as a witness 
  whose partner, child or qualifying young person has died (for up to 6 
months from the date of death) 
  participating in structured recovery orientated course of alcohol or drugs 
dependency treatment (for up to 6 months 
  who are prisoners (detained in custody pending trial or sentence or on 
temporary release.)  
  who have arrangements made by a protection provider for up to 3 
months. (This can be extended in exceptional circumstances) 
  engaged in a public duty– e.g. volunteer Fire-fighter, Lifeboat crew 
member 

WSCs can, at their discretion also temporarily switch off work search and work 
availability requirements where it would be unreasonable to require the claimant 
to comply with a work search or work availability requirement: 
  if the claimant is carrying out work preparation or voluntary work 
preparation 
  if the claimant has a fit note beyond the first 14 days of sickness. 
Nevertheless, the WSC may decide that the claimant should be subject 
to other work related requirements, such as work preparation and/or 
work focused interview requirements 
Where a claimant has a temporary emergency or temporary responsibilities 
such as: 
  temporary child care responsibilities(for example, where there is no 
appropriate childcare available during the school holidays and no other 
arrangements can be made or where the child is temporarily excluded 
from school) 
  they are dealing with a domestic emergency 
  they are having to make funeral arrangements  
  other temporary circumstances 
Where requirements have been temporarily switched off, WSCs should ensure 
that appropriate dates are set to review these arrangements.  
Victims of Domestic violence 
If a claimant notifies us that they have been a victim of domestic violence in the 
past six months, they are not living at the same address as the perpetrator, and 
they have not had access to this easement in the last 12 months, they must 
have an exemption from all work-related requirements for one month. During 
this time the claimant has the opportunity to provide relevant evidence from a 
person acting in an official capacity and, if they do so, will have this exemption 
extended to 13 weeks in total. 
If claimants feel, before this 1 month or 13 week easement is over, that they 
wish to reconnect with their work search or preparation activities, they should be 
able to do so on a voluntary basis until the end of the easement period at which 
point the claimant's appropriate work-related requirements will be re-applied. If 
a claimant does wish to begin to carry out work-related activities before their 
exemption period is over, it should be explained to the claimant that they will not 
be able to 'bank' this time and access it later on after the easement period has 
ended. 
However, claimants who have been a victim of domestic violence but are 
outside of this specific easement period may need to access a temporary lifting 
of work search and availability requirements as a result of temporary 
circumstances which are directly or indirectly related to their experience of 
domestic violence. For example if a claimant was obliged to move 
accommodation in order to ensure their safety or the safety of their children, 
work search and availability requirements can be temporary lifted to 
accommodate this if necessary. 

If the claimant is not available for work or work search activity 
If the claimant is not available for work, 'No' is selected from the 'Available For 
Work' drop-down menu and the reason(s) recorded in the 'Reason For 
Unavailability' field. This is used in cases such as a condition that affects the 
claimant meaning they are temporarily not available for any work, work 
preparation or work search activities. For example, a claimant participating in a 
recognised drugs rehabilitation treatment programme, or incapable of work due 
to a mental or physical condition. 
If the claimant is available for work from a specific date, the date is recorded in 
the 'Available From Date' field. The date that this will be reviewed is recorded in 
the 'Review Date' field. 
The claimant's required weekly work search hours are recorded In the 'Work 
Search Hours Per Week' field. This defaults to 35 but can be changed if 
required. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Work Search Reviews 
Summary 
Preparing for and conducting Work Search Reviews 
Content 
Universal Credit aims for claimant's to get as much work as they reasonably can 
do as quickly as possible. Advisers will take account of individual circumstances 
and set requirements that, if complied with, give the claimant the best possible 
prospects of finding paid work quickly. All such requirements will be recorded on 
the Claimant Commitment.   
Compliance with the work related requirements set out in the Claimant 
Commitment, actively searching work and engagement with advisers, increases 
the chances that claimants find work more quickly than would otherwise be the 
case. 
The claimant must take all reasonable action for the purpose of obtaining paid 
work and will be expected to devote the same number of hours to work search 
and work preparation activity each week as the number of hours they are 
available for work (up to a maximum of 35 hours a week). 
This means that the claimant must conduct work search for their Expected 
Hours (This is the number of hours that the claimant is available for work or 35 
hours, whichever is the lower figure) less the total amount of time they spend 
undertaking agreed Work Preparation activities, Voluntary Work and Paid Work. 
Work Search activities and the time it takes to undertake these will differ for 
each claimant, based on their job requirement(s) and individual circumstances. 
Where a claimant has done all that could reasonably be expected of them – for 
example they have applied for all suitable jobs and undertaken all the activities 
set out in their Claimant Commitment -  this will be considered sufficient even if 
the time taken was less than their expected hours. 
Work Search Reviews are a key component of the Universal Credit 
conditionality approach.  Evidence shows that regular face-to-face reviews can 
help people move into work more quickly than would otherwise be the case. 
The primary purpose of Work Search Reviews is to check that the claimant has 
complied with their work-related requirements.  They also provide an 
opportunity to identify anything that makes it harder for the claimant to get paid 
work and determine appropriate support. 
It is very important that advisers and agents work closely together to deliver a 
consistent approach. This means understanding what has been agreed 
previously and making sure each Work Search Review adds value, building 
upon previous contacts. 
Timing of Work Search Reviews 

Unless the claimant is not required to attend, or has been granted Postal 
Status, Work Search Reviews must be conducted face to face and carried out 
at least fortnightly. 
Previewing Work Search Reviews 
The agent should confirm if the claimant has any special arrangements, see 
'Special arrangements for claimant attendance'. 
The claimant record notes should also be checked to see if anything was 
agreed previously which needs to be discussed or followed up.  
Conducting the Work Search Review  
An in-depth, probing discussion with the claimant must take place to find out 
what they have done to look for paid work since their last Work Search Review. 
The core elements of the Work Search Review are: 
  explanation of the purpose of the Work Search Review 
  check outstanding actions from the Claimant Record 
  review of Work Search activity and Work Preparation actions set out on 
the Claimant Commitment 
  review of the claimant's Universal Jobmatch Activity 
  consideration of other Work Search and Work Preparation evidence 
presented by the claimant 
  determination of whether the claimant has done all that can be 
reasonably expected of them to find paid work 
  explanation of the sanction consequences of failing to attend their Work 
Search Reviews and failing to comply with the actions detailed on their 
Claimant Commitment 
  where a claimant has not complied with a work-related requirement, 
consideration of whether there should be a referral to a decision maker 
for a sanction decision 
  confirming the claimant's next intervention date and time with them 
The Work Search Review should start with introductions, confirmation of identity 
and explaining the purpose of the Work Search Review. If the claimant reports 
that they have a change of circumstances the agent advises them to report this 
by telephone. 
Review of Work Preparation activity 
Work Preparation activities should be reviewed by viewing the Claimant 
Commitment. If any are at / past their review date, check if the claimant has 
completed them. If they have, update the claimant record. 
If they have not (once the claimant has been given the opportunity to provide 
evidence of good reason and the importance of providing good reason has 
been explained to them), agents with correct permissions should refer to a 
Decision Maker for consideration of whether a sanction should be applied.  
Where appropriate, the claimant should be reminded that Universal Credit may 
be cut for every day until they undertake the required action or until they 

undertake an alternative activity they have been notified of by their adviser. See 
'Handling sanction referrals and notifications'. 
If any new Work Preparation activities have been identified, agents with correct 
permissions should update the claimant record 
Other Work Related Activities should be reviewed. If any are past their review 
date, check if the claimant has completed them. If they have completed them, 
update the claimant record. If they have not completed them, see if there are 
any 'Other Work Related Activities' to add, delete or edit, agents with correct 
permissions can update the claimant record.  If there are any 'Other Work 
Related Activities' to add, delete or edit, agents with correct permissions can 
update the claimant record. 
Review of Work Search activities 
Both Universal Jobmatch Work Search and Work Preparation activities and 
non- Universal Jobmatch Work Search and Work Preparation activities should 
be reviewed. See 'Universal Jobmatch and WSP'. 
All available Work Search evidence should be considered, including the 
claimant's Universal Jobmatch account, any Claimant Commitment Pack or 
diary / record the claimant has kept of their activities, print outs of jobs they 
have applied for, letters from employers and copies of updated CVs. 
If the claimant has completed all activities set out in their Claimant Commitment, 
they have met their requirements and their claimant record should be updated. 
Consideration should be given as to whether their work preparation and work 
search activity fell below the claimant's required Expected Hours for Work 
Search. If it did, agents with correct permissions should be asked to review 
these requirements and consider whether the Claimant Commitment should be 
reviewed. 
If claimant has not completed all work search activities, consider whether the 
claimant has nonetheless done all that they reasonably could to find paid work 
in that week (taking into account time spent undertaking work preparation or 
other agreed activities). If they have, then the claimant has met their work 
search requirements. 
Consideration should also be given as to whether an agent with correct 
permissions should be asked to review whether the requirements set out on the 
Claimant Commitment should be reviewed in light of experience. 
If the claimant has not done all that they reasonably could to search for work in 
that week a referral should be made to a Decision Maker for consideration of 
whether a sanction should be applied.  Referrals should not be made where a 
claimant does not undertake an individual work search activity (such as a 
claimant not checking Universal Jobmatch the required number of times), 
instead referrals should be made where a claimant has failed overall to do their 
required hours of work search activity and has not taken all reasonable action to 
find work in that week. 

If there are any work search activities to add, delete or edit, agents with correct 
permissions can update the claimant record. 
The agent must follow up any outstanding actions recorded on the claimant 
record notes, and identify any additional support that the claimant needs. 
There may be circumstances where the agent needs to refer the claimant to a 
suitably authorised agent.  For example where: 
  any additional work search support is needed (CV writing, Interview 
Techniques, Work Club) 
  the Claimant Commitment needs amending, for example where the 
claimant can no longer carry out a work related requirement 
  the Intervention Regime needs changing 
  the claimant has questions that cannot be responded to within the 
confines of the Work Search Review 
  referrals to provision need to be made 
  in-work financial advice given – general information may be provided 
during the Work Search Review but only an Adviser should provide more 
in-depth advice 
Review of Intervention Regime 
The claimant's Intervention Regime should be reviewed. The current Claimant 
Commitment will hold the claimant's Intervention Regime that was previously 
agreed. The agent will also be able to view future interventions on WSP by 
selecting 'View Interventions' within the 'General' menu on the 'Claimant' home 
screen. If the agent identifies that the intervention regime needs changing, an 
ongoing Work Search Interview will need to be booked. See 'Booking 
Appointments'. 
Referrals to a Decision Maker 
Where an agent is not satisfied that the claimant has carried out the required 
work search or work preparation activities, a referral should be made to a 
decision maker. See 'Handling sanction referrals and notifications'. 
If doubt is raised due to non attendance, see 'Handling sanction referrals and 
notifications'. 
Updating Work Services Platform 
The outcome of the intervention is recorded on WSP; see the 'Work Search 
Review action on WSP' guidance.