Guidance as to what constitutes a sanctionable offence

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

My query is regarding the rules around benefit sanctions as I help out with an organisation which sees an increasing number of people subject to sanctions.

In 2013 Ester McVey the Employment Minster referred to sanctions saying:
“The people who get sanctions are wilfully rejecting support for no good reason and if there were a reason … there is something known as 'good cause', so if that seemed true and genuine you'd have good cause there to not have a sanction, plus there is a process in place just to ensure we are getting it right”

The term “wilfully rejecting” is also used in the recent Oakley review of Sanctions in the Work Program but I cannot find it in any of the other documents around the rules for sanctioning and appeals.

I would like to ask:

1. Must a “sanctionable offence” be wilful (or deliberate) for a sanction to imposed?

In order to understand the process and rules more clearly

2. could you provide any guidance:
a. given to JCP Job Coaches (who refer for sanction) relating to the wilful or deliberate nature of a sanctionable offence
b. given to Decision Makers relating to the relating to the wilful or deliberate nature of a sanctionable offence
c. given to Decision makers relating to if an action is inadvertent, unintentional or not wilful this constitutes a “good reason”

This area is of particular importance to the people we work alongside and I hope your answers may be able to allow us to help people avoid or appeal sometimes very damaging sanctions.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Morrison

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Mr V Johnson left an annotation ()

Good question and interesting response. If Ester McVey wants sanctions restricted to those who are "wilfully rejecting" support she could and should get the Guidance rewritten to protect them from the full rigour of the law.