We have had questions from you at our Universal Credit training recently about how zero hours contracts will affect entitlement to JSA and Universal Credit.
The DWP have stated that JSA claimants-'are not required to apply for zero hours contract vacancies and they will not face sanctions for turning down the offerofazerohourscontract.' HoweverforUniversalCreditclaimantsthis appears to be different. The DWP point to how there will be no need for claimants to re-sign on when moving to and from work and that '..If a claimant turns down a particular vacancy then before a sanction is applied we will look into the circumstances of the case and consider whether they had a good reason.'
Universal Credit Active Labour Market Regime- lower thresholds On a related issue, under Universal Credit if a client earns less than 35 x the National Minimum wage(weekly) then they will be expected to look for increased work. At present if a client is not on JSA than they would not be required to look for more work. The DWP have stated that this new approach will be tested initially onatrailbasis,anduntilitisrolledoutnationally, therewillbelower thresholds below which a client will be expected to look for more work(active labour market regime), namely '...£330 a month for a single person and £525 a month for a couple (based on gross taxable pay) .'
Click here for our updated Universal Credit 2014 course.