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recent changes to EEA jobseekers’ access to benefits
The government has now added a further piece to the EEA jobseekers jigsaw…
It is difficult to imagine that we will not see a rise in EEA homelessness as a result of this.
There is already going to be a spike of EEA nationals losing their R2R in early July because for the various categories who are on a six month time line any period of unemployment prior to 1/1/14 wasn’t counted - they all started with a clean slate on 1/1/14.
What intrigues me is whether the Tribunals will take the view that “compelling evidence” for the purpose of the EEA immigration regs is something different from and more stringent than normal DWP jobseeking conditionality. DWP obviously assumes it is because all of these changes being enacted in immigration law are being discussed almost entirely in a benefits context. But a Tribunal might say if you are able to claim JSA without being sanctioned, well there’s your compelling evidence.
The only people for whom it is absolutely definitely curtains after six months are those who worked for less than a year, where UK legislation has been brought into line with the Directive and the more generous possible extension of that six months that we allowed under national law removed.