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Losing PA through sanctions
I have a client that is struggling to attend WFI’s and look for work. I have not gone down the road of WCA yet. He has asked if he can stop the personal allowance and just receive the housing element. So my question is, if he were to stop attending the JC and be sanctioned, would he still receive the housing element?
The usual sanction amount is equivalent to the rate of the personal allowance, so effectively yes.
but how would your client survive with no money to live on? Sick notes and WCA is a better option and ask for work search to be ‘switched off’ given his circumstances has got to be a more realistic option
Yes I will be encouraging him to go down the WCA route, however he does have other disregarded funds available to him.
Do you think that if someone signs a ‘claimant commitment’ but in truth hasn’t the slightest intention of complying with it and is just resolved to being permanently sanctioned, they meet the basic condition under s4(1)(e) WRA 2012?
In my opinion, yes. The commitment is a record of the claimant’s responsibilities, according to section 14. It is entirely written by the Secretary of State and is nothing to do with the claimant’s subjective views. The consequence of not meeting the responsibilities is the prescribed sanction. There is nothing the claimant can do to accept or not accept the commitment beyond acknowledging the fact of its imposition and communication to the claiamnt.
Note 1: There is a fundamental difference between an undertaking being accepted by a claimant and a
mandatory requirement being imposed by the Secretary of State.
Note: The claimant commitment should be set out after a full and cooperative discussion with the
claimant where the claimant accepts that the requirements within it are reasonable and achievable (also
see J1004, J1010 and J1011). Where the commitments are to be reviewed see J1030 et seq.
1 WR Act 12, s 14(2)