Rather than places where people are helped to find work, Jobcentres have “become centres for monitoring compliance with benefit conditions”, an influential committee of MPs has said.
A report by the Work and Pensions Committee into the government’s planned reforms to Jobcentres has argued the current system is simply “not working”, largely because access to the network of centres is now so closely tied to access to benefits.
Jobcentre reform
Jobcentres battle with shortage of work coaches
“Only people claiming benefits can access Jobcentres and attendance is often mandatory, under threat of sanctions. Work coach appointments, which often last as little as 10 minutes, are focused on checking benefit conditions, with little time for employment support,” the report, Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres, said.
The ‘ABC’ approach to employment adopted by Jobcentres (‘first Any job, then a Better job, then a Career’) was also “flawed”, the MPs said, as it led claimants into being pressed to apply for and take the first job available, regardless of suitability.
“This approach doesn’t work for claimants, exacerbating cycles of low work, no work; nor does it work for employers, who receive unmotivated candidates applying just to meet benefit conditions,” the committee said.
The committee nevertheless broadly welcomed “the spirit” of the government’s proposed reform agenda. This included suggestions that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) intends to shift the focus of work coach appointments away from monitoring benefit conditions and towards employment support.
“DWP’s statements about providing more personalised support, including more time with work coaches for those who need it, are also positive. We also welcome the greater focus on careers and the opportunity created by merging Jobcentres with the National Careers Service, an undervalued service, to create the new jobs and careers service,” the committee said.
But this did not go far enough and the DWP itself needed to change significantly; indeed, there was an opportunity to “grasp the nettle” and deliver “transformational change”, the MPs said.
The report called for reform to the so-called ‘conditionality regime’, including the sanctions placed on jobseekers and people in work on Universal Credit.
As things stand, Universal Credit claimants must sign a commitment to undertake certain activities, the MPs pointed out, including a requirement to spend 35 hours a week looking for work, to receive their benefits and avoid sanctions.
These work-search requirements were “too generic and sometimes counterproductive” leaving people “feeling disempowered and unsupported”, the report concluded. A personalised action plan co-developed between the claimant and their work coach, and which better reflects that person’s skills and experience, should replace the current ‘Claimant Commitment’, they recommended.
Work and Pensions Committee chair Debbie Abrahams said: “Providing the right support to get people back into the workplace assists not only individual claimants, but businesses and wider society too.
“While the DWP has made some welcome progress in making a more supportive system for jobseekers, more can be done to really transform the system and encourage people back into work.
“We need to help end the cycle of claiming benefits, being pushed into any job, and losing it when it is unsuitable or insecure. This undermines the service the Jobcentre is meant to be providing for people and businesses.
“A more personalised, flexible approach will improve employment outcomes, give people more control over their lives and help to restore their dignity,” Abrahams added.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
