Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEconomics, government & businessEquality, diversity and inclusionHR practiceDepartment for Work and Pensions

70,000 single parents join Jobcentre Plus lists as benefits change

by Personnel Today 26 Oct 2009
by Personnel Today 26 Oct 2009

Up to 70,000 single parents will be forced to actively seek work or risk losing their benefits following the implementation of welfare reforms today.

Lone parents whose youngest child is aged 10 or 11 will now be moved from Income Support benefits to the Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), which is paid at the same rate but requires them to attend fortnightly interviews at Jobcentre Plus and show they have applied for jobs before they can receive the benefit.

Parents of children aged 12 or older were moved to JSA last year, and the change will be extended to all single parents with children aged seven or over in October next year.

The work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper said: “What we want to do is help more parents in to work, but also to do so in a family-friendly way.”

Cooper added that under the new regulations parents only have to look for part-time work.

She told GMTV: “They may also be able to look just for work that fits with school hours if they’re lone parents as well, because I do think it’s important often to be able to pick the kids up from school and as a mum I know how important it is to be able to spend time with the children.

“I do think it’s right that as the children grow older there are more responsibilities on parents to start looking for work. We know that is good for both the parents and children as well.”

But the campaign group Gingerbread accused the government of failing to back up the move with the necessary support for parents.

Fiona Weir, Gingerbread chief executive, told the Metro: “The extra obligations are there but the support is woefully inadequate.”

The campaign group spoke to parents who were transferred to Jobseekers Allowance last year who said they did not receive the promised meetings with New Deal advisers and felt under pressure to find work and were demoralised by repeated rejections.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper calls for more part-time jobs
next post
Anti-slavery campaigners hope for Lords victory today

You may also like

Are you a ‘quiet quitter’?

12 Aug 2022

July saw highest number of job adverts for...

12 Aug 2022

Transport sector recruitment ‘should be overhauled to improve...

12 Aug 2022

Liz Truss comments on Civil Service dismissed as...

12 Aug 2022

Hot summers, hot desks – employment law advice...

12 Aug 2022

Sharp rise in firms offering enhanced parental leave...

11 Aug 2022

Working in a heatwave: what should employers consider?

11 Aug 2022

Zero-hours contract benefits ‘can outweigh negatives for workers’

11 Aug 2022

Nearly 14,000 whistleblowing reports of furlough fraud received...

11 Aug 2022

Skills passport and new qualifications for care workers...

11 Aug 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+