This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/former-dwp-staff-go-rogue-to-help-benefit-claimants-who-feel-they-have-been-wrongly-penalised-9645291.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Former DWP staff go rogue to help benefit claimants | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Three disgruntled former civil servants have been inundated with pleas for help after they set up a website offering emergency advice to welfare claimants who believe their benefits have been wrongly docked. | Three disgruntled former civil servants have been inundated with pleas for help after they set up a website offering emergency advice to welfare claimants who believe their benefits have been wrongly docked. |
| The three women behind the initiative, who all worked for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), allege that many Jobcentre staff are instructed to veto a set proportion of claims. The allegation is strongly denied by the department. The women, who are based in the North-east of England and have not made their names public, launched the website in June without any fanfare. | The three women behind the initiative, who all worked for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), allege that many Jobcentre staff are instructed to veto a set proportion of claims. The allegation is strongly denied by the department. The women, who are based in the North-east of England and have not made their names public, launched the website in June without any fanfare. |
| In the last few days it has gone viral and the women have been bombarded by claimants accusing the DWP of unfairly cutting their benefits. | In the last few days it has gone viral and the women have been bombarded by claimants accusing the DWP of unfairly cutting their benefits. |
| On one day last week the website, jobseekersanctionadvice.com, received 200 messages, half from people protesting against being wrongly penalised. | On one day last week the website, jobseekersanctionadvice.com, received 200 messages, half from people protesting against being wrongly penalised. |
| The website organisers, who have called on support from five other people with DWP experience, worked until after midnight to clear the backlog. | The website organisers, who have called on support from five other people with DWP experience, worked until after midnight to clear the backlog. |
| One of the organisers, “Jean”, said she had become disillusioned by the treatment meted out to some claimants during her final years at a Jobcentre, alleging that staff were pressurised to sanction needy people for the smallest mistake in their claim. | One of the organisers, “Jean”, said she had become disillusioned by the treatment meted out to some claimants during her final years at a Jobcentre, alleging that staff were pressurised to sanction needy people for the smallest mistake in their claim. |
| “I decided one Sunday to resign and I never went back. I had loved the job until the last three years but then I could see the way things were going. I got tired of fighting the system,” she said. | “I decided one Sunday to resign and I never went back. I had loved the job until the last three years but then I could see the way things were going. I got tired of fighting the system,” she said. |
| “I became active on forums offering advice to people, the more I became involved, the more outraged I became.” | “I became active on forums offering advice to people, the more I became involved, the more outraged I became.” |
| With two like-minded ex-colleagues, she decided to set up the website to offer free advice to claimants. | With two like-minded ex-colleagues, she decided to set up the website to offer free advice to claimants. |
| “We didn’t promote the website, we had a few inquiries and helped a few people. Then it got picked up and everything went bananas,” she told The Independent. | “We didn’t promote the website, we had a few inquiries and helped a few people. Then it got picked up and everything went bananas,” she told The Independent. |
| “It’s a harsh environment... everything is designed to trip people up, they are asked to do things that are unsuitable. Some offices are OK and others aren’t – it all depends what manager you have.” | “It’s a harsh environment... everything is designed to trip people up, they are asked to do things that are unsuitable. Some offices are OK and others aren’t – it all depends what manager you have.” |
| An internal investigation by the DWP last year concluded there were no secret targets, either nationally or locally, for sanctioning benefits. | An internal investigation by the DWP last year concluded there were no secret targets, either nationally or locally, for sanctioning benefits. |
| A spokesman said: “Every day up and down the country our Jobcentre advisers are successfully helping people off benefits and into work. | A spokesman said: “Every day up and down the country our Jobcentre advisers are successfully helping people off benefits and into work. |
| “We now have an employment rate which has never been higher and record numbers of people in jobs. | “We now have an employment rate which has never been higher and record numbers of people in jobs. |
| “Decisions on sanctions aren’t taken lightly, but it’s only right that people claiming benefits should do everything they can to find work if they are able. | “Decisions on sanctions aren’t taken lightly, but it’s only right that people claiming benefits should do everything they can to find work if they are able. |
| “There are no targets for sanctions and we have a well-established system of hardship provision in place.” | “There are no targets for sanctions and we have a well-established system of hardship provision in place.” |
| But Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, said: “It’s a disgrace how, for political reasons, Jobcentres are being turned from places where unemployed people go to get help into places of fear for many claimants. | But Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, said: “It’s a disgrace how, for political reasons, Jobcentres are being turned from places where unemployed people go to get help into places of fear for many claimants. |
| “We want the sanctions regime scrapped entirely, it serves no purpose other than to demonise and punish people for being out of work.” | “We want the sanctions regime scrapped entirely, it serves no purpose other than to demonise and punish people for being out of work.” |
| He said a recent PCS survey of Jobcentre staff found almost two-thirds said they had experienced pressure to refer claimants for a sanction inappropriately. | He said a recent PCS survey of Jobcentre staff found almost two-thirds said they had experienced pressure to refer claimants for a sanction inappropriately. |