Universal credit sanctions ‘undermine’ Jobcentre employment support, DWP warned by MPs

Universal credit claimants are left feeling “disempowered and unsupported” by Jobcentres in their search for work, a cross-party group of MPs has warned the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as it continues with plans to transform the system.

A new report from the Work and Pensions Select Committee found that work-search requirements are “too generic and sometimes counterproductive”, and it has called for the DWP to reform its sanctions regime with safeguarding in mind.

DWP plans to reform Jobcentres were largely welcomed by the committee, particularly the refocus from monitoring benefits towards employment support. Jobcentres will be merged with the “undervalued” National Careers Service to create new jobs and careers advice.

However, the committee argues that the government could use the “golden opportunity” of reform to push further and create “transformational” change within the Jobcentre system.

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Jobseekers are currently expected to spend 35 hours a week looking for work to ensure they receive universal credit and avoid sanctions, unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

The Work and Pensions Select Committee argues that the DWP should consider safeguarding and trauma-informed approaches tailored to people’s individual circumstances when making decisions about sanctions.

Debbie Abrahams, chair of the work and pensions committee, said the DWP has “made some welcome progress in making a more supportive system for jobseekers” but “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,” Abrahams added. “This undermines the service the Jobcentre is meant to be providing for people and businesses. Who can expect to find a job after four weeks, let alone a decent and secure one?”

The committee is calling on the government to extend the period people are given to look for work from four weeks to three months. The permitted period was reduced from three months to four weeks in 2022.

It argues that the extension would improve the chances of people finding a job that works for them, “giving them independence and getting them off benefits long-term”.

“This should be accompanied by a significant personalisation of both the support claimants receive and the conditions of their job search,” Abrahams said. 

“Someone with a health condition should not be sanctioned for not taking a job that they cannot do because of that condition just because of a one-size-fits-all approach. A more personalised, flexible approach will improve employment outcomes, give people more control over their lives and help to restore their dignity.”

Interviews between work coaches and claimants are limited to 10 minutes, which the work and pensions committee found was “not nearly enough to address the needs of claimants who are further from employment”.

Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “The current system just isn’t working for people looking for jobs. The Work and Pensions Committee’s recommendations are in line with what Citizens Advice has been calling for.”

However, Citizens Advice is calling for the government to “go further by replacing work coaches with dedicated case workers that help people get the support workers that help people get the support they need to move into work, not just sanctioning them”.

The government has a long-term ambition of achieving an 80% employment rate. In April to June 2025, the most recently available data, the UK employment rate was 75.3%. 

A government spokesperson said: “As the committee recognises, we are transforming Jobcentres so our talented work coaches can focus on tailored job support, not monitoring benefits.  

“We are already trialling radical new ideas, working with local leaders to tailor services to meet community challenges and are deploying work coaches to deliver intensive support to sick and disabled people.”

In November 2024, the DWP published its Get Britain Working White Paper, promising “the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation”. It set out a £240 million investment to guarantee every young person the chance to earn or learn, tackle inactivity and join up work and health support.

MacInnes added: “This is a golden opportunity to create a system that actually supports people into sustainable employment and the government must seize it.”

The Work and Pensions Committee report comes days after a cabinet reshuffle which saw Pat McFadden take over as work and pensions secretary and head of a new ‘super ministry’, with the DWP acquiring the skills remit of the Department for Education.

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: “We need a social security system that supports people into suitable work, not one that continues to dial up punitive sanctions that only push people deeper into poverty and further from work.

“We hope that the government’s decision to move skills policy into the DWP signals a more positive approach. Only careful and wide-ranging reforms will help more disabled people into work – more ill-considered cuts are not the answer.”

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