SANCTIONING IN THE FLEXIBLE NEW DEAL
— Flexible New Deal customers will usually stay on Jobseeker's Allowance (not a Training Allowance) for the duration of the flexible New Deal, and as such they will usually be required to meet the ordinary JSA labour market conditions.
— Customers can be sanctioned (ie benefit suspended) if they fail to engage with the regime (which mirrors the current arrangements in existing New Deal Options), or can be disentitled (ie benefit claim ended) if they fail to meet the conditions of the benefit, like being available for work and actively seeking work.
— The Decision Making and Appeals process for fND will be no different to what we already have in place for both existing contracted provision or indeed for Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers.
— Once an fND supplier has agreed an action plan with a customer all aspects are enforceable. Where a customer fails to agree an action plan or fails to undertake any activity set out in the action plan the supplier will collect evidence about this failure and refer the doubt to a Jobcentre Plus decision maker. The decision maker will decide whether or not a sanction is justified and apply the sanction, taking into account possible good cause for this failure.
— Suppliers are also required to advise decision makers on other aspects of customers' actions that bring their entitlement to JSA into question, such as refusing to apply for notified vacancies or failing to be available for and actively seek employment. Customers who are disentitled will need to make a new claim.
— The Decision Making process is built around the principle of a separation of powers between the provider collecting evidence about the doubt and the decision maker deciding whether a sanction (or disentitlement) is warranted. This will ensure customers are not sanctioned or disentitled unfairly.
— As is the case currently, the customer will be able to put their case to the decision maker and will have the right of appeal against any decision.