TRAINING ALLOWANCES UNDER EXISTING NEW DEAL OPTIONS
— Under existing arrangements for current New Deal Options, customers receive a Training Allowance for the duration of the option as their engagement in full time activity means that they cannot meet the ordinary labour market conditions that apply to a payment of Jobseeker's Allowance.
— If a customer fails to comply with his mandatory New Deal Option he will revert immediately to Jobseekers Allowance and be referred by the provider to Jobcentre Plus. This is because he is no longer engaging in the mandatory full-time activity which prevents him from meeting the ordinary JSA labour market conditions so the reason for providing financial support through a training allowance no longer applies.
— Subject to the evidence, a Jobcentre Plus decision maker will then apply a fixed period sanction to Jobseeker's Allowance. This can be a loss of JSA for two weeks for a first offence, four weeks for a second, and 26 weeks for a third and further 26 weeks sanctions for further offences within a 12 month single-claim period.
— If the claimant's non-compliance continues then the withdrawal of benefit continues but he can continue to get passported benefits (eg Housing or Council Tax Benefit) so long as they continue to meet the basic JSA conditions. If, however, he decides to comply and re-engages with the New Deal Option, then he will go back to the provider and the Training Allowance. This is an important incentive to re-engage with the regime.
— Under existing arrangements for current New Deals, a Training Premium can be in payment in conjunction with the Training Allowance as an incentive and contribution to additional costs (travel expenses etc.) to attend the full time activity.
TRAINING ALLOWANCES IN THE FLEXIBLE NEW DEAL
— Training Allowances can still be paid during the flexible New Deal, if the customer is engaged in full time activity that means they can't meet the ordinary JSA labour market conditions. Usually, however, the customer will remain on JSA.
— There will be no Training Premium for customers on a Training Allowance in the flexible New Deal: contracted providers have to meet any additional costs of a customer attending full time activity themselves. Any Training Allowance will be paid at the same rate as the customer's JSA. This means fND providers cannot use removal, or threat of loss, of the premium as a mechanism to unfairly influence customer behaviour.
— Sanctions arrangements replicate the existing arrangements in current New Deal Options, ie if a customer fails to engage in the flexible New Deal whilst on a Training Allowance their Allowance will stop and they will return to JSA. A Jobcentre Plus decision maker will consider whether a sanction is justified and sanction their Jobseeker's Allowance if they failed to engage without good cause.
— As is the case in existing New Deal Options, fND customers will have the option to comply, and so return to the provider with their Training Allowance reinstated.