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Sanctioned. How can I have it lifted? Can I appeal?

huney

Hello my uc has been sanctioned and I wonder if anyone can help with this? How do I have the sanction lifted and can I appeal? It’s totally unfair we were already struggling with his work being hit because of Covid and now this
it feels like they’re just using it as way to recoup some money. What do they expect people to do when they stop their money? How does it even help anyone?

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janer1967

Hi

Did you post recently about not attendib a work review and that they had warned about sanction ?

Sorry if this was not you

If so you need to follow the advise given and rearrange the appointment

If this isn't the case you need to find out the reason for 4ye sanction and talk to dwp as we don't know the reason why sorry

MarkM88

What reason has been given?

huney

janer1967 said:

Hi

Did you post recently about not attendib a work review and that they had warned about sanction ?

Sorry if this was not you

If so you need to follow the advise given and rearrange the appointment

If this isn't the case you need to find out the reason for 4ye sanction and talk to dwp as we don't know the reason why sorry

I replied as soon as I saw the message and they gave me a new appointment for July it says I am sanctioned until I have the new appointment. But it isn’t my fault the first appointment they picked is July!!

I really don’t know what to do

MarkN88 said:

What reason has been given?

They put a note in my journal about an appointment the same day with just a few hours notice. I care for my blind son and didn’t check journal until evening so missed work search appointment. I check journal every single evening it doesn’t seem fair I have been sanctioned.

I don’t get why they have sanctions at all. You miss an appointment so they stop you being able to put food on the table? It’s bs

janer1967

I get your frustration but they have sanctions so claimants whi want to get benefits have to meet their commitments

You have valid reason for not attending have you spoke I'm person to your work coach

huney

I still think sanctions are crazy, I can’t see how they do anything but create more poverty or wrongly penalise someone.

I spoke to my work coach but she’s been so unsympathetic and is the one that referred me for sanction in the first place. Surely they have to give more than a couple of hours notice?

So what do we do for money?

huney

woodbine said:

hardship payments:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/sanctions/hardship-payment/

Thank you for this.
although surely other people can see the madness? I’m on a low income with a disabled child and already struggled month to month which is why we get UC and now because of their error or “sanction” we have to take a loan from them so we can afford food and then pay it back from our future uc meaning we struggle more in the future too. So the sanction isn’t just short term it means we struggle for months and months and have to get into debt to get money

Luna51

Hello

Just a quick question..
Do you claim Disability Living Allowance (for under 16's) or Personal Independence Payments (over 16's) for your son?
If so, and you care for him 35hours (or more) a week, you should be entitled to Carers Allowance.
This payment will be taken into account for UC but you will not then be expected to look for work if you are classed as a carer and you would also be entitled to an additional amount called Carers credit (worth £160 per month)

If your son does have substantial care needs and you are not claiming DLA or PIP for him, it's definitely something worth looking into..

calcotti

Luna51 said:

Hello

Just a quick question..
Do you claim Disability Living Allowance (for under 16's) or Personal Independence Payments (over 16's) for your son?
If so, and you care for him 35hours (or more) a week, you should be entitled to Carers Allowance.
This payment will be taken into account for UC but you will not then be expected to look for work if you are classed as a carer and you would also be entitled to an additional amount called Carers credit (worth £160 per month)

In those circumstances claiming CA is an option to get Class 1 NI credits but there is no need to claim CA to get the carer element of UC. People earning more than £128/week cannot claim CA but can get the carer element.

huney

Luna51 said:

If your son does have substantial care needs and you are not claiming DLA or PIP for him, it's definitely something worth looking into..

Thanks, my son is blind so I do feel he has substantial care needs but we applied for dla and he was declined. It’s all just a big mess at the moment

janer1967

@calcotti doesn't there need to be a disability benefit in order to claim carers element or is that just ca

calcotti

janer1967 said:

@calcotti doesn't there need to be a disability benefit in order to claim carers element or is that just ca

Yes, there does need to be a disability benefit in place. i was responding to the comment by Luna on entitlement if getting DLA or PIP. What I was seeking to point out is that it is not necessary to claim CA in order to get the carer element. Sorry if my reply was ambiguous and could be misread.

janer1967

@calcotti I was only asking for my own knowledge

SarahUCE

janer1967 said:

they have sanctions so claimants whi want to get benefits have to meet their commitments

While this is the party line, evidence that sanctions work is limited and weak. A Work and Pensions Committee report called the system “pointlessly cruel” and found that disabled people were “disproportionately vulnerable” to sanctions.

@huney you are able to appeal sanction decisions and it sounds like you have reason to. Looking at your other posts, as lead parent to a 3 year old your commitments should allow 48 hours or longer notice to attend an interview that could lead to work, so it would be reasonable that 48 hours notice would be required of a job centre interview. I’ve successfully appealed sanctions on these grounds before.

I would also recommend checking the sanction letter carefully, I’ve found many to be littered with errors (from incorrect dates, incorrect amounts and other errors) which have been used to successfully appeal a sanction.

Also check what your commitments are, if they are incorrect this can help your cause.

It’s not the best but this may help with your MR https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/survival-guide-benefit-sanctions

Best of luck and please let me know if you have any questions, it’s a topic I feel strongly about.

calcotti

janer1967 said:

@calcotti I was only asking for my own knowledge

No problem. Always happened to be asked (and corrected when necessary).
To expand the answer - to qualify for the carer element of UC the claimant has to meet the qualifying conditions for CA except that the CA earnings limit does not apply.

calcotti

Sanctions are known not to work - or at least there is no evidence that they do. Indeed because of the additional stress caused to claimants it makes it harder for them to get back into work etc. However they fit a populist narrative of 'strivers and skivers'.

The justification was set out back in 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/benefit-sanctions-ending-the-something-for-nothing-culture--2

As far back as 2016 the NAO were questioning the policy
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/benefit-sanctions/

The Work and Pensions committee attacked the [olicy in 2018
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/955/955.pdf

The government's own analysis is here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-in-work-progression-randomised-controlled-trial
it effectively confirms that sanctions so not meet their purported aim:

When looking at changes in hours worked and earnings between wave one and wave two, there was no difference between participants who said their UC had been stopped or reduced and other participants.

Deaf ears, deaf ears etc. Actually that might be offensive to anyone reading this who actually has hearing difficulties - I should probably be saying "Closed minds, closed minds".

With apologies to OP also because this doesn't help them with their immediate problem.

janer1967

@SarahUCE I wasn't saying I agreed with sanctions in anyway shape or form and most definitely not in this instance

@huney if you struggle with your work coach you can request a new one to be appointed