Government agrees to end ‘rigid focus’ on weekly 35-hour job search rules after Committee report

The Government has signalled it will end the ‘rigid focus' on the 35-hour a week job search requirements for out of work benefit claimants after a Work and Pensions Committee report called on it to scrap blanket benefit requirements.

In its response to the Committee's Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres report published today, the DWP said it was testing a more personalised system through its Pathfinder scheme, as recommended by the Committee. This system weighs up individual circumstances and would “encourage claimants to take all reasonable steps to search and prepare for work”, giving them greater choice in their pathways to employment. The Committee had labelled the work search requirements “too generic and sometimes counterproductive”.

Sanctions Regime

The Government said it was considering whether improvements to the sanctions regime, including non-financial measures, would be effective. It stressed that Work Coaches already had tools, such as voluntary meetings, which can act as warnings short of financial penalties and allow personal circumstances to be considered. However, it warned of “unintended consequences” if mandatory meetings were introduced as a sanction. The Committee urged reform partly to reflect the burden of responsibilities such as childcare on some claimants.

The latest DWP figures, published on 11 November, show that more than one in twenty (5.5%) Universal Credit claimants on whom sanctions can be applied are being sanctioned - over 90% for failing to attend meetings.

The joint Jobs and Careers Service “will represent a clear shift away from the ‘any job' ethos”, the Government confirmed. It said it would publish more details of the service in Spring 2026. The policy that had forced claimants to take any job after the 4-week ‘permitted period' comes up was attacked in the Committee's report for leading to more people quitting jobs, undermining the confidence of both claimants and businesses in Jobcentres.

Debbie Abrahams, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said, “We're satisfied that the Government has a genuine desire to move away from the failed punitive welfare system of old. The end of an over-reliance on financial sanctions and a hyper-focus on benefits compliance will help restore faith amongst claimants. They only want to be helped and not vilified to the point of erosion of their self-esteem.

“The ‘any job' approach has been discredited, and the Government moving away from this too is a good foundation in improving damaged relations with employers too.

“We accept that how to effectively manage Work Coach time is under review but have some concerns that the time for initial meetings with claimants has been cut. Having quality time at the outset is fundamental for the success of a back to work and welfare to work schemes.

“The Pathfinder pilots are a constructive step forward on a holistic, supportive and humane approach to worklessness that we called for and feel will yield better results. The proof will come when the results of the scheme are known. We look forward to scrutinising them.”