Welfare Reform Act 2009

Directions given by officers of the Secretary of State etc.

5 Before section 19 (but after the italic heading immediately before that section) insert—

“18C Definitions for purposes of sections 19 and 20A

(1) This section applies for the purposes of sections 19 and 20A.

(2) A person (“P”) is in breach of a jobseeker’s direction if P has, without good cause, refused or failed to carry out a direction given to P under section 18A(1).

(3) A person (“P”) is in breach of a training scheme requirement if P—

(a) has, without good cause, refused or failed to do as mentioned in section 18A(3);

(b) has, without good cause, neglected to avail himself or herself of a reasonable opportunity of a place on a training scheme;

(c) has, without good cause, given up a place on a training scheme;

(d) has, without good cause, failed to attend a training scheme on which P has been given a place; or

(e) has lost a place on a training scheme through misconduct.

(4) A person (“P”) is in breach of an employment programme requirement if P—

(a) has, without good cause, refused or failed to do as mentioned in section 18A(4);

(b) has, without good cause, neglected to avail himself or herself of a reasonable opportunity of a place on an employment programme;

(c) has, without good cause, given up a place on an employment programme;

(d) has, without good cause, failed to attend an employment programme on which P has been given a place; or

(e) has lost a place on an employment programme through misconduct.

(5) A person (“P”) is in breach of an employment requirement if P—

(a) has, without good cause, refused or failed to do as mentioned in section 18A(5);

(b) has lost employment as an employed earner through misconduct;

(c) has, without just cause, voluntarily left employment as an employed earner; or

(d) has, without good cause, neglected to avail himself or herself of a reasonable opportunity of employment.

(6) A person (“P”) is in breach of a work-related activity requirement if P has, without good cause, refused or failed to comply with a requirement imposed on P under section 18B.

(7) In this section “employment programme” and “training scheme” have the same meaning as in section 18A.

18D Section 18C: supplemental

(1) A person is not to be regarded as breaching any requirement under section 18C merely because the person refuses to seek or accept employment in a situation which is vacant in consequence of a stoppage of work due to a trade dispute.

(2) A person is not to be regarded as breaching a jobseeker’s direction, a training scheme requirement or an employment programme requirement under section 18C if—

(a) a direction is in force under section 16 with respect to the person; and

(b) the person has acted in such a way as to risk—

(i) having that direction revoked under section 16(3)(b), or

(ii) having the amount of jobseeker’s allowance reduced by virtue of section 17 because the condition mentioned in section 17(3)(b) or (c) is satisfied.

(3) In such circumstances as may be prescribed, a person who might otherwise be regarded as having left employment voluntarily is to be treated for the purposes of section 18C as not having left voluntarily.

(4) The circumstances that may be prescribed include, in particular, where the person has been dismissed by reason of redundancy within the meaning of section 139(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 after volunteering or agreeing to be so dismissed.

(5) Regulations must make provision for the purpose of enabling any person of a prescribed description to accept any employed earner’s employment without breaching an employment requirement by virtue of section 18C(5)(c) or (d) should the person leave that employment voluntarily and without just cause at any time during a trial period.

(6) “Trial period” has such meaning as may be prescribed.

(7) Regulations may for the purposes of section 18C—

(a) prescribe matters which are, or are not, to be taken into account in determining whether a person has good cause or just cause for any act or omission;

(b) prescribe circumstances in which a person is, or is not, to be regarded as having good cause or just cause for any act or omission.

(8) Subject to those regulations, in determining whether, for the purposes of section 18C, a person has, or does not have, good cause or just cause for any act or omission, any matter relating to the level of remuneration in the employment in question is to be disregarded.

(9) Regulations may, in the case of a person of a prescribed description whose claim to a jobseeker’s allowance is based on meeting condition B in section 1A, provide that section 18C(3)(b) to (e)—

(a) are not to apply, or

(b) are not to apply in prescribed circumstances.

(10) Regulations may make provision for the purposes of section 18C(6)—

(a) prescribing the evidence which a person who is subject to a requirement imposed under section 18B needs to provide in order to show compliance with the requirement;

(b) prescribing matters which are, or are not, to be taken into account in determining whether a person has complied with such a requirement.

(11) Regulations may make provision for determining, for the purposes of this section, the day on which a person’s employment is to be regarded as starting.”