Too much stick, not enough carrot? Why benefit sanctions won’t secure more older workers
The time for people claiming Universal Credit to look for jobs in their chosen sector will be slashed. But evidence suggests this is unlikely to motivate more people into work.
Kim Chaplain, Ageing Better’s Associate Director for Work, explains how these newly-announced benefit sanctions won’t encourage a rise in older workers.
This week the government announced its ‘Way to Work’ campaign aiming to move half a million people back into jobs by this summer. The main thrust seems to be to use sanctions to push jobseekers towards areas of skill shortage.
The time allowed for people claiming Universal Credit to look for jobs in their chosen sector is going to be reduced by two thirds, sliced from three months to just one. If jobseekers fail to broaden their search after one month, they risk penalties in the form of deductions from their benefits.
It's hard to understand how this approach is going to help either jobseekers or employers address skill shortages. There is absolutely no evidence that sanctions improve employment outcomes. Indeed, research into this area highlights the exact opposite, showing damaging effects on employment – a clear sign that such an approach will be ineffective and unnecessarily punitive.
The most recent ONS statistics tell us that older workers have left the labour market in their droves and that they are not engaging with public employment services, even though it’s generally accepted that the economy unequivocally needs the contribution of older workers.
To be successful in building back a multigenerational workforce, the focus should be on engaging actively with individuals and delivering key services in a more inclusive way.
The added pressure of sanctions is hardly going to encourage them to seek such support.
Our projects at Ageing Better tell us that, to be successful in building back a multigenerational workforce, the focus should be on engaging actively with individuals and delivering key services in a more inclusive way, providing tailored support within familiar settings that are not tied to the provision of benefit. This is particularly an issue when support is linked to Jobcentre Plus, where trust between jobseeker and coach could already be low.
Sanctions stand only to further disenfranchise potential older workers. Instead, we need to see more creative thinking, in the form of positive measures from central government, to get the economy moving in the right direction again.
At Ageing Better, we remain enthusiastic supporters of the 50-plus work champions, and we’re encouraged to see that more time will be given by work coaches to older workers. The trust and support that these roles can bring to someone’s journey back into employment must not be underestimated, or pressured by an arbitrary deadline of one month.