Sanctions

[trebormoinet]

When a sanction is applied from what I have read there seems to be a waiting period of 15 days before people who fit into the non vulnerable group can apply for a hardship payment.

 

http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/ask-cpag-online-can-you-claim-hardship-payment-jsa-or-esa

 

• you, or your partner, are pregnant;
  
• you are responsible for a child under 16 or a qualifying young person;
  
• you or your partner have a chronic health condition or you would qualify for a disabilty premium;
  
• you are caring for a severely disabled person.; or
  
• you or your partner are aged 16 or 17 and are in hardship.
  

I do not fall into those categories, is this information correct or do they make allowances for claimants who have no family and friends they can borrow from nor access to pay day loans.

[jason2723637]

hi no one has replied to this so was wondering myself as I dot understand the criteria for hardship payments below is cut n paste from another thread tommy was the poster -

 

 

 

 

f your Universal Credit has been cut because of a sanction or penalty for fraud, you might be able to get some emergency money to help you cover household expenses like food and bills. This is called a 'hardship payment'.

A hardship payment is usually a loan, so you’ll have to pay it back when your sanction ends. The Jobcentre will usually get the money back by taking an amount of money from your Universal Credit payment each month until it’s paid off.

Eligibility

 

You can only get a hardship payment if you meet all the following conditions:

 

 

1. You must be 18 or over (16 if your payment is reduced because of fraud).
   
2. You must be struggling to meet your basic needs or the basic needs of a child or young person you’re responsible for.'Basic needs' include accommodation, heating, food and hygiene. You'll only be eligible if the reason you can't meet these needs is because of the sanction.
   
3. You must have made every effort to stop spending money on non-essential things. The Jobcentre expects you to only spend money on meeting basic needs, so they might expect you to spend less on entertainment or leisure activities.
   
4. You must have done everything you can to get money from other sources before you can apply. The Jobcentre should be reasonable about what you can do in your circumstances. For example, you won't be expected to sell your belongings, move house, or get a bank loan or credit card. But you could be expected to ask friends or family for money, looked for other benefits (eg from your local council, or local charities), or ask for extra hours if you work.
   
5. You must have done all the work-related activities that you were supposed to do in the 7 days before you apply for a hardship payment.
   

 

 

are the above 5 criteria only for the vulnerable group as it does not say so if not it seems to conflict with the OP

[trebormoinet]

 

 

are the above 5 criteria only for the vulnerable group as it does not say so if not it seems to conflict with the OP

I believe the difference lies in the fact that they are both different types of benefit, I quoted regarding the JSA rules whereas you have quoted the criteria for UC.

 

Its confusing to say the least but I guess the difference lies in the fact that if on UC, you will have to pay back the hardship payment, with JSA you do not have to pay it back.

[jason2723637]

ok yes I knew it was for UC but could not find adequate info for JSA hardship payments so ...what you posted taken from the cpag site don't make sense to me either if we forget that under UC its seen as a loan what I was saying what diff if its UC or JSA it breaks logic to say one group gets less restriction on receiving hardship payment then the other. if so then a hypothetical - how would one get themselves on UC rather then staying on JSA (seeing lot are put on UC and shifted from JSA at times unless you fail the explicit UC criteria or UC is not available in your area) in order to get the hardship payment more easily?

 

 

for example - taken from your link-

 

 

IF IN DOUBT, ALWAYS MAKE A CLAIM FOR A HARDSHIP PAYMENT – the worst that can happen is that DWP refuse to make a payment and you can challenge such a refusal.

 

 

 

 

To qualify for JSA hardship payments, you must either be in a 'vulnerable group' or satisfy the DWP that you will 'suffer hardship'

 

 

 

 

If either of these applies to you, the DWP must make a payment to you - there is no discretion to not pay you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then...

 

 

If you are not in a vulnerable group, you can only get hardship payments from the 15th day of the sanction if you can show that you or your partner will suffer 'hardship' unless JSA is paid. If your JSA sanction is because you do not satisfy the jobseeking conditions, you can only get a hardship payment if you are in a vulnerable group.

 

 

and again -

 

 

If your JSA sanction is because you do not satisfy the jobseeking conditions, you can only get a hardship payment if you are in a vulnerable group.

 

 

 

 

how does the above when taken all together (and not out of context) make sense? what jobseeking conditions did you not satisfy (if that was the case) do you know? for example the reason one can get sanctioned to begin with is by not satisfying their work coach they have been looking for work adequately which is a failure of the persons job seeking conditions how does that equate logically? meaning only way to get hardship payments is because you have been sanctioned to begin with, unless they mean another more specific jobseeking condition?

 

 

The conditions -

 

 

The jobseeking conditions come in two main parts: 1. You have to show that you available for work 2. You have to show that you are actively seeking work

[trebormoinet]

if so then a hypothetical - how would one get themselves on UC rather then staying on JSA (seeing lot are put on UC and shifted from JSA at times unless you fail the explicit UC criteria or UC is not available in your area) in order to get the hardship payment more easily?

 

As far as I know the only way to move from JSA to UC is to have a break in you claim and single and live in a area where UC has been rolled out.

 

I understand what you are saying in regards to the how it is worded, I have never applied for a hardship payment before I am just forearming myself in case it happens, I would be interested if anyone can shed some light on the actual process for both UC and JSA claiments.