If you are a parent claiming Income Support or Universal Credit you will probably be required to take some action to prepare you for returning to work. How much you will be required to do will depend on your circumstances and the age of your youngest child if you are the main carer. Some people (such as single parents with a child under one) will not have to do anything, while other parents will be expected to take all reasonable action to obtain full-time work. If you are in a couple and you claim Universal Credit one of you will have to meet all work related requirements, the other parent may have fewer requirements, but this will depend on the age of the child.

The table below explains what requirements can be placed on you if you are the main carer (‘responsible carer’) for a child:

If you are claiming Universal Credit and you have been assessed as having a ‘limited capability for work‘ you will not have to look for work but you could be required to prepare to work in the future. If you have been assessed as having ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’ (LCWRA), you will have no work-related requirements. You will be automatically be treated as having a LCWRA if you are pregnant and if working or preparing for work could be a risk to you or your unborn child.

If you are part of a couple, only one adult can be named as the responsible carer for all dependent children in your Universal Credit claim. If you’re in a couple and you claim Universal Credit you will be asked to decide which one of you is the responsible carer.

If you have a child but you are not the responsible carer then you will be expected to meet all work-related requirements and look for full-time work. If you are the responsible carer, and your child is under three, you should have fewer work related requirements placed on you.

If you are a single parent responsible for a child you are automatically considered a responsible carer.

A work-focused interview (WFI) is a meeting between you and a work coach, normally taking place at your local Jobcentre Plus. It can be done over the telephone, or at your home in exceptional circumstances. If you are told that you have to attend WFI’s this also means that you have to participate in the conversation and help draw up an action plan. However, if your only work-related requirement is attending WFI’s, you cannot be sanctioned for failing to do the actions agreed in the action plan.

Work-related activity is action that makes it more likely that you will get a job or remain in work. The required activity is at the discretion of your work coach. It can include looking for work and undertaking training but it can’t include compulsory requirements to apply for or accept work.

If you are subject to all work-related requirements you must be available for work and you cannot unreasonably refuse any offers of work. In general, you are required to take all reasonable action to obtain paid work, more paid work or better paid work. This means that you will be required to spend a certain number of hours each week searching for and applying for jobs. You may also be required to undertake work preparation activities such as attending a skills assessment, improving personal presentation, participating in training and undertaking work experience.

If you are the responsible carer for a child under 13 you can ask your work coach for adjustments to your expected hours of work in order to meet your childcare responsibilities.

Your work coach might apply a sanction if you don’t complete your work-related requirements. This means that your Income Support or Universal Credit will stop (or be paid at a reduced rate) for a certain number of days.

It’s possible to avoid or challenge a sanction if you had a good reason for your actions. If you fail to take-part in a work-focused interview it’s best to contact the DWP as soon as possible and explain to them if you had good cause for failing to take part. The DWP will allow five working days for you to provide an explanation before applying a sanction. If you are sanctioned you have a time limit of one month to challenge this decision.

Working Families cannot help you challenge a decision to sanction your benefits. For more information on sanctions please see this guide on the Advice Now website. You may be able to get help challenging a sanction from Citizens Advice or another advice organisation local to you. You can search for a local adviser on the Advice Local website.

Some people will not have work-related requirements because their circumstances means that an exemption applies. Some of the further rules that might mean you are exempt from some or all of the work-related requirements are if:

• You are a carer for a disabled child or adult
• You have an illness or disability
• You are already working a sufficient number of hours
• You are under the age of 18 and you are responsible for a child
• You are a parent who has recently adopted
• You recently agreed to take custody of a friend or relative’s child (kinship carer)
• Your child has been affected by the recent death of a relative or someone at home
• Your child has been the victim or witness to domestic violence or abuse

If you are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (without Universal Credit) it is a requirement of the benefit to look for work. However, you can restrict your availability to a pattern which is compatible with your child’s normal school hours if you have children under 13. You can also restrict your availability for some other reasons, such as disability.

If you are claiming Employment and Support Allowance, and are in the support group you will have no work-related requirements. If you are in the work-related activity group you could be required to participate in work-focused interviews and potentially other activities, but you cannot be required to look for work. If you are pregnant, you are treated as having ‘limited capability for work’ from six weeks before your baby is due until two weeks after your baby is born.

In some parts of the benefits system, if you voluntarily leave your job or reduce your hours, you can be sanctioned which means your benefit can be stopped or reduced.

Income Support

Under Income Support you cannot be sanctioned for leaving a job or reducing your hours in any circumstances, as long as you are still entitled to the benefit (e.g. because you are a lone parent with a child under 5). Remember that when you stop meeting the conditions for Income Support, you may have to claim New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit.

Universal Credit

Under Universal Credit, if you are sanctioned, you will lose the standard allowance (or half of it if you are claiming Universal Credit as a couple) for a period of time. You’ll still get any housing element, child element and any other Universal Credit elements you are entitled to in your calculation.

If you are the responsible carer for a child aged under 3

Under Universal Credit you cannot be sanctioned for leaving a job or reducing your hours, if at the time of leaving the job or reducing your hours, you were the responsible carer for a child aged under 3.

If you are the carer of a disabled person (including a child over 3)

If you are the carer of a disabled person (including a child over 3 or 5), you may also be able to leave your job and claim or continue to claim benefits without being sanctioned. This will depend on whether the disabled person claims disability benefits and how many hours you have to spend caring for them.

If you leave your job because of an imposed change at work

If you leave your job because of an imposed change where your employer makes a change to your terms and conditions without your agreement, you may be able to argue that you had a good reason for leaving. A reduction in pay would not be a good reason to leave, unless your pay is less than the national minimum wage.

Challenging a sanction decision

You can always challenge sanction decisions, however long ago they were made. You do this by asking for a ‘mandatory reconsideration’ where the DWP look at the decision again, and then appealing to an independent tribunal if you need to.

Working Families cannot help you challenge a decision to sanction your benefits. For more information on sanctions please see this guide on the Advice Now website.

You may be able to get help challenging a sanction from Citizens Advice or another advice organisation local to you. You can search for a local adviser on the Advice Local website.