Applicants for disability benefits can continue to receive payments after returning to employment under the government’s plan to get people back into the workforce.
As part of the reforms, the system used to assess eligibility for sickness benefits could be abolished, which the minister called “a perverse incentive to prove how sick you are”. It is explained that there is
1
That could instead be replaced with a process that asks claimants to indicate what work can be done, according to a Times report.
Labor Pensions Secretary Mel Stride is looking to reform the benefits system to boost employment numbers that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels amid labor shortages.
In the fall, Rishi Sunak asked Stride to consider issues preventing workforce participation, which is expected to come to a conclusion earlier this year.
The prime minister said last week that the government was considering various measures to tackle the inactivity, adding: To support and encourage people who can work. “
It is understood that a white paper will be issued by the Ministry of Labor and Pensions in the coming months ahead of the spring budget.
It has yet to be determined when the benefits will stop once the applicant has found a job, and a similar system to curtail universal credit as people earn more is being considered. .
Regarding the review of job performance assessments, a government source told the newspaper:
“But it will be less about incentives to prove how incompetent you are and more about support for work and support for what you can do.”
The Times also reported that the Treasury Department is considering offering tax incentives to people seeking employment.
Last night, it was reported that households receiving Universal Credit and other disability-based benefits may experience faster billing wait times.
The Ministry of Work and Pensions plans to test the expediting of some disability claims. This means that lengthy paperwork and health assessments can be avoided.
This came after an online petition was set up calling for disability benefit claims to be based solely on medical advice.
Meanwhile, the Labor Party has promised to put sickness benefit applicants who want to work back immediately if they are unable to do so.
This means that people with illness or disability benefits can get a job without fear of losing their funds if they later quit.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth says he takes the process “out of risk” for those who want to work.
