“Sanctions just stink”

A man was waiting in the pouring rain outside the Jobcentre in the town of Shirebrook, Derbyshire. He was 15 minutes late for his appointment at 9.45 am, although he’d arrived on time. His appointment had been scheduled despite the centre not opening until 10 am.

“He could be sanctioned for that,” commented Beverly Parker, from Financial Action and Advice Derbyshire (FAAD).

Parker was also waiting for the Jobcentre to open, along with 20 Unite Community campaigners, to begin her part in a day of action which saw protests nationwide against the government’s cruel benefit sanctions.

“We know that many of the sanction decisions appear to apply the law incorrectly. People are being deprived of their benefit money for no good reason,” said Parker.

Benefits high wire

Shortly after the doors had opened at 10 am, circus artist Richard Gillet climbed up onto a 10 ft high tightrope that had been erected in front of the building. He was going to attempt to walk the “benefits” high-wire whilst juggling three circus clubs named Rent, Food and Bills.

Richard made it a few feet on the wet and slippery tightrope before he fell heavily to the ground. Like those trying to survive after having their benefits sanctioned, the water made a difficult task near impossible.

Unite Community member Andy Garbett, 53, was one of those watching from the crowd. He could sympathise with Richard’s predicament, after suffering four weeks of arbitrary sanctions whilst he was volunteering to secure himself a job at a local pub.

“I was volunteering 24 hours a week in the job that I’m doing now. I was also spending three hours a week at a computer course at the adult learning centre.

“But the Jobcentre said it wasn’t enough and that I had to make it up to 35 hours, so they stopped my benefits. It was humiliating and embarrassing,” Garbett explained.

“They said I needed to spend another eight hours on a computer looking for jobs which I didn’t need to look for, because I was guaranteed a job at the end of voluntary period.

“Luckily I had friends that could help me out, otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. Sanctions just stink.”

Long lasting health effects

For someone claiming benefits, receiving a sanction can have a long lasting effect on their health, their finances and their relationships as well as making it harder for them to look for work, according to new research by FAAD.

To coincide with the national day of action the pressure group surveyed 61 Derbyshire benefits claimants who had been sanctioned.

Only one person thought the sanction increased their chances of finding work and 85 percent felt powerless to avoid the sanction. Ninety five per cent of people felt more stressed, depressed or anxious following the sanction, with more than a quarter still feeling that way six months on.

A quarter reported long term impacts on their physical health, whilst 60 percent coped by borrowing money. Two thirds reported difficulties with relationships as a result of the sanction.

Regardless of the hardship, only 15 per cent said that the sanction encouraged them to apply for more jobs – the remainder said that it made no difference.

“Our research shows that punishing people for not following the rules is not only pointless, it is causing severe and enduring hardship for many people.

“Most people feel totally unable to do anything about the sanction and many are still feeling the effects six months later,” said FAAD’s Beverley Parker.

In a typical year as many as 7,000 people in Derbyshire suffer sanctions.

Injurious

In the former mining town of Shirebrook, where work is hard to find, it is not difficult to envisage how injurious the town’s share of sanctions could be on struggling individuals and families.

The same could be said for countless other communities the length and breadth of Britain, but Shirebrook also has the dubious distinction of relying on Sports Direct for much of its employment.

A Guardian investigation in December 2015, found that at the retail company’s Shirebrook warehouse staff were made to wait in-line for daily searches during their own time, harangued by a loudspeaker to work faster, suffered unfair wage deductions for clocking in a minute late and lived under the threat of being fired at the drop of a hat.

The miserly and inhumane working conditions resulted in many staff, 80 percent of whom are on zero hour contracts, being paid an hourly rate of £6.50 – 20p below the minimum wage.

Benefits sanctions and exploitative zero hour contract jobs are related, said Unite Community Chesterfield branch secretary, Colin Hampton, after the protest.

“Shirebrook’s an interesting place to do this because sanctions are a message to people in work. That message is “never ever challenge your terms and conditions ‘cos you might end up facing the regime at the Jobcentre’,” explained Hampton.

“The reason they sanction people is to make sure that when you do take on that low quality zero hour agency job, you stick those conditions because you’re frightened of what might happen to you if you go back to the Jobcentre.”

Unite is fighting to make sure that whether people are looking for work or in employment, they are treated with dignity and given a fair deal.

Pic by Mark Harvey