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The Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Regulations 2011

16 June 2011

The Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Regulations 2011 (SI.No.2011/1349) come into force from 1 June 2011. These set out who is required to take part in work related activity.

The requirement to carry out work related activity applies to those in the work-related activity group. The following are not required to take part in work related activity;

•  those in the ESA support group
• lone parents on ESA with a child under the age of 5; and
• ESA claimants who also receive carers allowance or a carer’s premium.

Lone parents on ESA, with a child under the age of 13, may only be required to undertake work-related activity during the child’s normal school hours.

What constitutes work related activity?

Claimants cannot be required, as part of work related activity, to:

• apply for a job
• undertake work
• undergo medical treatment

Other than that the regulations provide no detail as to what constitutes a work related activity, leaving this to the personal adviser. The regulations do set out:

• The circumstances where a direction may be issued -  this will be anyone identified by the Secretary of State as having a barrier to work and in the view of the Secretary of State has refused to address that barrier.
• Notifications of requirement to undertake work related activity – This must be set out in the action plan.
•  The circumstances in which work-related activity may not apply - Where in the view of the Secretary of State it would be, or would have been, unreasonable to require the person to undertake the activity at or by that time.
• Rights to reconsideration of the action plan
• Failure to undertake work related activity without good cause - In deciding whether a person has shown good cause for the failure, the Secretary of State must take account of all the circumstances of the case including in particular the person’s physical or mental health or condition.

Guidance

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has produced Memo DMG 15/11: ESA – work-related activity which gives guidance on the new regulations.

More information

• link to regulations - legislation.gov.uk website
• memo dmg 15/11 - dwp guidance (pdf format) on the regulations

Note: for pdf files you will need to download adobe acrobat reader. To convert the pdf to alternative formats or for more information on accessibility go to access adobe.

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