Benefits ‘Sanctions’

Congress recognises the importance of due process in ensuring that trade union members are afforded rights to information and full disclosure, representation, appeal and presumption of innocence when going through workplace disciplinary processes or formal legal proceedings.

Between October 2014 and October 2015 there were there were 21,386 ‘sanctions’ and ‘adverse decisions’ where people on Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance in Northern Ireland had their money stopped - an average of almost 2,000 a month. There are many more incidents across other social security benefits.

The impact on individuals and families is severe. Many are evicted from their homes, made homeless, go without essentials like heating, food and electricity, are forced to use food banks and loan sharks, and suffer deteriorating mental and physical health.

We support the Right to Work: Right to Welfare group’s campaign for international human rights, under International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (General Comment 19) ratified by the UK government in 1978, to be enforced when people reliant on social security are subjected to allegations and disciplinary processes. This includes:

(a) An opportunity for genuine consultation with those affected;

(b) Timely and full disclosure of information on the proposed measures;

(c) Reasonable notice of proposed actions;

(d) Legal recourse and remedies for those affected; and

(e) Legal assistance for obtaining legal remedies.

We also believe that the system should not allow any form of ‘sanction’ to be imposed until after a full, just and transparent appeals process has been completed.

Under no circumstances should an individual be deprived of a benefit on discriminatory grounds or of the minimum essential level of benefits.

We call for the NI Executive generally, the Department of Social Development (soon to be Department of Communities) and management at the Social Security Agency to ensure these basic rights are upheld for some of the most vulnerable in our society.