Jobseekers Allowance refund – How YOU can find out if you’re entitled to cash back from the government
DWP owes nearly £2million to thousands of people after a lengthy saga over their controversial 'workfare' schemes
THIS is how you can find out if you're entitled to cash back from the government - after judges ruled sanctions against jobseekers had breached their human rights.
Around 4,000 Brits are owed a total of nearly £2million in benefits after a five-year legal fight against the Department of Work and Pensions over their controversial "workfare" schemes.
The schemes made it compulsory for jobseekers to work for free or have their benefits docked.
But after graduate Cait Reilly won a landmark Court of Appeal victory over her unpaid work placement in Poundland, the coalition responded by passing an emergency law in 2013 to make the schemes legal.
This meant ministers could avoid refunding £130m to those who had had their benefits sanctioned from when the scheme started in 2011 to 2013.
A court found in June that this rule change meant a specific group of jobseekers had lost their right to a fair hearing under Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
And now details released under the Freedom of Information Act show between 3,789 and 4,305 people are expected to be paid back £1.7m to £1.9m in lost benefits, reports.
Those who are eligible for the refund must have been had an appeal in the system by March 26, 2013, against the "workfare" schemes.
Under the new ruling, known as the "remedial order", those seeking compensation must also have had their jobseekers' allowance sanctioned under that programme.
Those who are eligible are unlikely to be able to apply until Spring next year - as Parliament first needs to be consulted this Autumn.
The amount claimants are owed depends on your original payment and personal circumstances, so it will vary from case to case.
Blogger Frank Zola, who obtained the figures, told the Mirror all those who'd been sanctioned under the original schemes should be refunded the full £130million.
But the DWP insisted there was "no reason to refund all claimants" sanctioned between 2011 and 2013.
In its FOI response, the department said sanctions "are an important part of a fair and effective welfare system".
Who is eligible?
THE DWP have revealed who will be eligible for the benefit repayment:
You need to:
- Have been sanctioned on jobseekers' allowance
- And had a live appeal on the tribunal system by March 26, 2013
- And the appeal related to compliance with the 2011 laws that outlined 'workfare' schemes, or the referral notification letters they received
To find out if you are eligible contact the DWP helpline on 0345 608 8545
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In a statement the DWP added: "It would be unfair and unacceptable that claimants who have failed to take all reasonable steps to increase their chances of finding work obtained advantage over claimants who complied with the benefit conditionality requirements."
Today a spokesman added: “We are currently consulting with Parliament on these changes and will publish our response in due course.”
If you think you might be eligible, you should call the DWP helpline on 0345 608 8545.
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