At the end of March the Government suspended all work-related conditionality and sanctions for people on Universal Credit for a period of 3 months. This was a welcome step that recognised the exceptional pressures on the labour market well as the operational challenges being faced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Those regulations are due to expire on Tuesday 30 June.

As the Government’s Jobs Retention scheme comes to an end with the UK facing the risk of the biggest increase in unemployment in a generation, we are calling for a further 6 month suspension of work related conditionality and sanctions. This would recognise that the employment market has fundamentally changed in the past few months and may get worse in the near future, while giving the time and space to develop programmes and policies that give people all the support they need to get back to work.