Grade three sanction or job refusal failure - 13-week non-entitlement period
Failing 3 obligations in a 24 month period
If a client does not meet their obligations without a good and sufficient reason, an obligations failure will be initiated and a graduated sanction may be imposed.
The graduated sanction regime applies to all obligations, including social obligations.
If a client fails 3 obligations without a good and sufficient reason in a 24-month period, they are subject to a Grade 3 sanction - 13-week non-entitlement period.
This means:
- for clients without dependent children, 3 obligations failures in a 24-month period may result in a benefit cancellation and a 13-week non-entitlement period
- for partnered clients with dependent children, only the partner with a Grade 3 failure is affected
- for sole parents with dependent children, 3 obligations failures in a 24-month period will result in a 50% cancellation of benefit for 13 weeks
Note for young partners with youth activity obligations, their obligation failures are only counted for 12 months.
Job refusal
A client who refuses an offer of suitable employment is subject to a Grade 3 sanction, regardless of their failure count in the 24-month period.
Note when an applicant fails their pre-benefit activity to accept an offer of suitable employment, they are not subject to a 13-week non-entitlement period or job refusal failure, as these can only be imposed once a client is getting a main benefit.
For more information see:
Legislation
- Sanction for second failure: suspension of main benefit section 237(1) Social Security Act 2018
