Recompliance

Recompliance is the activity a client or partner must undertake after they have failed an obligation. They must complete the recompliance activity to have their benefit:

• increased or resumed if they have been financially sanctioned or 
• continued if they have a non-financial sanction imposed

Generally, the activities a client or partner need to complete are the same or substantially similar to the obligation that initiated the failure.

Clients with an obligations failure initiated who recomply within five working days will not have a sanction imposed, but the obligations failure will be counted.

When a client or partner indicates that they want to recomply MSD must make a recompliance activity available for them at the earliest opportunity.

An obligations failure that has reduced or stopped their benefit will determine the type of recompliance activity the client or partner will need to undertake. MSD must discuss with the client what activities they need to undertake in order to recomply.

For more information see:

• Recompliance for work obligation failures
• Recompliance for social obligation failures
• Recompliance for drug test obligation failures
• Recomplying more than one failure

When allocating the recompliance activity, MSD must:

• discuss with the client what they need to do to satisfactorily undertake the recompliance activity and the implications of not doing this and
• make a note of the discussion in the appropriate system

MSD must decide whether the client has satisfactorily undertaken their recompliance activity. This will be dependent on the client's circumstances and the nature of the recompliance activity.

If a client is unable to undertake the same activity that they failed to do, they must undertake to MSD’s satisfaction another activity that is the same as or substantially similar to the activity they failed to do.

The 'same as or substantially similar to' means that MSD must allocate an activity that, as much as possible, requires the same amount of time, effort and commitment as the activity the client failed to complete.

The client must have successfully completed the recompliance activity before their benefit is resumed or increased if they have been financially sanctioned. Once completed, the benefit will can be resumed or increased from the date MSD is satisfied the client has started the recompliance activity.

Some examples of this:

• if the recompliance activity is a one-off, such as attending an interview the benefit would be resumed from the date the client attended and participated in the interview
• if the recompliance activity is ongoing, such as a training programme, the client must undertake the training programme to MSD's satisfaction. Once this is complete, the benefit can be resumed from the date the client started the training programme
• if the client has multiple recompliance activities to complete (due to more than one failure), the date when they have completed a recompliance activity for the latest failure

For what to do if a client cannot recomply, see:

• Unable to recomply
• Recompliance and change of circumstances

Non-financial sanctions each have different recompliance requirements that must be met within the sanction period. If the non-financial sanction period ends before the client has recomplied, their benefit will be suspended until they recomply.

For more information on non-financial sanctions, see:

• Non-financial sanctions

If a client has a grade 1 financial sanction imposed and does not complete their recompliance activity within 4 weeks, their benefit will be suspended. Clients with a grade 2 financial sanction have their benefit suspended immediately.

If a client does not recomply with a grade 1 or grade 2 financial sanction within 13 weeks, their benefit will automatically cancel.

Clients who have had their benefit cancelled will need to reapply for a benefit if they need further support.

If a client has a dependent child, they will have 50% payment protection and continue to receive 50% of their benefit.

Their benefit can only return to the full rate payable when a client has completed their recompliance activity.

Once a client or partner has recomplied and their benefit has been resumed or increased, they may be allocated appropriate additional activities or support.

When determining whether to allocate additional activities, the client's individual circumstances must be considered, including:

• the type of obligations they have, and
• if there are any suitable activities currently available for them

If additional activities are assigned to the client or partner, they must complete them. Failure to complete these activities without a good and sufficient reason should be treated as a new obligations failure.