Counting previous obligations failures

The sanction imposed depends on how often the client or partner has failed to comply with their obligations in the previous 24 months while getting a benefit.

Previous failures are only counted if the failure occurred within the last 24 months while continuously getting a benefit.

Note this does not apply to young partners who fail their youth activity obligations. These failures are counted for 12 months.

The 24-month count starts from the day the obligation failure is imposed. Each obligation failure has its own 24-month count.

If a client transfers between benefits, any obligations failures within the previous 24 months are still counted.

Failures on a previous benefit type will count toward the failure count on the new benefit, even if the same obligations do not apply.

Note there are very limited circumstances where a client granted Jobseeker Support Student Hardship would have previous obligations failures still counted.

This could happen with a transfer of benefit, e.g. a client studying full-time no longer qualifies for Sole Parent Support and transfers to Jobseeker Support Student Hardship during the break between academic years, before their Student Allowance begins.

When a client transfers from Young Parent Payment or Youth Payment to a benefit without youth activity obligations the count will be zero. This is because the sanction regime is different for young people getting these payments.

Note the count does not return to zero when young partners of main beneficiaries with youth activity obligations move to having different obligations.

To determine whether a client has been in continuous receipt of a main benefit, MSD must disregard any period that the benefit was suspended or cancelled because:

• the client was in employment and
• the employment was less than 10 working days

From 26 May 2025, the obligations failure count period increased from 12 months to 24 months for working age clients.

Any obligation failures that were initiated before 26 May 2025 were only counted for 12 months.

Note youth activity obligation failures are still counted for 12 months only.