This information applies to England, Wales and Scotland
This information describes the main Government employment schemes. Most schemes are provided through Jobcentre Plus offices, where you can get more details. Some employment schemes are compulsory for people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) while others are voluntary. You can also find information here about employment schemes for the self-employed, training schemes, and other types of help on offer.
Every Jobcentre Plus office has a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) attached, providing specialist advice to disabled people and actual or potential employers. The DEA can advise on finding work, job retention and getting practical help through the Access to Work scheme and supported employment.
For more information about Access to Work, see Disability discrimination at work.
If you are claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, you must take part in certain schemes if you are advised to do so by a personal adviser. Your benefit may be affected if you refuse to do so or leave a scheme before completing it.
If you refuse to take part in, or leave a scheme before completing it, you may suffer a benefit sanction. This means that you will have your Jobseeker’s Allowance suspended for two weeks in the first instance.
If you go to a Jobcentre Plus office to find work, you will be interviewed by a personal adviser who will help draw up a jobseeker’s agreement. This details the steps you should take to find work and forms the basis of your interviews with the personal adviser.
If you have not found work after 13 weeks, your personal adviser will review the situation with you. The interview may take place on a day other than the unemployed person’s usual attendance day. Attendance at the interview is compulsory.
As a result of the 13week interview, you may:
If you do not attend the 13week review or fail to act on your personal adviser's suggestions, you may suffer a benefit sanction.
If you are still out of work after 26 weeks, you will be asked to attend a Restart interview with a Jobcentre Plus Office personal adviser. Attendance is compulsory and failure to attend could affect your benefit.
The Work Experience programme is for people aged 18 years or older. The programme includes work experience, job search skills and job skills. It aims to give people experience of a real working environment and lasts for between two and eight weeks.
If you're already claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) and take part in the programme, you will still get JSA and must continue to actively seek work as normal. Misconduct on the Work Experience programme may mean your JSA is stopped.
This is an employment scheme for people claiming jobseeker's allowance who are aged 18 or over. It's aimed at people who need extra support to look for jobs and to gain work-related skills. Jobcentre Plus can decide whether you must take part.
The scheme is intended to provide work or work-related activity for up to 30 hours a week over a four-week period to help you improve your chances of getting work. To be on the scheme, you have to be available for and actively seeking work, and you have to enter into a jobseeker's agreement.
If you are required to take part in the scheme, but you don't without a very good reason, you will be sanctioned. This means your Jobseeker's Allowance will be reduced or stopped for a certain period. However, you may be able to challenge a decision to sanction you.
For more information about how to challenge a benefit decision, see Problems with benefits and tax credits.
The Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme is a 'work for your benefit' scheme for people claiming jobseeker's allowance. Jobcentre Plus can decide whether you take part. It aims to help you find employed or self-employed work. The scheme may include work-related activities, such as work experience or looking for work.
The Work Programme and New Enterprise Allowance are part of this scheme. Other new government initiatives to help people find work will also be part of the scheme when they are introduced. These are:
Unless you have a good reason, if you fail to take part in the Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme your jobseeker's allowance may be stopped or cut. This may also happen if you don't join one the government initiatives that are part of the scheme.
You may be able to challenge a decision to stop or cut your benefit.
The Work Programme is part of the Employment Skills and Enterprise Scheme. It aims to get people claiming certain benefits into sustained work. There are several schemes around the UK run by different organisations for Jobcentre Plus. The organisations are paid by their results. The more people they help to find work, the more they are paid.
Organisations running the Work Programme have to offer a minimum level of service. However, they are free to set the rules of their own schemes based on local economic and employment conditions. This means the rules for qualifying to take part in the Work Programme can vary from area to area.
Who has to take part in the Work Programme
You will have to take part in the Work Programme if you belong to any of the following groups of people:
Who can choose to take part in the Work Programme
You can volunteer to take part in the Work Programme at any time if you belong to one of the following groups of people:
Complaints about the Work Programme
The organisation that runs the Work Programme must have a complaints procedure and tell you what it is. If you make a complaint and the organisation can't sort it out, you can refer your complaint to the Independent Case Examiner. They deal with unresolved complaints on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Some government schemes are voluntary and you can ask your personal adviser for advice on joining one.
In some cases, however, attendance may be compulsory if the personal adviser feels you will benefit from attendance. In these cases, you will be referred via a jobseeker’s direction. If you are given a jobseeker’s direction to attend any of the schemes below, failure to do so, or leaving before the scheme is completed, can lead to a benefit sanction.
Training for Work is a training programme for adults in Scotland, aged 18 or over, who have been unemployed long-term. Contact your Jobcentre Plus office for more information. You can also find information about Training for Work on the Scottish Enterprise website at: www.scottish-enterprise.com.
Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) is a Scottish Government scheme which helps 16-24 year olds get a paid job in the voluntary sector. You need to have been unemployed for at least six months to be considered. If you are over 25, you can apply if you live in a designated area of high unemployment and have also been unemployed for at least six months. All CJS jobs must be for at least 25 hours a week and last for at least 26 weeks, or 39 weeks if you're 16 to 17. All jobs will be paid at the national minimum wage or above.
Your Jobcentre Plus adviser would need to refer you to this scheme if you're over 18. If you're 16 or 17, you'll need to contact a Skills Development Scotland Adviser for information and referral to the CJS scheme.
For more information about this scheme, go to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) website at www.scvo.org.uk.
Work Based Learning for Adults in Wales is aimed at people aged 25-63 who have been unemployed 6 months or more. Early entry is available to certain groups of people, such as single parents, people with disabilities and those most at risk of not being able to get or keep a job such as ex-offenders.
Work Based Learning for Adults in Wales provides a programme tailored to meet your individual needs which may include guidance, work experience, training and qualifications.
For more information, contact your local Jobcentre Plus. You can also find information at: www.elwa.org.uk.
Programme Centres are run on behalf of Jobcentre Plus by a range of providers from the public, private and voluntary sectors. Each Programme Centre has a contract with Jobcentre Plus to provide specific jobsearch and guidance programmes, sometimes known as Jobclubs. They can help, for example, with interview techniques and CV preparation.
Programme Centres provide help to unemployed people aged 25 or over who have been out of work and claiming benefits for six months or more. You will qualify as having claimed benefits if your partner receives benefit on your behalf. In some areas, jobseekers aged 18-24 years old may have access to the programme. Jobcentre Plus staff can advise you if this is available in your area.
Some special categories of jobseekers may be able to have immediate access to programme centres. These include, for example, people with disabilities, people with literacy/numeracy problems, those who are homeless, exoffenders or people returning to work after looking after a family.
If you want to join a Programme Centre, you must:
Programme Centres provide help in the form of training sessions which attempt to improve job hunting techniques and, where necessary, restore self-confidence. You will also have facilities to help you find a job, such as the use of a desk, telephone, word processor, newspapers, directories, stamps, stationery and photocopying facilities.
While attending the Programme Centre, you will get your normal benefits, and have your fares paid. Get more information from your local Jobcentre Plus office.
In some areas, there is provision for people with severe literacy difficulties or whose first language is not English. Further information about special facilities is available from your local Jobcentre Plus office.
If you are disabled, you are eligible to apply for special assistance to help you use Programme Centre facilities. This may include telephone aids, braille devices, special chairs, readers if you are blind or partially sighted, or a communicator if you have hearing difficulties. In some areas there may be a Centre specifically equipped for people with mobility problems or one which provides facilities, for example, for a group of people with hearing impairment. Further information about special facilities for disabled people is available from Jobcentre Plus.
If you have applied for and been offered a job, a Work Trial allows you to try it out while still receiving benefits. It also enables the employer see how you get on in the post before deciding whether to take you on permanently. Most Work Trials only last for a few days.
For a Work Trial to take place:
You will automatically be eligible for a Work Trial if you are 18 or over and getting one of the following benefits:
Some other unemployed people are also eligible for a Work Trial, so if you want to apply, you should ask your Jobcentre Adviser about this.
The employer will guarantee to consider you for permanent employment if you prove suitable but the employer or you can terminate the trial at any time. Your benefit will not suffer if you or the employer decide not to continue with the trial.
On a Work Trial, you will continue to receive your usual benefit and will also be able to claim travel expenses.
If you are offered a job at the end of the Work Trial but decide not to accept it, you will not suffer a benefit penalty. If you are not offered a job, Jobcentre Plus will ask the employer and you for feedback. Information given in the feedback may be used by your personal adviser when considering how you should continue your search for work.
You can find out more about Work Trials and how to arrange one on the Directgov website at www.direct.gov.uk.
Jobcentre Plus offices sometimes advertise details of self-employment possibilities for unemployed people, including contract work and commission-only vacancies. They may also be able to provide information on starting a small business or arranging a franchise. If you want information, you should speak to your personal adviser.
Jobcentre Plus offices can also refer you to your local Enterprise Club. Enterprise Clubs are run by local businesses and can give advice and support to unemployed people who want to start their own business. There is more information about Enterprise Clubs on the DWP website at: www.dwp.gov.uk.
If you are unemployed, you may be able to claim New Enterprise Allowance to help you start a business. It is available in certain areas only from April 2011, and will not be available nationally until Autumn 2011. New Enterprise Allowance is part of the Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme.
In England, help for unemployed people who want to start up in business is available through Business Link. Their helpline is 0845 600 9006 or minicom 0845 606 2666, and their website is: www.businesslink.gov.uk.
In Wales, business.wales.gov.uk is a Welsh Assembly Government programme designed to help people who wish to start, maintain or expand a business in Wales. You can contact their helpline on 03000 6 03000. Their website is: www.business-support-wales.gov.uk.
In Scotland, help for unemployed people who want to start their own business is available through Business Gateway. You can contact their helpline on 0845 609 6611, or minicom 0800 023 2071. Their website is: www.bgateway.com.
If you're aged between 18 and 30 and have a business idea, the Prince's Trust may be able to help with advice and funding. The website is: www.princes-trust.org.uk.
For general advice about starting up in self-employment, see Self-employment: checklist.
Work Based Learning (WBL) for young people is a general name for government funded schemes which give work-based training to 16-18 year old people. It is made up of:
As most 16- and 17-year-olds are not entitled to Jobseeker's Allowance or Income Support, WBL may be their only means of getting any income, because they will be paid a training allowance (or a wage if they are an employee).
Training programmes might be a mix of work experience, on-the-job training or off-the-job training. There is no minimum or maximum length of time that a programme runs and it can be full time or part time. However, a young person on a WBL programme must be given the opportunity to get a qualification at, or the same as, National Vocational Qualification or Scottish National Vocational Qualification level 2.
In England, WBL is run by the Young People's Learning Agency. In Wales it is run by the Welsh Assembly Government and in Scotland by Skills Development Scotland. You can get more information about WBL in Scotland from the Skills Development Scotland website at www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk.
For more information about Apprenticeships, traineeships and training in Wales is available on the Careers Wales website at www.careerswales.com.
For more information in England about WBL, see Financial help for students aged 16-19.
Apprenticeships provide work-based training to young people and adults who want to learn new skills and gain qualifications while working.
For more about apprenticeship programmes in England, go to: www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
For more about apprenticeship programmes in Wales, go to www.careerswales.com, or phone Learn Direct on 0800 100 900.
For more about apprenticeships in Scotland, go to www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk, or phone the helpline on 0845 8 502 502.
Other help is available for unemployed people looking for work or who have found work but need assistance to start.
Under the Employment on Trial scheme, if you are a previously unemployed person, you can try out a job without risking losing benefit if you leave, provided that you leave the job voluntarily and do not lose the job because of your misconduct. If you refuse to take a suitable job, your Jobseeker’s Allowance may be affected.
Your Jobseeker’s Allowance will not be affected if:
You will not qualify for Employment on Trial, even if signing on as unemployed, if you worked part-time for any of the days in the 13-week unemployment period. There are exemptions for work done for the emergency services.
The following count towards the 13-week qualifying period:
If you want to return to or claim benefits after Employment on Trial, check that you satisfy all the conditions before you leave the job.
Job Grant is a single tax-free payment to encourage someone who has been unemployed to consider and accept work that they might otherwise have been unable to consider because of the costs of going back to work. Job grant is £100 for single people and couples without children and £250 for lone parents and couples with children.
A Job Grant is intended to cover the oneoff costs of returning to work. It may be spent in any way you decide but will normally go towards, for example, new clothes or transport.
To be eligible, you must have been in receipt of benefit for the previous 26 weeks. The job must also meet certain conditions.
To get a Job Grant, you must have been getting one of the following benefits or a combination of any of them, for 26 weeks without a break:
Some other people getting allowances from Jobcentre Plus may also be able to get a Job Grant. Check with your local Jobcentre Plus office to make sure.
To e eligible for a Job Grant, the job you are taking must:
You will also be eligible for a Job Grant if you are becoming self-employed and the work you are taking on meets the above conditions.
You may be able to get a Job Grant if your partner starts work for 24 hours a week or more, and this ends your Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
A Job Grant is paid automatically when your benefit claim is closed. However, you must let your Jobcentre Plus office know within 21 days of starting a new job or increasing your working hours.
If you are a customer of Jobcentre Plus, you may be able to get a payment from the Flexible Support Fund to cover any expenses you run up while taking up work or training. However, it's up to your local Jobcentre Plus to decide whether they will meet these costs, you don't have a right to claim these expenses.
You may be eligible for help from the Fund if you are not in the Work Programme. The Work Programme is a government scheme for getting people into work.
To find out what help you're likely to get, ask your Jobcentre Plus personal adviser.
If you're claiming Incapacity Benefit, Income Support because of incapacity or Employment and Support Allowance and you take a job where you're working for at least 16 hours a week, you may be able to get a return-to-work credit worth £40 a week. You only get this if your earnings are less than £15,000 a year and your job is expected to last at least five weeks. Ask at your local Jobcentre Plus office for more details.
If you have been unemployed and getting Jobseeker's Allowance for 13 weeks or more, and you set up as self-employed working at least 16 hours a week, you may be able to get a self-employment credit worth £50 a week. You can only get it if you stop claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and expect your work to last at least 5 weeks. Ask at your local Jobcentre Plus office for more details.
If you're lone parent claiming Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance and you take a job where you're working at least 16 hours a week, you may be able to get an in-work credit worth £40 a week, or £60 if you live in London. In some parts of the country, an in-work credit is available to all parents responsible for a child under 16, not just lone parents. You can get it for up to 52 weeks. Ask your local Jobcentre Plus office for more details.
Single parents who come off benefits and go into work may need money to cope with unexpected financial problems which could stop them carrying on with their job. If you're in this situation, you could apply to the In-work Emergency Discretion Fund. In some areas, all parents qualify. You must have a dependent child living in your household and you must be working for at least 16 hours a week. Your job must be expected to last for at least 26 weeks and you must have been in the job for less than 26 weeks. You could get a payment of up to £300. This fund only makes discretionary payments and your Jobcentre Plus personal adviser makes the decision about whether you should get the money. Ask your local Jobcentre Plus office for more details.
You can get advice and information on careers, work and learning from the Careers Helpline for Young People if you are a young person aged 13 to 19. The Helpline advisers provide one-to-one confidential information and advice, by telephone, text message, email and webchat between 8.00am and 10.00pm seven days a week. You can find contact details on the Directgov website at www.direct.gov.uk.
UFI promotes training among businesses and individuals in occupational sectors where there is a shortage of skills, and encourages adults with low literacy or numeracy skills into training to improve these skills.
Businesses which join the UFI corporate membership scheme qualify for financial help from the UFI so that they can provide training for their staff. UFI will not provide training directly to business or individuals but will direct people to existing training available or encourage the creation of new training provision.
If you are interested in accessing training through the UFI, contact your local Jobcentre Plus office or the learndirect website at: www.learndirect.co.uk.
Individual Learning Accounts Scotland (ILA Scotland) is a Scottish Government scheme for anyone aged 16 or over who lives in Scotland. If you earn £22,000 a year or less or are on benefits, you can apply for an ILA account that will give you up to £200 a year towards a wide range of courses from learning providers throughout Scotland.
If you are on a low income or benefits and want to study part-time at college or university, you may be able to get an award of up to £500 a year.
You can get more information about the ILA Scotland scheme from the ILA Scotland website at: www.ilascotland.org.uk or on freephone 0808 100 1090.
The government website Directgov, provides lots of information for people looking for work, including an online job search at www.direct.gov.uk.
You can download factsheets which cover how to write a CV, letters and application forms and preparing for an interview.
Job vacancies and information on living and working conditions across Europe are available on the EURES website at www.ec.europa.eu.
EURES stands for the European Employment Services organisation, which is an organisation of EU government bodies.
You may be entitled to other financial help as a result of starting work and coming off benefits, for example:
For more information on any of these you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
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