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, the New Deal and other types of help on offer.
Every Jobcentre Plus office has a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) attached as part of a Disability Service Team (DST), providing specialist advice to disabled people and actual or potential employers. The DEA can advise on practical help through the Access to Work scheme, the Job Introduction 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.
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 25 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.
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.
Work Trials enable employers to try out unemployed people in a particular job for up to 30 working days whilst the person remains entitled to benefits. The aim of Work Trials is to encourage employers to consider longterm unemployed people for vacant posts and see how they get on in the post before deciding whether to take them on permanently.
If you are 25 or over and have been out of work for six months or more, you may be eligible to apply for a Work Trial. You must be either directly or indirectly receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance or signing on for national insurance credits. Indirect receipt of benefit happens if your partner claims benefit on your behalf. You can also apply if you are receiving Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance.
If you are aged 18-24, you can be offered a Work Trial if you are on the New Deal and the District Manager decides to make Work Trials available.
You do not have to wait six months before being eligible to apply if you are a New Deal for Lone Parents participant, disabled, an ex-offender, or if you are a former member of the Armed Forces or returning to the job market after a gap of two years.
A work trial can last up to 30 days. The job must be for over 16 hours a week and likely to last for at least three months. An employer will guarantee to consider you for permanent employment if you prove suitable but the employer and 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 of up to £10 a day and a midday meal allowance of up to £3.00 a day.
If you are interviewed and 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 can ask the employer for written feedback on the participant’s performance. Information given in the feedback may be used by your personal adviser when considering how you should continue your search for work.
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.
Help for unemployed people who want to start up in business is also available through their local Business Link. Their helpline is 0845 600 9 006 and their website is at: www.businesslink.gov.uk.
If you are 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.
Flexible Support for Business is a Welsh Assembly Government programme designed to help people who wish to start, maintain or expand a business in Wales. Their website is: www.business-support-wales.gov.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 Learning and Skills Councils. In Wales it is run by the Welsh Assembly Government and in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
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.
The New Deal comprises a number of schemes for different groups of people who are out of work and claiming benefit.
The Flexible New Deal is an employment scheme that aims to help you find a job if you have been unemployed and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for 12 months. The aim of the Flexible New Deal is to help you find a job, or get the training or work experience you need to help you find a job.
The Flexible New Deal is run for JobCentre Plus by organisations called providers. These could be organisations such as local authorities and private companies.
At the moment, the Flexible New Deal only applies in certain areas of England and Scotland, and in the whole of Wales. The Flexible New Deal will be extended to cover the whole of Great Britain in October 2010. To find out if the Flexible New Deal applies in your area, go to the Directgov website at www.direct.gov.uk.
In the areas where it applies at the moment, the Flexible New Deal replaces New Deal: aged 18-24, New Deal for people aged 25 and over and New Deal 50plus. The New Deal for Lone Parents and the New Deal for Partners will continue.
The Flexible New Deal applies to both new and existing claimants.
The Flexible New Deal scheme can last for up to 78 weeks. As part of the scheme you will:
You may also get other training and other support to help you find a job.
The Flexible New Deal is a compulsory scheme. This means that you have to take part in it if it applies to you. While you're on the scheme, you are still a customer of the JobCentre Plus as well. This means that you can still claim the cost of travel to job interviews, but you also have responsibilities. These are to:
If you don't take part in the scheme without a good reason, or if you lose your place on the programme due to misconduct, your benefits may be affected.
If your Jobseeker’s Allowance is stopped or reduced, you may be able to get a hardship payment or challenge the decision to stop or reduce your benefit.
You can find more information about the Flexible New Deal on the Directgov website at www.direct.gov.uk.
If you are aged 18-24 and have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for six months, you have to participate in the New Deal: aged 18-24. However, if you live in an area where the Flexible New Deal applies , you will have to take part in this scheme instead. Some young people will be able to start the New Deal early, before they have been claiming for six months.
Under the New Deal, you will first enter the ‘Gateway’ for one to four months. This is a period of intensive help and support in finding work, guided by a personal adviser which will usually include a two week course called ‘Gateway to Work’. If you do not succeed in finding unsubsidised employment, you will be referred to one of four options. The options are:
If you refuse to take up any of the options offered, do not take part in Gateway to Work or do not carry out steps agreed with your personal adviser, you may be sanctioned.
For more information about the New Deal for 18-24 year olds, contact 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.
If you are aged 25 or over but under 60, and have been unemployed for 18 months or more, you have to take part in the New Deal for people aged 25 or over (known as New Deal 25 plus). However, if you live in an area where the Flexible New Deal applies, you will have to take part in this scheme instead.
If you are aged 25 or over but under 60, and have been unemployed for 18 months or more, you have to take part in the New Deal for people aged 25 or over (known as New Deal 25 plus). However, if you live in an area where the Flexible New Deal applies, you will have to take part in this scheme instead.
Jobcentre Plus aims to help people find work and, where appropriate, provides extra help to improve their chances of getting a job. Support offered may include work experience, occupational training and help with workplace skills. You may stop receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance if you leave, are dismissed from or fail to attend a job, or do not participate, or are dismissed for misconduct, from New Deal activities.
If you are 50 or over, you can choose whether or not to take part in New Deal activities under the New Deal 50 plus scheme (see under The New Deal: 50 plus). However, if you are aged under 60, you will have to take part in certain activities under New Deal 25 plus.
For more information about the New Deal for long-term unemployed people, contact 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.
The New Deal for partners of unemployed people is a voluntary programme available to partners of people who have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance or Severe Disablement Allowance for six months or more. Partners aged 18 - 24 who do not have children can enter the New Deal for people aged 18 - 24 (see above), on a voluntary basis. Partners who have children, and all partners aged 25 or over, are offered help including advice and guidance on training, finding work and childcare, and may be able to take part in other government schemes.
Benefit is not affected if a partner decides not to take part in the New Deal for partners. However, some partners of people who claim Jobseeker’s Allowance have to meet the jobseeking conditions and make a joint claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance as a couple. If this applies, each partner will be subject to the compulsory New Deal for their age group.
For more information about couples who have to make a joint claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance, see Benefits for people looking for work.
This is a voluntary programme for lone parents who have children below school-leaving age. If you are claiming Income Support with a child of three or over you are invited to your local Jobcentre Plus office and given help and advice on finding work, training and childcare. If you are not working or working fewer than 16 hours per week, you can also take part on request. Your benefit is not affected if you decide not to take up the offer of help or follow the advice given.
If you are a lone parent and want to claim Income Support, you may have to have an interview with a personal adviser. For more information about lone parents and Income Support, see Help for people on a low income – Income Support.
This aims to help disabled people who receive certain disability and/or health-related benefits to find work and stay in employment. It is a voluntary programme and benefit is not affected if you decide not to take part. If you apply for certain qualifying benefits, you will be offered a gateway interview with an adviser. The adviser will inform you of suitable vacancies.
A national network of Job Brokers can assist disabled people to find jobs. Information about local Job Brokers is available in Jobcentre Plus offices.
For advice and support from a local Job Broker, contact 0800 137 177; textphone 0800 43 5550.
This aims to help people aged 50 or over to get work (including self-employment). However, the New Deal: 50 plus does not apply if you live in an area where the Flexible New Deal applies instead. If you are on the New Deal 50 plus, you may be able to get extra financial help through Working Tax Credit. Training grants are also available for work-related training courses.
For more information about Working Tax Credit, see Benefits and tax credits for people in work.
Other help is available for unemployed people looking for work or who have found work but need assistance to start.
You may be able to apply for help under the Travel to Interview Scheme if you are unemployed and receiving benefit (directly or indirectly) or signing on for national insurance credits. A training allowance counts as receipt of benefit. You will be in indirect receipt of benefit if your partner claims benefit on your behalf. If you are claiming Incapacity Benefit, you will not be eligible. However, if you get Carer's Allowance, you are eligible.
The interview must be beyond normal travelling distance (as defined by the Jobcentre Plus office) from your home, and payment can include overnight expenses, for a maximum of two nights. The interview must be for a job which is:
An application can only be made for a pre-arranged interview and must be submitted before the interview takes place. Payment will cover costs of the cheapest available method of transport and, under some circumstances, overnight accommodation costs. Payment can be made for second or subsequent interviews.
Jobcentre Plus does not have to pay, but you must be given an explanation for a refusal. If your application is turned down, you can appeal to the manager or officer in charge of the Jobcentre Plus office.
If you are a jobseeker on the New Deal, you may be able to get reduced price travel on public transport when looking for work. You may also be able to get this help with your fares during the first few months of commuting to a new job. The reductions available and the conditions that apply vary between travel companies. For more information, contact your local Jobcentre Plus office. You will need a photocard – available from your local Jobcentre Plus office – when you buy a reduced price ticket.
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, for example, people on the New Deal, may also be able to get a Job Grant. Check with your local Jobcentre Plus office to make sure.
To be 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. However, you should let your local Jobcentre Plus office know when you start a new job or if your hours of work increase.
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 getting Jobseeker's Allowance for at least six months 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.
Connexions gives careers advice to young people aged 13–19 attending school/college or working.
Connexions allocates a personal adviser to give careers advice with the aim of keeping young people in education/training until they are 18 or over. Personal advisers are based in schools, colleges and voluntary organisations.
Personal advisers will also support small groups of young people, giving more help to those with learning difficulties and to young people with disabilities. They also form links with local employers to persuade them to offer training to young people, and to give time off for training for 16-17 year olds.
For more about Connexions, go to www.connexions.gov.uk, or phone them on 080 800 13219.
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 Wales (ILA Wales) help pay for training for people aged 18 or over. You must live in Wales and have qualifications at or below NQF level 2 to qualify for help. You may also qualify if you are getting, or live with someone who is getting welfare benefits. An ILA Wales can give you up to 100% of your course costs in some circumstances and is not limited to people who are unemployed. More information and application forms are available from Learn Direct at www.ila-wales.org.uk or freephone 0800 100 900.
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 0800 100 1090.
This is a pilot scheme to support young parents into education or employment. It is currently running in a number of Health Action Zone areas, offering advice to parents under 18 on education, jobs, health care, housing and benefits. The pilot areas advertise the scheme locally through, for example, GPs surgeries, health visitors and youth clubs.
For more information on the pilot areas and on eligibility for the scheme, contact your GP or health visitor, or look at the website at: www.surestart.gov.uk
Worktrain is a national online jobs and learning site provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. It provides up-to-date details on over 300,000 jobs, as well as information on different types of jobs, training opportunities, childcare (including local provision), and a news service. For more information,look at their website at: www.worktrain.gov.uk.
Jobcentre Plus belongs to the European Employment Services organisation (known as EURES), an organisation of EU government bodies dealing with employment matters. It allows for job vacancies and information on living and working conditions across Europe to be advertised in all countries of the EU.
Vacancies on the EURES system are received by Jobcentre Plus and are sometimes advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices. If you are interested in working in the EU, you should ask your local Jobcentre Plus office for an overseas search for suitable vacancies.
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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