CHAPTER 1 ABOUT THIS HANDBOOK

The Unemployment and Training Rights Handbook is intended as a useful tool for unemployed people and their advisers to understand the system better, to protect their interests and help them make the right choices in returning to work.

The Handbook was first published in 1991, with the most recent edition in 1997. This sixth edition is published after the Labour Government has been in office for two full years. Many radical changes have flowed from the Government�s "Welfare to Work" policies which have been implemented against a backdrop of continuously falling claimant unemployment.

A central aspect of the new Government�s policy towards social security is to give it a strong labour market focus. That is what this Handbook is about � an active benefit system that helps people to claim benefits and get access to education, training and other assistance that keep them engaged with employment.

The several "New Deal" programmes targeted at disadvantaged groups in the labour market have helped many people back into work. Whilst the Government has broken new ground in the design and delivery mechanisms for the New Deals, its success has not been achieved by completely abandoning the previous Government�s framework of benefits and their administration.

In fact, the new Government has left most of this infrastructure substantially intact but has made subtle changes to benefit rules and administrative procedures:

These adjustments do not represent a dramatic change in the legal and administrative framework. But policy has undoubtedly been marked by a clear shift away from the beliefs of the last Government. "Welfare" is seen as an aid to social inclusion � not blamed as the problem.

Between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, Britain experienced two damaging recessions, rising mass unemployment and the growth of low skilled, poorly paid and insecure jobs. The Conservative Governments of that time responded with an increasingly punitive benefit regime and a mixture of training and work experience schemes which were usually of extremely low quality.

This was the wrong approach. The social security system should be helping individuals achieve economic self sufficiency and independence, not trapping them in benefit level poverty. Instead of requiring pointless jobsearch and offering only remedial forms of activity, the Government should be providing effective services that address the barriers faced by many unemployed people who need help getting back into work.

The new Government seems to accept this argument. Over the two years since the new administration�s election, the ES has started to adopt a new working culture in which it stresses improvement of services to jobseekers and to employers. Morale in the ES has improved as the share of vacancies that it handles has increased and its staff numbers have grown. A major programme to upgrade the physical environment of Jobcentres started in 1998 and this will continue into 2000. The ES has also started to use information technology more intensively � like touch screen information kiosks � and in early 1999 it introduced the first of a series of new telephone services for jobseekers. Lastly, the ES is investing strongly in its own workforce � particularly those who work face to face with unemployed claimants � to make sure that nearly half of all ES advisers will have achieved a guidance qualification at NVQ level 3.

More dramatic changes are planned too. By the end of 1999, the ES and Benefits Agency (BA) will have started 12 pilots of a new "work-focused" single gateway to the benefit system. Called "ONE", this aims to provide claimants with a simpler, seamless service, integrating the activities carried out by the ES, BA and the Housing Benefits administration of local authorities.

About three-quarters of people using ONE will be JSA claimants. However, these one-stop shops will administer benefits for people who are not required to be available for work � particularly lone parents claiming Income Support and disabled people claiming Incapacity Benefit.

Coverage of the Handbook

This Handbook is designed as a comprehensive guide to the procedures to follow if you are not in full-time work and wish to claim benefit. It describes the complex rules that determine your entitlement to benefits and the training and work experience schemes that are available to unemployed people aged 18+ and explains the rights that participants have when they join them.

However, the Handbook does not give detailed information about:

For details of these books, see page *.

Part One: Signing on as unemployed

Part One of the Handbook opens with a brief description of the different benefits available to people out of work and gives details of the National Insurance contribution test and the means test applied to JSA claimants. Following this there is a chapter on the availability and jobseeking rules that unemployed people have to meet. Chapters 5 and 6 explain the procedures and forms necessary for making a new claim for JSA, including what happens at the first interview when claimants must complete the Jobseeker�s Agreement.

Chapter 7 describes the signing on process and various interviews that the unemployed have to attend, such as Restart interviews. The "offers of help" that people receive at these interviews and what their rights and responsibilities are in these circumstances are outlined in Chapter 8.

Chapter 9 explains the benefit rules if you are working part-time and claiming JSA and also gives information on the range of in-work benefits which you may qualify for if you move into low-paid full-time employment. The final chapter in this section looks at the hardship payment system for JSA claimants who have a benefit sanction imposed on them and also how they can appeal against these penalties.

Part Two: Jobsearch, training and employment programmes

The second part of the Handbook describes the main programmes aimed at helping unemployed people find work (Job Interview Guarantee, Jobfinder Plus and services delivered through Programme Centres and Jobclubs, including Jobplan Workshops). It also explains Work Trials, which enable claimants to "try out" a job while remaining on benefit. Two chapters cover schemes to help jobseekers overcome financial barriers to finding work and starting a job (Travel to Interview Scheme and Job Finders Grant).

Chapter 15 describes the main Government programme providing training for unemployed people, Work-Based Learning for Adults and the final two chapters give detailed information about the JSA rules for claimants who are studying.

Geographical coverage

The benefit rules and other JSA guidance used in this Handbook apply throughout Great Britain and similar rules are in force in Northern Ireland.

With regard to programmes there are some institutional differences between Scotland and England and Wales. Following the devolution of Government to Wales and Scotland, these institutional differences are likely to become more distinctive. There are already more substantial differences between programmes for unemployed people in Northern Ireland and those which operate in England, Scotland and Wales. Although this Handbook covers the rules and programmes in Great Britain, and not those specific to Northern Ireland, the general principles and any problems likely to be encountered are similar.

Handbook sources

The content of the Handbook is drawn from a variety of sources. In particular, we have identified the statutes or legal regulations which underpin claimants� and participants� rights, especially the Jobseekers Act 1995 and the Jobseeker�s Allowance Regulations 1996.

The legal information has been supplemented by drawing on the detailed guidance given to Adjudication Officers on how they should decide issues about claimants� eligibility for benefit. It is important to emphasise that Adjudication Officers are bound by the law contained in the JSA Regulations, but are not bound to follow the guidance outlined in their own Adjudication Officer�s Guidance.

The primary sources of information about the rights of participants in various employment and training schemes are legislation and the legal contracts made between the DfEE and the many contractors which provide its programmes. In particular we use the clauses contained in the documents which form the main part of the legal contract between each Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) and the Government. (An outline of the role of TECs and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) is given in Chapter 2).

While the detailed guidance we refer to applies to England, the detailed rules set out in the operating agreement between the Welsh Office and Welsh TECs and that between Scottish Enterprise/Highlands & Islands Enterprise and LECs closely follow the rules outlined in the contracting documents for the English TECs.

The Handbook also draws heavily on the internal procedural Guides, Codes and Circulars which have been issued to the ES staff.

Finally, where necessary we have supplemented these sources by written answers given by Government ministers to specific questions raised by Members of Parliament, both through correspondence and through the answers published in Hansard, the official record of parliamentary proceedings.

All these sources give a unique insight into the internal procedures and processes of the DfEE and TECs/LECs and they can be invaluable when trying to secure fair treatment for individuals. However, because the sources are not all based in law they do not necessarily imply that individuals have a legal right to be treated in a certain way. It is only where we specifically refer to an Act of Parliament, a Regulation or a judicial decision that the claimant has a legal right.

Abbreviated references to sources appear in the text. These references are given in full at the back of the Handbook.

Changes in procedures and updating the Handbook

It is important to note that many of the internal circulars, forms and procedures on which the Handbook is based are changed from time to time and, while the content of the Handbook is accurate on going to press, it can be superseded by administrative or legal changes.

We would encourage those interested in keeping up to date on these developments to subscribe to our regular monthly publication Working Brief (see page *).

If you find any errors in the Handbook, or if you obtain new information which ought to be included, please write to us so that we can rectify any errors and improve the content of future editions.

Benefits and other guide books

For detailed information on training for young people and on the benefit rights of unemployed 16 and 17 year olds you should obtain the Guide to Training and Benefits for Young People. See page * for details.

This Handbook gives only a brief description of some of the benefits other than JSA which can be claimed by unemployed people. For more detailed information on these other benefits, which are normally available through the BA, you should make use of the basic handbooks produced by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). CPAG produces two annual publications covering these other benefits: the National Welfare Benefits Handbook and the Rights Guide to Non-Means-Tested Benefits. They are available from 94 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PF. You may be able to consult a copy of these at a library or a local resource centre.

There are also comprehensive guide books available which should be consulted if you want more information on Housing Benefits or on the particular rights and situation of people with disabilities. The Homeless Alliance produces Benefits: Guide to Means-Tested Benefits for Single People Without a Permanent Home, available from 5�15 Cromer Street, London WC1H 8LS. The annual Disability Rights Handbook can be obtained from the Disability Alliance, 1st Floor East, Universal House, 88�94 Wentworth Street, London E1 7SA.

Further advice

Unfortunately, the Unemployment Unit & Youthaid is unable to deal with enquiries directly from the public. If you experience difficulty with benefits or your rights on a scheme, and you need more specific advice, contact your nearest Legal Advice Centre, Welfare Rights Unit, Citizens Advice Bureau or Unemployed Workers Centre � addresses can be found in the phone book or your local library. These organisations can give free advice and, if you wish to appeal against a decision, will sometimes go to a tribunal with you.