London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 02, 2025

Job centre staff to get bonuses for getting people work

Job centre staff to get bonuses for getting people work

The government is setting up a job centre league table and will give £250 bonuses to staff who get the most people into work.
It is part of a pilot scheme in 60 job centres aiming to get more Universal Credit claimants into employment.

The government said it is right to reward staff when they help people secure work.

But the PCS union said the scheme was "gimmicky" and would not help address the "poverty pay" of job centre staff.

According to an internal Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) document seen by the BBC, officials want to test whether financial incentives for job centre teams "drive better outcomes".

Staff will be set targets, or what the document calls "into work stretch aspirations".

Staff at the top performing job centres each month will receive £250. The next best performing staff will get £125 each.

The pilot will also make it compulsory for Universal Credit claimants who have been on the benefit for thirteen weeks, to visit a job centre every weekday for a fortnight for "intensive support". Failure to attend could lead to sanctions.

One internal document says that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, has asked that the pilot "apply more mandatory activities to increase movement into work". It said this should be delivered within the existing budget and be "able to be scaled quickly".

The department says the 13-week mark is critical because it is the point at which a claimant's prospects of moving into work decreases significantly.

At present, Universal Credit claimants normally only meet with a work coach once a week for the first three months and once a fortnight after that.

The PCS union said the scheme was an "insult" to its members.

The union's DWP Group President, Martin Cavanagh, said the pilot would increase the likelihood of claimants being sanctioned due to missed appointments.

He said the government was ''hell-bent on making it more difficult for people to claim benefits" and warned the pilot would increase the risk of poverty for jobseekers who fell foul of it.

"Asking more customers to travel more often into job centres does nothing to help our staff or their workloads,'' he added.

The union's DWP staff have recently been on strike over pay. They have been offered a 2% pay increase for 2022-23 but are demanding a rise of 10%.

There are currently 1.3 million unemployed people in the UK and a further 9 million who are economically inactive which means they are neither in work nor looking for work.

Ministers are concerned that economic inactivity could hold back economic growth. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has set up a review of policies to raise workforce participation and could make an announcement in the Budget on 15 March.

The Resolution Foundation said the best way to boost the workforce was to encourage more mothers in low-income families into work, and to help people who need to take time-off for ill-health to stay attached to their jobs.

A spokesperson for the DWP said: "It is right that we reward our staff when they go above and beyond, and helping people to secure, stay in, and succeed in work is a key government priority.

"DWP has an existing in-year reward policy in the form of vouchers to colleagues."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
×