A selection of especially stupid benefit sanctions

You miss your job centre appointment as it clashes with your work programme interview. You get sanctioned.

Source: Citizens Advice Bureau

You volunteer in a youth club. The job centre thinks this is ‘paid work’ so you are sanctioned.

Source: UkeleleKris on Twitter

You don’t apply for an IT job as it requires skills you don’t have. You get sanctioned.

Source: Geminisnake at Urban75

You miss a second appointment because you are ill. Sanctioned.

Source: @thinktyler on Twitter

You are sanctioned for leaving an inappropriate A4e-run Launchpad course as you plan to continue your gardening diploma and volunteering. You ask to appeal the decision and are given the wrong forms.

Source: Adventures in Workfare

You get a job interview but it’s on the day of your nan’s funeral. You attended three interviews the day before. You try to rearrange this one, but company reports you for failing to accept a job. Sanctioned.

Source: @TSAAPG on Twitter

You lost your job and are now on contributions-based jobseeker’s allowance (paid on the basis of your earlier National insurance contributions). You get your job centre appointment day wrong and turn up on a Thursday instead of a Tuesday. You are sanctioned for four weeks.

Source: Cheesy Monkey on Liberal Conspiracy

Your job centre advisor tells you that emailing your CV to a company is not enough; you must physically hand over a paper copy too. You must also provide printouts of all emails to your advisor. You cannot afford this - you do not have your own printer - so are told to give the advisor access to your personal email account. You check with another advisor who tells you to do as the first advisor required.

Source: GamerInfo at MoneySavingExpert

You apply for more jobs than required by your jobseeker’s agreement, but forget to state on the form that you checked the local paper (which you’ve been instructed to do by a jobseeker’s direction). You’re sanctioned.

Source: Steve Rose

You are a mum of two, and are five minutes late for your job centre appointment. You show the advisor the clock on your phone, which is running late. You are sanctioned for a month.

Source: Clydebank Post

You are on a workfare placement and your job centre appointment comes round. The job centre tells you to sign on then go to your placement – which you do. The placement reports you for being late and you get sanctioned for 3 months.

Source: DefiniteMaybe on Mumsnet

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