Social Security Benefits: Employment

(asked on 7th February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her current policy is on the use of work incentives in the benefit system.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 20th February 2018

Work is the pillar of a strong economy and a strong society and we believe that work should always pay, that there should be a welfare system that provides strong work incentives, helps people into work and supports people who need help.

Universal Credit is transforming the welfare system and incentivising work by making work pay. It simplifies the system and provides a single payment for people in or out of work which ensures that people are always better off working and better off working more. There are none of the cliff edges or complicated hours rules of the old system, just a single, simple, taper so payments reduce in a transparent and predictable way as earnings increase.

Our research has found, compared to the old system, people on Universal Credit are more likely to be in work after 6 months, spend more time looking for a job, more time looking to increase their earnings and will actually consider work they would not have considered doing before. More information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/644541/universal-credit-employment-impact-analysis-update.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-how-it-influences-employment-behaviour

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