Overview

• Beth, a 23-year-old Universal Credit claimant from Leicestershire, received a 90-day benefit freeze for missing a required job application despite securing new employment.
• The Department for Work and Pensions says sanctions are determined through an independent process that considers individual circumstances and can be appealed to a tribunal.
• More than 600,000 Universal Credit sanctions were imposed in the year to October 2024, and February 2025 figures show 5.5% of claimants in conditional regimes were penalised, with 56% of sanctions lasting over four weeks.
• Anti-poverty charity Z2K and other campaigners say sanctions are often applied arbitrarily, erode trust between claimants and work coaches and exacerbate anxiety and financial hardship.
• A 2023 government review found that sanctions do not increase exits to paid work and reduce higher-paid job transitions, prompting calls for a full overhaul as ministers weigh reforms to the Work Capability Assessment and coach discretion.