Benefit claimants face reduced payments if they fail to perform certain work-related activities, according to new regulations which come into force today.
They apply to those claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) placed in the work-related activity group.
At present just 12% of applicants are placed in this group with a further 6% allocated into the more severe support group, where no work related activity is expected.
The details of the work related activity will be down to the personal adviser, but the only limits are that claimants cannot be required, to apply for a job, undertake work or undergo medical treatment.
Only those in the ESA support group, lone parents on ESA with a child under the age of 5 and ESA claimants who also receive carers allowance or a carer's premium are exempt from being forced to undertake any work-related activity.
Lone parents on ESA with a child under the age of 13 may only be required to undertake work-related activity during the child's normal school hours.
ESA was introduced as the replacement to incapacity benefit (IB) and with all new claimants now being fed into this benefit, the government has begun reassessing those previously placed on IB.
