Judge rejects claims that work schemes are forced labour

Schemes to help unemployed people get work are not slave labour, a Judicial review has ruled.

Two claimants who had been placed on two different Government schemes were granted permission to seek a judicial review to challenge the validity of the Jobseeker's Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme) Regulations 2011 which underpin these schemes. The Community Action Programme has been a trial providing mandatory community work for the very long-term unemployed, while sector-based work academies include work experience and training.

The judgment found that requiring participation in the schemes does not breach human rights, that the regulations were lawful and that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) had provided enough guidance about the policy intentions of the schemes.

While the Judge found in the DWP's favour on the main issues, he did find that the DWP should improve the clarity of the letters which warn claimants of a potential sanction should they fail to participate in the schemes without good reason. The DWP does not believe there is anything wrong with the original letters and intends to appeal this aspect of the judgment, but in the meantime it has revised its standard letters.