Upston said reporting job search activities would increase accountability for beneficiaries who are meant to be looking for work and the upskilling requirement supports beneficiaries to build the skills they need to get into work.<\/p>\n
Louise Upston said most jobseekers are committed to finding work.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will consider a client\u2019s circumstances before imposing a non-financial sanction, to ensure it is the most appropriate option for the client.<\/p>\n
Upston said job seekers will need to provide evidence of their activity at the end of their sanction period to return to the \u201cgreen\u201d setting of the traffic light system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese obligations were passed by Parliament in May and they aren\u2019t unduly onerous \u2013 they\u2019re basic expectations. They reinforce accountability for those failing to meet their obligations, while also recognising that reducing benefits isn\u2019t the answer for everyone,\u201c she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also important to reinforce that the vast majority of job seekers are fulfilling their obligations, with less than 2% at the red or orange settings. The 98.5% of job seekers at green are committed to finding work and MSD is fully committed to supporting them to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that\u2019s the case, people won\u2019t face sanctions, financial or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May, Upston announced people on a main benefit such as Jobseeker Support could be hit with money management<\/a> and community work sanctions if they fail to meet one of their obligations, which involve preparing for or looking for work.<\/p>\n The money management sanction would mean half of a person\u2019s benefit would be put on a payment card for four weeks and could only be used at approved shops for groceries, transport, health and education-related items.<\/p>\n