Benefit Changes May Affect Mental Health, Experts Say

Jobseekers will have to apply for roles outside their preferred sector after just four weeks

- Ashley Cowburn

The planned tightening of the benefits system is “deeply concerning” and could have “serious negative consequences” on claimants’ mental health, according to a leading body representing psychologists in the UK.

The warning from the British Psychological Society (BPS) comes after work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey last month hailed a new government target to get 500,000 jobseekers back into work by June.

Under the existing benefits rules, individuals claiming universal credit while looking for work are given three months to find a job in their preferred sector – or face the possibility of sanctions.

But under changes expected to be ushered in next month, claimants will have to apply for roles outside their area after just four weeks. They risk having their benefits cut if they are deemed not to be making “reasonable efforts” to secure a job in any sector.

Ms Coffey said the move would ensure people can get “any job now” while critics warned it would force some skilled workers to accept insecure, short-term employment.