Work experience

The government's back-to-work schemes have suffered a setback after Appeal Court judges agreed with a university graduate's claim that unpaid schemes were legally flawed. Cait Reilly, 24, claimed that requiring her to work for nothing breached laws on forced labour.

A three-judge panel at the royal courts of justice ruled that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions had acted unlawfully by not giving the unemployed enough information about the penalties they faced and their rights to appeal against being made to work unpaid for, in some cases, hundreds of hours.

DWP has announced that people on sickness benefits who are expected to be able to get back to work at some point in the future will, from Monday, be able to take part in voluntary work experience to help them move towards a job.

People on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who have been assessed as being able to go back to work at some point are placed in the Work-Related Activity Group for the benefit and are expected to take part in activity which helps them prepare for a return to employment. One of the options available to them will now include voluntary work experience.

The Guardian newspaper is reporting that the government has drawn up plans to withdraw £71 a week from sick and disabled benefit claimants if they fail to take steps to get back into the workplace.

A leaked draft of a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) template letter warns sick and disabled claimants they will lose 70% of their weekly employment support allowance (ESA) if they refuse to take part in work-related activities, more than doubling the current fine.

Young Londoners joining the dole queue will be forced to work unpaid for three months or lose their benefits under a new scheme announced by mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Funded from the European social fund, 6,000 Londoners aged 18-24 in 16 boroughs will be made to do 13 weeks' unpaid work as a condition of claiming their £56-a-week benefit if they have contributed less than six months of national insurance payments.

As well as charities, some will be made to work for businesses that provide a clear "community benefit".

The Guardian has reported that some long-term sick and disabled people face being forced to work unpaid for an unlimited amount of time or have their benefits cut under plans being drawn up by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Government will announce £1bn of new funding on Friday to help provide opportunities for young jobless people including job subsidies, apprenticeships and work experience placements to 500,000 unemployed people.

The Government is seeking views on its intention to remove the statutory duty to deliver work related learning at key stage four. BASE has concerns about the potential impact that this change would have on young disabled pupils given the already low employment aspirations.

The following text is taken from the consultation website: