Dataset: Jobseeker's Allowance Sanctions (Number of Decisions)
Description
A referral for a sanction decision is made to a Decision Maker. The outcome of that decision is recorded on the DMAS system.
Classification
Decision Outcome is applicable to all decisions made
1 - Decision not to apply a sanction (Non-Adverse): this is a decision found in favour of the claimant, i.e. a sanction or disallowance is not applied. A non-adverse decision can be made at the original decision making point, at reconsideration, or on appeal.
2 - Decision to apply a sanction (Adverse): this is a decision found against the claimant, i.e. a sanction or disallowance is applied. An adverse decision can be made at the original decision making point, at reconsideration, or on appeal.
3 - Reserved Decisions: a reserved decision is where a sanction would be appropriate but cannot be imposed because the claimant does not have a current claim to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). A case would be re-referred if the claimant reclaims JSA within the period of the reserved decision.
4 - Cancelled Referrals: A cancelled decision can occur in specific circumstances:
(a) the claimant stops claiming before they actually committed the sanctionable failure. For example, if a claimant failed to participate with the Work Programme scheme on 25 October 2012, the referral would be cancelled if the claimant ended their claim prior to 25 October.
(b) the claimant has left employment voluntarily or through misconduct, but the period of employment in doubt did not immediately precede their JSA claim.
(c) there has been no response, within 10 calendar days, to an enquiry sent to the Jobcentre and it is not possible to obtain the information required from another source.
Users sould be aware that a recorded cancelled decision may mean different things depending on the type of decision made (FIELD=Decision Type). For an Original decision type, cancelled indicates that the sanction referral has been cancelled and, therefore, no sanction or disallowance will be applied to the claimant. For a Reconsidered or Appealed decision type, cancelled indicates that the reconsideration or appeal has been cancelled and, therefore, the Adverse sanction decision still applies to the claimant.
Total number of categories: 4
Quality Statement
The decision outcome is recorded on the Decision Making and Appeals System (DMAS) or, in the case of straightforward failure to attend decisions, on the Labour Market System (LMS).
As the outcome is manually input onto the DMAS or LMS, it is possible that errors can occur in the recording of the decision outcome on these systems.