Reform UK has proposed a mandatory 20-hour weekly community work requirement for long-term Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claimants who are deemed fit to work, with benefits withdrawn for those who refuse. The policy was announced by Robert Jenrick, the party's finance spokesperson, at a press conference in central London.
Jenrick, a former Conservative Party MP and cabinet minister, said that claimants would be required to clean up high streets and parks, carry out minor repairs, staff libraries and community centres, and perform other tasks from a published list. The scheme would be administered by local councils, and funding would be cut for those who do not complete work placements.
Welfare to Work Policy Details
Under the proposed “welfare to work” policy, long-term claimants fit to work would be forced to do 20 hours of community work per week. Jenrick said the party would also embrace local charities and community groups to help run the placements. Penalties, including loss of benefits, would apply to those who refuse to participate or fail to show up.
Speaking at the event, Jenrick said: “They’ll work to clean up high streets and parks, to beautify neglected places, to carry out minor repairs, to staff libraries and community centres to perform many other tasks from the list that we’ve published today. We’ll also embrace local charities and community groups and ask them to help us and take part. If claimants refuse to participate or fail to show up, they’ll face penalties.”
Jenrick's Justification and Employer Measures
Jenrick argued that staying on benefits consigns claimants “to a life on welfare”, which he said wastes people’s “potential” and places a huge burden on the taxpayer. He added: “Let me speak very plainly. If people who are capable of work refuse, then they’ll get nothing. That’s fair.”
The former cabinet minister also outlined measures for employers, stating that for the first two years of an employee being signed off sick, they would remain on the employer’s books and receive payments based on welfare rates. He said: “Employer’s national insurance contributions will be cut nationally to offset those costs, giving the employers who know their workers best an incentive, firstly to look after them well when they are in work and then to help them back into work if they are off sick – rather than just passing the bill to the taxpayer and forgetting about their workers.”
Next Steps and Reaction
The proposal is part of Reform's welfare reform agenda ahead of the next election. No specific implementation timeline was provided, and the party has not yet detailed how the policy would be funded beyond the employer national insurance cuts. The announcement is likely to spark debate over the fairness and practicality of mandatory community work for benefits claimants.
