Re-examining ‘personalised conditionality’: full-time obligations, partial adjustments and power asymmetries in the UK’s approach to work-related conditionality

Ceri Hughes

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Work-related conditionality policy in the UK is built around the problematic assumption that people should commit to 'full-time' work and job search efforts as a condition of receiving benefits. This is potentially in conflict with the idea that what is required of people should be tailored to their circumstances in some way - 'personalised conditionality' - and implies a failure to recognise that conditionality is being applied to a diverse group of people and in a context where the paid work that is available is often temporary and insecure. Drawing on thirty-three qualitative interviews with people subject to intensive work-related conditionality whilst receiving Universal Credit or Jobseeker's Allowance in Manchester, the paper explores the work-related time demands that people were facing and argues that these provide a lens for examining the rigidities and contradictions of conditionality policy. The findings indicate that expectations are often set in relation to an ideal of full-time hours and in a highly asymmetric context that is far from conducive to being able to negotiate a reasonable set of work-related expectations. Work search requirements affect people differently depending on their personal circumstances and demand-side factors, and can act to weaken the position of people entering, or already in, work.

Keywords: activation; conditionality; personalisation; Universal Credit; welfare reform; work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2024-10-23
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Published in Journal of Social Policy, 23, October, 2024. ISSN: 0047-2794

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:125319

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