Petition · past parliament

Cancel every single benefit sanction during the current coronavirus crisis.

Rejected 18 signatures

What the petition asks

Benefit sanctions have long been overly cruel and used for the tiniest infractions such as being just a few minutes late for a job centre appointment. Some claiments have been hit with sanctions of up to 3 years in duration. During the current crisis I beg that the government suspends all sanctions.
Almost anyone can be sanctioned, whether they are in work or not. People have been sanctioned for attending their own parents funerals instead of job centre appointments. People have been punished for going to job interviews rather than attending a job centre appointment. People have lost hundreds, even thousands of pounds in support just for being a few minutes late to an appointment. The government needs to look at suspending all sanctions during this unprecedented time of need.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

Timeline

18 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
2 Apr 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 18
Status Rejected
Rejected 2 Apr 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.