Long-term unemployed people will have their benefits cut unless they visit a Job Centre every day, work for free or undertake training, under new rules which have now come into effect.
The rules will apply to anyone who has not found a job after two years on the existing Work Programme scheme. The government says the new scheme - called Help to Work - is "absolutely not" intended to punish jobless people. Those who fail to take part could lose jobless benefits for fixed periods. Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) can be suspended for four weeks for their first failure, then 13 weeks for a second failure. It is thought the new rules will affect 200,000 people.......Read more here