Poundland ruling 'blows big hole' through government work schemes

by liamssoft | February 12, 2013 at 12:23 pm

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Graduate Cait Reilly succeeds in legal challenge to programme under which she was required to work unpaid at discount store

Thousands of unemployed people could be entitled to financial rebates totalling millions after judges in the court of appeal declared that almost all of the government's "work-for-your-benefit" employment schemes were unlawful.

Civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were scrambling to issue new regulations following the ruling of a three-judge panel at the Royal Courts of Justice. They found that Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, had not given unemployed people enough information their rights to appeal against being made to work up to 780 hours unpaid and the penalties they faced should they opt not to do so.

The case, which had initially been brought by a 24-year old geology graduate Cait Reilly, centred around whether the secretary of state was able to create new programmes and schemes at the stroke of the pen rather than issuing parliament with the full details of the growing number schemes in operation since the coalition government took power.....Read more