UNIVERSAL Credit claimants will be forced to look for more jobs or have their benefits stopped in a Tory crackdown reports the Daily Mirror.

Hundreds of thousands of people will be told to search for a wider range of work more quickly or face a benefit sanction in a rule change announced today.

Currently claimants can look for jobs in their “preferred sector” for three months before widening their search.

Now this will be slashed to just four weeks after their initial Universal Credit claim.

That could, for example, mean ex-chefs are asked to look for jobs in construction or offices after only a month.

It is part of a new ‘Way to Work’ target to help 500,000 Universal Credit claimants into work by June.

The campaign also includes “more time spent face to face with a Work Coach” – but officials did not say how much.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey boasted support from firms including Reed, Balfour Beatty and Whitbread.

She said: “Way to Work is a step change in our offer to claimants and employers, making sure our jobcentre network and excellent work coaches can deliver opportunities, jobs and prosperity to all areas of the country.”

But charities warned the “forceful approach” could “create huge amounts of anxiety and stress” while Labour accused Boris Johnson of launching the move to save his own skin. 

The Prime Minister made a surprise announcement at PMQs yesterday about the “fantastic idea”, saying: “We are launching a plan to get half a million people off welfare and into work.” 

Despite the PM’s boast, it’s thought the plan is only to get 500,000 people into jobs – not off Universal Credit.

Around two-fifths of Universal Credit claimants have a job. They still claim benefits because they have poor wages or work part time.

DWP figures show 1.7million Universal Credit claimants were searching for work in December, of which 179,000 had been on the benefit for less than three months.

Ministers insisted the demand for workers was there, with 1.2 million vacancies – 59% higher than pre-pandemic.

But Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said: “This ‘crackdown’ won’t make a significant impact on those numbers and it’s not where the real challenges lie.

“People who’ve recently lost their jobs are the most likely to find work quickly. To tackle current labour shortages, we need a more ambitious plan for people who have left the labour market, with support increasing the longer someone is out of work.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “It’s important that everyone has the opportunity and support to find a good job to help them get on in life. That’s why we’re doubling down on our Plan for Jobs with this new campaign to harness the talent of jobseekers and support employers to fill vacancies, find work and create new opportunities.” 

But Shadow Employment Minister Alison McGovern said: “This announcement has more to do with trying to save the Prime Minister’s job than supporting people into work.

“It’s just tinkering at the edges – long-term unemployment is 60% higher than before the pandemic.”