Challenging a JSA decision - mandatory reconsideration

You should ask the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to look at your claim again if you think a decision about your Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is wrong. 

You can also ask them to change a decision about support for mortgage interest (SMI). SMI is a loan to help pay the interest on your mortgage if you get JSA.

Asking the DWP to change the decision is called a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. It’s free to do and you don’t need a solicitor or any other legal help.

When to ask for a mandatory reconsideration

You’re likely to get the decision changed in your favour if, for example:

• you’ve been refused JSA or SMI but have evidence you’re entitled to it

• your JSA has stopped because you didn’t keep to your jobseeker's agreement, but you had a good reason

• the DWP thinks you’ve been overpaid but you have evidence to show you were paid the right amount

If you’ve been refused JSA, you should check you’re eligible for JSA before you ask for a mandatory reconsideration. If it’s clear you’re not eligible, it won’t be worth asking for a mandatory reconsideration.

The DWP won’t take into account things like if your JSA payment doesn’t give you enough to live on or you don’t want to go to the Jobcentre. They’ll only change the decision if they got something wrong or you had a good reason for not keeping to your jobseeker's agreement.

If you’ve been sanctioned

You’ll still need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, but first you should check if you can challenge the sanction and the evidence you’ll need.

Check you have evidence

The DWP will usually only change a decision if you have evidence to prove why it was wrong.

Check if you have any evidence to send with your mandatory reconsideration. What you’ll need will depend on why you’re challenging the decision.

If you reported a change in circumstances

You might have been paid the wrong amount of JSA if the DWP missed a change you reported.

If you wrote to the DWP to report the change, send copies of the letter and proof of postage, if you have it.

If you called the DWP to report the change, fill in this form on GOV.UK to ask for an audio or written copy of the call. This is called a ‘subject access request’.

Send the completed form to your nearest Jobcentre Plus. Write ‘For the attention of the DWP Data Protection Officer’ on the envelope.

It can take 6 to 8 weeks for a subject access request to come through, so don’t wait for it. Send the letter asking for the mandatory reconsideration within the 1-month deadline. Say in the letter that you’ve made a subject access request and will send the evidence to the DWP when you have it.

Asking for a mandatory reconsideration

If you're asking for a mandatory reconsideration because you’ve been sanctioned, you can do this at any time. Otherwise, you have 1 month from the date of the decision to ask for one. You’ll find the date at the top of the letter that told you the decision. 

If you've missed the 1 month deadline it's still worth sending your mandatory reconsideration. You'll need to do this within 13 months of the date on your decision letter.

If you haven’t been able to find any evidence, don’t delay sending your mandatory reconsideration. Send any evidence you find later by Royal Mail Signed For.

To ask for a mandatory reconsideration, you can use the CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration request form on GOV.UK or send a letter to the DWP.

Explain why you disagree with the DWP's reasons in your form or letter. Give facts and examples to support what you’re saying. For example, if the DWP think you’ve been working more than 16 hours a week, send timesheets to show you work less. Or if they think you earn too much to get JSA, send payslips to show them how much you earn.

If you've been sanctioned for not doing something, explain:

• why you didn’t do it

• what you did to tell the Jobcentre at the time - and if you didn’t, why not

• what you did to sort out the problem - and if you didn’t do anything, why not

• the impact the problem had on you - for example, if it caused you anxiety

Whatever the reason for your sanction, tell the DWP if you’ve recently experienced bullying, harassment, abuse or homelessness. This could be at home, in the workplace or elsewhere. The DWP will consider the impact it had on you and it might help your case.

Add your contact details so that the DWP can call you if they have any questions. Include if you’ll have any problems getting to the phone, for example because it’s difficult for you to move around.

You can get help from your nearest Citizens Advice to fill in the form or write a letter. Tell them the date of the DWP decision letter and the 1 month deadline and they’ll try to give you an appointment in time.

Send your form or letter to the address on your JSA decision letter. It’s a good idea to send it and copies of any evidence by Royal Mail Signed For and keep the receipt. You might need to prove when you posted it and when it arrived.

If it’s just a few days until the 1-month deadline, you should call the DWP. You can call them from your local Citizens Advice - an adviser might be able to help you. 

You should then send a letter to DWP that says:

• the date and time of the call

• the name of the person you spoke to

• what was agreed on the call 

Call the number on your decision letter or you can use these details:

 

What happens next

The DWP will call you if they need more information or evidence to support your challenge.

You’ll usually need to send any further evidence within 1 month of the date of the phone call. If it will be hard for you to do this, you should tell the DWP when they contact you. They might then extend the deadline. 

You’ll be sent a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’ when the DWP have looked at your claim and made a new decision. This letter will explain what they’ve decided and why.

It usually takes about 14 working days for the mandatory reconsideration to arrive. If after 1 month it hasn’t arrived, you can call the DWP to check it’s being looked at. You can make a complaint if it’s taking months to come through.

While you’re waiting for the mandatory reconsideration

You can get help while waiting for a decision - for example to help pay for food or bigger items like a bed or cooker. Check what help you could get in your area.

If you’ve been sanctioned, you might be able to get some money to pay for essentials like heating. This is called a ‘hardship payment’. Check if you can get a hardship payment.

If you're worried you might be sanctioned again because you're struggling to keep to your jobseeker's agreement, you can ask to change it. 

Claiming Universal Credit

You can choose to claim Universal Credit instead of JSA. Claiming Universal Credit might leave you worse off and you won't be able to go back onto JSA, even if your mandatory reconsideration or appeal is successful. An adviser can calculate which benefit would leave you better off - contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help.

If the DWP change their decision, your payments will be backdated.

If the decision was about a new claim, they’ll backdate your JSA or SMI to the date you made the claim.

If the decision was about an ongoing claim, they’ll backdate your JSA or SMI to the date it was stopped or reduced.

Appealing to an independent tribunal

If the DWP won’t change their decision you should take your challenge to a tribunal. It’s free to do and because the tribunal is independent they might disagree with the DWP’s decision.

The mandatory reconsideration notice will include information on how to appeal.

Appeal a JSA or SMI decision at an independent tribunal