Universal Jobmatch amongst other things - Variation of Jobseeker's Agreement | PG –v- SSWP (JSA) [2017] UKUT 388 (AAC)

Judicial Summary
proposed variation of jobseeker’s agreement – section 10(5) of JSA 1995 – importance of identifying what terms of proposed agreement require – whether number of job-seeking steps to be taken in a week can amount to “a full-time activity”.

3. In my judgment the appeal should be allowed and the First-tier
Tribunal’s decision of 17 August 2016 (“the tribunal”) set aside for
material error of law and the appeal remitted to an entirely freshly
constituted First-tier Tribunal to be re-decided. My reasons for so
deciding are as follows.

7. The key error of law the tribunal made was in not addressing
sufficiently what precisely the terms of the proposed new jobseeker’s
agreement/claimant commitment required of the appellant. In
particular, it failed to address whether the wording of the requirement
in the proposed jobseeker’s agreement of 5 January 2016 to “Search
Universal Jobmatch via Gov.UK to identify and apply for jobs you can do – 5
times per week minimum” required the appellant to apply for jobs via
Universal Jobmatch. (I will refer to this at times below as the Universal
Jobmatch requirement or the disputed requirement.) If it did then it
appears it was common ground between the parties that in order to do
so the appellant would have needed to take out an account with
Universal Jobmatch by registering with that site and that that step may
not have been one it was reasonable to require the appellant to
undertake given his security concerns about that site.

9. The notes of 4 January 2016, written or taken when the appellant
refused to sign the new proposed Jobseeker’s agreement, record the
appellant as stating that he was not willing to entertain an account with
Universal Jobmatch because, amongst other reasons, “The website is not
secure…There are many other reliable websites such as Total Jobs and Indeed
Jobs….Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead, recently reported that Universal
Jobmatch is bedevilled with fraud…..In the circumstances, I am prepared to
search Universal Jobmatch without registering or opening an account”.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/59e5b9dfed915d6aaafc2eb4/CJSA_3521_2016-00.pdf

I believe the recent changes to UJM have been made as result of this case.

I have also recently helped a claimant to remove UJ and daily jobsearch from their Jobseeker's Agreement without the necessity of a FtT submission.

Great news HH. Well done to you and your client.

well done and an interesting read there HH