All beneficiaries to be offered work

David Benson-Pope

New beneficiaries will get help to find work regardless of the type of benefits they are on after it was found that one-in-five said they are able to work, Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope said today.

"From May 2006, all new Work and Income clients will be case managed differently to improve the focus on getting people into the right job," Mr Benson-Pope said.

"The starting point will be what a person can do rather than what benefit they are entitled to."

Work and Income has been piloting an employment case management approach to beneficiaries not receiving the dole -- such as the Domestic Purposes, Sickness or Invalid's Benefit - similar to the approach taken with the unemployment benefit.

"The pilots we ran showed that up to 20 per cent of clients who get a non-unemployment related benefit were identified as being able to work now, be it part-time or full-time," Mr Benson-Pope said.

"This showed that offering employment services primarily to unemployment benefit clients was missing a group of other clients willing and able to work, who would benefit from greater access to employment services."

A Social Development Ministry spokeswoman said the pilot had been run across 12 sites around the country since last May.

Of the beneficiaries who were asked to take part 90 per cent volunteered to do so, and of those 20 per cent who were eligible for a non-unemployment benefit identified themselves as able to work in some way.

While people seeking non-employment benefits from May at 142 Work and Income offices would be treated differently, all existing clients would come under the case management approach from September.

This meant offering all beneficiaries employment as a possible option, assistance in finding work and support in them getting a job, officials said.

It was expected that changes in approach would lead to those on the Domestic Purposes, Sickness and Invalids' Benefit getting more part-time work and reducing the time moving off benefits and into full-time work.

Mr Benson-Pope said policy work on a simplified benefit system was continuing.

It was still planned to replace the seven main benefits with the simplified structure with Cabinet decisions due later in the year.

This would be followed by the introduction of legislation by the end of 2006 and "remaining element" being introduced in 2007.

National's welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins said Mr Benson-Pope's timetable for a single benefit was a delay compared to previous announcements.

"A single benefit has hit yet another snag," Ms Collins said.

- NZPA