Institutional violence, activation and disentitlement in UK employment services Event

Event details

Between 2010–2015, the Coalition’s pursuit of a radical austerity programme saw Britain’s Jobcentre Plus experience some of the most punitive reforms and budget cuts in its history. Focusing on the outcomes of these reforms, a growing body of research has found that claiming processes became a more ‘institutionally violent’ and injurious experience for out-of-work benefit claimants. This presentation draws upon ideas, developed by Bauman (1989), which focus on the processes that facilitate ‘institutional violence’. I use this framework to analyse eleven interviews with front-line workers and managers in public/contractor employment services. In doing so, I expose an array of policy tools and hidden managerial methods used during the Coalition administration which encouraged front-line staff to deliver services in ways that led to a range of harmful outcomes for benefit claimants.