The charity has been contacted by parents with children aged 11 and older who were instructed to accept work even if they did not have suitable childcare.
One mother was told she would have to leave her 13-year-old children at home if a job offer was made, and that she could not request working hours that matched the school day. "I said I wouldn't be prepared to leave them, but they said, if there is a job that you have got to do in the evening, you will have to," she said.
Welfare changes made in October mean all single parents with a youngest child aged between seven and nine are automatically switched from income support to jobseeker's allowance. Parents who fail to engage with job seeking can have their benefits cut. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said that lone parents are able to specify jobs with school hours only, and will not be penalised for not accepting jobs with unsuitable hours.
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