Open AccessViolent bureaucracy: A critical analysis of the British public employment service
Author(s) -
Jamie Redman,
Del Roy Fletcher
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
csp. critical social policy/critical social policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.433
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1461-703X
pISSN - 0261-0183
DOI - 10.1177/02610183211001766
Subject(s) - austerity , bureaucracy , punitive damages , front line , public administration , coalition government , public relations , work (physics) , public service , political science , front (military) , sociology , politics , law , engineering , mechanical engineering
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. The present article draws upon ideas, developed by Bauman (1989), which focus on the processes that facilitate ‘institutional violence’. We use this framework to analyse ten interviews with front-line workers and managers in public/contractor employment services. In doing so, we 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.