Jobcentre Plus (Welsh: Canolfan byd Gwaith; Scottish Gaelic: Ionad Obrach is Eile) is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom.

Jobcentre Plus was an executive agency[2] of the Department for Work and Pensions of the government of the United Kingdom between 2002 and 2011.

In 1908, Beveridge was commissioned to devise a scheme which would combine labour exchanges with a new government-funded unemployment benefit.

Weekly contributions were paid by workers, employers and the state in the form of stamps which were affixed to an Unemployment Book (later called the National Insurance card).

From the 1970s onwards, benefits were paid in the form of a girocheque, until the early-2000s, when payments would be made directly to the claimant's bank account.

[10] As part of the Efficiency Savings Programme of 2004, changes were made to the structure and management of Jobcentre Plus as part of the governmental review headed by Sir Peter Gershon and Sir Michael Lyons to increase departmental efficiency amounting to £960,000,000; a target considered achievable in the period 2007-08.

[11] [12] In the 1990s, the Jobcentre reinforced a dress code which required male members of staff to wear ties.

[13] According to figures obtained by the Work and Pensions Select Committee during 2005–2006, the number of employees within the organisation amounted to 71,000.

Customers are then asked to attend an interview at their local jobcentre to discuss work issues with an adviser, and finalise their claim, provide relevant signatures and proof of ID and address.

During 2003, the DWP commenced the use of Post Office accounts for the payment of benefits, a process fully operational at the beginning of the financial year in 2005.

[19] The accounts are licensed and the electronic benefits transfer banking engine are provided by the company JP Morgan Europe.

[23] In 2012, the DWP announced a "trailblazer" scheme under which all new job seekers on Merseyside would be required to claim benefits online rather than in person at a Jobcentre Plus branch.

Jobseekers are expected to use 30 hours of their own time per week searching for jobs, on top of the mandatory Work Programme, or take part in community service.

On 14 May 2018, the Universal Jobmatch was replaced by the Find a Job service, accessible via the government portal and powered by Adzuna.

Dramatic representations have included the sitcoms Hancock's Half Hour, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Shelley, George and Mildred, Bread, Rab C. Nesbitt, the drama series Boys from the Blackstuff and the films Hot Enough for June, Made in Britain, The Full Monty and I, Daniel Blake.

In the black comedy series The League of Gentlemen, a recurring character is Pauline Campbell-Jones (played by Steve Pemberton), the demented leader of a Restart course for a group of unemployed people.

The series was produced by Big Talk Productions and written by Claire Downes, Stuart Lane and Ian Jarvis.