Friend of mine on Jsa missed appointment as was told a week later he may be sanctioned- but that was on October 16th- and yet he got his actual sanction confirmation yesterday -which is nearly 3 months from the missed appoitment- should the process have a time limit - ie 28days from event ? (he provided his reasons a week later-so there was no delay on his part - and heard nothing more until the letter yesterday
He could appeal the decision. I think if an appointment is missed an explanation should be given beforehand or well within a week unless, for example, he was in hospital for some time and unable to get in touch. I don't know how soon sanctions are normally implemented but i would have expected a month at least and maybe this took longer while they considered his reasons.
A sanction is imposed from the start of the week in which the failure to attend happened or the day following the date JSA was last paid, whichever is later. This means your friend will not have lost out by the delay if JSA remained in payment during the period. The letter will have explained his rights and he cannot appeal until he has had a mandatory reconsideration.
Had they actioned the referral on time he would have been sanctioned earlier for the same number of weeks. He has not been affected by the delay as he would have continued to get JSA until the decision was made.