The UK government has established a variety of schemes with the goal of returning welfare recipients to the workforce. Some require claimants to work in return for benefits. R. (Reilly) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, [2013] UKSC 68 addresses the legality of two of these "workfare" schemes. Of particular interest, given the implications for the applicants' freedom of choice, is the interpretive approach taken by the UK Supreme Court. This, it seems to me, is long on principle, but short on practical effect.