Jobcentre useless

starsinmycrown

janet37 wrote: »

I think I need to get out more!! why is there a guard in the job center??

oh i love it! When you go in, i'm about 5'5 slim young woman going in there, clutching my sign on book.. these two burly bouncers come up to you in bomber jackets with headsets on:

"HEY YOU! COME BACK HERE!"

"huh? i was just walking to sit on the seats.. i thought..."

"YES , MADAM, have you an appointment???"

"erm, excuse me please erm.. this is my first time here.. erm, i have to get somebody to sign this or...well i'm suppoed to see a lady called julie...?"

"-Right upstairs *crackle of radio* "white female entering door going up to second floor with sign in book- over!*

*roger, roger.. yeah shes coming up now...over!"

What the hell? the problem the jobcentre have is their total inability to discriminate between troublemakers and respectable people who are genuinely trying to find work and are trying to negotiate the minefield of employment benefits, but that doesn't count.
as they say in boys from the blackstuff : "nobody on the dole counts..."

starsinmycrown

bunny999 wrote: »

Well at least they are working for a living which is more than can be said for you.

that was unfair, its easy to judge people and lump them all in the same bracket, you don't know this person's circumstances, they could have been made redundant or just left training or college, or have a good reason for leaving work like bullying.

tink_the_stink

I think someone made the point earlier the "security" are not employed by JCP, so say what you want about em they are there to protect staff & customers who have reason to be in jobcentre.

I sit not too far from main entrance doors & its not your typical hoody or chav (whatever you want to call em) who causes the trouble! You'd be amazed, so I'm very grateful for the security, making sure you're in the jobcentre because you have to attend an appointment or sign because I'm not paid anywhere near enough to have someone spit in my face or throw a punch at me!

Sami_Bee

am I missing the point in this thread?
You turned up for an appointment, they were understaffed so unfortunately you were seen late.
You asked a security guard something obviously nothing to do with him.
you witnessed an adviser having a conversation with a claimant.
so from this you surmise that the job centre is useless.
Get over yourself, you got seen - its not like you have a job to get back to, your claim will be processed and you'll get paid JSA I assume sound like they did their job fine in difficult circumstances to me!

If you signed on at my local jobcentre you'd understand why they have security, 80% of the people signing on turn up drugged/drunk and aggressive!

Conor_3

starsinmycrown wrote: »

What the hell? the problem the jobcentre have is their total inability to discriminate between troublemakers and respectable people who are genuinely trying to find work

It's not that simple.
I'm reasonably well educated. I've never been in trouble with the law. I've worked virtually constantly since leaving school apart from when my spinal injury has prevented me from doing. Served my country in the Army.

So you'd say I was respectable, yes?

BUT. I'm extremely confident. I look people directly in the eye. I keep my hair short, have a goatee type beard and am a big bloke with panda eyes from 15 years of sleep deprivation. I have a deep voice. In short, I look a bit scary.

So if you didn't know me from Adam, what is your reaction likely to be?

KimYeovil

starsinmycrown wrote: »

oh i love it! When you go in, i'm about 5'5 slim young woman going in there, clutching my sign on book.. these two burly bouncers come up to you in bomber jackets with headsets on:

"HEY YOU! COME BACK HERE!"

"huh? i was just walking to sit on the seats.. i thought..."

"YES , MADAM, have you an appointment???"

"erm, excuse me please erm.. this is my first time here.. erm, i have to get somebody to sign this or...well i'm suppoed to see a lady called julie...?"

"-Right upstairs *crackle of radio* "white female entering door going up to second floor with sign in book- over!*

*roger, roger.. yeah shes coming up now...over!"

What the hell? the problem the jobcentre have is their total inability to discriminate between troublemakers and respectable people who are genuinely trying to find work and are trying to negotiate the minefield of employment benefits, but that doesn't count.
as they say in boys from the blackstuff : "nobody on the dole counts..."

Yes, they should behave like the real police and practice racial, gender, and somatotype profiling. Surely, by your own argument, you are one of the ones who should be stopped - you're slim and young so likely to be a junkie so ought to be watched carefully.

Apolonation

babs2008 wrote: »

Remember, it's a benefit to help you. You are not legally entitled to the money.

This is the wrong perspective. If this person has been paying taxes previously they are receiving what is theirs by right. Not everyone that claims JSA has never worked a days work in their life. The whole mindset that JSA is some kind of handout is laughable. There are number of people that have made idiotic comments along the lines of 'well what are you doing to find work' when the OP mentioned nothing of difficulty finding work. The comments specifically related to the JC incompetence. I for one also feel that the service could be run far better. It has served its functional purpose but a couple of times I have had to put self conceited advisors/managers in their place because they thought they had a right to talk down to me. I feel for those out there not quite as strongly willed who may not have been able to put these people back in their place.

sharski

tink_the_stink wrote: »

I think someone made the point earlier the "security" are not employed by JCP, so say what you want about em they are there to protect staff & customers who have reason to be in jobcentre.

I sit not too far from main entrance doors & its not your typical hoody or chav (whatever you want to call em) who causes the trouble! You'd be amazed, so I'm very grateful for the security, making sure you're in the jobcentre because you have to attend an appointment or sign because I'm not paid anywhere near enough to have someone spit in my face or throw a punch at me!

Or have a coffee cup full of $h!t thrown at them... which is what happended in our office... lovely...

tsimehC

ahai1 wrote: »

I had an interview on Friday at my local jobcentre. It was for 11:15 but after been given no information I was seen at 11:45 or so by the staff. It turns out that one of the members of staff was not in.

The thing that really insensed me is that when I asked the security officer what time I was going to be seen he got uptight. There were a number of staff sitting there not seeing customers. In front of me the personal advisor told a woman who said she had no work if she could do some of his interviews. She told him she was not allowed. Then when another member of staff said if she can do some work she said she had plenty. Next to me was a personal advisor engaging with a customer on a discussion about seeking work. The discussion was going nowhere as they were talking about the same point and it went on before and after I left.

This brings me back to when I was visiting my JCP. I wasn't seen until after 1 hr 15 mins (counted it lol) and in that time I asked the security officer why I wasn't being seen about 3 times. He was rather helpful though and I spent the other time searching through vacancies on their machines. No luck though in the end with the jobs.

What gets me is the actual job seekers, nearly all of them looked at me as if I'm their no.1 enemy or something. I tried to look cheerful but couldn't in that atmosphere, I pleaded to my adviser to put me on a training course but they have little support to offer. I applied to Working Links myself after a month in JSA so after completing this Gateway thing (which is actually quite fun. :rotfl:) I should be getting somewhere, if not I'll go back to uni (+£10k debt) and start afresh.

Only problem I have with JCP is that it seems rather more target-based than customer-based but I guess that's understandable; one of the adviser told me that they get a heavy workload everyday although I was thinking "isn't work suppose to be like that?". Things can improve but I wouldn't call it useless as I got some help (internal vacancies, fair event dates etc) from them which I wouldn't have if I just sat at home and collected the giro from the post office.

Have you tried to get to New Deal? It's much better in terms of people actually looking for work, I got there after 2 months on JSA so try that. You'll need to have a positive outlook though otherwise you'll just give up.

raccoon_2

I understand what you are saying poker face and appreciate that a lot of people do take advantage of the system. I wish I could. But as I am getting a big fat nothing from the system I cannot see why I should be made to do the comunity work.
I just sign on to keep my insurance payments going.