appalling treatment at jobcentre

toadyfrog

My oh went to sign on for the 1st time ever today, was made redundant and his 1 st meeting at the job centre on thurs last week. They gave him the sheet which he had to fill in details of least 6 jobs that he had applied for in the 2 weeks between signing on, he only had 1 day (friday) before signing on. Anyway he applied for 3 jobs on friday and also printed of 2 jobs while waiting in the job centre, he was there early and the first thing she done was shout your late and then told him he hadn't applied for enough jobs, so he explained that he had only had 1 day and he already applied for 3, she was very rude and said I'm only telling you what you have to do.

Anyway she printed him of 1 of the jobs and when he got home he had a look. She had given him a printout of one of the jobcentre employees back to work interview with all their details on and how often she'd been sick over the past few months.

Sorry just had to have a rant about the way job centres treat people.

El_Rey

I'd advise your oh to put in a complaint regarding the attitude of the staff member.

As for being passed a copy of someone's "Back to work" interview, that's a serious issue and I wouldn't be happy if it was a copy of my interview that was passed on to a complete stranger......

sammyjammy

You should definitely make a complaint about your treatment, its people like this that give Jobcentre staff a bad name, you should ensure that you partner makes the complaint himself though and that he makes the facts very clear, there is no point in making it emotional, it will just make it sound like a moan, I think you need to get him to make an appt with the manager to return the information that was incorrectly given to him, its quite wrong that any paperwork belonging to a member of staffs personnel record be even left on a front line facing desk!!

atomicsheep

It seems to be a more common theme with many jobcentres these days.
I am getting an increasing number of claimants on the phone telling me about the poor treatment they receive by the JC. I normally take it with a pinch of salt as the truth can be stretched a bit. But the more I hear it the more I cringe. In the JC dept I work in all calls are recorded and we'd be shot if we did just half the things the front facing staff are doing!
Some of the staff I work with have seen it first hand also. One particular occasion saw a JC staff member tell a customer to <sternly> SIT DOWN AND ILL GET TO YOU WHEN I GET CHANCE.

toadyfrog

I know they must be under a lot of stress, especially right now with more people unemployed, but I think they way your are greeted can help with the way the conversation continues. If you are rude to someone before they have even sat down it puts peoples back up, not everyone wants to be there, they would rather be working.

Unstoppable_2

Complain. When I've been to sign on, I've been treated with nothing but courtesy and an apology for them being behind even though it was bang on time for the appointment.

Only thing I wish they'd do at mine is actually give you some advice other than merely checking forms.

poker_face

toadyfrog wrote: »

My oh went to sign on for the 1st time ever today, was made redundant and his 1 st meeting at the job centre on thurs last week. They gave him the sheet which he had to fill in details of least 6 jobs that he had applied for in the 2 weeks between signing on, he only had 1 day (friday) before signing on. Anyway he applied for 3 jobs on friday and also printed of 2 jobs while waiting in the job centre, he was there early and the first thing she done was shout your late and then told him he hadn't applied for enough jobs, so he explained that he had only had 1 day and he already applied for 3, she was very rude and said I'm only telling you what you have to do.

Anyway she printed him of 1 of the jobs and when he got home he had a look. She had given him a printout of one of the jobcentre employees back to work interview with all their details on and how often she'd been sick over the past few months.

Sorry just had to have a rant about the way job centres treat people.

There are alot of complaints about this sort of thing atm. The trouble is they must have to deal with so many people right now, and they dont get enough time with each individual so they dont get a decent shot at judging weather they are genuinly deserving or in need of help.

msflowerfairy

It doesn't give them an excuse to be downright rude, it is the poor sods that can't find a job that keep the JC staff in a job in the first place.
I have just been made redundant, and am looking for work, but it will be a cold day in Hell before i set foot in the job centre, i would rather work three jobs than claim JSA.

Bismarck

sammyjammy wrote: »

You should definitely make a complaint about your treatment, its people like this that give Jobcentre staff a bad name, you should ensure that you partner makes the complaint himself though and that he makes the facts very clear, there is no point in making it emotional, it will just make it sound like a moan, I think you need to get him to make an appt with the manager to return the information that was incorrectly given to him, its quite wrong that any paperwork belonging to a member of staffs personnel record be even left on a front line facing desk!!

it's a serious breach of confidentiality that could lead to disciplinary action - alarming isn't it.

Wicked_witch

That is awful, especially when he must have felt so stressed already! Make him a cuppa on my behalf (and one for yourself as well!)

KimYeovil

msflowerfairy wrote: »

It doesn't give them an excuse to be downright rude, it is the poor sods that can't find a job that keep the JC staff in a job in the first place.
I have just been made redundant, and am looking for work, but it will be a cold day in Hell before i set foot in the job centre, i would rather work three jobs than claim JSA.

That's why the 'poor' sods receive impatient treatment. Normal people can find three jobs. Why don't they?

atomicsheep wrote:

One particular occasion saw a JC staff member tell a customer to <sternly> SIT DOWN AND ILL GET TO YOU WHEN I GET CHANCE.

And? What's wrong with that? Is the job-seeker going to lose half an hour of valuable job-seeking time? Or is it that they are going to miss Bargain Hunt?