help being made to feel like scum because of claiming job seekers allowance

LISSILEIGH

hi all,

firstly i hope you dont take this the wrong way? i am greatful for all that i have.

i have worked since the age of 13 (i know i couldnt pay tax then but i did start at 16). I took voluntary redudancy from work, as i was heavily pregnant. after having my first child i looked for work and found out that i could claim job seekers allowance.

i did this for afew weeks and stoppped claiming as i was getting grilled everytime i went in and noticed others (who i know have never worked) being given their money without any hassle. i stopped claiming as i felt it was very degrading and i felt they were treating me like scum.

I did manage to get myself an evening job when my 1st child was 5 months old.

Since that time i have had 2 other children and have worked on and off (part time) over the last 7 years, working jobs that fit around my family. in that time i have never claimed any benefits. and have manage to live off my husbands salary.

(this has involved him working away from home and long hours. I have never been able to justify working full time as childcare is too exspensive.

as my children are now getting older (my youngest has just turned 3) i decided to change my career. I got myself a job in sept and worked full time earning just £35 a week (after paying out childcare costs), i am also paying my way through college as i feel this is important to give my children a better future. I lost this job unfortunatley this month.

since then i have been looking for jobs and have attended interveiws, without luck, due to me not being qulified at the right level!! :mad: I luck for a job every day, and have even sent many letter out with no luck, even offering free work just to get me through my course (as i need to be in a placement in order to complete the course).

I have been workin voluntary since sept, and have been offered another day voluntary after i lost my job. i snapped this up as i really enjoy what i am doing.

Anyway i am still interested in finding employment, but for my qualification it needs to be a job relevant to my qualification. some suggested that i claimed job seekers allowance whilst i was looking. so i called them the other day to arrange an appointment. they have since however been calling me (twice today) and other days this week asking me to change my appointment to saturday. i told them that i couldnt beacuase i am going on a course that i have paid for that is relevant to the work i want to do. when i told them this the woman on the phone became really funny with me.

ANy way what i wanted some adivce about was; i know feel unsure on wether to claim this money as i dont want to feel as degraded as they made me feel before. i know some of you are probably thinking im am fortunate in the first place if i can be able to live without the money, but over the last 7 years we have struggled and compensated our time etc as a family in order for us to survive. im also concerned that ill be forced into a job that doesnt fit around my children leaving me earning money to pay for childcare alone.

i am hopful to get a job offer from the place i do voluntary work for when i have completed my course, so should i not bother and just wait til ive finished my course???

DaisyFlower

You may not qualify for JSA if your partner works. To claim contributions based you have to have two years NI contributions which you dont appear to have. Income based JSA is based on household income, so usually not able to be claimed if a partner works.

I am not sure also if you can claim JSA whilst volunteering as you have to agree to be available to work all week.

Strider590

I doubt they've changed much, but it's a necessary evil unfortunately. My experience wasn't pleasant but I managed to rise above it.

The concern I have now was after hearing the way a friend of a colleague was treated recently in the Stourbridge jobcentre, he was apparently pushed around and physically manhandled by the security staff just seconds after walking through the door!!
I might be of a small build, but because of my training, if that happened to me they'd end up calling an ambulance for the jumped up security guy (who all look like they live on the streets) and a police escort for me.

We have rights to our allowance/benifits, but unlike the scum out there we have to jump through hoops for it.

LISSILEIGH

We have rights to our allowance/benifits, but unlike the scum out there we have to jump through hoops for it.[/quote]

thats another thing, the government always goes on about marriage and hardworking people but wot do you get???

Im married, me and my husband brought our own house when i was 18, we have 3 children we work hard (i know im doing voluntary but im looking after my children). i want to retrain and get back into work, with the help from my parents and husband im funding my way through college becuase im not intitled to anything, i just feel like i need a break and a chance, i want to work, and infact the job i want to do is teaching so if i get my qualifications ill be doing my part for society.

if i wasnt married, had 3 kids and lived on my own in a counci place id get it all paid for!!!!

i have no issues with genuine people on benefits or people who live in council houses, as i came from a single parent background, but my mom worked damn hard to buy her own house and always work

Amber07

You haven't mentioned tax credits - do you get them??

They can contribute towards childcare costs.

LISSILEIGH

i get them yes, but 500 a year for three children you only get help with childcare when your working full time i think? and thats only £1000 a years i think

i was paying over £620 a month for childcare until i lost my job

onlyforboards_2

Strider590 wrote: »

We have rights to our allowance/benifits, but unlike the scum out there we have to jump through hoops for it.

It is this attitude that causes all the trouble in the first place for people who are genuinely out of work.

Bamber19

Strider590 wrote: »

We have rights to our allowance/benifits

Provided you're actively seeking employment and capable of proving it (to the very low extent of the DWP taking your word for it if you fill in a diary)

onlyforboards wrote: »

It is this attitude that causes all the trouble in the first place for people who are genuinely out of work.

Exactly, having worked in this environment, in my experience the people who felt it was degrading to fill out a diary or answer questions about their jobsearch were the people who themseleves look upon other people who are signing on as scum and worthless, these are the people that would come in with a bad attitude and put barriers up straight away.


The whole process is incredibly straight forward if people stick to their jobseekers agreement and realise that any questions they are being asked are simply because the advisor has to ensure they are keeping to their agreement and actively seeking employment and not because anyone thinks they are scum or a liar. The starting point is that the advisor doesn't know whether you have looked for work in the past two weeks or not so they need to find out.

Strider590

onlyforboards wrote: »

It is this attitude that causes all the trouble in the first place for people who are genuinely out of work.

Right... I don't see what your saying?

I worked from the time I left school at 16. Why?
Because I chose do this rather than starting a 10 child family and living off the state OR faking disability OR a combination of both.

While im on the subject: the faking disability thing really annoys me too btw, possibly more than any other benifits scam. I have a friend way up near manchester somewhere who was injured in Afganistan, he then contracted MRSA in a British hospital and is physically unable to work in most job roles because of it. He can't get any help whatsoever on the disability side and has gone through phases of living in total poverty, not even eating a meal for a whole week in some cases, he recently had his JSA cut because of an "admin mistake" at the local Jobcentre and the response was "not our problem".
One hell of a way to treat someone who fought for this country in a war which wrongly or rightly (this is not the place to discuss) we got ourselves into.

Anyhoo, back to the OP i think.

starsinmycrown

Yeah i know, i know somebody who lives near me, who digs the garden each day, and loads stuff into a skip. then- a neighbour told me she was on disability! :eek: whether this is true or not, it does make you wonder...

The way people are treated who fought for their country is appalling. you hear so many stories about brave people ending up down and out whilst those who contribute nothing, are living in clover. its all wrong. you should at least be guaranteed a home if you fight for your country.

sammyjammy

Blimey there are some really angry people out there aren't there!

Perhaps you ought to worry about what you are doing and where your life is going instead of what everyone else is doing, you think that people shouldn't get what they need but you should?

If you think you have to jump through hoops in this country try claiming benefits in the USA that'll really make you mad.