Unemployed & No longer Entitled to anything.

geordie_joe

rao wrote: »

You mentioned they don't hire/fire people and you're right, never said they did and if it seemed that way I appreciate you clearing that up. It would be more useful to say how what I and the original poster have been told is flawed. As it could help I and many others with a similar misunderstanding. And no I am not being sarcastic. And I am sorry if I've somehow offended you.

Your post did make it sound like the job centre handed out jobs. Phrases like "Accepting 'What is on the table'" Make it sound like you walk in and they offer you a job. Obviously we all know this is not true.

The real situation is, for the first 6 months they allow you to only look for work that you are qualified to do, and for a wage comparable to what you were getting before.

So if you were previously a bricklayer, earning £20 per hour, you only need to look for, and apply for bricklaying work, or work that pays around £20 per hour.

But after 6 months they expect you to look for, and apply for any work you could do. Even is it is washing dishes for the minimum wage.

wishface

Amber_Sunshine wrote: »

I agree with most of what Wish says, except the bit I've highlighted. If the lad's old enough to be a father, he should go out and support his child. Of course, that's in the ideal world, where you can earn enough to live on, but he should at least try.

Why should he work? For what reason? To ease the upset in the minds of middle england?

wishface

which is a ridiculous position to put people in. Such work is unsustainable, poorly paid and

geordie_joe wrote: »

Your post did make it sound like the job centre handed out jobs. Phrases like "Accepting 'What is on the table'" Make it sound like you walk in and they offer you a job. Obviously we all know this is not true.

The real situation is, for the first 6 months they allow you to only look for work that you are qualified to do, and for a wage comparable to what you were getting before.

So if you were previously a bricklayer, earning £20 per hour, you only need to look for, and apply for bricklaying work, or work that pays around £20 per hour.

But after 6 months they expect you to look for, and apply for any work you could do. Even is it is washing dishes for the minimum wage.

entirely transient, and, through the mechanisms of the JC, over subscribed. It's no good JC staff just saying 'you have to accept what's on the table' when they themselves make no effort to help the candidate find a proper job - and by proper job i mean a decent waged career. Not some casual student work.

Amber_Sunshine

wishface wrote: »

Why should he work? For what reason? To ease the upset in the minds of middle england?

Why shouldn't he work? Why should other people work to keep him and his child?

wishface

That isn't what is happening; people are working for themselves. They just happen to be taxed in the process because that is what society has decided will be the way it works. No one is actually working and handing the profit thereof to this or any other young family.

If work means separation from the child that now exists (can't unmake the child) and less financial security provision then surely he's making the right decision for that child. Is that not the priority here? If that upsets sensibilities then perhaps people should work and move toward a better society rather than complaiaing about what should happen or shouldn't happen.

rao_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

Your post did make it sound like the job centre handed out jobs. Phrases like "Accepting 'What is on the table'" Make it sound like you walk in and they offer you a job. Obviously we all know this is not true.

I agree, we all know its not true... thats why I thought it'd be obvious, sorry. As you say, I meant you look at whats on the table yourself. In their database and outside of it. Though if you only rely on the JC it would be only in their database which seems limited.

But after 6 months they expect you to look for, and apply for any work you could do. Even is it is washing dishes for the minimum wage.

Yeah that sums up what I said. After 6 month cutoff they seem to expect you to 'settle' for a less specifiec field e.g. shop work or the like if there isn't anything out there in your chosen field. Or retrain to do a different field with more local offerings. We're all pretty much agreeing with each other but nitpicking on the semantics. :rotfl:

There's a reason I said self-employment is more attractive than the New Deal route if there's no businesses prepared to take you on locally after 6 months of looking. So in effect we all actually agree that it isn't ideal for those who want to *stay* in their current field and under no circumstance change fields. That to me says they have a determination in them that could spark into a self-made business hopefully. But as I said it isn't for everyone. Being self-motivated to be your own boss means you can't rely on something to find work for you, unless you get an agent. And also less reliable income with less benefits. Its not everyones cup of tea....

What we seem to be discussing here though isn't the JC or the New Deal. But what we think of it. And in that case aren't we all preaching to the choir here? For me what the Deal offers isn't my idea of a good option... I'd opt for self-employent like above poster but thats me. I linked to it because for those who absolutely can't find work in their field or do not want to become self-employed, it might be of use as a last resort to know about it and the other options outside of 'job settling' such as voluntary work or training for 12 months. But whether they take up on it depends on them.

As to the site I mentioned... its really not that important to take up a thread with. All I'll say is that I can see 60 or more ideas that a plumber/chef/childcarer/etc. could use to market themselves in this article. Not all 101 but still pretty useful right? Plus you can always hire someone within your budget to do some of the others after you've been in business awhile such as making a poster/flyer. The main message is 'figure out your target market and figure out where those people look'. So for each point just imagine people in need of plumbing instead of people in need of a poster design
http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/101-ideas-to-get-more-freelance-work-and-generate-new-client-leads/

If someone is really interested in self-employment I wouldn't rely too much more on the JC other than advice on how to get started perhaps. Self-employment to me is almost like taking it upon yourself to do your own thing. JC I find is more focused on finding employers whereas self-employment is about finding clients because you are your own employer already. Though they seem to have a page about it they mainly tell you to look elsewhere:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/Self_Employment/index.html

And the CAB:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_money/employment/self-employment_checklist.htm

Once I went to a general business exhibition/expo in the hope of finding work and was given a business card by a company that helps people wishing to become their own boss and start their own business. So that could be one way of finding out local agencies that help with such things. Or doing some local directory searches for such agencies.

Here are a few more dedicated agencies or expos out there though that could be helpful.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/
http://www.shell-livewire.org/
http://www.businesslaunchpad.org/
http://www.bstartup.com/
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/
http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/
http://www.connexions-direct.com/index.cfm?pid=68
http://www.entrepreneur.com/toolkit

With the last link DFWJane may find this helpful hopefully:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/startupkits/article41422.html

However if we're talking about relevancy to the OP then the OP should be the one asking the questions about what they'd like to know... I think originally the thread was more about just a concise breakdown of the income supplements scattered around this forum section e.g. more cashback sites, more survey sites, more review sites, more paid-to(click/read/post/whatever) and other work at home opportunities. But it took us halfway down page 1 to figure that out and page 2 went off the rails. But I do still think its all helpeful info in its own way, I'm sure many will find all this banter useful.

geordie_joe

rao wrote: »

As you say, I meant you look at whats on the table yourself.

That's the phrase that is causing the confusion, most people think offers are put on the table. Therefore think you are referring to job offers when you refer to "what's on the table"

A better phrase would be "You look at the available vacancies"

rao_2

Fair enough, I appreciate you making it clearer and apologise for the confusion. I guess I was thinking of how employers put the offers down (however limited), but with the JC-focused discussion I can see now how some might think I mean JC do the putting down. I'm down with that.

*deep breath*

You look at the available vacancies on the table. Just kidding with that last bit! :rotfl:

Amber_Sunshine

Let's move away from an Utopian ideal and be realistic. ONE parent in any couple should be working to support or help support their family. They want kids, they pay for them. Are you seriously suggesting that no parent should work? How could this possibly be funded - isn't the country in enough of a hole as it is? If people aren't taxed then there would be no benefits. It wouldn't be teaching much of a work ethic to children either. Now if this comes across as Disgusted of Daily Mail, so be it. I won't comment further as this thread is moving away from OP's original topic.

wishface wrote: »

That isn't what is happening; people are working for themselves. They just happen to be taxed in the process because that is what society has decided will be the way it works. No one is actually working and handing the profit thereof to this or any other young family.

If work means separation from the child that now exists (can't unmake the child) and less financial security provision then surely he's making the right decision for that child. Is that not the priority here? If that upsets sensibilities then perhaps people should work and move toward a better society rather than complaiaing about what should happen or shouldn't happen.

f1re_cr4cker

hi do you drive?? A mate of mine has just got a job as a pizza delivery guy working 5-12pm. All he did was go around the local takeaways and ask!