Mistreated at job centre - filing a complaint.

Gordon_Hose

The internet really isn't the place to display personal information and swap life stories tbh.

OP I hope you get the resolution you're looking for.

annie_d

"Precious" fits beautifully.

viktory

wantsajob wrote: »

I would hazard a guess you meant the word precocious. I think you come across as particularly vitriolic.

No, I meant precious. I know the difference between precocious and precious. And I don't care what you think.

donnajunkie

ghost87 wrote: »

Hi

I used to work for the jobcentre and just want to start by saying until you work there you cant understand the amount of abuse you have to put up with everyday for a rubbish wage, before working there i signed on and was treated awfully by a rude stuck up woman, when i started i swore id never treat anyone as she treated me and i never did, i am in no way excusing the way this woman treated you because it was out of order and you are within your right to refuse to sign with her, just let a member of staff know when you next go in.
When i signed customers I sometimes signed up to 64 people a day! without exaggeration, the pressure that is put on you is unreal, and you are watched all the time, you have 5 mins to ensure that the appropriate steps are been taken to look for work, conduct a jobsearch if necessary and ensure the customer is keeping in accordance with their jobseekers agreement, if they are not then yes it should go to a decision maker, if you cant keep to a contract that you have signed you shouldnt receive your benefit, its as simple as that.
I actually do sympathise with the genuine customers and i quite easily could seperate the genuine from the ones who were perfectly happy to stay on benefits as without they would have to pay for rent etc.
I dont think your dad should have made the complaint on your behalf, whether or not he snatched the phone off you or not, in my opinion if your old enough to claim jsa you are old enough to sort problems like that out yourself.
I dont think jobcentre staff can win either way tbh, on 1 hand people moan constantly about people living off their tax's etc yet when someones benefit is stopped it is seen as disguisting?
I once witnessed my colleague being physically attacked because he dared to ask a customer what websites he had visited to look for work, 2 security guards had their noses broken, everyday you are screamed at because the customer is running late and the person due to sign them has dared to take their lunch break, its not surprising you loose your customer service skills slightly.
Anyway back to OP if you would like to make a complaint next time you are signing ask a member of staff for the Jobcentre managers name and write to them at the address of the jobcentre.:)

i am surprised you think working on signing all day has big pressure. my impression is that it would simply be boring doing it all day. you are being watched? anytime i sign on there isnt some boss standing there watching and listening to what the worker is doing. sometimes when i sign its a case of signing my name, them giving the ub40 back and saying goodbye. i wish it was like that everytime because they arent really able to offer help and i hate the gestapo interrogation. i feel like a criminal even though i havent done anything wrong. i know i'm being silly but i do feel pressure and stress very easily.
how long do you think it will take for me to hear from them about the attempt to get me sanctioned by the person who signed me last? just incase you didnt read the post were i mentioned it. they tried to get me sanctioned because i didnt apply for a job that i cant get to for the 7am start time. i posted the letter back with my explaination on saturday afternoon.
if someone refers a claimant for a sanction when they obviously shouldnt do they get any comeback for wasting a decision makers time and causing ufair grief to a claimant. basically being incompetent.

red_devil

where is the sympathy? i feel sorry for people who have been thrown on the scrapheap through no fault of their own and then they have probably younger people telling them they will lose their money if they dont comply. Talk about kick a dog when they are down?

Its bullying and nothing else?
Even a prisoner gets looked after.

spandangled

If you can stick up to Loopy Girl, you can stick up to the job centre and your Dad, if it helps, imagine them as Loopy Girl.

Someone in this thread mentioned you were based in Glasgow, if that is correct, I undertook an Arts Internship there several years ago which pretty much got me my job in the arts now. I did an internship at The Arches, which began life as a theatre company (based in Argyle Street, under central station), if you contact them, they may still offer the internship, or if the position isn't yet available as they run for a minimum of three months, they may have theatre options available; they used to (and may still do, it's been a few years since I was there) run a theatre festival in April, which is obviously a busy time for them and they may be looking for additional staff to help. Even if they have nothing, check with them about people they could recommend trying with.

One thing I would say about the arts, any kind of arts, is that volunteering is quite crucial and there is a lot of opportunities for it. We have a creative apprentice (again this is another avenue you could explore, they last for six months and are paid positions, usually much higher than JSA) who is learning skills as they do the job across a broad spectrum and it really does give you a good grounding. This person had been volunteering for several years and it really stood them in good stead. I do believe in it, and if you can do some volunteering, not only does it help your CV and your ability to practically apply yourself to a job, it helps your confidence.

valos_mummy

I can only emphasise on what others have said which is keep filling out that book! Everyone's experience is different, I was only on the dole for month (got let go from a temp contract, and very luckily got asked back a month later for a different role which turned permanent) - I always made sure I was on time, dressed smartly with as much book filled out as I could. The lady who saw me was friendly enough, but you could tell she'd rather be somewhere else. In and out in 5 minutes; apart from the wait.

On the other hand, my mother has had to sign on after being let go from her part time job. I say "let go", she was told to "bloody go home" by her boss - her own cousin! - after asking about her holidays (and asking for the minimum wage when she realised he'd been underpaying her earlier in the year, which he did but wasn't pleased about). There's more he did but it'd take too long to explain.

She's been to the CAB and we're sorting it out but in the meantime she's at the job centre (different city to mine), and the woman she saw has been a complete cow. On her first visit they pushed her into courses and applying for full time jobs she's not a hells chance of getting with crap hours. Now my mom is a 55 year old widow who's worked since leaving school at 15 and wants about 25 - 30 hours a week but she was told to suck it up basically. She's applied for a job with the hours she wants in a local care home, so fingers crossed she won't be on the dole for long, but I'm surprised how tough they are with her when they weren't with me.

November5th

I am a forty year old well trained professional and I still got misled by the JC into this apply for anything, everything, anywhere mentality.
It wasted months, it was incredibly demoralising and depressing, when I should have been applying only for roles suited to my skills. Why shouldn't I get the job I want and have worked hard to be good at?
There is still around five jobs a week to apply for that are suitable so I just really have no idea what they thought they were doing.
They still have on my jobseekers agreement a job I could do that I casually mentioned the last time I was unemployed, seven years ago, in an industry that hardly exists anymore!
After I had walked the streets with a pathetic fake CV trying to get bar and waitressing work, and fully understanding why those employers don't want someone who is overqualified and looking for fill in work, I put my foot down and now will not countenance applying for their rubbish.
The last job they gave me was doing PR work for a five star hotel! I wouldn't have a clue!
Stick to your guns and value the skills you have, whatever stage in life you are at. If you are young and starting out, you are the ones who should have a lot of the work I was being made to apply for, why should I steal your opportunity, even if these places would take me on? It stinks.

donnajunkie

November5th wrote: »

I am a forty year old well trained professional and I still got misled by the JC into this apply for anything, everything, anywhere mentality.
It wasted months, it was incredibly demoralising and depressing, when I should have been applying only for roles suited to my skills. Why shouldn't I get the job I want and have worked hard to be good at?
There is still around five jobs a week to apply for that are suitable so I just really have no idea what they thought they were doing.
They still have on my jobseekers agreement a job I could do that I casually mentioned the last time I was unemployed, seven years ago, in an industry that hardly exists anymore!
After I had walked the streets with a pathetic fake CV trying to get bar and waitressing work, and fully understanding why those employers don't want someone who is overqualified and looking for fill in work, I put my foot down and now will not countenance applying for their rubbish.
The last job they gave me was doing PR work for a five star hotel! I wouldn't have a clue!
Stick to your guns and value the skills you have, whatever stage in life you are at. If you are young and starting out, you are the ones who should have a lot of the work I was being made to apply for, why should I steal your opportunity, even if these places would take me on? It stinks.

the problem is if you only apply for what is suitable and refuse to apply for unsuitable jobs they could try and sanction you. the best thing to do is apply for everything they refer you for but only make an effort to get the jobs you want. even make a poor cv specifically for the jobs that arent suitable.

November5th

donnajunkie wrote: »

the problem is if you only apply for what is suitable and refuse to apply for unsuitable jobs they could try and sanction you. the best thing to do is apply for everything they refer you for but only make an effort to get the jobs you want. even make a poor cv specifically for the jobs that arent suitable.

I wonder how common this is? It is certainly wasting an employers time, why would anyone advertise with the job centre when you are going to get an avalanche of responses from people who are not qualified nor interested? In my field two or three applications a week is entirely appropriate to what is on offer. The JC should be satisfied with that.
My JC is now overwhelmed with well qualified people and they just do not know how to handle them, yet they squeeze them all into a system that seems to be about people who have no intention to work. What an assumption to make! Recruiters I have seen (I am always willing to be referred to recruiters by the JC) are also universally appalled about the way the JC sets out it's approach to job seeking, and have agreed with the detrimental effect it has on job seekers. I recently watched a practicing optician in his forties treated like a child and asked if he had gone to spec savers. It was an embarrassment for all involved.
Sending an inappropriate CV to an employer is a damaging exercise, it makes you look a fool. Say the right job then comes up at that same employer? You are stuffed, frankly, straight in the bin as you are obviously not a serious contender.
My point is that the JC have actively damaged my job seeking, the more time I am dealing with their system, their 'jobs' the less time I have to seek work. This assumption by them that anyone without a job is skiving is ridiculous and harmful.
At my own JC it has now got to the point where I think they will have to hold their hands up to the current reality and start letting people collect their insurance and let them get on with it. How many can say they haven't had an experience with the JC that has left them depressed and hardly able to pick up the phone for a week? Goes back to the OP, who is clearly strong, well spoken and resourceful, that any employee of the JC thinks that they can act like that is outrageous.

So no, I will not be applying for the jobs they print out for me! I suggest that others are also very cautious about being dragged down and humiliated by employees of the state.