Can you refuse job applications that the jobseekers set you up for?

zebramolli

I don't know the exact circumstances my father has with the Job Centre but he has very specialist skills having working in the water industry for nearly 30 years and was then forced to take redundancy as the contract he was on closed down. He had to sign on in order to use the redundancy protection on his mortgage.

He doesn't receive the JSA benefit probably due to savings but he still signs on the same as everyone else, he was allowed 13 weeks to find something in his field and the advisor did not push him to find anything else. Soon he will be reviewed and then be put on the same job seeking expectations as everyone else.

You should check if your protection has a clause that means you must be registered as signing on, if not I wouldn't bother if you want a particular type of work. As least you are trying to better yourself with new qualifications.

I think at the moment staff at the job centre are being pushed very hard to get people back into work and off benefits, makes the figures look better. Hope you find something soon

shikoku

A lot of staff at the job centres are also about to lose their jobs.

skut

Ask for a Better Off Calculation (BOC), The JC cannot force you to apply for jobs that will make you financially worse off. Also, ask them to check on a public transport website for the Bus/Train time tables, to see if the vacancy falls under your 60/90 minute commutable time.
As Sambucus Nigra said, "just play the Game."

Indie_Kid

J-Pop wrote: »

I have been unemployed now for 3 months and the jobseeker people are expecting me to apply for any old job that is available, i want to work but there is nothing there.....i am getting asked if i have transport (which i don't....then they print out a job application for me which is about 15-20 miles away!)

Does it say on your JSA agreement that you don't have personal transport? I know on mine it says that I don't have a driving licence.

mountainofdebt

This has got to be a wind-up ......please tell me its a wind-up.

If the OP has time to do voluntary work (however well intentioned that is) then they have time to apply for work......after all the OP gets JOBSEEKERS allowance because they are supposed to be JOBSEEKING.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, yes I do know its a harsh world out there - but all the job centre is asking the OP to do is to APPLY for work, not cut off their right arm.

If the fact that the rules of the game are that you attend every week, then you attend every week. If you don't like the rules of the game, don't play the game.

MrChandlerBing

RacyRed wrote: »

Sorry to go a little off topic, but be very careful with the training.

When I was on JSA I was honest about having to do some studying each week as required by the professional body I'm a qualified member of. JC+ didn't like it and constantly queried it, even though I explained that I had to do this if I was working or not or I risked losing my qualifications and my prospects of being employed again were massively reduced without them.

A friend was constantly being asked by JC+ to apply for jobs which were related to, but not the same as, the work she was experienced in. Different training and skills were required. She bit the bullet and used some savings to pay for a week long course which gave her a basic qualification in the skills that there were some vacancies for.

Her JSA was stopped for that week because it wasn't a course organised by JC+.

Yes I know that for that one week she wasn't fully available to seek work, but..... :mad:

Being self motivated and trying hard to make yourself as employable as possible CAN work against you.

I'll never understand why people think they are entitled to job seekers allowance when they aren't seeking work. They aren't paying you to make you a better prospect, if they were I would leave my job and get them to pay for courses to make me earn more money. The burden of that is on you.

November5th

I really think the JC need to sort out this apply for anything system. I got a print out for doing PR for a five star hotel. I wouldn't have a clue!
It is surreal. There are enough jobs for me to work hard at applying for without that. I think there will be so many people and so few jobs they will find it difficult to keep it up. If I was a employer I would not advertise with the JC because of this policy.

November5th

mountainofdebt wrote: »

This has got to be a wind-up ......please tell me its a wind-up.

If the OP has time to do voluntary work (however well intentioned that is) then they have time to apply for work......after all the OP gets JOBSEEKERS allowance because they are supposed to be JOBSEEKING.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, yes I do know its a harsh world out there - but all the job centre is asking the OP to do is to APPLY for work, not cut off their right arm.

If the fact that the rules of the game are that you attend every week, then you attend every week. If you don't like the rules of the game, don't play the game.

Doing voluntary work and keeping your skills up to date is absolutely key to you employability. It is as much a part of job seeking as making applications.

CCFC_80

dugdale wrote: »

For JSA customers at stage 1 of their claim (first 13 weeks) the expectation used in the Jobcentre in which I work is that a jobseeker must be prepared to travel up to one hour from home to work by public transport. The imaginary clock starts ticking the moment the jobseekers leaves their home and would include waiting for a bus etc.
After 13 weeks the expectation is that the customer would extend their geographical job search area to 90 minutes travel time by public transport. This travel to work area is recorded on the Jobseekers agreement and could be used by a decision maker if a suspicion of not "actively seeking" arose.

An absolutely stupid rule and just shows how clueless these people are who make up these rules. It would favour and give preference to all those people who didn't have their own transport and they would be less lenient with them. Meanwhile those people who have their own transport would be expected to travel in their own vehicle upto 80 miles roundtrip for a minimum wage job.

When I last claimed JSA I never stated to having my own transport which was never included in the main part of the claim form only as part of the Jobseeker agreement.(I don't know if this has now changed) but I had no intention of travelling upto 80 miles a day for a minimum wage job and wanted to keep my job search local.

mountainofdebt

November5th wrote: »

Doing voluntary work and keeping your skills up to date is absolutely key to you employability. It is as much a part of job seeking as making applications.

No its not.

As far as I am concerned, doing voluntary work when you're unemployed is showing potential employers that you're willingto get off your bum and use the time available to you productively whilst applying for work.

For example, if Junior gets into the Armed Forces it looks like there will be a period of time between him finishing school and actually going away. He's already been told that he will be using this time productively and if he can't get a job then he will be doing voluntary work....if he thinks he's sitting around the house all day he's got another think coming.

The OP has already stated that he see the 'demands' of the JC as getting in the way of what he wants to do - well tough. As has been previously stated he only has to apply for the job and if the OP can't spend the minimum amount of time actually applying for jobs (if only to keep the JC happy) then the OP shouldn't, imo, be claiminig Jobseeker's Allowance.