'Not following Job Centre Directiions'

ceridwen

Further thoughts on this - if you are told to attend anything similar in future - then take a deep breath before walking in and think "Right - Chav Manners it is for the next however-many-hours. Chances are people won't be politely minding their manners/thinking fair share of airspace time for all - so I'll just have to do a day of When in Rome act like the Romans and interrupt/spout nonsense/talk over/spout more nonsense - but I've been seen to Play the Part and I'll put my normal manners back on again with my coat as I walk out the door."

In other words "Act a part - make like a chameleon".

Print_Screen

Be thankful, you have learned an important lesson here.
"The Job Centre is not there to help people get jobs."
They are just there to process you through the system and give you more hoops to jump through than a hula hooping dog at crufts.

Their jobs advertised on their notice board are either non-existent, unsuitable or so out of date they are recruiting for engineers to fix the millennium bug.

I could be even more cynical and say they are there to deny you benefits but I won't.
I myself was nearly sanctioned for following the advice of an advisor; luckily I double checked with another advisor and was told what I actually had to do so don't trust the 1st answer given to a question.

Appeal this ridiculous decision. I wonder if they sanctioned the other bloke for being disruptive or everyone else for not speaking enough as he was hogging the conversation.

mumibear

From the experiences of my son - to cut a very long story short - if they print a job advert off for you please apply for it - or they will stop your jsa - it does not matter what the job is that they give you - apply :eek: or else..........

shikoku

I attended one of these sessions; I genuinely had a couple of questions to ask, so did one or two of the others, the remainder sat there in deathly silence throughout.

At the end the two ladies running it commented upon how nice it was to actually be asked some questions because apparently this hardly ever happens, mostly no one speaks at all.

No mention was made of any penalty for this, just of sanctions for not turning up.

Having had more experience of dealing with the JCP since then I had pretty much concluded that the attitude of the silent majority was in fact the best way to handle this type of thing and had planned to do likewise next time.

Based on this thread I will now ask one token question although I will undoubtedly already know the answer to it.

This business of treating intelligent adults like naughty five year olds simply cannot continue, how on earth did it get this way?

shikoku

mumibear wrote: »

From the experiences of my son - to cut a very long story short - if they print a job advert off for you please apply for it - or they will stop your jsa - it does not matter what the job is that they give you - apply :eek: or else..........

I have just applied for a very high flying vacancy requiring an 'Accountancy Graduate'

I am not a graduate and I have no experience or qualifications whatsoever in the field of accountancy.

This little number was posted out to me by my 'advisor' and so I have applied for it.

Do you think I'll get it?

rhcp

Some people have self confidence issues and find it difficult talking in groups. I hate it when they start these things by going around the group so everyone can 'introduce' themselves. Why do you want people to introduce themselves who you have no interest in and probably will never meet again! I think it would be illegal to discriminate against people like this. You could say that you have a quiet personality or are shy!!

Horace

Definitely appeal against the decision.

Jobcentres don't know how to deal with educated professional people - they certainly didnt know what to do with me when I was signing on but eventually I set up my own business with their help and signed off in 2009.

Do what you can to get another job..apply for everything and anything.

I am not sure where you are in the country but perhaps you should consider registering with a Birmingham-based firm called Grad Central? This is a specialist graduate recruitment company that is continually expanding their network of businesses and graduates, assessing the recruitment needs of companies in the West Midlands and looking that the skills that graduates can offer to address these needs. Their webpage is https://www.grad-central.co.uk

You can use Grad-Central to find permanent or temporary work.

How spooky that I came onto this thread and remembered that I had been given a copy of their brochure at a business event I attended today.

Don't ever be ashamed of being made redundant, it happens to us all, I know it is hard but try and detach yourself mentally from the grind of the jobcentre..there are days when you end up feeling like a sausage in a sausage factory but you can overcome this by doing more for yourself.

Good luck with your search, it is tough out there but there are jobs around.

dugdale_2

I'd just like to add that being asked to do something "under direction" by a JCP staff member would involve the staff member having to print out a piece of paper from the computer system (LMS) asking you to do X by Y and also include a reason why you're being asked to complete the task.
e.g. to enable me to apply for vacancies in the banking sector I will visit Next Steps to create a CV by 1st February 2011. This would be recorded under directions under LMS. If you failed to complete the action you might be sanctioned for failing to carry out a task "under direction", this doesn't appear to be the case in your situation.

Today I had to send 4 of my customers up to DMA (decision making and appeals) for failing to attend back to work sessions, not something that I enjoy doing however they had each signed to receive their appointment letter and had all forgotten about the appointment.

Ladywriter1968

apbmdd wrote: »

I attended a 'back to work' session at the job centre last Monday as I have been claiming JSA for a few weeks now. The session consisted of me and 4 other job seekers. Without wanting to big myself up, I'm a well-educated, post grad level professional and was made redundant last year. I am extremely embarrassed at my situation and also find it hard to talk to strangers about it. I sat in this session, listened to the provider (who'd English wasn't up to much - she was a scouser!) tell us about how we should be searching for jobs, how to use the internet, how to create and email address and what we should/shouldn't do to avoid our benefits being stopped. I sat quietly (I didn't want to speak but I couldn't really get a word in) as another job seeker - laid off for a factory and well known to the job centre staff hogged the conversation.

I got a letter today saying my benefit was being stopped for 1 week as (I eventually found out) I failed to participate in the session! This wasn't pointed out to me in the list of things reeled off that you had to do to stop benefit being forfeited!

It's a joke! I want to appeal against but just wondered if anyone has any advice? I have never been given ANYTHING that states you have to speak at these things. I wasn't asked anything nor did I refuse to do anything!

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Ali

I think its disgusting, you went didn't you, I had to attend one of those things before when I was claiming, what a bunch of !!!! it was. A group of us were forced to listen to this lady go on all about her life for 3hrs, I asked her a simple question of "how did you get this job" cause maybe I could do what "she was doing" Instead of a direct answer the explanation lasted for over 30mins, she was filling in time of course cause she had to keep us there. By the time she got to the end, she never really gave a straight answer anyway. She said it all started when I lived abroad and I had no where to live and no money and then I came to UK. All I wanted from her was, well I got this job by applying to the job centre on this or that site.

She then said she had an agency as well, So she gave me this card afte the 3hrs of boredom, same as you, showing us like children how to apply for jobs on the internet. When I got home I got up this job near my area via her agency and applied. I heard nothing and then emailed her and said this, she said it was not her agency, I said, but it is, the website is from the card you gave me, what do you mean by this, do you not know then your own agency and work that is being offered. When I tried to speak to her about this job from her "so called agency" she did not have a clue and think she was embarrassed and never replied back to my emails after that. Of course I never heard from the job cause it probably didnt exist anyway.

They said if I didn't attend my money would be stopped at that time. We had to sit there and write down what jobs we wanted, I had a past vision of when I was at school as a kid doing this. Then she sat there got out her laptop and showed us on to search the internet. I thought, OMG. Everyone just looked at each other. Plus they are supposed to refund fairs for people as well, so I asked for my refund, she had to scramble down her purse for it and then even had the cheek to ask the rest of the unemployed people in the room if they had any change for my pair.

Ladywriter1968

voynich wrote: »

I think when you first sign on they are supposed to go through a list of what is expected of you and give you a printed copy. It should be on that list if they expect you to fully participate. Complain and appeal you have nothing to loose.

Its all a big rip off anyway, they are not really interested in getting people into work, just trying to deny people money or make people feel so devastated by the whole process that they will accept any part time low paid work going just to escape from the whole process.

Look up on the internet the rules regarding JSA sanctions.

I agree with you totally on your opinion here.