Constructive Advice Regarding Benefits Required Please

HappyMJ

mixtrixx wrote: »

Thanks for the response.

No, again I am not like this when applying for Jobs. I am purely being like this because I knew full well that I would be met with sarcasm and negativity on the issue.

I am just merely stating that I am not brain dead and have done more research then I let on, on this subject.

The reason I disallow myself to be run down by the system, is because I was unfairly dismissed on Key Performance Indicators which could not be met due to my previous employer failing to provide the adequate working clothes of quality which prevented me from withstanding such extreme cold temperatures for longer then what I could do previously before the pains became worse in my fingertips.

So when it comes to K.P.I's I know how Job Centers Work, same as Back to Work training providers, who are all rewarded at the end of the month according to how many people they helped back into work, regardless of methods used.

Methods such as wrongly informing a client that they had 2 sanctions made against them for not being able to find more then 3 jobs in 1 week to apply for as it was not deemed good enough, as you signed to say that you would apply for a target of 6.

Target being the keyword.

This is why I appear so stubborn, as I was unfairly dismissed due to K.P.1's being doctored to make it appear that I was unable to do my job. hence I would not be intimidated by anyone regardless of whether it be an employer, or job center plus staff, and if it means speaking up with the risk of losing benefit money for a week or 2 then I will do it.
The only reason most Jobseekers never speak up about issues, is almost certainly in fear of having their benefits stopped, which means this sort of thing is left to go on and on.

So why didn't you go to the shop yourself and buy thermal underwear, socks, mittens and a beanie? Maybe a double lined jacket, thick jeans...the list goes on.

I must congratulate you on your electric bill though £67 per month fully electric is very good. Many of my friends in all electric houses are putting about £40 to £50 on the meter every week just to keep warm.

chocdonuty

Why are you relying on the job centre to get you a job? Get out there and look everywhere for a job yourself!
The jobcentre only have a small minority of the vacancies available, the rest are advertised elsewhere, taken by people with inititive who get out there and talk/write to employers asking for a job or through agencies. 5 years is a very long time to be without a job unless there are valid reasons.

mixtrixx

KimYeovil wrote: »

Please send a similar letter to the JCP office. If possible, be even more long-winded and meandering. The workers there need some relief theseadays and will be delighted with your humorous communique. They may even frame it.

Thanks for your response:

You never know, but then again maybe if I do get a successful outcome, perhaps you would be just one reason as to why I would not wish to share that "long winded letter" in question to help others such as yourself if ever faced with such a situation.

SingleSue

The fact you have been out of work for 5 years does the question of what exactly have you been applying for.

Have you tried all sectors, all classes of pay, been open about the days you would work, distance you would travel etc.

Have you tried CV dropping in your local town, asking in the shops (not just once but frequentlt), re training to gain additional qualifications etc ?

Have you basically applied for anything and everything you possibly can?

Oldernotwiser

If you've been unemployed for 5 years, why have you only done a year's voluntary work?

Have you done any additional education or training to acquire new skills?

viktory

mixtrixx wrote: »

am I right in saying that my local Job Center should be investigated for not actually doing their jobs correctly for the last 5 years?

No, you are not right. There is only so much they can do with the raw material (ie you) that they have. Utterly ridiculous to suggest your failure to secure paid employment is their fault.

mixtrixx

chocdonuty wrote: »

Why are you relying on the job centre to get you a job? Get out there and look everywhere for a job yourself!
The jobcentre only have a small minority of the vacancies available, the rest are advertised elsewhere, taken by people with inititive who get out there and talk/write to employers asking for a job or through agencies. 5 years is a very long time to be without a job unless there are valid reasons.

Thanks for the response.

Hi, as you may see by all the replies I am responding to, it should gradually allow you to see what I have been subject to in terms of barriers relating as to why it has become difficult finding work.

OK, I think I failed to mention that it had been worked out by the DWP that I would require a Full Time Job which would need to be permanent, as I have an existing mortgage which I have had for 10 years now. The actual mortgage itself works out to be Less then £40 a week, and is for a 1 bedroomed, ground floor flat, situated in a hassle free area, and to my knowledge you cannot even find Council Property cheaper then this to rent.

The help I could receive in terms of Mortgage interest support would allow me to claim up to £150,000 in benefits before the cut off limit was reached (This was before the new rates were introduced).
The property is £30,000, so with regards to the help I could receive, it is actually costing the tax payer less then it would to live in council property, which essentially is less for the tax payer to pay out. (Although I do not enjoy living off tax payers money, as I have always had a credible work history before my previous employer in 2006 from the time I left school, almost 20 years ago.

As for going out and exploring for work, believe me, I have exhausted all avenues, as if you have ever attended a 3rd party Back to work provider, you are required to literally bombard shops with 100's of CV's and Cover Letters week after week, and have finished 1 year of Stage 4 on Flexible New Deal doing, which now that it has ended, I was referred back to the Job Center, to which I was given an appointment with a Personal Adviser to discuss what other options were available in helping me find work. However, the adviser referred me to a Training Center that could not offer the help and support I would need as they only cater for helping those people who require refresher training and could not see as to why the Personal Adviser would refer me there in the first place.

You only have to look at how individuals from one region who claim JSA are treated to others claiming the same amount of JSA yet be made to do little or more for the same amount of benefits due to the FND scheme still being a Trial based scheme has allowed the Government to use Unemployed People as Guinea Pigs where equal rights for someone claiming the same benefit has gone totally out the window.

mixtrixx

SingleSue wrote: »

The fact you have been out of work for 5 years does the question of what exactly have you been applying for.

Have you tried all sectors, all classes of pay, been open about the days you would work, distance you would travel etc.

Have you tried CV dropping in your local town, asking in the shops (not just once but frequentlt), re training to gain additional qualifications etc ?

Have you basically applied for anything and everything you possibly can?

Thanks for your reply..

I have applied for the same 3 types of Work Areas as listed in my Job Seekers Agreement, which are Warehouse, IT & Shop Floor Filling.

The limitations preventing me from applying for everything going, is that I require Full Time and Permanent based Jobs, as even Job Center staff suggest that I apply for nothing less based on my monthly outgoings, in which I would be better of in work.

The trouble is, is that Full Time, Permanent jobs have been very hard to come by, especially over the last year and a half with everything that's going on in todays society, where cutbacks could be made, were made.

Also, the majority of jobs offered through the DWP almost 70% Agency based, and to which I have had 3 bad experiences with Agencies, before. Two of these 3 times, I had applied to do warehouse work, but due to the ability of the agency being able to shift you about from job to job, I was later put into a factory job to which the operation of machinery that created vibrations, would always cause pins and needles and "White Finger" to occur which I due to a work related injury means that any i get these symptoms when my hands are subject to cold water, cold wind, and triggered off through using vibrating machinery.
But due to not being able to do this job, and nothing being available, this prohibited me from signing on, as I did not comply with my previous Jobseekers agreement in which although I signed up to say I would do Agency work in the Warehouse sector, then if I were moved to either retail or factory like I was, and left for whatever reason, then my benefits would be affected through not fulfilling my previous Jobseekers agreement. So now I do not touch agencies whatsoever, as the other time I had worked for an agency it was to "Work in a clean yard moving 8 foot Steel Fences" where in actual fact not only was I left to work without adequate clothing in the rain, this job suddenly involved painting these frames, and shifting them around from a to b on your own.

I have 14 years of PC Experience, from Building to customizing to repairing and troubleshooting and using, however, the level of knowledge I have surpasses the amount of funding available in which further training to develop my existing knowledge would cost. Also, most IT Jobs are field based, and unfortunately I do not hold a Driving Licence, so would be looking for Onsite IT Work.

The One years worth of Voluntary work I did, was with a well known Computer Training Company in which I managed to at least obtain an ITQ NVQ Level 2 Qualification.

mixtrixx

viktory wrote: »

No, you are not right. There is only so much they can do with the raw material (ie you) that they have. Utterly ridiculous to suggest your failure to secure paid employment is their fault.

OK, so it seems we have someone representing the JC+ and DWP on hand to explain / translate for those of us who seem to misinterpret the help and support we are given

This is a leaked report found on Google as to how Flexible New Deal will help the unemployed.

"The method of Funding will change to an outcome-based payment system. Rather than being commisioned to deliver set processes such as training courses, or set weekly work focused interviews, private and third sector contractors will be paid for actually getting people into sustained employment, however they see fit. This approach brings with it a focus on results rather than on procedures and represents a clear shift in emphasis for contractors from mandating processes to delivering outcomes.

Despite it's advantages, the new system is not without the risk of unintended consequences: these are subject of this report. While the high level vision of FND has huge potential it's execution risks undermining that vision. The reliance on secondbest regulatory toold to drive good performance from contractors is unlikely to succeed."


It's people like you that feed !!!!!!!! to unemployed people purely taking the buzz of being on a power trip, and it's people like you that need to come down a peg or 2.

So instead of avoiding the real issue to my original post which was due to lack of clear information set out by the letter I received (which has nothing to do with the length I was out of work for anyway) but given the points I provided, and now looking at some of the comments made by Job Center staff come to think about it, then would it be safe to say that decisions are made unbiast?

I am sure that report no longer exists on google, but search for it at your own leisure.

Actually yes it does still exsist and can be read in it's entirety here

http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snep-04849.pdf

mixtrixx

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If you've been unemployed for 5 years, why have you only done a year's voluntary work?

Have you done any additional education or training to acquire new skills?

Thanks for your reply.

I would have offered to do more then just 1 year of voluntary work, however a yearly bus pass which my parents offered to pay for in return for actually achieving something in return (which I obtained an NVQ Level 2 ITQ Qualification) Unfortunately the company could not afford to cover the travelling costs in order for me to travel to and from work once my bus pass had expired, meaning that I had no alternative but to leave.

To actually further my skills more in respects to IT, unfortunately the DWP's social fund limits them to provide funding for basic computer courses such as Word, Excel & Databases, where courses I am capable of passing cost in the region of £2,000+

I have also obtained OCN Level 2 in Computer Hardware Practical, which shows my ability to be able to build a PC from scratch if given the parts.

I have Health & Safety in Warehouse NVQ Level 2
Manual Handling Cert
First Aid Cert