DWP and emails

LadyMorticia

jennie-jack wrote: »

i think it means she can talk but doesnt. or chooses only to speak to the people in a small circle of trust. its not as easy as saying oh im not talking to you today it is usually phsycological.

forgive me if im wrong about the poster but my friends daughter has been the safe and for her she speak where she knows is safe and shuts down to other people.

My best friend's sister is selective mute too so I agree with this post. Alot of people really think it's just a case of saying "I'm not talking to you today" but it's not at all. It really is psychological and I know how upset my best friend has been when people have been ignorant towards her sister. My best friend gets so upset for her her. It's been better since her sister got older. She has such a horrible time at school.

She'll only talk to close family members and her boyfriend.

diolch

momoney11 wrote: »

oh im quite sure senior management can hob nob with their pals on the internet and say who they work for but for us poor lower level staff we are ruled with an iron fist and that includes telling us how to conduct ourselves on the internet at home in our own time, unfortunately the screws keep on getting tightend every year and I cant see it improving.

If that is what is happening, and I will find out on the 4th May, I really am sorry for you.

That is not the Civil Service I joined all those years ago.
I could see it happening a few years ago when they started with all of this target culture thing. I didn't like it at all and neither did my friends.

I think the worst case I heard of was of a friend of mine who also retired at the same time. He was the DI at one of the HMRC offices in the South.
He hated it, having to work to targets set by his political masters.
Politics never came into it at one time - you carried out your duties, managed your staff and complied with the law. What the flavour of the week was in Parliament had nothing to do with what we did.

This is going to be one very interesting lunchtime meets that will possibly end up in the Civil Service Club for the evening!

As a matter of interest I am going to send a private email to an ex colleague in the morning using the GSI portal, and find out what happens. Could be very interesting.

50Twuncle

I used the standard on line "contact us" email address
and received the following response - which (to me) - looks like a contradiction - they claim to respond - but never do !!
Have DWP not heard of DDA - because they appear to be breaking it, by not offering a suitable method to allow those with disabilities to contact them.

This is an automated acknowledgement; please DO NOT reply to this message.
Your email has been received by a central team in Jobcentre Plus, not your local Jobcentre.
However we aim to provide you with a personal response to your enquiry. We will send your enquiry onto the most relevant office. They will aim to reply to you within 10 working days of receipt.
In the meantime, you can find further information on Jobcentre Plus services on the Direct Gov website: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm
If your enquiry is urgent (unable to attend, wishing to cancel or re-arrange an appointment etc.) please telephone your local Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus office on 0845 604 3719.
We can not guarantee your email will reach your local office in time to action your urgent request.
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If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or other

action taken in reliance of the information contained in this e-mail is strictly prohibited.

Any views expressed by the sender of this message are not necessarily those of the Department

for Work and Pensions.

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Prinzessilein

jennie-jack wrote: »

i think it means she can talk but doesnt. or chooses only to speak to the people in a small circle of trust. its not as easy as saying oh im not talking to you today it is usually phsycological.

forgive me if im wrong about the poster but my friends daughter has been the safe and for her she speak where she knows is safe and shuts down to other people.

Yes, that's a good description of elective/selective mute!

I have the ability to speak. However, in many/most situations I am unable to use the ability.

Elective/Selective Mute is a confusing term. It seems to imply that I choose not to speak. This is not the case. I actually cannot outside certain situations.

diolch

momoney11 wrote: »

oh im quite sure senior management can hob nob with their pals on the internet and say who they work for but for us poor lower level staff we are ruled with an iron fist and that includes telling us how to conduct ourselves on the internet at home in our own time, unfortunately the screws keep on getting tightend every year and I cant see it improving.

Right, I sent a private email to an ex-colleague and received an email back, with no problems. A lot of chit chat and discussing arrangements for next week.
No problem at all. For all concerned the whole thing could have been a coded message!!

I will find out more when we meet. But it just goes to prove that email traffic of a personal nature is still being carried on!

diolch

momoney11 wrote: »

Im not saying ALL employees dont have access to the internet and that personal email is not used to a certtain extent, union reps for example in our office are allocated internet access because they need to use it for emailing people outside of HMRC, but if you work in a big office with lots of staff that are lower level like AA, AO and O like benefits and credits and customer OPs (so callcentres and processing offices where there can be over 300 people in one office) then the majority of staff wont be allowed internet access and therefore are unable to use work email to email people outside of HMRC, even emailing your colleagues on another floor in the same building is monitored to make sure your not taking the mick and that your working and not spending your time chatting!

I can imagine other parts of HMRC there is a different culture, like the smaller debt management and compliance offices etc, but it is well known in HMRC that people in callcentres and customer ops etc are majority AA/AO/O and are micro managed, even down to how long you are away from you workstation for a loo break are to go and get a cup of tea or water etc, just ask your colleagues about the 2010 staff survey and look at the results for customer ops and you see staff moral is at an all time low and its down to management and the way they treat their staff.

I am fully aware of what the staff problems are in those offices.

I don't know how long you have been with HMRC but you sound young. I say that because you would never believe what it used to be like years ago.
And it's a shame we are on a public forum!

Still what I can say is that it was acceptable to be drunk on duty, interviewing taxpayers at the counter, tea breaks when you wanted because you had tea clubs of about 4/5 people, made your own tea. In the staff canteen breakfast rolled into lunch, that rolled into the pub, that rolled into afternoon tea.

I was unlucky! I had my uncle as the DI for the district, and my father as the Collector in Charge in the next building, and an old friend of my father's working next to me!!

But we still had fun. They stopped alcohol being consumed in HMRC Crown Buildings after a fight broke out in Albert Bridge House, Manchester on the 8th floor I think, and somebody came very close to being pushed out of the window!

Only as recently in 09, I used to go for a 30min walk to clear my head, have a smoke then go back to work!

To have to work in the conditions you describe - I would either have had a transfer or resigned. That is not working!! That's slave labour!

I knew a girl not many years ago have a breakdown because of stress at work. When she came back to work (MOD) they offered her light duties and a change of pace of life. They sent her to work on the base in the Falklands. She loved it, the change of envoirnment did her wonders, she asked if she could stay longer. The 6 month posting ended up as 4 years!

50Twuncle

Going back to the original problem (the lack of response to my emails by DWP/JCP) - I finally got a response to my email - after having to threaten to inform my MP !!
Evididently - the reason for the lack of any benefit payments in the three weeks since I put in a re-claim for ESA - Is the fact that I need to provide a "sick note" from my GP - This, I was totally unaware of - so thank you JCP for telling me
If I had not received the email (after repeatedly trying for 3 weeks) - just how long would I have been left, without any updates ?
Anyway - who's data are they trying to protect by not emailing - theres or ours ?
Surely it is up to myself what happens to my data - not them ?
I am tempted to put in an official complaint - if I thought that it would have any effect !!

PennyForThem_2

complain -but be constructive. Tell them what is wrong, how they might make it better, that you understand their concern about security but that they should have a method of gaining consent if texting or emailing is the preferred communication method. Note that you realise that people might change emails or mobile numbers, that theonusmight be on the person to inform of any changes.

Copy in anybody you might feel could influence - MP, Charity, Community Body

If you don't makeyour views known in writing (and, unfortunately, as a complaint, for which they probably have a policy) then nothing will change

50Twuncle

OK - Found the complaint form on-line (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/ContactJobcentrePlus/DG_186391) - filled it in and have posted it to my local JCP fao the District Manager - although the form asks for all sorts of personal info and gives the option of an email response !!
I wait and see the outcome.....

wild666

21Twinkle wrote: »

I totally agree with you on this - I spent 25 years working for a government department - dealing with highly classified data and there was no restriction (other than common sense) with outgoing emails
Which leads me to question the TRUE reason for DWP's rule
a. Laziness
b. Lack of Staff
c. Inability to cope with modern technology
What do you think ?

In my opinion they don't expect someone to make a copy of a letter that would be sent whereas an email will automatically save a copy to the sent mail folder.
The DWP seem reluctant to give out email contact information for the above reason and nothing else IMO.