The Work Program

saintjammyswine

DebiT wrote: »

Ok, not an employment advisor, just someone who is paid to help people find work, but in actual fact spends all day on internet forums

Read my previous posts instead of repeating yourself please.

OwenGriff

be careful people the work programme providers can do their own sanctioning and they are much tougher than jobcentreplus staff. They are paid bonus' for getting you into any type of work so they dont care what job and if you dont take the job they will stop your money...Civil servant talking here....

dandelionclock30

There still going to have their work cut out because there is very little job wize to push anyone into.Also the jobseeker has to convince the employer to employ them.Have you seen trainspotting? where the guy deliberatley messes up the job interview.In reality its very difficult to force people to comply with anything really.Resistance comes in different forms.

red_devil

it was on our local news tonight about this public interest lawyer getting involved. A graduate was made to do 2 weeks work in poundland. She said it was not of her choice and had nothing to do with the career that she wanted.

Gargleblaster

OwenGriff wrote: »

be careful people the work programme providers can do their own sanctioning and they are much tougher than jobcentreplus staff. They are paid bonus' for getting you into any type of work so they dont care what job and if you dont take the job they will stop your money...Civil servant talking here....

I've wondered about this before, does anyone know how sanctions actually work? Say you get sanctioned for six months for some reason and then go and do something that warrants a second sanction. Can you have more than one sanction in effect at the same time?

andy2004

went to jobcentre today to be told i was being referred to the Work Programme and the A4E , Oh what joy NOT, anyway she picked it the phone and couldn't get through, after telling me i would have to speak to them, and then did the reference online, only to decide to try again on the phone before she was finished with me, which the 2nd time they actually answered, she put me on and i answered their questions, like Date of birth, name, phone number, and was then told i'll just get you an appointment time, and i waited, reply came back, No it wont be this week, 5secs later, nope, not next week, can i put you on hold please, sure i replied, and after about 3minutes erm, and it wont be the begining of Jan 2012, can you put me back on with your advisor, sure, and then she had a go,advisor ," I thought when we put people on the course you had to give them an appointment/interview within 2 weeks, is there any point in me phoning up when I see another client or should I just do it online" then she put the phone down, and said to me, "They'll phone you for your appointment. She got told off by the women on the phone for doing it online. ", now i'm just waiting, oh and been instructed by my advisor that if i havent been given an appointment by 20th Dec to tell them at the jobcentre when I go down to sign.
Wonder if I will be contacted before 20th Dec or not, only time will tell, small note, its Mandatory that i do the WP with A4E

becks1978

im on the work programe,i think its a waste of time and tax payers money,they just look on the computer for any suitable jobs,and when they cant find any, set another apointment for 2 weeks later,

imatt

This from the FT is intersting reading:

[FONT=&quot]Jobs programme ‘hangs by thread’[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]By Kiran Stacey, Political Correspondent[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Iain Duncan Smith’s programme to get people back to work is “hanging by a thread”, observers have warned, after figures from the government’s spending watchdog showed higher rates of unemployment and lower growth than previously forecast.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Providers of the £5bn Work Programme are already working flat out to meet ambitious targets for the number of people they get back into work over the next few years. They include some of the UK’s largest service companies, such as A4e and Ingeus Deloitte.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However, figures published on Tuesday by the Office for Budget Responsibility show that their job has just got harder, with one estimate suggesting the lower growth figures will result in 7 per cent fewer people re-entering the workplace from 2010 to 2015.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ian Mulheirn, director of the Social Market Foundation think-tank, said: “The OBR is predicting that the numbers claiming unemployment benefits will be 460,000 higher in 2014 than they thought when the Work Programme was commissioned. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“The combination of rising caseloads, falling labour demand, and the shift to 100 per cent outcome-based funding for providers is dire news for Work Programme viability.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Providers have already warned they would struggle to meet the rising targets set by ministers. This could be financially damaging as a large chunk of the money the companies receive for running the programme is set by results.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Mulheirn has previously said that if companies look set to miss their targets, they might ask for a taxpayer bail-out or threaten to walk away from the project altogether.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The OBR predicted the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits would be 1.7m on average each year from 2012 to 2015 – a sharp rise from last year’s forecast of 1.3m.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The claimant count is now set to be 460,000 higher in 2014 than was forecast this time last year, when the Department for Work and Pensions set their targets. That year is especially sensitive for providers as it is the first one in which they will be paid solely by results.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Tony Wilson, policy director at the think-tank Inclusion, has calculated that providers will be able to place an average of 7 per cent fewer people in work over the next five years than previously estimated.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Wilson said: “It’s an iron law that lower growth means fewer jobs. So Jobcentre Plus and the Work Programme will find it far tougher to hit their targets. The government has a choice – either lower the targets and accept higher unemployment, or invest more in getting people back to work.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A spokesperson for the department said: “We always said the road to recovery would be tough – there is a long way to go before we deal with all the economic challenges ahead. But even in these tough times there are jobs out there, with Jobcentre Plus taking 10,000 vacancies every working day.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“The Work Programme will continue to provide tailored support so that unemployed people can overcome whatever barriers they face. Providers were required in their initial bid to demonstrate that they had the capacity to deliver the Work Programme.”[/FONT]

What is funny, and not in an amusing way, is the fact that WP providers could be asking for a taxpayer funded hand out. They sure do have a damn cheek! I do hope those angry at bank bail outs will be just as peeved at these PRIVATE companies doing likewise.



P.S. I have copied this story from the FT as you have to sign up with the FT which not everyone may be willing to do

WPN

Gargleblaster wrote: »

I've wondered about this before, does anyone know how sanctions actually work? Say you get sanctioned for six months for some reason and then go and do something that warrants a second sanction. Can you have more than one sanction in effect at the same time?

My understanding is (and if it right it depends whether Jobcentre Plus follows it strictly, which isn't always the case)...

A sanction typically applies as of the following benefit week after it had been raised.

Sanctions also (unless I am mistaken) are not assigned back to back - they can overlap.

Assuming sanction 1 is 2 weeks, sanction 2 is 4 weeks, and sanction 3 is 26 weeks.

If you managed to get three sanctions on the same day (which is rather rare if not impossible), your money stops the following week after paperwork is processed by a decision maker... for 6 months, not 32 weeks.

10ktrm

I speak as someone who has been attending Ingeus recently.
It does nothing than bring jobs up on the computer screen and then want you to apply for them.
No difference between that and walking into a job centre.
The staff i have encountered so far have either been extremely rude or not really have a clue what they are doing/under too much pressure etc..
I think its safe to say that the work program has been a complete farcical failure so far and only a matter of time before the government closes it down.