The Work Programme New Thread

LadyMissA

The_ICT_Engineer wrote: »

In today's Guardian,

DWP's own assessment of mandatory work activity program finds it has 'no impact on the likelihood of being employed'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jun/13/mandatory-work-scheme-government-research

Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen 78° 55′ 0″ N, 11° 56′ 0″ E

All the people commenting there seem to think it's about the Work Programme and the MWA is something different.

No one thought of these 'schemes' in advance and got some providers together with a handful of unemployed people to see IF this went ahead what could they do for them. Maybe the did and if they did they must have been idiots to believe anyone could actually do anything to help.

The_ICT_Engineer

The report in question, Read it while you can, Before it's removed and lost.

http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2012/early_impacts_mwa.pdf

Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen 78° 55′ 0″ N, 11° 56′ 0″ E

LadyMissA

The_ICT_Engineer wrote: »

The report in question, Read it while you can, Before it's removed and lost.

http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2012/early_impacts_mwa.pdf

Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen 78° 55′ 0″ N, 11° 56′ 0″ E

I have saved it - thanks

LadyMissA

ah ha also

http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/work_programme/release_strategy.pdf

http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/work_programme/wp_release_may12.pdf


link may change but found it here

http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wp

LadyMissA

565,000 on the WP!

DesertIsland

I've been signed on to the Work Programme since March 2012.

In my opinion, I cannot imagine any other role the Programme was meant for, other than for powerful business people with political connections to fleece money out of the taxpayer via government contracts.

I've been assigned to a company who is a subcontractor implementing the WP on behalf of a major prime contractor. The operation of the subcontractor is so shoddy that telephones are not even working. When you call the number, it says it has been disconnected. You have to reach the "advisors" through their mobile phones. They've been operating out of that office for five months now. During appointments you're never seen on time, there's usually a delay of thirty minutes or more. Appointments are also likely to change.

I've had two appointments since February. The first was with this young lady, who informed me that she is not my advisor (apparently my advisor was missing on a trip), and that she would just like me to sign some papers. She did a rough sort of induction (a ten-minute thing) and then produced the forms.

Among those, you had the infamous consent forms which I read closely. Among other things, signing the consent forms enabled the subcontractor to:

1) Share my information with their parent or sister companies
2) Contact a wide range of people on my behalf, including my GP, my previous employer and other people.

I thought there was no reason to give them permission to contact my GP, so I (politely) refused to sign the consent form. The young lady said there was no problem, she booked me my next appointment, refunded my trip money and off I went.

In my second appointment things were more interesting. Apart from my advisor there was also the "Head of Programmes" for the subcontractor, a man who as I later saw on LinkedIn, was heavily involved in the Flexible New Deal programme (the same people who implemented contracts for FND are now doing it for the WP).

When these two gentlemen saw that I wanted to keep my Data Protection rights and not sign over my consent to them, there followed a half-hour "heated" conversation during which they used several means to get me to change my mind. Eventually, the "Head" insinuated that my decision could affect my benefits.

I told him that he had no legal ground to base this on which hardly deterred him as he went on to repeat himself a number of times. In the end, I told him that if he was sure, he could go ahead and stop my benefits.

I had one further appointment after that which my advisor cancelled because of "family problems". I haven't been contacted since, it's been I think three months since I saw any of them face to face.

In the meantime, I do everything I can to get a job. I've sent dozens of applications and had two interviews, turned down in both occasions. I cannot wait to get a job so I can drop all benefits and stop contact with the JCP and WP.

What's really funny in all this is: The "Head" smugly informed me that the subcontractor still gets a job "outcome" (meaning of course, a monetary bonus) even if I find myself a job through my own efforts. He said he "didn't agree" with that, but that's how it is.

kazzah60

What's really funny in all this is: The "Head" smugly informed me that the subcontractor still gets a job "outcome" (meaning of course, a monetary bonus) even if I find myself a job through my own efforts.

AHA!
NOT if you don't give them ANY details of the job you have applied for/accepted - they will pressurise you for a "contact name and number" for your new employer
DO NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THEM!

they can only claim the money if they make contact with the new employer - it's handy have a friend whose company has just given up their contract to run a work programme !

DCFC79

DesertIsland wrote: »

2) Contact a wide range of people on my behalf, including my GP, my previous employer and other people.

Would the GP be able to divulge any info if you had signed the form ?

DesertIsland

kazzah60 wrote: »

What's really funny in all this is: The "Head" smugly informed me that the subcontractor still gets a job "outcome" (meaning of course, a monetary bonus) even if I find myself a job through my own efforts.

AHA!
NOT if you don't give them ANY details of the job you have applied for/accepted - they will pressurise you for a "contact name and number" for your new employer
DO NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THEM!

they can only claim the money if they make contact with the new employer - it's handy have a friend whose company has just given up their contract to run a work programme !

Theoretically they can ring the DWP or the HMRC and get my (future) employer's details off them.

In practice this bunch seem incompetent enough as it is. I plan to stop all communication with everyone once I get a job. I won't even tell the JCP why I'm signing off benefits. In the green slip, I'll just write "not looking for employment anymore"

DesertIsland

DCFC79 wrote: »

Would the GP be able to divulge any info if you had signed the form ?

Probably not, due to doctor-patient confidentiality.

But even so, why would they need to write to my doctor?