The Work Programme New Thread

imatt

Bob42 wrote: »

I know this is a long shot, but has anyone had a positive result from the wp. Has anyone actually got a ......paid job from it.

Or is it just a load of bolognese.

Okay, I'll respond. I do know of a chap who recently attended A4e who got a job with a firm installing IT eqpt on behalf of Talk Talk. It's a self employed position.

His A4e advisor kept him informed when this position came up apparently. They (a4e) even bought him a pair of safety boots!Hope it works out for him.

This still does not alter my poor view of A4e and the whole W2W sector though!

Bob42

imatt wrote: »

got a job with a firm installing IT eqpt on behalf of Talk Talk. It's a self employed position.

OK. I'll take that as a definate positive despite it being a "self-employed opportunity" and we all know why that is. Sounds like the way it should be done. The problem is bad reports outweigh good ones 100:1.:rotfl:

This still does not alter my poor view of A4e and the whole W2W sector though!

That's higher than mine! I think local charity types are OK. Flagship is looking more like sunken ship once the big companies get involved.

rustinj

Hi, first time post to these forums

Ok. Ive been out of work a year and just had a phone call today from the work programme provider called groundwork. I signed on last week and at the jobcentre they said i was now going over to the wp and to expect a call

The girl on the phone asked me to confirm my nation insurance number and date of birth which i did then said someone else would phone for a telephone interview but if i dont do that i will have to do it at the place on thursday when i go and it will take 2 hours so she said., the phone interview will tak 20 minutes

What is the phone interview likely to be about and do i need to do it legally as im not kean on giving too many personal details out, would i be better waiting to see what its about when i get there on thursday rather than doing the phone interview ?? The girl on the phone implied it would take 2 hours extra at the end of the induction if i dont go ahead with phone interview...

Also does the work programme honour any holidays booked or childcare as i have my son staying with me in the school holidays ?

Any good clear advice on the above and what i should and shouldnt sign or consent to would be greatly appreciated

Thanks. J

EndlessStruggle

I was on the work programme for about 3 months before I got a job. The job was back at my old company I had worked for, nothing to do with the WP at all. I had a good relationship with the HR department and was approached by the Head of HR while she was shopping in the charity shop I was volunteering in. It was a temp post for 6 months and now I'm back at WP again.

MissSarah1972

hi Guys

Just saw this thread so thought Id ask here. A friend of my sister has been sent to the work programme. They have told her she can still get a discounted oyster card but the job centre say its only for people out of work between 6-12 months then after that the work programme pay for travel etc.

Does anyone know if that is correct?

thanks

donnajunkie

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

hi Guys

Just saw this thread so thought Id ask here. A friend of my sister has been sent to the work programme. They have told her she can still get a discounted oyster card but the job centre say its only for people out of work between 6-12 months then after that the work programme pay for travel etc.

Does anyone know if that is correct?

thanks

the work programme providers do reimburse travel. there was someone in this thread who uses an oyster card. it is usually best to check with the provider as sometimes they can get difficult when people use certain types of ticket. having said that i am sure they will reimburse oyster cards.

MissSarah1972

donnajunkie wrote: »

the work programme providers do reimburse travel. there was someone in this thread who uses an oyster card. it is usually best to check with the provider as sometimes they can get difficult when people use certain types of ticket. having said that i am sure they will reimburse oyster cards.

I never really asked that. I asked if you can get a discounted oyster card if you were on the work programme?

The work programme people are asking her to get a discounted oyster card (50% off travel) and they say she can get it but TFL website says you can't if you have been out of work more than 12 months and so do the job centre.

Who is telling the truth? Anyone?

donnajunkie

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

I never really asked that. I asked if you can get a discounted oyster card if you were on the work programme?

The work programme people are asking her to get a discounted oyster card (50% off travel) and they say she can get it but TFL website says you can't if you have been out of work more than 12 months and so do the job centre.

Who is telling the truth? Anyone?

there are some people who get refered to the work programme under 12 months out of work. that is probably what is causing the issue. simply print out the page from the website and take it to show the provider.

Elvisia

That's a New Deal thing...TFL do advertise it but you may find it very hard to find anyone at the JCP who as a) heard of it or b) heard of it and able to actually action it. There are more people on here complaining about not being able to get it and I think I have seen maybe two people say they actually got one. I asked repeatedly and they said they didn't know what I was talking about, and did I mean getting fares to interviews paid for. If she's really keen then ask when she's signing on, but be prepared for them to not to know what it's about.

I eventually got work after being on the WP, this was down to me being so p*ssed off at having to go there I just put up adverts everywhere for my services, and ended up getting one client which lead to another...which lead to another and so on...and I've built up a very small business but at least I am not having to sign on, even if some weeks I earn less than my JSA was. However I signed off six months ago and the WP still ring me up periodically to ask me to come in for an interview!!

Who?_me?

My "up to three hours" inital assessment took about 20 mins. It was more filling in paper work than anything else. This was with Ground works. The "induction session" that was going to be 2 hours, took less than an hour, including the literacy and numeracy assessment (about Entry/ L1, so pointless for someone with L5 qualifications). I have heard from a fairly reliable source that groundworks get about £300 to do intial prepartion for work. They are actually refusing people now as they are being sent people with terminal cancer and other disablities which means they will never work.
2. The staff are completly unmotivated, they only have one group that they are likely to show any interest in - those they can do something for. So, if you are qualified and experianced, they are not interested, if you are long term sick, they aren't interested either. Unless you are amber, you are not going to get anything.
This is all the fault of the government who have one aim and one aim only - to reduce the welfare bill. They don't care whoes lives they wreck or souls they destroy in the process.
The job centre have two roles - they can help some people, the rest who are capbable of helping themselves, they ignore and just police what they are doing the minimum for the JSA.
The work program will fail for a whole host of reasons. My advice is to just accept that they aren't going to help you, and being ignored is a good sign. I was asked to go on a 2 week course on how to right a CV, I pointed out that I could teach the course and they took me off. They aren't completly unflexible, they are just very put upon, have unrealistic targets and as we are beaten into jumping through their hoops, they are also being beaten into jumping through hoops too.