The Work Programme New Thread

donnajunkie

grai wrote: »

I asked my JC advisor whether I will be sent back to the WP at the end of this period of harassment at the JC and he said the WP hasn't worked but the Govt. are in a contract they cannot get out of

he told me the JC did not expect anyone to come back to the JC after the 2 year expensive WP cure-all with these wonderful professional recruitment companies

Basically the WP was just a money making racket run by companies who didn't care about getting people work

the JC are now improvising because they made no plans for people returning to sign on - my advisor's exact words were "we are literally making this up as we go along"

Hence the different signing procedures from council to council across the UK

I'm hoping they will see that treating the claimants as the ones needing punishing is not going to solve anything and we all go back to fortnightly signing

The are now saying only 1000 people will be put on Universal Credit as an experiment because it isn't realistic and way too radical plus the £34 million IT system has crashed

I need to get as far away from this whole mess as I can

it shows how clueless they are then because even if the wp was great there would still be some who dont get a job. expecting a 100% success rate is plain stupid.

AP007

donnajunkie wrote: »

it shows how clueless they are then because even if the wp was great there would still be some who dont get a job. expecting a 100% success rate is plain stupid.

you can never have 100% full employment and that's an economic fact

sniggings

starting this next week, anyone tell me if I have any rights to refuse what they tell me to do if I think it's reasonable or do I have to just accept anything they tell me to do? I'm already applying for 12 jobs each time, I'm just wondering what they will get me to do extra, such as can they make me go to a employment agency as what might mean a week of work, which would then stop all my benefits and be without money for a couple of months whilst they are started again, all for a weeks work?

donnajunkie

sniggings wrote: »

starting this next week, anyone tell me if I have any rights to refuse what they tell me to do if I think it's reasonable or do I have to just accept anything they tell me to do? I'm already applying for 12 jobs each time, I'm just wondering what they will get me to do extra, such as can they make me go to a employment agency as what might mean a week of work, which would then stop all my benefits and be without money for a couple of months whilst they are started again, all for a weeks work?

it depends if whether what they are asking of you is classed as mandatory or not. remember though if you agree to something that isnt mandatory it does become mandatory once you agree. you would then need your advisers permission to get out of it if you didnt like it. as far as as jobs go they can send you for jobs but its rare and they cant make them offer you the job.

Morlock

topaztiger1983 wrote: »

I want to work so that makes me different to a sponger who sits at home on their !!!!!! all day watching TV, drinking beer & taking illegal drugs

You claim JSA, so you are now classed as a sponger, it doesn't matter whether you actually are or not. You are one of the people that the media claims sits at home all day watching Sky, smoking, drinking and taking drugs. The fact that you don't do any of those things makes no difference, you are still a sponger, shirker, skiver etc.

grai

I am having to sign 3 days late next week - Thursday instead of Monday because my elderly mother who lives alone in Oxford is having an eye operation

I went into the JC to tell them today and the chinless wonder I spoke to said in a loaded tone "you can have a late signing appointment but you will have to give your reasons for signing late to the advisor"

the last half of the sentence sent alarm bells off in my head so I asked him "could it be a reason to sanction my money?"

"I don't know"

"how don't you know??"

"you will have to ask the advisor when you come in for the late signing appointment"

I could feel a fight coming on so I left

why can no-one in the Job Centre just answer a simple f*@*ing question??

is there anyone on this thread who could tell me if signing 3 days late could be grounds for stopping my money?

the chinless wonder has succeeded in what he set out to do which is to have me worrying

anyone working for the DWP that could give me some advice I'd be grateful

KevInChester

If you've a legitimate reason you should be fine, but we all know how they work unfortunately You could always take it as the 2 weeks holiday you are permitted I guess?

Hope you get a response from somebody in the DWP soon (like Busy Mum who seems helpful).

gk1980

This sounds as though its a domestic emergency which would prevent you from going to the office. On the day of your signing you should phone in, either speak with your adviser or whoever as everyone in the office should know the process and tell them the situation. They should then take your job search over the phone and excuse you for it and your evidence will be put through for the benefit centre to pay you.

Certainly if you were signing at my office, that would be the way it's dealt with. Good luck and I hope your Mum is okay.

Jerry_Mander

Grai, the way to be sure you won't get sanctioned is, if it is possible in your circumstance, to sign on at the Jobcentre in Oxford on Monday. They do allow that but usually I think you have to let them know in advance.

If you phone in on the day with a domestic emergency what happens depends on the Jobcentre. Some will use common sense and ask you to provide evidence when you return and will sort it out within the Jobcentre but others will forward it to a decision maker to decide if you had good cause not to sign at your appointed time.

I'd phone them Monday morning and try to get signed on in Oxford. You'll need good evidence to show why you had to accompany your mom no matter what.

grai

thanks for the replies

I'm sickened by the fact the chinless wonder I spoke to deliberately refused to explain any of this to me in the hope of landing me in it - the guy doesn't even know me! he just doesn't approve of anyone being on benefits and needs to get some revenge

what's wrong with these people

what constitutes "good evidence" ? Is it proof of her operation from hospital documents? My mother lives alone and can't be left half blind plus I don't want her on her own anyway especially overnight just because I should be signing on - that should be easy enough to understand even by the biggest Jobsworth