About to be sent to the work programme...

TerryG

...and was just wondering, if they are allowed to decide what jobs you should be applying for or do you select the fields of work you believe you should be applying for? I have heard various stories regarding this, and was just hoping people on here could enlighten me on the situation.

I have read some stories on the web stating that they force you to look for other work, stating that they believe the line of work you are currently applying for is unrealistic, is this allowed?

I'm going in 3 weeks time to one of these, hopefully i'll have a job by then and wont have to attend, but just in the meantime, cannot anyone help me out with this situation?

Thank you in advance

TerryG

tomjonesrules wrote: »

If you have got to the stage where you are on the WP you are not able to restrict your jobsearch according to field.

Really? So they can put you forward for any odd job? Do i have no say?

LadyMissA

TerryG wrote: »

...and was just wondering, if they are allowed to decide what jobs you should be applying for or do you select the fields of work you believe you should be applying for? I have heard various stories regarding this, and was just hoping people on here could enlighten me on the situation.

I have read some stories on the web stating that they force you to look for other work, stating that they believe the line of work you are currently applying for is unrealistic, is this allowed?

I'm going in 3 weeks time to one of these, hopefully i'll have a job by then and wont have to attend, but just in the meantime, cannot anyone help me out with this situation?

Thank you in advance

If you have been refered to the WP now then you would have signed a new agreement with the job centre already where you were probably told you have to have another work goal. In my case I am looking for accounts work and then after 6 months was made to look for admin work too and now on the WP the job goal is now Accounts, Admin and shop work.

So you should have 2 or 3 job goals at least already and when you go to the WP they have all this info from the job centre on their system.

LadyMissA

TerryG wrote: »

Really? So they can put you forward for any odd job? Do i have no say?

No they can't put you forward for anything because 1, they wont really be looking for work for you and 2, you have to give consent for them to talk to companies about you

LadyMissA

tomjonesrules wrote: »

Unreasonably withholding consent could lead to the provider reporting non compliance back to the JCP, and hence, the possibility of a sanction.

Are you on the WP? You get a form to sign and it says if you do not give consent this WILL NOT mean you lose benefit.

TerryG

LadyMissA wrote: »

If you have been refered to the WP now then you would have signed a new agreement with the job centre already where you were probably told you have to have another work goal. In my case I am looking for accounts work and then after 6 months was made to look for admin work too and now on the WP the job goal is now Accounts, Admin and shop work.

So you should have 2 or 3 job goals at least already and when you go to the WP they have all this info from the job centre on their system.

What if they believe that your job goals are not realistic, and that you should be applying for other areas of work? Must you simply agree, or can you refuse to apply for areas of work that you are not particularity keen on? Or do you have no choice?

I am open minded when it comes to searching for work, i have three areas that i have stated to the job centre which i believe is more than suitable for me, not only me but employers do too, as i have had a number of interviews. What worries me is that they will ask me to apply for any odd type of work, and if i refuse to apply, they with cut me off JS.

TerryG

LadyMissA wrote: »

No they can't put you forward for anything because 1, they wont really be looking for work for you and 2, you have to give consent for them to talk to companies about you

What actually happens in the appointments with the WP? Do you look for work with your advisor together? Discuss what the best way is to get back into work? That sort of thing?

Sorry for the multitude of questions, just curious.

hitatotatus

Can I please butt in to ask a question re the WP?

If you are mid-way through a course, (private but referred to and funded by the Job Centre), would you have to finish the course (ie. take the exam)before the WP started even though you have longer in the timetable to take the exam, ie. if WP starts Feb but entitled to continue with the course until April?

LadyMissA

tomjonesrules wrote: »

I have a professional interest in the programme. Unreasonable actions by claimants will be reported back to the JCP, otherwise all the long term slackers would just say no to everything!

but they give you the option to sign or not

and what about wp providers who fail to see people for 5 mths, are they reported to the JCP? I doubt it!!

FOX_HOUND

tomjonesrules wrote: »

I have a professional interest in the programme. Unreasonable actions by claimants will be reported back to the JCP, otherwise all the long term slackers would just say no to everything!

Please elaborate on your "professional interest."

Are you making money out of the scheme of shame?

looby75

I started on the WP in december and so far the advisor has been a good help. I'm a lone parent so I'm allowed to restrict my job search to p/t hours, I also have health problems so the advisor has taken that into account too. He says I must apply for at least 2 jobs every week, even if there is no realistic chance of me getting those jobs (which is bonkers but he's got to keep his managers happy) but so far thats been the only strange thing I've had to agree to.

He managed to get me onto an IT course within 24 hours that myself and the lone parent advisor had been trying to get me on for 3 months, he's done a better off calculation for me (I won't be lol ) checked over my CV (it was fine) and has suggested some new areas I might be able to volunteer in to get some recent references and experience.

I don't have to go back to their offices until 3rd Feb, and that will be for a supervised job search, it's going to be a bit annoying because I have a huge list of job websites that I go through every day at home anyway, still I suppose I will be using their electricity and not mine lol