Is my employer obliged to give my details to the Work Programme

anamenottaken

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

They arent going to sanction you as you have a job!!!

No one has to tell anyone you work there or not, it's nothing to do with them unless you have signed the form with the work programme.

You do not even have to tell the Job Centre where you are working if you no longer get benefits.

So, if the OP signed - and has clearly in some way provided the details of the employer - why should not the employer confirm that the employee is indeed their employee?

Rather than spend time looking for a law to say they do or don't have to do this, far simpler to take a second to sign a form, then put that in the provided envelope and send it to the post.

This isn't about data protection - the WP provider knows where the employee is working, they simply need the piece of paper signed as evidence.

kitschkitty

anamenottaken wrote: »

So, if the OP signed - and has clearly in some way provided the details of the employer - why should not the employer confirm that the employee is indeed their employee?

Rather than spend time looking for a law to say they do or don't have to do this, far simpler to take a second to sign a form, then put that in the provided envelope and send it to the post.

This isn't about data protection - the WP provider knows where the employee is working, they simply need the piece of paper signed as evidence.

Completely missing the point that the OP does not want the WP to profit from the efforts the OP made themself to find the job, and anyway the OP didn't give consent?

MissSarah1972

anamenottaken wrote: »

So, if the OP signed - and has clearly in some way provided the details of the employer - why should not the employer confirm that the employee is indeed their employee?

Rather than spend time looking for a law to say they do or don't have to do this, far simpler to take a second to sign a form, then put that in the provided envelope and send it to the post.

This isn't about data protection - the WP provider knows where the employee is working, they simply need the piece of paper signed as evidence.

But they will get paid for maybe not helping the OP get a job or anything.

Elvisia

My personal feeling on this is to tell your current employer that they do not legally have to tell them anything, and mention that if they tell them you are employed by them then they will keep ringing them for the next two years. I think that they get more money the longer you are in employment. The only thing the WP can do is sanction your benefits which is a load of cr*p as you're obviously not on them. I heard a ridiculous figure of 14k on these boards as the final figure they can get, I really hope that's not true.

I signed off end of February, I have been harassed by the WP since then asking for my employment details to the point I asked my MP to step in. I started up my own company, I have many clients now and I do not under any circumstances want the WP contacting people asking if I am working for them. Can you imagine, you get a new client and suddenly the WP are ringing them up being idiots. I have sent the WP a 'cease and desist' letter. When I signed off I didn't say why I was signing off, and the WP have smelt a job and are after their money.

I wanted to send them a photocopy of my bottom, but unfortunately I was talked out of that.

gibson123

It's absolutely ridiculous the DWP need to get their act together, these outcome payments should only be made if the client signs a declaration that the WP provider actually helped them to get work, this would also mean the WP provider would have to get their customer services in order and the confirmation should be by DWP checking NI against tax paying record.

Sambucus_Nigra

DesertIsland wrote: »

I was wondering if my employer is obliged by law to disclose my employment details to the WP provider, such as job start date, staff number, etc. They need these to claim a job outcome. I'm trying everything I can think of to stop that from happening, because it seems unfair to me that they'll get a few thousand quid even though they did nothing to help me.

Basically I told my employer that I do not consent to this information being given to a private company like the WP provider, but they came back to me saying they need to check whether it's a legal requirement for them to do so, since the provider is in a contract with the government.

What do moneysavingexperts think?

Has the employer signed a contract or can the WP provider show any documentation that says the company have to provide this information? If not, they need to tell them to 'go away with knobs on'.

LittleVoice

Elvisia wrote: »

My personal feeling on this is to tell your current employer that they do not legally have to tell them anything, and mention that if they tell them you are employed by them then they will keep ringing them for the next two years. I think that they get more money the longer you are in employment. The only thing the WP can do is sanction your benefits which is a load of cr*p as you're obviously not on them. I heard a ridiculous figure of 14k on these boards as the final figure they can get, I really hope that's not true.

I signed off end of February, I have been harassed by the WP since then asking for my employment details to the point I asked my MP to step in. I started up my own company, I have many clients now and I do not under any circumstances want the WP contacting people asking if I am working for them. Can you imagine, you get a new client and suddenly the WP are ringing them up being idiots. I have sent the WP a 'cease and desist' letter. When I signed off I didn't say why I was signing off, and the WP have smelt a job and are after their money.

I wanted to send them a photocopy of my bottom, but unfortunately I was talked out of that.

In that case it seems you are saying you are self-employed. You may be embarrassed that you were once unemployed for so long but now you should be proud of your endeavour.

As self-employed, you do not provide details of your clients only state your self-employment. Your clients will not be contacted.

You are probably spending more effort in resisting than in providing something which is easy to do.

colino

First of all The Work Programme is not government, it is the poor independent saps, mainly in the private sector, operating the programme under contract. There is a miniscule payment figure now for most entrants, and the "rewards" are gained from the narrow range of positive outcomes open to the contractors.
The initial payment doesn't even cover the (compulsory by DWP) initial paperwork and obviously contractors are keen not only to place entrants as quickly and professionally (they don't want people dropping off) as possible. They can then claim the real payments (nothing like the absurd figures bandied about) which then, despite DWP payments system, can keep them afloat financially.
Entrants entering the programme do sign up to maintain contact and provide necessary supporting documentation and employers are normally very grateful for access to employees that they have made very little effort to find for themselves.
No one is going to waste resources continually chasing positive outcomes when the entrant/employer are wasting their time, although I would expect a standard letter to be fired out to keep tabs on those bypassing the system.
Due to the well publicised follies of the few, the people who actually propped up the governments schemes are being punished or are bailing out.

Rueben_2

colino wrote: »

First of all The Work Programme is not government, it is the poor independent saps, mainly in the private sector, operating the programme under contract. There is a miniscule payment figure now for most entrants, and the "rewards" are gained from the narrow range of positive outcomes open to the contractors.
The initial payment doesn't even cover the (compulsory by DWP) initial paperwork and obviously contractors are keen not only to place entrants as quickly and professionally (they don't want people dropping off) as possible. They can then claim the real payments (nothing like the absurd figures bandied about) which then, despite DWP payments system, can keep them afloat financially.
Entrants entering the programme do sign up to maintain contact and provide necessary supporting documentation and employers are normally very grateful for access to employees that they have made very little effort to find for themselves.
No one is going to waste resources continually chasing positive outcomes when the entrant/employer are wasting their time, although I would expect a standard letter to be fired out to keep tabs on those bypassing the system.
Due to the well publicised follies of the few, the people who actually propped up the governments schemes are being punished or are bailing out.

Whilst some of this did cross my mind, if I was on the WP I would only pass on my employer details if it was directly down to their involvement I was able to find employment. A colleague of mine was on WP before joining us, but gained her job through regular volunteering which she did before even being put on the WP. It was her own endeavors that got her a job, but the way Ingeus chased her after signing off was borderline harrassment.

kitschkitty

LittleVoice wrote: »

You are probably spending more effort in resisting than in providing something which is easy to do.

Just because something is easy to do doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

I mean a rape victim probably spends more effort in resisting than in complying (something which is easy to do) doesn't mean they should just comply.

And yes of course I know that is an extreme example, not comparable etc. but my point is the individual has the right not to agree to give out this information if they don't want to, and I can see lots of reasons why they wouldn't just go with the flow.