Please help! Desperate for advice! Are they taking the !!!!?

mug86

I have been looking for a job but given the current job market and quite honestly, my pretty poor CV I decided to do some work experience for a law firm. This was arranged by the job centre.

You dont get paid apart from the paultry sum of 70 quid a week or whatever and it is for two months.

I had my first day the other day and they had me vacumming the floors, emptying the bins and doing the washing up. Getting there is a complete hassle, i can either go by bus which would take around 2 hours which the jobcentre would pay for, or get the train which means I would have to spend about 10 quid on a train ticket everyday.

Do you think it is worth doing? Or are they just having a laugh?

Please help! Thanks!

zzzLazyDaisy

You might get a better response if you post this on the benefits board as your query is presumably related to JSA placements and there have been a coule of threads running about recent developments in this area.

In any case, it was my understanding that the job centre cannot require you to attend a placement that is more than 90 minutes away - but I am sure that someone on the benefit forum can confirm or correct this.

Checkmate_2

Did the law firm read your moneysavingexpert.com username before deciding what tasks to give you?

mug86

Thanks for the replies, I will copy and paste over to the other forum but also I think my situation might be slightly different to the girl in poundland - it's not 'mandatory' for me as I have only been claiming JSA for about 5 weeks.

Thanks

pinkshoes

I think I'd just get on with it, as it's good experience on your CV, and once they get to know you, you could talk them into some more interesting tasks!

As for the travel, could you not negotiate with the Job Centre over paying towards the train fair?

SueC_2

I'm not sure who it is you think may be taking the !!!! and having a laugh.

Is it the Job Centre, or the law firm?

Is it the pay you think is wrong, the travel, or the duties?

zzzLazyDaisy

mug86 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I will copy and paste over to the other forum but also I think my situation might be slightly different to the girl in poundland - it's not 'mandatory' for me as I have only been claiming JSA for about 5 weeks.

Thanks

Her placement was voluntary too (though she was told otherwise) but the rules of the scheme were that once you had started the placement it then became mandatory to complete it. She started the placement, but left early, and was sanctioned. Which is why you need to check exactly what the rules are.

Following on from that, depending what scheme you are on, it may be operating under the 2011 regs which have been quashed, in which case arguably any sanction that might be applied if you left would be unlawful.

Which is why you will probably get better advice on the other board.