35 hours a week for Jobsearch, not possible?

stix62

AP007 wrote: »

I was sure it was only £400 for each sign up.

Yes, the Work Program get £400 (in some cases £600) for each person sentenced to attend , but if you find work whilst with them they can claim ...'job outcome payment after a participant has been in a job for three or six months, depending on how far they are from the labour market',.. and then...'providers can claim sustainment payments every four weeks when a participant stays in work longer. These payments can be claimed for up to one year, eighteen months or two years, depending on how far the participant is from the labour market.'

AP007

stix62 wrote: »

Yes, the Work Program get £400 (in some cases £600) for each person sentenced to attend , but if you find work whilst with them they can claim ...'job outcome payment after a participant has been in a job for three or six months, depending on how far they are from the labour market',.. and then...'providers can claim sustainment payments every four weeks when a participant stays in work longer. These payments can be claimed for up to one year, eighteen months or two years, depending on how far the participant is from the labour market.'

Yeah so its only £400 they got for me, what a shame

stix62

AP007 wrote: »

Yeah so its only £400 they got for me, what a shame

Haha, yeah, same here. I did get a job in summer but it lasted a few weeks short of them being able to claim another £1200. I knew it would when I started so I willingly gave them the info they needed - playing the game, keeping in the good books

One thing they did which really annoyed me though, the boss came to me one day and said he'd just been visited by someone from the WP. I asked if they were 'checking up on me' and he said no, they were there trying to sell him the idea of taking on 18-25 yr olds under some govt scheme where the govt would subsidise the wages. That would effectively put me out of work - !!!!!!! I gave the WP a right ear-full when the job ended and I was summonsed to go back in and see them

goonarmy

donnajunkie wrote: »

no they dont cover an imposed extra cost. the amount the person gets stays the same. you do realise the money they get is to pay for things other than jobseeking also dont you? it is logical that if you increase what is required of a person then you must also increase what they are paid. otherwise they are going to do one of 2 things. they are either going to not pay a living cost and suffer the consequences or they are going to fake part of their evidence.

JSA isnt a living cost its an allowance for job seekers(funny enough). Wages pay the bills hence driving people into work. Rightly so. When I signed on I couldnt afford to remain on it. So I spent many hours(more than 35) looking for work.

AP007

goonarmy wrote: »

JSA isnt a living cost its an allowance for job seekers(funny enough). Wages pay the bills hence driving people into work. Rightly so. When I signed on I couldnt afford to remain on it. So I spent many hours(more than 35) looking for work.

JSA is an amount to live on for active job seekers.

sensibleadvice

stix62 wrote: »

1)Unless I've got it wrong, JSA is what the govt have decided is the minimum amount you need to live on and the 'safety net' is them providing this UNTIL you find work and can support yourself. Once they've 'done their job' - ie: you find work and sign off - you wouldn't be staying in it.

2)No-ones going to deny there are those that play the system and have been 'caught in the net' because it's an easy life for them, but to most there is nothing safe about being unemployed. It's not the lifestyle many seem to think it is.

Unless I've got it wrong
the govt have also decided that terms and conditions such as 35 hours job search, work placements and universal job match may be necessary and appropriate for some to keep claiming UNTIL they have found work. Fair enough then.

sensibleadvice

donnajunkie wrote: »

theres a flaw in your plan. you acknowledge that quality applications take time. so therefore you may only get 1 or 2 done in a day. try getting the jobcentre to believe it took you all day to do applications and see how far you get. it will be sanction time. it is clearly about quantity not quality as far as the 35 hour rule goes. if you had a clue about what you were talking about and werent a trolling daily mail reader you would know this.

With long application forms or tailored CV's etc you may only get one or two done some days but others may be more because it may include speculative applications, updates on research and follow up on previous leads. On balance it's not that difficult to reach 20 applications per week which is likely more than the expected level anyway. Of course if JSA staff see a record showing years of lip service apathetic efforts they will take a view that more evidence is necessary. TBH, you sound like an expert in doing the bare minimum to keep taking benefits which is no doubt why you find it difficult to convince JC you're doing enough.

sensibleadvice

donnajunkie wrote: »

yes i would be surprised if it happens often especially for most types of job.
no, the last part is just ensuring you dont get sanctioned. the problem with putting set targets on people is jobseeking becomes a target fulfilling exercise. it makes you spend more time worrying have i done enough rather than was that application i did good enough. people would rather focus on doing their best to get a job than having to focus on meeting targets.

Put the time in, make the effort and any targets will take care of themselves.

AP007

donnajunkie wrote: »

theres a flaw in your plan. you acknowledge that quality applications take time. so therefore you may only get 1 or 2 done in a day. try getting the jobcentre to believe it took you all day to do applications and see how far you get. it will be sanction time. it is clearly about quantity not quality as far as the 35 hour rule goes. if you had a clue about what you were talking about and werent a trolling daily mail reader you would know this.

sensibleadvice wrote: »

With long application forms or tailored CV's etc you may only get one or two done some days but others may be more because it may include speculative applications, updates on research and follow up on previous leads. On balance it's not that difficult to reach 20 applications per week which is likely more than the expected level anyway. Of course if JSA staff see a record showing years of lip service apathetic efforts they will take a view that more evidence is necessary. TBH, you sound like an expert in doing the bare minimum to keep taking benefits which is no doubt why you find it difficult to convince JC you're doing enough.

donnajunkie - applications that have the requirement for filling in a form have a close date so I set a reminder on my Outlook and work to complete the form a few days before the close date.

On most applications form there are many specific questions where you have to give examples etc so I set aside some time in the evening to work on one question at a time. This frees up time and plenty of time to apply for the ones where you just need a CV and a tailor made cover letter.

I have really no cut off time in the day when I stop my job searching. I do research and reading up on current industry news at night time and send some spec letters then too.

sensibleadvice

donnajunkie wrote: »

what i realise in the majority of cases there will be many people who fit the criteria that apply. i realise the liklihood of them all being so hopeless that the employer would consider an unqualified person is very small. you may have a better chance in an area of very low unemployment.

I've seen many applications, sifted and recruited. Like I said you'd be surprised just how few applications there are for some jobs, how poor some of them are and how some not meeting all the criteria may get interviews. One thing is for certain, poor attitude and approach to work will not lead to a job.