Unfair possible sanction JSA help?

pauldavidkenyon

Dear all,
I am hoping you can give me any advice possible as I have no idea what to do. I have never had to claim any benefits before and I find this whole process degrading by the people at the job centre.
Me and my civil partner both study part time. My partner works 24 hours a week (this is due to the winter period in the airport, this rises to 40+ after Easter until September again) and he also does a voluntary job one day a week. I, until last week worked 30 hours a week at the airport.
After my college course finishes I am likely to gain a place at university to study nursing but this is depending on relevant work experience. At the beginning of October I was offered a place at a local nursing home as a support work for 36 hours a week. I accepted and started the process of changing jobs. As the role involves working with vulnerable people I had to complete a DBS check.
I was told this takes a maximum of 6 weeks to which I gave my current job 6 weeks notice.
After my 6 weeks notice was up I still hadn't received my disclosure to start my new job but managed to secure an extra week at my job. I called the DBS twice but was just fobbed of with excuses. In work the management had now changed and my current manager was leaving having been made redundant and I was advised that it was best I didn't stay on any longer when new management arrived to which I left work.
I now find myself unemployed and still waiting for my disclosure to start my new job (ive now been told AGAIN another 18 days maximum).
As much as I would love to have some time off work we just cannot afford to so I decided I needed to look for temporary work asap but in the mean time the bills need to get paid so I filled a form to apply for JSA and housing benefit.
Today I received a phone call off a lady to tell me that they are unsure of my application, they say that my because my partner does college, voluntary and his work they arnt sure he is committed to finding more work and as far as they are concerned I left my job out of choice therefore my claim will go to a decision maker and I am likely to be sanctioned for 6 months. She told me to go to my interview anyway and said that I will have a chance to give a written account that will be given to a decision maker. HOW ON EARTH does doing what we do give off the impression that we have less work ethic than what someone who does nothing at all has and also I never left work out of choice, the reason im in this mess because the DBS (another government agency may I add) is taking so long to process my application. I am the victim here. It makes me so angry. What do I do? We will lose our home if we don't have any money and end up in so much debt. We have a 12 month tenancy and so far I haven't heard anything back from the jobs ive applied for. Ive paid into this system my whole working life incase something like this should ever happen and im being punished yet I see so many people who have never worked a day in there life who have houses paid for them! I have though about writing to my MP but im not sure if that can help?
Any advice would be great!
Thank you in advanced.

Torry_Quine

You should never have handed in your notice until you actually had a start date confirmed and that's the problem because as far as the job centre are required you left a job without one to go to.

pauldavidkenyon

I was told by my new employer and the third party site that sends off the DBS application that it takes a maximum of 6 weeks. As soon as work knew I had secured a new job they wanted me out and a new person in.

SJI85

pauldavidkenyon wrote: »

I was told by my new employer and the third party site that sends off the DBS application that it takes a maximum of 6 weeks. As soon as work knew I had secured a new job they wanted me out and a new person in.

Unfortunately DBS/CRBs are/were well known for how long they can take.

Are you able to speak to financial support staff at the college? They might be able to advise of some funding opportunities (e.g. emergency loans, grants) that will cover living costs for a short while.

They also might be able to give some support to your JSA claim also.

pauldavidkenyon

Thank you, I have to go in on Monday morning to get a letter to prove I only study part time so I will ask if there is anyone I can talk to about it.
Call me naive but I have never applied for a DBS before and I sort of took my new employers word for it to be honest. I feel like im being punished for what is in effect trying to better my career this is awful our whole Christmas is ruined.

When_the_going_gets_tough

Also remember that if you are sanctioned you can ask for a reconsideration and then appeal ( I think now you have to ask for a reconsideration first - someone else may be able to clarify that) and you can get appeals overturned especially if you persist. Don't give up OP you have a good plan for your future. Good luck!

FBaby

I really feel for you as you had no reason, not knowing the system, that your new employers would have got it so wrong with DBS.

Like you, I am very annoyed that the system doesn't help people like you, who are in a genuine need of support for a very short period of time. If anything, it is people like you who deserve benefits to tidy them over.

All you can hope is that they show sympathy to your case and on this basis, I would advise that instead of going at it expressing your true feelings, you take the attitude that you are very sorry, you thought you were doing the right thing, you followed the advice you were given etc.... and never intended to claim benefits during that time.

SJI85

pauldavidkenyon wrote: »

Call me naive but I have never applied for a DBS before and I sort of took my new employers word for it to be honest. I feel like im being punished for what is in effect trying to better my career this is awful our whole Christmas is ruined.

Absolutely. If you're informed by an employer, who is experienced in such matters, that it should take no more than x number of weeks then of course you trust them and accept this. When I said it's well known, it's more by those in the know and with experience of them.

I'd still say it's unusual to be waiting so long for DBS clearance, and it might just be that your employer has never known anyone take longer than 6 weeks to get cleared. But, as you now know, it can happen

I do hope your college can offer some support. I know a little about financial support in Further and Higher Education (such as Access to Learning and emergency loans) but I don't know if these apply to you/your partner and institution.

BrassicWoman

you could work at an airport without a DBS?

pauldavidkenyon

Just a little update. Thank you all so much for your help.
I contacted my MP who wrote to the DBS and I started my new job on January 6th Yaay!

pauldavidkenyon

BrassicWoman wrote: »

you could work at an airport without a DBS?

When I started work at the airport I only needed a basic disclosure, this took 3 weeks.
To work with vulnerable adult I needed an enhanced DBS