JSA and emplyment agency advice please?

NicksyNet

I have just come off the work program and had my interview with my JCA. My JCA is telling me that I HAVE to sign up to agencies and start doing temporary work. Can they really do this? Up until now I have always stated that I was not willing to use agencies unless there was a job placement that would last at least 12 weeks. I said this because the last time i used an agency it was the odd day or half day here and there and caused all sorts of problems with my JSA claim to the point of being overpaid because I got 2 dates wrong. Now that my partner and myself are running our own house and also getting housing benefit, I cannot afford to risk the same thing happening again and then falling behind in my rent.

could anyone please give me some advice on this?

Many thanks,
Nick

scooby088

Yes they can ask you to sign on with agencies for work, and it probably is still the best way of getting your foot in the door of a company. I have been with my agency for 6 months now and I have been at the same company all of that time. If you limit the way you search for work then you can be sanctioned.

NicksyNet

i am not limiting the way i job search. I have just had a bad experience in the past with job agencies to the point where I was out of pocket. I do not mind registering with the agencies and if they can promise me at least 25hrs a week for 12 weeks or more I am more than happy to do it. I just cannot cope with 8 hrs one week, 30 hrs the next week, 15hrs the week after that, 0 hrs for the next, ect... As it will mean signing on/off all the time and delay any payments of JSA/HB and then cause me to be late with my rent/bills, but this is what my JCA is telling me to do. Oh he also told me to lie to the councle when i tell them i have started work telling me to "tick the box were it asks "do you expect this work to last longer then 5 weeks" even if its just working the odd day as it will give me the months extra HB if it does.

FBaby

You are limiting yourself. Firstly by assuming that because you had one bad experience, you are bound to have more, and secondly by assuming that because you failed to cope with properly declaring your hours that time, you won't be able to cope again and therefore can't be bothered.

If the job doesn't specify that it is for a period of 4 weeks only, then you are not lying by expecting that it will last longer. Expectations and reality don't have to be the same thing.

NicksyNet

its not just that i'm worried i might make a mistake again, i'm worried about the delay in payments from the time it takes to process a rapid reclaim. i know that it will be dated from the first day that I did not work and any payments work be back dated from then. But it could still cause me to be late with my rent and it also makes it hard to budget when you are not sure what your income is going to be from one week to the next, not knowing how many times in the next 2 weeks i will need to get the bus for work.