Job fair - travel 3 hours each way

SunReader

I'm sure she will be snapped up by the local employers with such flexible transport options....maybe get her a bottle of super strength and flick the tv onto jeremy kyle instead.

Seriously, no transport in a rural area is early retirement.

custardy

BonandDom wrote: »

Hi - hope someone can help?

DD came home from the job centre yesterday and said that she needs to go to a job fair next week.

No problem with doing this as she is genuinely looking for work, and has applied for numerous jobs.

The town where the job fair is being held if 30 miles away, the travelling time is 3 hours each way, with waiting time between buses it will be 10 hours from leaving home (07:30am) to getting back home (18:00), for one hour at the fair.

It somehow doesn't seem right that she is expected to attend this, when any companies recruiting there are unlikely to be able to offer a job that she can get to.

I know this is mainly down to her relying on public transport and the first bus leaving our village at 07:30, which is why she is taking her motorcycle test, but can the JobCentre impose this on her?

Thanks in advance

I do more than that every day for work.
AS a one off and a chance of a job. I would do it.

FBaby

I have had to travel that amount of time with work only to attend a one hour meeting (which turn out not to always be much productive).

It's life and she needs to accept it. What is the alternative? She can use her time on the bus to do job search (internet if she has access, newspapers). What's the alternative, stay home doing nothing?

kingfisherblue

Ignoring the distance and time away from home, my daughter was on JSA when she first left school. She went to a job fair and was offered a job with an agency. Her first agency job was 1.5 hours away on public transport, then 1.5 hours with the client, then another 1.5 hours public transport.


However, one of the clients of the agency offered my daughter a job, and she now works full time for them. It's a ten minute drive from home (she learned to drive as soon as possible), good pay for the industry she is in, has decent employee benefits, and most importantly, is a friendly and decent place to work.


All from an hour at a job fair. Well worth going.


Good luck to your daughter. I hope she finds work soon.

poppasmurf_bewdley

BonandDom wrote: »

Hi, No jobs in the village, she has been signing on for two weeks and has applied for twelve jobs so far, one interview (stilll awaiting a reply as it was only yesterday).

With regards to has she got anything better to do, she could continue searching for jobs that she could get to, or she could as she was planning to, deliver CV's to potential employers in nearer towns.

Surely she could do this the day after the Job Fair? After all, she hasn't got anything else to do, has she?

We are now living in the 21st century. Gone are the days when you could expect to find a job in the next street, no matter where you live. Nowadays, people even have to move to earn a living. I did, several times.

dundeediva

OP is there any other way she can get there? Lift from a friend/family member? I don't know how the buses work in your area but a 3 hr journey for a 30 mile distance is ridiculous!!

SailorSam

nearlyrich wrote: »

Many people work 10 hours a day and are out of the house longer

And i'm sure most of the people who are out of the house are getting paid. If the OPs daughter is only young she's going to be receiving very little in benefits so by the time she pays for her travel she'll probably be out-of-pocket.
I don't disagree with people being encouraged into training and Job Clubs but they should be near to where the people are, or expences paid.

pmlindyloo

Despite all the above comments about how people manage to do much longer journeys, etc etc. a 'good reason' for failure to attend and appealing a sanction would be if the journey took more than one and a half hours either way.

See here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/351168/dmgch34.pdf

Scroll down to 34261.

So a couple of things.

Do Job Centre Plus know how long the journey is going to take? A journey of 30 miles away is perfectly reasonable and in normal circumstances would not take so long. Has she showed them the bus timetable times?

Travel expenses can be claimed back form the Flexible Support Fund. They are discretionary.

Having said all that, and if it is a one off, then there is no reason for your daughter not to go. Yes, a pretty horrendous journey but if a job offer is at the end of it then it will be well worth while.

burlington6

It's a one off. If she can't be bothered to do this I'm not surprised she's unemployed. It's one day!

richard9991

Stagecoach and arriva seem to have the monoply all over the country and you can purchase a day rider ticket for around £6 which entitles you to hop on and off of services all day.

JCP Should be able to help though i recently had to go on a course and they sent me a travel pass to be used for 5 days from 8 am to 6 pm via a text messege you just show the driver the text on your phone and he gives you a ticket.

The text for the travel arrived while i was still speaking to the advisor