I feel humiliated by the system......

oldhand

Regarding your employment in the estate agents,im no expert on employment law but if they made you redundant and said the position was no longer needed then employed someone else two weeks later in the same role I think you may have a case for unfair dismissal as clearly they got rid of you but not the actual job.I would look into that and wish you the best of luck with your future.

tomtontom

oldhand wrote: »

Regarding your employment in the estate agents,im no expert on employment law but if they made you redundant and said the position was no longer needed then employed someone else two weeks later in the same role I think you may have a case for unfair dismissal as clearly they got rid of you but not the actual job.I would look into that and wish you the best of luck with your future.

OP had been there for less than two years so cannot claim for UD.

pebbles88

genuinegal21 wrote: »

Appreciate people's views, however, unless you are in the process of claiming UC or have been unemployed for some time, then no one is in a position to say 'dont take it personally' - it's personal to me as someone who has paid their taxes for 16 years.

I believe there should be a two strikes and your out approach, NOT miss an interview and your claim is stopped - start a new one.

If you miss an appointment or don't attend to sign on, your claim doesn't get stopped unless you don't get in touch with them within 5 working days. If they've closed it down before then, you need to challenge it.

Any appointment they make for you to attend the jobcentre, whether it's your signing day or not, is mandatory.
How were you told of the appointment? Letter? In person? Over the phone?

As they are increasing the activity required to qualify for your benefit, it does mean the rules are getting stricter. It honestly isn't personal, the rules/guidance comes from the government & has to be implemented by the job centres. If you feel strongly enough, you have the right to put a complaint in with the jobcentre or your local MP.

Hopefully this 2nd interview will be successful, I really hope it is for you. Good luck! :T

duchy

oldhand wrote: »

Regarding your employment in the estate agents,im no expert on employment law but if they made you redundant and said the position was no longer needed then employed someone else two weeks later in the same role I think you may have a case for unfair dismissal as clearly they got rid of you but not the actual job.I would look into that and wish you the best of luck with your future.

The the OP was in the job for less than two years then there is no grounds to claim...... over two years-possibly.

OP I think you need to get yourself down to the doctors to discuss your depression -one of the symptoms of depression can be forgetfulness -when we get stressed simple memory processes can go out of the window. You may indeed have a legitimate reason to appeal and not realize it . You'll know from your time with HRMC that it is always worth appealing -nothing to lose and everything to gain- so please DO appeal once you've spoken to your doctor.

Good luck with your interview.......and have a hug. Things WILL get better.

pebbles88

missapril75 wrote: »

You did ten years for HMRC whose employees don't have a good reputation for being nice. But I'll bet you came across some who were the exception - just like you sound.

Did something happen during that day that contributed to missing the appointment? Something that maybe you didn't appreciate at the time impacted on your ability to attend the interview but thinking about it now made it understandable that you couldn't go? Even if it's just under estimating how much of your day would be taken up with visiting 35 potential employers.

If you made an appeal coming across as you do here, you might benefit from one of those "nice people" who is prepared to use a bit of discretion. They do exist.

Good luck with the job.

Great post! Please appeal, you were working towards gaining employment, so it's worth making sure you put all the employers down that you visited as when the decision makers look at it, they may say it was a valid reason.

You won't know til you try. X

FBaby

I believe there should be a two strikes and your out approach, NOT miss an interview and your claim is stopped - start a new one.

But that wouldn't be preparing anyone well to the workforce. If you miss an essential meeting at work, without warning or giving a reason to your boss afterwards, you might not get two strikes before you are told to leave.

It is not that hard to appreciate that going to an interview IS the most important task in looking for a job. It's bad enough practice not to contact the people who are expecting you at the interview.

I understand your feeling of being treated like a scrounger when you are not, but missing an interview and not notifying anyone about it is not an unsignificant event and certainly not a common occurence amongst professional people.

MrRaveyGravy

Hello

Sad to hear about your situation. I was recently on JSA and have come out of it, however I also missed a few interviews as it was for work that was way out of my ability - for instance, I was put in for jobs requiring driving when I don't have a full licence, and other jobs in which I would not be able to do the work correctly, however I never got reprimanded in such as way that they stopped my claim.

I know skipping an interview is... not the most appreciative thing to do, in the eyes of others at least, but I was mostly left to do my own thing when job searching and only got called into the JC once a fortnight, whilst my friend was being made to go once a week. I don't have a lot of common sense if I'm honest, and being on my own to deal with things, it got confusing.

I'm not really that understanding of the way the JC processes each person, whether or not it depends on the adviser or the area. It could have also been that because I was attending a local "job club" twice a week that they didn't require me to go in, and that I phone in to say I wasn't coming in to interviews along with my reasonings.

I won't say anyone is in the wrong - for all the bad rep the JC gets, I was very appreciative of their service and always respected the advisers. I wish you the best of luck, but the only thing I can suggest to to appeal against the decision and in future, get on the phone to the interview organiser and apologise as soon as you remember. It's easy to say don't forget, but we're all human.

dippy3103

Good luck tomorrow.

You might not agree with the rules, but don't take it personally as they apply to everyone.

nannytone_2

i do feel sorry for you OP, but as has been mentioned ...
cold calling with CV's versus a pre arranged appointment at the JC...
you have to learn to prioritise. things that affect your claim MUST come first

sammyjammy

genuinegal21 wrote: »

I relied on my JSA to pay my rent of £230 per month. I go to sign on today on time and was told 'sorry because you missed your interview, your claim has been stopped'. I walked out incredibly upset as soon as the words left her mouth.

If you are now claiming UC then you must have been on Income based JSA, why were/are you not claiming housing benefit to help you pay your rent?