Universal Credit - 35 hours a week - Legal Requirement?

johnsmithy

elsien wrote: »

And this is what will get you sanctioned. You need to be applying for other jobs as well, entry level at MacDonald, or whatever.
I was made redundant from a management role and was told that I had 3 months to apply for equivalent roles then I would be expected to apply for anything I feasibly could do, however much lower the role and the pay.
You need different CVs for different roles - there were some jobs I'd miss my management qualifications off as I knew it would get binned otherwise.
It may not be the job of your dreams, but it's still better than a life on benefits.

I see your point - I told my adviser I am quite happy to diversify into other areas whilst I find that 'dream' job. I do feel for you - to me that sounds like harsh treatment.

johnsmithy

takman wrote: »

It sounds like you are being too picky when it comes to looking for a job and don't really want to work!. You should be going to your local town/city and go into every single place that hires people no matter what the job is and ask if they have any jobs available.
In my experience this can take hours and hours!. By the time you have gone into an employers, asked to speak to someone who is responsible for hiring, waiting for them to be available, then speaking to them about jobs, getting all the forms to apply, filling out the forms then walking to the next place.

You may think you can just apply online but as soon as they see you have been long term unemployed you will get nowhere, so going in and speaking to them goes a long way.
Also you should definitely do some volunteer work if you have lots of spare time after applying for jobs. This shows that you actually want to work and can turn up regularly to a job.

Sound advice - a friend of mine and myself are going to go down to town within the next couple of days and going to sort things out so hopefully, this will have a positive effect.

johnsmithy

DCFC79 wrote: »

Won't work with all employers but it could work with the smaller employers/the one man bands who don't have the finances for a website.


OP a tip for you, are there any new developments/shop units being converted near to you ? Are they close to being finished, they might be starting recruitment.

I am going to certainly try for Christmas jobs in stores etc. as a job filler until I get something which matches my skill set more.

johnsmithy

xapprenticex wrote: »

How much experience do you have and when was the last time you was employed doing data entry/ admin?

The answer determines how realistic it is to be waiting for a data entry/admin role.

I worked for the military for 11 years and up until September last year, was on long-term sick. Since then, I have been applying for jobs, so since leaving my job and coming off illness would've been 8 months.

I can't really understand why I am having such bad luck. I will persevere. I am working with a friend right now and we're really going to go to town on the job front and hopefully something shall materialise.

johnsmithy

Mersey wrote: »

To answer your specific question - it depends what is deemed reasonable by a Decision Maker, until the Upper Tier Tribunal hears a case appealing a sanction for refusal to comply with this element of the Claimant Commitment of JSA/UC.


'Look OR PREPARE FOR' is the crucial element.


The First Tier Tribunal have heard a few appeals. That as well as the DWP Decision Makers' Guide provide guidance as to what is acceptable.


Research, attending conferences all count towards the 35 hours per week (as does updating the UJM IT system with your narrative and travelling to the library or JCP - which a lot of claimants forget).


So yes, 35 hours is almost impossible just for pure jobsearch activities - indeed the JCP staff would struggle to list what activities they do for 35 hours per week.


But when you tot up: perusing online publications, as well as physical papers in your area of work, as well as the nationals; speculative applications; updating CV, covering letter and so on you should be able to fill the text required.


Some applications themselves may take you hours truthfully as they won't accept a mere CV, but want you to give examples of a, b, c, etc.

Thanks for the advice but I would still struggle to see how this would add up to 35 hours.

I mean, you can only do so much toward jobs and each week's activities will vary accordingly.

johnsmithy

Sharon87 wrote: »

From what has been said I would say widen your job search to anything. I was long term unemployed a fair few years ago - 8 months or so after uni - with only a couple days here and there with agency work. I know what it's like, I did apply for the career I wanted, but also had retail and office admin CVs as well. I bit the bullet and took a job at a cinema.

For the 35 hours - this can include, job searching, applying for jobs, travelling to/from and attending interviews, going into town to look for jobs, interview prep, researching the company you're applying for, updating your CV - or customising it to a job you have found. I always customise a cover letter and sometimes even a CV for certain jobs. A specific CV and cover letter is a lot better than a generic CV.

So you can fill the 35 hour gap, it is a bit annoying and a shock for those who have never had to do it. I had signed on in the last few months (but found a job within a week or so of being on JSA/UC). So I embellished a few timings because it doesn't take me long to apply for jobs - I'm very experienced in writing cover letters now!

You are very lucky in having found something so quickly. Hopefully I will at some point as well.

I know I have worked hard to try and find a job in the Office Admin/Data Entry sector since I came off sick last September and was unemployed from January that same year so I can't see why I am having such bad luck.

As I say, I am going to just try everything now and see what happens. I have already liaised with a friend who is in a similar position and we're going to go to town and hand our CV's in to agencies (updated) and show our faces to show we still exist.

The tip about handing in CV's anywhere that you might be suitable is also a good one so I will also discuss this with my friend as well and we will work together to try and find something more akin to our skills, even if it means filling in for a job elsewhere until we get that job we need.

Mersey_2

johnsmithy wrote: »

I worked for the military for 11 years and up until September last year, was on long-term sick. Since then, I have been applying for jobs, so since leaving my job and coming off illness would've been 8 months.

I can't really understand why I am having such bad luck. I will persevere. I am working with a friend right now and we're really going to go to town on the job front and hopefully something shall materialise.

There's a few orgs who help ex-military personnel in finding work.


As well as some ex-servicemen associations and a couple of new trusts set up following the Military Covenant. The local Royal British Legion should be able to put you in touch.

mattcanary

takman wrote: »

It sounds like you are being too picky when it comes to looking for a job and don't really want to work!. You should be going to your local town/city and go into every single place that hires people no matter what the job is and ask if they have any jobs available.
In my experience this can take hours and hours!. By the time you have gone into an employers, asked to speak to someone who is responsible for hiring, waiting for them to be available, then speaking to them about jobs, getting all the forms to apply, filling out the forms then walking to the next place.

You may think you can just apply online but as soon as they see you have been long term unemployed you will get nowhere, so going in and speaking to them goes a long way.
Also you should definitely do some volunteer work if you have lots of spare time after applying for jobs. This shows that you actually want to work and can turn up regularly to a job.

The vast majority will say there are no jobs available, and even if there were they would tell you to apply online.

missbiggles1

johnsmithy wrote: »

Hi

Thanks - I am following everything that is written on my action plan. I am being a little inventive with some things as I prefer to search job sites other than UJM as I find them more user friendly and as someone else pointed out, the jobs on the vast majority of websites will be the same, so I don't think it really matters where you look.

Everything else I am following to a tee. I make sure that I am doing quite a few applications a day and eventually, you will exhaust all the jobs that are available possibly in my subject area, being Data Entry/IT.

Some job sites I prefer to others, if I am being honest. I normally use Indeed/CV Library. They are most user friendly though I do check others occasionally if there are jobs listed on Indeed through these sites.

As far as I am concerned, as long as I am applying for jobs, which I am (I don't necessarily spend up to 2 hours a day looking - I normally scour each one to do with data entry/admin/IT and if it matches my CV, I will use this as a guideline as to which jobs I will apply for.) and following the guidelines given to me by my adviser and applying for work, I can't see an issue.

Even when I was on JSA, I was told I was doing everything I possibly could to find work and having done hundreds of applications since I've been searching, I don't really feel I've let myself down and my friend recently told me about work he'd recently undertaken and that they are looking for people so I am going to apply for this position as well and hopefully, fingers crossed.

You're doing this the wrong way round - you don't apply for jobs that "match your cv", you adapt your cv to match the available job(s).

takman

mattcanary wrote: »

The vast majority will say there are no jobs available, and even if there were they would tell you to apply online.

In my local town most shops and businesses are independent and run by local people. I often see jobs advertised in the shop windows and it either gives a telephone number or says apply within. So it's definetly with a try because anyone can go online and apply for a job easily. But not as many people will be applying for the jobs that require you to go into the shops or call them up, so this means you are more likely to get it.