signing up for jsa what to expect

dawn_rose

Hiya I'm asking on behalf of a friend who has to sign on to jsa tomorrow for the first time ever, what should he expect? Thanks

Stylehutz

1) To be expected to apply for jobs you are not suitable for so the JSA staff can meet their target quotas. If you dont apply you could face sanctions

2) To be expected to give a valid email address to sign upto Universal jobmatch. Don't do it as they can't sanction anyone who refuses. Its in breach of data protection

3) Don't expect the JSA to help your friend find work. They are no longer employed for that purpose. They are just there to make sure that you satisfy the criteria of claiming JSA

Hope your friend finds work soon as attending fortnightly at the Job centre can be a bit soul destroying

xapprenticex

He will probably have an induction of some sort explaining the process. The experience will depend on location and the person he has as an adviser. He will be expected to have 3 different types of jobs that he is willing to look for, may be things he has experience in.

After a certain period of time, cant remember how long, he will be expected to apply for anything he can get within reason because you can have all the experience in the world but after a year out of work it wont matter any more.

If he is genuinely looking for work he should be fine, advisers can be harsh with dossers. I found the universal job match to be a very good site, much better than when it first came out.

It is whatever you make it, you could do as person above suggested but they can play hard-ball too and have you attend job center Monday to Friday (as i have done) till you find a job and if you refuse then you WILL get a sanction. Again, its what you make of it, they are human too.

good luck.

Mersey_2

Yes, as above.


The first attendance is usually just printing off the online appn form and signing it and providing a few forms of ID for them to photocopy and upload.


If it's the second attendance ie first signing, it'll be just that, as well as agreeing a Claimant Commitment (eg listing tasks such as will check online, newspapers, apply speculatively, update CV & covering letter and so on).


The permitted period is 12 weeks in which your friend can restrict their job search to their chosen area of work which will usually be their previous job or a field in which they have experience, skills or qualifications.


The only 'tip' I'd give with this - from claimants I have helped - is to check both sides before signing it. In 2 cases I have seen it was placed face down and the advisor pointed to an 'x' where to sign. When they got home they turned it over and realised they had agreed to things they had not been told about. This may just be unfortunate coincidence, rather them trying to catch claimants out. Equally it could be advisors are under pressure to add tasks without notifying claimants.


But Claimant Commitment are meant to be agreed by both parties. Most shouldn't be contentious.

DCFC79

Stylehutz wrote: »

1) To be expected to apply for jobs you are not suitable for so the JSA staff can meet their target quotas. If you dont apply you could face sanctions

2) To be expected to give a valid email address to sign upto Universal jobmatch. Don't do it as they can't sanction anyone who refuses. Its in breach of data protection

3) Don't expect the JSA to help your friend find work. They are no longer employed for that purpose. They are just there to make sure that you satisfy the criteria of claiming JSA

Hope your friend finds work soon as attending fortnightly at the Job centre can be a bit soul destroying

Why not use a gmail/yahoo email address just for this process ?

blink18

Stylehutz wrote: »

1) To be expected to apply for jobs you are not suitable for so the JSA staff can meet their target quotas. If you dont apply you could face sanctions

2) To be expected to give a valid email address to sign upto Universal jobmatch. Don't do it as they can't sanction anyone who refuses. Its in breach of data protection

3) Don't expect the JSA to help your friend find work. They are no longer employed for that purpose. They are just there to make sure that you satisfy the criteria of claiming JSA

Hope your friend finds work soon as attending fortnightly at the Job centre can be a bit soul destroying

1) nonsense - you are completely allowed to limit the range of work you wish to seek - and you are under no obligation to apply for a job that your adviser puts forward to you if you're not qualified for said job.

2) nonsense - you are not expected to set up a UJM account, but it does make 'proving' your job seeking activity easier if you use UJM to search for and apply for jobs.

3) nonsense - yes they can and will help you to seek work, they will send you updated lists of jobs available, they will fund short courses you may need, they will fund things like interview clothes, transport costs, things that you need to start a particular job.

dawn_rose

Thanks for replies. If they have caring responsibilities for primary aged children 3 days a week because their partner works those days will they be able to work round that or not? My friend has a sick note till April how will this affect it all? Thanks.

Stylehutz

blink18 wrote: »

1) nonsense - you are completely allowed to limit the range of work you wish to seek - and you are under no obligation to apply for a job that your adviser puts forward to you if you're not qualified for said job.

Not the experience I found when last claiming

2) nonsense - you are not expected to set up a UJM account, but it does make 'proving' your job seeking activity easier if you use UJM to search for and apply for jobs.

Not the experience I found when last claiming

3) nonsense - yes they can and will help you to seek work, they will send you updated lists of jobs available, they will fund short courses you may need, they will fund things like interview clothes, transport costs, things that you need to start a particular job.

And ditto... Not the experience I found when last claiming

Bogalot

dawn_rose wrote: »

Thanks for replies. If they have caring responsibilities for primary aged children 3 days a week because their partner works those days will they be able to work round that or not? My friend has a sick note till April how will this affect it all? Thanks.

Does the fit note state they are not fit for work? If so they need to claim ESA not JSA.

As the children are at school they will be expected to seek work for those days. Have you looked into wraparound childcare?

xapprenticex

Stylehutz wrote: »

And ditto... Not the experience I found when last claiming

And I and many others have not experienced what you experienced. So what conclusions can we draw from that?