Sanctioned by Work-coach?

MoodyMand45

Having had problems obtaining references for a recent job my Jobcentre has lost patience and put me with their best Work Coach!

This work-coach told me she can find me a job very quickly if i agree to dive into the Care sector if i'm interested and i agreed to this.
In a matter of two weeks she told me she has got me an interview with a Care Business owner who will offer me work and take me on, i was shocked at the speed but i agreed to go to meet the person for the interview which would be in a hired room at the Library.
The Care business owner was a friendly man and he told me he used to be unemployed himself when he first came to this Country, the interview was going well until he told me i would be working a zero hours contract for £5 per hour.
I said to him i thought i would be getting minimum wage but his tone then changed and he made it clear to me if i refuse this he will tell the work coach and i will be sanctioned, when i walked out to contact my work coach he called me a lazy, fat English and other things i can't mention.

I could not wait to contact the work-coach and tell her about the £5 per hour but she is apparently taking time off with covid this week meanwhile i have been sanctioned for refusing work and i have asked for mandatory reconsideration.

Maybe i'm in wrong on this but surely less than minimum wage is illegal and my coach failed to tell me it was a zero hours contract even knowing i have rent to pay.
I feel very stressed out and confused about what has happened here!

What is the best way to respond to this? 

calcotti

I don't think you can refuse work just because it is zero hours. However you clearly should not be expected to accept work paid at below minimum wage which is indeed illegal and the employer should be reported to somebody (not sure who).

This is the new punitive regime of Way to Work which has been condemned by at least one employer organisation.
New jobs mission to get 500,000 into work - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
ERSA responds to government's new initiative 'Way to Work' | ERSA

This has the makings of a complete nightmare for jobseekers.

tacpot12

When you asked for the Mandatory Reconsideration, did you make it clear that the job offer was for less than the national minium wage and that this the reason you refused it? 

I would suggest that you find a job yourself that is not zero hours. UC will pay you more when you have worked less, so, in theory, a zero-hours contract should not be a problem - your UC will be calculated based on what you earned the preceeding assessment period. 

But for UC to know what you are being paid, the employer has to make tax and NI payments to HMRC, and I'm inclined to think that this employer may not be paying tax and NI correctly if they are not paying the National Minimum Wage.

If you lose the MR, call your local Citizens Advice for some support. 

calcotti

I can see the problem being that when DWP contact the employer they are not going to admit to offering employment below NMW.

MoodyMand45

tacpot12 said:

When you asked for the Mandatory Reconsideration, did you make it clear that the job offer was for less than the national minium wage and that this the reason you refused it? 

I would suggest that you find a job yourself that is not zero hours. UC will pay you more when you have worked less, so, in theory, a zero-hours contract should not be a problem - your UC will be calculated based on what you earned the preceeding assessment period. 

But for UC to know what you are being paid, the employer has to make tax and NI payments to HMRC, and I'm inclined to think that this employer may not be paying tax and NI correctly if they are not paying the National Minimum Wage.

If you lose the MR, call your local Citizens Advice for some support. 

Unfortunately i was told that i am not allowed to tell them anything until the Mandatory Consideration decision comes back, i have have not yet had the chance to speak to a human about this which is frustrating, i thought i would have a form to fill in a form but this has not happened either. I have a feeling my work coach might be absent using covid as an excuse knowing something is not right about £5 an hour job offer!
I will contact citizens advice next!

MoodyMand45

calcotti said:

I don't think you can refuse work just because it is zero hours. However you clearly should not be expected to accept work paid at below minimum wage which is indeed illegal and the employer should be reported to somebody (not sure who).

This is the new punitive regime of Way to Work which has been condemned by at least one employer organisation.
New jobs mission to get 500,000 into work - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
ERSA responds to government's new initiative 'Way to Work' | ERSA

This has the makings of a complete nightmare for jobseekers.

Thanks for the links, i heard about this new scheme on the news but they have wasted no time implementing it on me if this is indeed it.

Spender£

I wanted to do a £2 an hour fruit picking job when i was on the dole and my work coach said she would report me if i dared to even apply for it because it is cash in the hand illegal.
This work coach of yours needs to be held accountable for setting up this interview for cash in the hand work, go to a local councilor or MP, I'm sure they would take a dim view of this sort of conduct.
I would attend a local Jobcentre and make your views known and demand to see the manager, don't stay silent!

tomtom256

Two sides to every story, push comes to shove, you need to be reporting the employer if they offered below minimum wage. The Jobcentre can't do anything about that, but they should have asked the reason you turned the job down and if there was anything you wanted to add to the mandatory reconsideration for the DM's to take into account.

poppy12345

MoodyMand45 said:

tacpot12 said:

When you asked for the Mandatory Reconsideration, did you make it clear that the job offer was for less than the national minium wage and that this the reason you refused it? 

I would suggest that you find a job yourself that is not zero hours. UC will pay you more when you have worked less, so, in theory, a zero-hours contract should not be a problem - your UC will be calculated based on what you earned the preceeding assessment period. 

But for UC to know what you are being paid, the employer has to make tax and NI payments to HMRC, and I'm inclined to think that this employer may not be paying tax and NI correctly if they are not paying the National Minimum Wage.

If you lose the MR, call your local Citizens Advice for some support. 

Unfortunately i was told that i am not allowed to tell them anything until the Mandatory Consideration decision comes back

I don't understand this. The whole point of the MR process is that you fully explain the reasons why you're challenging the decision.

born_again

Report here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints

Jimjim78

From past experience I've found that high percentage of Care Sector employers only recruit apprentices. They can legally get away with paying over 19's £4.30 per hour for the first year of an apprenticeship. The attitude of these companies seems to be why pay £8.91 per hour when they don't have too.