Job centre sending me for jobs....

soon2bjobless

I was made redundant 3 months ago and have been signing on for JSA - I got a letter from the Job centre with an application form for a job in the next town including a covering letter from them to the employer asking them to let them know the outcome.

I know this sounds daft but I was earning £7.50 an hour in my last job as a secretary - the job they have sent me for pays £5 and it seems to be more for a school leaver type!

I have filled in the form and sent it off like they asked.

Do I have to take a job like that just to get me off their books? I know this sounds a bit daft (I do want to get back to work as quick as possible) but whats to stop them just sending me for cleaning jobs - is there a certain amount of jobs they have to send me for before stopping my benefit?

BenefitMaster

soon2bjobless wrote:

I know this sounds daft but I was earning £7.50 an hour in my last job as a secretary - the job they have sent me for pays £5 and it seems to be more for a school leaver type!

Do I have to take a job like that just to get me off their books?

No you don't It is reasonable to refuse a job where you would not be better off working.

Do the maths - calculate your JSA, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Free Healthcare, then add the cost of busfares/travel, childcare etc - all the extra costs of being in work.

If you would not TAKE HOME at least £1 more than that figure, you can refuse the job.

Even if you are financially better off with tax credits and similar, there in no guarantee of entitlement when you actually apply for the job, so you can legitimately disregard any top-up benefits unless your adviser can guarantee in writing the amounts you would receive - a 'Better of in work' calculation is not sufficient.

Of course, writing your application to look overqualified for a job is not 'spoiling' the application within the meaning of the regulations, nor is stating to the employer that you require a salary of £7.50 or more in the "additional information" section.

jenpoptab

You can also refuse a job if wage is less than your usual occupation pays, this is only for the 1st six months since your usual job ended.

If you do refuse to take details of job or follow it up, it may be sent to decision maker for RE (refusal of employment) action to be taken.

millie

I was told in May that I could only be choosy about what sort of job I accepted, and what pay I could demand, for the first 13 weeks. After that I had to take any job even at minimum pay, within one and a half hours travelling distance each way from my home. If I refused to do this I would not receive JSA. I asked if that meant I could be sent for a toilet cleaners job for 40 hours a week @ £4.85 per hour, and i was told yes. I had only got 18 months to retirement and have never been unemployed in my life. I am a Bookeeper and was made redundant after 17 years with my last employer.

Fortuneatly I found another job after about 6 weeks signing on. I found it the most humiliating experience I have ever gone through.

Becles

If they force you to go to interviews for jobs you really don't want, ask some awkward questions to put them off you

I got told I had to go to an interview working 2-10pm on a remote industrial estate. I had no car of my own, public transport doesn't run there at that time of night, so the only option was a walk home on a track through fields with no street lighting. Job Centre said getting me into work was their priority and they were not bothered about my safety walking home!

My baby was 8 months old, so I talked about him a lot and the interview and said I couldn't wait to have more. I then asked what their maternity arrangements were. Surprisingly I didn't get the job

zodiac

Becles wrote:

My baby was 8 months old, so I talked about him a lot and the interview and said I couldn't wait to have more. I then asked what their maternity arrangements were. Surprisingly I didn't get the job

I dont think my dad did that one but it sure would have worked. He was out for work for a while and signed on just over a year ago, lucky he has a job now but they were sending him, 49 going on 50, to interviews for jobs that pay £12,000. That would be fine if he was by himself but you can't own a house and support a wife, two teenagers and animals on it.
Hes got a cool job that he found outside the job centre (hes a rat catcher!!!) but couldn't understand why they kept sending him on these silly paying jobs. One on-line form was filled out in one word answers (which was funny) and another with black crayon (he didn't even get an interview for that one, the shame of it......

Lyndsay_21

hey whats wrong with 12,000 a year thats what me, my OH and 2 kids manage on!
(bloody tough managing it though)

lush_walrus

Personally I would try to find work myself, there arent any hard and fast rules that say you have to only look for jobs via the job centre. Infact my guess would be that most of the jobs available in any job centre would be from a lower range.

Have you been sending out your cv speculatively? Asking around friends etc? Looking at adverts? Independant job agencies? Temp work? etc etc that is always going to be the best method.

Personally, if I were out of work I would go for any job offered just to work rather than intentionally blow any interviews because the money isnt quite right.This job may well sound below your skills and be offering lower money, but who knows what may come out of it. The money may go up after 3 months probation, that is the method I always use when employing as I personally would prefer to see what someone is actually worth in acordance with the work they are capable of producing than what is on their cv. Another point is that pay offered is often negotiable, if they are seeking someone of lower capability than yourself then they may well up their hourly rate to get your additional skills.

Have you checked around speculatively also what the going rate for your skills are, could it be you were well paid previously and this is an average job? You don't say where you live so its a difficult one to judge, both rates sound low to me, but based in London there is a premium on all wages.

The other word of caution I would give again from an employer point of view is that where as it is pretty simple to compare the money you will receive from collective benefits against salary, there is one important factor missing from that equation that is your future earnings. Sure the comparison works now, but be careful, you may well help to jeapodise your own future working career.

Anyone who appears infront of me requesting work, who has been out of work and receiving benefits for a period of time gets a detailed vetting from me at an interview. I know it is harsh to hear for people, but it is often a reality that employers are suspicious of those who havent worked for long periods of time. Of course if there is a plausable reason such as single parent who has been looking after children or an illness or any real reason, then some understanding is shown, but if your story is you were made redundant and the years just slipped away (which I know it has been a short time now but you never know) then chances are I would prefer to take someone fresh from work and who has shown willing to try.

Lucrative and easy as claiming benefits are, people do get stuck on that treadmill if they arent careful and it is damaging for your career.

Im just trying to give balance to a thread, which seems to be biased towards claiming benefits. I'm not trying to offend anyone, so I hope I haven't, but I feel this view needs to be aired too.

In short I would advice you to stay clear of comparing what you can get on benefits and what you can get working. You seem keen to work, so keep that attitude and break your back out there searching for the job you want.

Good luck

zodiac

Lyndsay_21 wrote:

hey whats wrong with 12,000 a year thats what me, my OH and 2 kids manage on!
(bloody tough managing it though)

Not saying theres anyting wrong with it, good on you for managing on it. However, going from 18,000 to 12,000 would have been very hard.
My dad would rather be working than be on benafits any day, on the other hand, what with money I got at college and extra stuff for my brother at High School it worked out better for him to look for a better paying job than take any job that the job centre saw fit for him to take at 12,000

Webbie_2

My local jobcentre are not remotely interested in giving me any help. I have been out of work now for 8 months and I have no help/support from them.

The only contact I have is signing on ever 2 weeks (not for any benefits payments, but for national insurance contributions). I wish they would suggest jobs or put me forward for interviews. I have asked for help/support, but I have been told there is nothing available to me.

Very frustrating!!!!

catford

hey!Lush walrus--benefits-lucrative and easy?? which planet are you on pal?? take a day off!