I have just had my jobseekers benefit sanctioned for not applying for one job given to me by an advisor. I have applied for lots of other jobs and had several interviews but none of that seems to matter. My punishment is a 3 month sanction for a first so called offence!!I now have to appeal and apply for hardship payments which I believe are about half of what I am entitled to so about £35 per week for 3months to live on. Does the punishment fit the crime in my case I would like to hear from anyone who has or is going through this now with their jobcentre.

I have just had my jobseekers benefit sanctioned for not applying for one job given to me by an advisor. I have applied for lots of other jobs and had several interviews but none of that seems to matter. My punishment is a 3 month sanction for a first so called offence!! Does the punishment fit the crime in my case I would like to hear from anyone who has or is going through this now with their jobcentre.

Hello,

I think it depends on the reasons for you not applying for the role your adviser gave you, if it matches the work your were capable of doing when the signed on then and the reason for you not apply was purely down to you not bothered then I feel its fair and just. If there was other factors involved and you can prove these stopped you then you would have grounds to appeal.

why didn't you apply?

Hello

I think it depends on the reasons for you not applying for the role your adviser gave you, if it matches the work your were capable of doing when the signed on then and the reason for you not apply was purely down to you not bothered then I feel its fair and just. If there was other factors involved and you can prove these stopped you then you would have grounds to appeal.

 

why didn't you apply?

Hello Scott I didn't apply because the job was to far away and the cost of travel would have been to much. I have recently relocated and had no idea how far away this place was and I was led to believe it wasn't far away until my girlfriend who is from the area said that is miles away and shouldn't have given you that job. Also whoever calculates the mileages to the jobs from home live in cuckoo land because they must be as the crow flies and not by road!! I challenge any of them to come with me in my car and show me how u can get there in the mileage they qoute.

Apparently the decision makers at head office say this is not a suitable reason for not applying. According to the Guardian newspaper a whisleblower has exposed new targets set by the goverment and thousands of people across the country are having their benefits unfairly sanctioned from disabled to able bodied people. The catchphrse in the office is Save the publc purse.

You're only supposed to have to travel 90 minutes each way by public transport unless you've agreed to something over and above that. I wouldn't recommend even that myself, I used to travel 2 hours each way many years ago and I've never hadf so much time off sick in my life. You're worn down from travelling and you breath the same air as a huge percentage of the population. You come into contact with everything that's going round and because you're run down you catch it bigtime. I would think it's fine in a decent car but by public transport it's nonsensical to travel a long way every day.

The job centre people just sit in their chairs like robots I guess controled by the Fat Controlers who don't really care what people have to do to find work as long as we are of their books and back out there earning to pay taxes to pay for the work shy who have no intention of working a day in their lives and all the imigrants who will never pay a penny into the system and can claim a full state pension after 2 years living in this country!! Makes my blood boil!!!

Immigrants can claim pensions after being here for two years? Can you substantiate that?

No I can't, I havnt actualy heard it from the horses mouth whoever that is but from someone who reads the newspapers regularly and keeps up to speed with things of this nature. But of course it doesn't mean its accurate!

Hello there.

I'm going to move your thread to the Benefits section here rather than leave it in Campaigns. You may have further helpful replies there.

My best, HB

Hello Honeybee 13, this is my first day in here so not familier with the workings yet don't know how you have moved my thread or how to find where you have put it but will search around! Thanks HB

Well, you just posted on it. There is a redirect from the last forum and I have sent you a message with a link to the benefits forum.

The job centre people just sit in their chairs like robots I guess controled by the Fat Controlers who don't really care what people have to do to find work as long as we are of their books and back out there earning to pay taxes to pay for the work shy who have no intention of working a day in their lives and all the imigrants who will never pay a penny into the system and can claim a full state pension after 2 years living in this country!! Makes my blood boil!!!

(Bolding mine)

This is not the case. Immigrants legally present in the UK and with the right to work pay tax and NI like everyone else, and are entitled to benefits on the same terms as citizens. There are a few other complex rules that can allow NI-type contributions made in other countries to count towards a UK state pension. These arrangements are reciprocal and, as I said, complex and confusing.

On a related note, my Canadian wife has just applied for her Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (in other words, the legal right to reside permanently here). The fee for this? £962, Visa and Mastercard accepted, of course. This immigration business is not cheap or easy.

And could I ask a favour? We have several current and former JCP employees here (myself included) who spend their free time helping folks out with benefit problems. No-one is paying them, they do it because they're nice people. So let's not insult them, yeah?

Perhaps you should point the poster at the forum for JCP personnel? I can't remember what it's called myself, Ingeus or something? You'll know the one. For folks who don't know you can see JCP personnel talking amongst themselves there and it's immediately apparent (if you take what's said at face-value - but that's the same for any forum) you can see many are genuinely concerned for the welfare of claimants.

Ok well tell me how sanctioning my benefit for 3 months has helped me!! Through no fault of my own I lost my job through redundancy last December ime now going through divorce, just relocated over 200 miles away to try and start a new life and still unemployed.

I didn't apply for just one unsuitable job which was to far away plus the cost of fuel to travel there and back every day which one of your JCP collegues led me to believe was not far away not knowing the area after just relocating. So now you tell me how this is being helpfull!!

Ime supposed to now try and survive on a hardship benefit which I believe could be about half of what ime entitled to, so how does this help me now I can't make ends meet and fund travel expense to interviews which I was just scraping together before.

Your JCP collegue should take a look at what I actualy DO to find work instead of what I havnt done which was not apply for just one job!!. The little book you give us is a joke how are we supposed to write down our job seeking activities in a tiny box?.

I write down all my job searches,jobs applied for interviews I've had and put this on the table for your collegue to look at well he never even looked at it just didn't want to know no interest is that helpfull I think not!!.

Try not to take it personally ime sure you are nice people away from the office but when something like this happens on top of everything else that's happening to me at the moment its quite stressfull and I certainly don't appreciate that kind of help!.

No I can't, I havnt actualy heard it from the horses mouth whoever that is but from someone who reads the newspapers regularly and keeps up to speed with things of this nature. But of course it doesn't mean its accurate!

Its quite sad you are a victim of the same group of government policies that chooses to promulgate the falsehoods that initially seemed happy to repeat.

I personally think sanctions are too extreme for the circumstances. A "first offence" with good reason seems harsh to have benefits stopped for so long.

Then again some people are sanctioned without recourse to Hardship payments and that is unforgiveable in my book....

you need to get hold of a gl24 form and appeal the decision....have a look at how long it would take you on the say the bus...they dont know you dont have a car....if its 90 mins away you could use that...otherwise try to explain what you have been doing to look for work....provide all the evidence you can...plus the unsuitability of the position not applied for and why...hope this helps....we all do understand here...and the reason you immediatly were jumped on for the immigrant remark is that as you are probably coming to realise the papers are the govts mouthpiece printing the rubbish they do...about the workshy..remember their are nearly getting on for the 3 million mark looking for work....its hard out there but the govt would have everyone believe if you sign on you are workshy..so you my friend are now in that boat...along with the rest of us benefit cheats who do nothing all day but play on our xboxes on our 50 inch flat screens...now wouldnt that be nice?

I don't think your sanction is reasonable, no. And I fully understand your frustration, I'm just asking you to find a different way to vent it.

JCP staff deal with the frustrating system every day, and are routinely insulted by claimants. If they come here and are insulted further when they're off the clock, they might get fed up and leave. This would be a serious loss to the CAG benefit forum.

and you are not alone another one here

click here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?352611-Job-centre-saying-I%E2%80%99m-sanctioned-for-3-months!!!%282-Viewing%29-nbsp

I personally think sanctions are too extreme for the circumstances. A "first offence" with good reason seems harsh to have benefits stopped for so long.

 

Then again some people are sanctioned without recourse to Hardship payments and that is unforgiveable in my book....

this is the new 'stick and carrot' approach to getting us all back into employment..of course it would help if there were any bl**dy jobs.....but of course you already know that......its is going to get a lot worse before or if it gets better....hope your appeal is successful..you never know its up to the Decision Maker now to have a look at why and the reasons why you didint apply.......

you need to get hold of a gl24 form and appeal the decision....have a look at how long it would take you on the say the bus...they dont know you dont have a car....if its 90 mins away you could use that...otherwise try to explain what you have been doing to look for work....provide all the evidence you can...plus the unsuitability of the position not applied for and why...hope this helps....we all do understand here...and the reason you immediatly were jumped on for the immigrant remark is that as you are probably coming to realise the papers are the govts mouthpiece printing the rubbish they do...about the workshy..remember their are nearly getting on for the 3 million mark looking for work....its hard out there but the govt would have everyone believe if you sign on you are workshy..so you my friend are now in that boat...along with the rest of us benefit cheats who do nothing all day but play on our xboxes on our 50 inch flat screens...now wouldnt that be nice?

Ime now waiting for a re consideration form which has been posted to me which I believe is part of a appeal. There are people out there who genuinly want a job and there are people who don't and the evidence is out there to be seen and sometimes I see people come into the job centre there attitude is shocking and is very obvious they have no interest in work!! I don't believe in tarring everyone with the same brush that's wrong but I get the impression at times that we are!

this is the new 'stick and carrot' approach to getting us all back into employment..of course it would help if there were any bl**dy jobs.....but of course you already know that......its is going to get a lot worse before or if it gets better....hope your appeal is successful..you never know its up to the Decision Maker now to have a look at why and the reasons why you didint apply.......

Can you tell me where the carrot is please?

this is the new 'stick and carrot' approach to getting us all back into employment..of course it would help if there were any bl**dy jobs.....but of course you already know that......its is going to get a lot worse before or if it gets better....hope your appeal is successful..you never know its up to the Decision Maker now to have a look at why and the reasons why you didint apply.......

Thanks for your best wishes, the decision maker knows the reasons why I didn't apply because someone from the job centre rang me to enquire why so I told him. He then said he would have to pass that reason to head office who decided it wasn't a good enough reason not to apply so they sanctioned my benefit. So really I don't know what good filling out an appeal form will do but I will certainly let them know my feelings one way or another. I want to speak or meet in person who decided that 3 months sanction is a suitable punishment for not applying for one job. I understand the sanction goes from 1 week to 6 months, 6 months being kept back for the so called hard core who persistantly don't apply. So based on that I would have expected probably a week or two so shocked at 3 months!!

Thanks for your best wishes, the decision maker knows the reasons why I didn't apply because someone from the job centre rang me to enquire why so I told him. He then said he would have to pass that reason to head office who decided it wasn't a good enough reason not to apply so they sanctioned my benefit. So really I don't know what good filling out an appeal form will do but I will certainly let them know my feelings one way or another. I want to speak or meet in person who decided that 3 months sanction is a suitable punishment for not applying for one job. I understand the sanction goes from 1 week to 6 months, 6 months being kept back for the so called hard core who persistantly don't apply. So based on that I would have expected probably a week or two so shocked at 3 months!!

The benefit of an appeal would be that it will be looked at by an independent tribunal, one that is not part of the DWP. Tribunals can often be more, well, lenient than DWP DMs. Also, before it goes to the tribunal it will be looked at by another DM to see if the decision can be changed in your favour without the need to escalate any further.