Ah boo. I don't have a job unfortunately, but I'd rather be broke then face another meeting there at the moment. (I'm probably just having a crisis of confidence but I swear for people who are supposed to help, they make you feel worse!) I've been with them for a couple of months and my first advisor was lovely, but the others I've had since aren't.

Thank you for the fast reply by the way! Much appreciated. It's nice to see other people in a similar boat, well, not nice but you know what I mean! I might just sign off altogether with personal reasons rather than muddy the waters. Thank you for your help!

I attended Ingeus like your good self a few years ago under the WP. Yes, it was mostly a waste of time and taxpayers money. (Funny how these companies are never mentioned by those slating the welfare bill for being too big) With regards staff, I found it a crapshoot. A couple were fine and acknowledged I had a brain. Others were pretty much 'meh'. One in particular was just totally incompetent and out of her depth. Whilst I nor anyone else are in your shoes and can tell you what to do, I hope you do not put yourself and your health at risk by having no money.

What is the tone of the Ingeus advisers? Again, as I am not in your shoots it's hard to know, but have you considered a formal complaint. I did in regards to one adviser. I was no longer one of her clients after that. Just a thought. I know it's easier said than done, but hang in there and be bolstered by what you know to be the right thing.

Hi guys need some information about Ingeus, I had my first meeting today my advisor she seems nice although It was only the first meeting i only printed my name when going into the office and refused to sign anything. Although I was not pressured to sign anything on the first meeting just asked if i have my induction pack which i said " yes its in my bag". only thing i did sign but with a different signature to my normal signature was to get refunded for my taxi which i didnt ask for she just mentioned it and refunded me even without a receipt.

Im looking for work everyday but reading through some comments on here I'm keeping my guard up and will only do everything through Dwp.

my question is I have a CV. but have been told I need to make another one ( refused them to keep my copy) they said everyone has to do it.

so do i have to make a new copy ? and also when doing job searches do i have to use there computers as i do not wish to sign in anything on there computers so if i get called in to do a job search can i just job search and write it down and apply when i get home ?

Dwp gave my advisor my email and phone number and house number which they need to send letters i suppose.

any information would be great as I'm a newbie and want to keep myself safe from this work program although want to work with them to get into work , also i asked for driving lessons but was told they do not do them.

I assume you are on JSA

Why not get them to help you with a new CV, doesn't mean you have to use it. Everyone, and I mean everyone seems to have different ideas as to what a good CV is. I was told to alter my CV for each job , highlighting skills appropriate to the job.

As far as I can work out, the work program is a game you play, do enough to tick their boxes but do what you need to do. Not all advice is bad advice though so keep an open mind

Yes I agree, to be fair my advisor seems really nice ( still not signing anything though ) and I have told her if she can find me work which will not make me any worse off than I am now I'll be happy for her to email me the jobs so i can apply for them.

my only concern really is when typing out the cv's using there computers or job searching they save passwords or information not sure if thats true or not but a lot of comments seem to suggest this.

whats your thoughts on this, also did you hand them your cv's to keep copies off and sign everything they gave you ?

regards

I assume you are on JSA

 

Why not get them to help you with a new CV, doesn't mean you have to use it. Everyone, and I mean everyone seems to have different ideas as to what a good CV is. I was told to alter my CV for each job , highlighting skills appropriate to the job.

 

As far as I can work out, the work program is a game you play, do enough to tick their boxes but do what you need to do. Not all advice is bad advice though so keep an open mind

I am glad to hear that you find your adviser 'nice'. However, I would ask you to mark well the old adage "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

As a comprehensive education on the machinations of the illustrious organisation that you have so recently become a victim of.....er... participant in, you could not have selected a better thread to attach yourself to.

You would do well too to peruse the DWP publication "Work Programme Provider Guidance" which can be accessed at the link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-dwp-provider-guidance

As for CVs specifically, you may allow your adviser sight of it in order to prove that you have one and even to pass comment on its adequacy, but certainly not to copy, keep, or otherwise tamper with. Please see the DWP's response to a Freedom of Information request for information on the retention of CVs at this link:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cv_4

In the meantime, you are within your rights not to do anything, and that means anything, that might compromise your basic human right to privacy, or sign anything that might result in you giving up those rights.

This is a previous reply that I posted to a similar request:

Under privacy and data protection laws you are not obliged to divulge either your email address or your CV in hard or electronic format to Ingeus. Neither are you obliged to sign any document, especially any that has the effect of waiving your privacy and data protection rights.

The following link refers to DWP but it applies equally to Ingeus:

".....It is not mandatory for a jobseeker to reveal his email address to the DWP. This is confirmed in this DWP FOI response:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/169236/response/416439/attach/html/3/FOI%203348%20response.pdf.html

“Providing a CV, email address or telephone number is not mandatory, therefore is not sanctionable.”

'Creating a Government Gateway account and registering with UJM both require an email address to be provided and that email address is made available to the Jobcentre even if the jobseeker does not give permission to access his UJ account (as evidenced by the default method of locating a new UJ registrant’s account by their unique email account per the UJ Toolkit). Therefore a jobseeker who does not wish to reveal his email address cannot be mandated to register with UJM."

You can't be sanctioned for this but what they usually try to do is ask you to leave the premises and then they will report to JCP that you failed to attend appointment/interview, which is sanctionable.

If that should happen you need to be able to show some evidence that you actually did attend. You might find that equipping yourself with a small digital audio recording device that you can carry in a pocket or bag could be invaluable to you.

You might also make note of any attendance register that you signed-in in. Exchanging contact details with one or more fellow claimants might also prove to be useful, mutual support, if you like.

Lapsed Workaholic, Thank you so much for this Information It will help greatly. Already got a email today saying there is a job through one of there providers who they work with and I should send my cv to them if I'm interested, which i have found online and already applied myself. ( so i feel they are definitely pushing to get my cv )

once again thank you and I will continue to keep reading through the posts.

Hi guys just a quick question, I have not allowed Ingeus to keep my cv and i also have not signed the consent form.

On my last meeting my advisor handed me a CV check list and said everyone has to do it and I was told I can do it in Ingeus office or take the form home to fill out, after reading the cv check list they basically want all my last work places and references ect. I dont mind filling some of it out but I dont want them applying for jobs for me as some jobs they have offered me already are awful agencies which have a reputation not to pay people.

if i give them some Information so they can send me jobs available to my email or phone number would they abuse it and can they start sending my cv out to anyone without my knowledge considering i have not signed any Induction pack giving them consent to send my data.

You can withdraw your consent for them to hold copies of CV, your email address, telephone number and not to contact non contracted third parties on your behalf so leave all those blank, as for previous employees I am sure the same applies you do not have to name them.

If this is not a mandatory activity then you are not compelled to do anything of the sort and afaik this is not a job market related activity so they cannot mandate it.

Hi trebormoinet thanks for the reply , i dont think its mandatory but my advisor said everyone has to do this, even though my advisor knows what type of jobs I'm looking for. I don't mind to fill it out as i have not signed any consent form and if they do send my cv out they are going against their own rules.

I will fill parts of the form out within reason and explain I dont want it to be sent out to every tom dick and harry they are partners with.

If they did abuse my cv ( since i didn't sign the first form to allow them to send my cv to anyone, the induction form ) could i mention this to her and say "i haven't give consent to send my cv to third parties but she can have some information enough to send me jobs"

and if they do start blasting my cv out to anyone and everyone how easy is it to withdraw my email phone number and cv.

thanks again.

You can withdraw your consent for them to hold copies of CV, your email address, telephone number and not to contact non contracted third parties on your behalf so leave all those blank, as for previous employees I am sure the same applies you do not have to name them.

 

If this is not a mandatory activity then you are not compelled to do anything of the sort and afaik this is not a job market related activity so they cannot mandate it.

Do not think for one moment they have your interests in mind, if it is not mandated then you can refuse, ask for a letter if you are being mandated, I explicitly wrote to head office withdrawing my consent for Ingeus to hold copies of my CV and not to contact third parties on my behalf, guess what, the adviser sneakily scanned a copy of my CV and sent it to an agency, swiftly removed after my letter of complaint but non the less they still did it, withdraw everything email phone CV else you will start getting stupid jobs at stupid times rolling in.

yes to be honest Im already getting the odd text message with crappy jobs though their providers which i dont reply to. Would it be best if i email her and ask her to tell me if making a new cv with them is mandatory or not, that way I have it in writing, and should i write to FOI requesting if its mandatory to fill out a cv with a third party ( which they will say its not then i can show my advisor that).

Best way imo IF YOU CHOOSE to email it is create the CV but remove any personal information Name,address,email,

telephone,name of school, name of companies worked for etc so they cannot use it in any way, use a throwaway email address save it as a pdf and email that.

IF YOU CHOOSE to show it them instead you may keep your personal details intact but do not let them keep a copy and keep it in your sight at all times.

Stop emailing them and tell the to remove your email address from the system, same with phone number,this will make your time with them easier.

Having a CV is a market related activity so they can mandate you to create one but that does not mean they can hold a copy paper or electronic without your consent and how you choose to present the CV email or printed is up to you, evidencing the CV is not a job market activity.

Thanks trebormoinet i will keep everything to a minimum my advisor has already seen my cv and said "its good to go". I did refuse them to keep it and I took it back and didn't let it leave my sight thats why on my last visit she was asking me to make a cv or take the cv checklist home and fill it out, As she said she can't help me without any information, even though i told her, "I'm applying for my own jobs and will show her evidence of each job search" ( I also refused to show her my UJM and even the job centre doesn't have permission to see it )

I think I will just tell her what type of jobs I'm looking for again and tell her to email me what ever she finds within reason.

thanks for your help really appreciated.

[...] she said she can't help me without any information

The cynic in me says I doubt she would be able to offer any worthwhile help even with the requested information and a clue bat.

The cynic in me says I doubt she would be able to offer any worthwhile help even with the requested information and a clue bat.

I would wager my monies on your cynicism opposed to the advisers optimism.

It really has descended into a fiasco, they have no money, I have overheard the manager giving a member of staff a rollicking for not getting any leads they can feed to the advisers, and the advisers are frustrated because they have nothing to work with, so continue to pressure people with pointless, repetitive tasks that achieve nothing.

Recently they downsized in property and staff by 50% in my area leaving the worst of a bad bunch, and now the closure of the work program looming with referrals ending in march and the replacement work and health program has 1/4 of the budget more job losses are on the way even if they do manage to secure a new contract and the end is neigh for those that fail.

This has led to a dog eat dog atmosphere amongst the staff who have lost all disregard for right and wrong in order to achieve a target.

My current work coach made the mistake in assuming I would roll over at the mere mention of a sanction, but I trod carefully, read up everything I could and now he is afraid to mandate me,I have shown he uses them for punitive measures, refuses to answer my emails for fear of entrapment and it sticks in his throat that all the issues we disagreed on have been generally upheld in letter of complaints, I am not sure if I have the time energy and resources to take them to court but I do know that should that be the case I gave him enough rope to hang himself and I have everything recorded.

I have 2 months left to continue to turn the screw on them now, the mouse has become the cat and I take great pleasure watching them squirm as they take pleasure in making the vulnerable, poor and ill squirm on a daily basis.

I have 2 months left to continue to turn the screw on them now, the mouse has become the cat and I take great pleasure watching them squirm as they take pleasure in making the vulnerable, poor and ill squirm on a daily basis.

You could use your remaining time to give advice to the advisors on how to survive on JSA and in structuring their job searches more efficiently. i.e. Don't waste time on sending out mass applications, but rather concentrate on the ones more likely to produce a result.

You could use your remaining time to give advice to the advisors on how to survive on JSA and in structuring their job searches more efficiently. i.e. Don't waste time on sending out mass applications, but rather concentrate on the ones more likely to produce a result.

You remember well Mr.P poetic justice indeed, I shall bring that up on my next meeting along with the printed front page of a recent Guardian article entitled "Bloodbath at the DWP", over 2000 advisers to go with the introduction of the work and health program" just to ram the point home.

Couple that with JCP offices full of staff who know their own fate is in the balance with the roll out of full digital areas, office closures and own frustrations with internal changes such as UC.

Those caught between the 2 are treated as whipping boys.

Hi , Im not sure I'm posting this in the correct section but I'm sure someone could help me.... I have handed in a Js28 form which covers me for 14 days ( first sickness) I had surgery done and 2 weeks was minimum healing time. its now 10 days but i haven't fully healed after surgery do I need to get a Drs note or can I self cert again for a further 14days?

can you self cert back to back 2 x 14days , but then you are entitled to no further sickness for a year ?

thanks guys much appreciated.

Hi , Im not sure I'm posting this in the correct section but I'm sure someone could help me.... I have handed in a Js28 form which covers me for 14 days ( first sickness) I had surgery done and 2 weeks was minimum healing time. its now 10 days but i haven't fully healed after surgery do I need to get a Drs note or can I self cert again for a further 14days?

 

can you self cert back to back 2 x 14days , but then you are entitled to no further sickness for a year ?

 

thanks guys much appreciated.

I'm pretty sure you need a sick note

I hope your doctor is compassionate

Thanks , I will be able to get that as I was told it could take longer to heal.

thanks for the help.

Hi,

I was referred to Ingeus on October 2015, but have signed off and on a couple of times since then. I'm aware the contract with Ingeus lasts 2 years, but does it get put on hold for the time you've signed off?

Will my contract with Ingeus end on October 2017?

Thanks.

The clock does not stop during any periods of not signing on. So your involvement with Ingeus will end in October 2017.

If they try to tell you otherwise, lodge a formal complaint with the DWP.

Quick question about Job centre plus. I have been ask to log into there computers using UJM even though they know its not my primary job search engine and I print everything I apply for and show them.

( which I replied " I don't know my password " ) so the advisor has asked me to bring my password in next sign on to do a 20 minute intensive job search with him ?

he was also telling me about companies that I can get work experience from and at the end of it get a interview ( done this before waste of time ) and when I asked if its mandatory he said no but we can find some mandatory things.

my question is do I have to log in using there computers and does he have the right to make me do a 20 minute intensive job search using only UJM while signed in on my account as I don't wish to put my passwords in on public computers which has access to my personal details.

worst thing is I keep asking for courses but they just wont budget for them unless I can guarantee I have a job afterwards.