My friend is unemployed but has accepted a job working away from home on a temporary contract. Despite completing the appropriate paperwork, Didsbury Jobcentre in Manchester have not released his final Jobseekers' Allowance payment and have not returned his urgent phone calls. He cannot return home to collect a giro payment if one is sent as he is working too far away. And the earliest he can receive a bank payment would be on Thursday, 16 July (over a week late). Now he is unlikely to be able to continue in his new job as he has run out of money. He has worked for this company before on a temporary basis and is distressed at the thought of having to let them down. He is also very angry about the slack standards in the Civil Service. Can he sue the Employment Service? What recourse has he?

My friend is unemployed but has accepted a job working away from home on a temporary contract. Despite completing the appropriate paperwork, Didsbury Jobcentre in Manchester have not released his final Jobseekers' Allowance payment and have not returned his urgent phone calls. He cannot return home to collect a giro payment if one is sent as he is working too far away. And the earliest he can receive a bank payment would be on Thursday, 16 July (over a week late). Now he is unlikely to be able to continue in his new job as he has run out of money. He has worked for this company before on a temporary basis and is distressed at the thought of having to let them down. He is also very angry about the slack standards in the Civil Service. Can he sue the Employment Service? What recourse has he?