Ive been put on on a regular supervised jobsearch with ingeus. The sessions will be 3 hours long, but i usually find i can do all my searching in not much more than 30 mins (unless there are lots of new jobs appear at once). Does anyone have any suggestions of how to pad this out to 3 hours? I dont have any problems with going to their sessions, i just dont wanna sit like a lemon for most of it, or worse - have the supervisor use it as an excuse to do the jobsearch for me and push me into jobs i dont wanna do.

Well I have had my second appointment with INGEUS, what a total waste of time and space this 'organisation' is. My CV is excellent, I need no help with applying for jobs or interview skills or confidence building. I worked for a high profile company in London for 18 years and was made redundant - I am by far more skilled and organised than these people. So no, I don't want to see you every week and I just want to be left alone to look for work - I don't need your 'help' as you give NO HELP at all - you play tick box exercises, my adviser was shocked at my planner/tracker in WORD format and perfectly done and didn't say much as I am not an idiot! Anyway, as a bit of a researcher and someone who follows things up I decided to look up my adviser on Facebook and the girl who 'advises' who is around mid 20's has an open account for all to see - daft to say the least. Anyway, her last entry "fed up with work and dealing with idiots coming to see me daily" and the best one (guess referring to me) "Had one bloke in today only his 2nd appointment who has a perfect CV and does everything he should and I don't know what to do with him as he thinks he knows it all but still can't get a job so he is obviously not that good" Maybe I will keep these screenshots as ammo should she try anything with me like saying I am not trying hard enough etc. Loaded gun ... wonder what her bosses and DWP/JCP would think!

Job Centre Plus have put me on "course" with Ingeus starting on Monday from 10am-4pm and lasting two weeks. All I've received from Job Centre Plus is a badly printed out sheet of A4 paper with a google map of where their location is on one side and on the other side an address, travel options and "lunch options: McDonalds" (surely lunch option!) printed on it! All I've been told about this company by my advisor is "they're good, they get people into work" I thought Job Centre Plus were there for that purpose? :/ I live with my father, who is in his 70s, in his house and received a phone call which my father, as he usually does answered, with a confused look on his face he handed the phone to me 30 seconds or so later to which I heard "...appreciate confirmation of your attendance" He heard the word "Ingeus" and knew it was for me as I had told him I was going there Monday. An 30/40 second automated computer phone call in which someone else in your household could answer and be met with a quick burst of a phone number and other information to "confirm attendance" hardly speaks volumes of their boasts on their website which says "Excellence with integrity - The principle of excellence with integrity is the foundation of our organisation, and informs every decision we make." They effectively called me to tell me something yet their automated system kicked in when someone else answered the phone call! Does this automated phone call from Ingeus not break the Data Protection Act? I've also noticed from their website they say "Once you are referred onto the Work Programme by Jobcentre Plus, you will receive a phone call from Ingeus,followed by a letter confirming the date, time and location of your first appointment." Job Centre Plus referred me to this programme over a month ago but all I've received is this automated phone call and no letter. Starts on Monday though! Is this a taste of the incompetence I'm going to have to sit through for the next two weeks? I've also found out through my own research online that I may be expected to sit beside ex-offenders who could be on the same course for the two weeks, nothing against ex-offenders, but surely I should be told these things before I actually get there? Can anyone on this helpful website please give me some info on what to expect and what I'll be doing for the next two weeks?

hi i was wondering if anyone who is with ingeus or has been ever been to a information session for jobs going at a company?

hi im new and came across this site while looking for help im at wales and i currently live in england , my family and i have had to travel to wales for 3 weeks because of a death in the family , which is a child so we are having to wait for the funeral etc i dont want to burden my family in wales but im really worried as i have an ingeus appointment on wednesday , i rang the jobcenter up and they were really helpful , will my money be stopped for me not attending my appointment ? im stuck 600 miles away and no one to ask thank you to anyone who can help me i really appreciate it thank you

Hi My son has to attend ingeus appointments he failed to show up at his last one and now has a sanction against him, The last one he attended was the 13 of december and was told in that interview that she would be busy until after the xmas period. My son was calm at this as christmas is a hard time for him bein an anxiety and depression sufferer we go to the interview via a taxi arranged by ingeus and a private room with his mum. we record convos and have not signed anything in ingeus to pass on data etc. The appointments was usually once every 6 weeks but now the advisor the last time he was there booked the next one on the 18th on December 7 days later! yet she explained how busy she was with 200 clients a week on a 3 day shift and said it won't be after christmas! my son was panicking as he's got to then do a spec letter and build himself up to go again so soon, he could not even leave the house that day with panic but the advisor was having non of it and sanctioned him straight away as it was not a valid reason for being worked up ever xmas and not being well to come. We filled out a reasons letter explaining all this that he's struggling getting out the house and can't cope and he's been issued diazepam by his doctor to help but still the job centre gave him the sanction! So today we called ingeus to get another appointment and will try to get him to the next, they have changed his advisor for the 3rd time! My son gets to know someone there and they change again its all very stressful. What would be the best advise in dealing with this sanction? I really don't think its fair! They said they would not make him apply for any jobs nor would he have to seek work but them doing a CV out of what he used to by like by using his past experience in work (how he felt back then) and sending him home to do a spec letter surely is actively seeking a job? I am sick of these bully tactics the last advisor he had on the 13th december let him into a false sense of security saying she understands, she's currently on anti depressants, been homeless has post traumatic stress and was left after domestic violence bring up a kid on her own! Is that really appropriate for someone advising my son on his mental health and supporting him? I find all this disgusting and would like any additional help to get this sanction lifted I am so worried for my soon its left him in tears!

I don't know if I am in the right forum here but here goes: Does anyone know of any organisations for young job seekers that actually offer practical help (not just CV and applications) to any young person (not just disadvantaged young people) in getting work? I have been a little dismayed that while a young person I foster has had all sorts of practical help from various organisations from helping her with her CV to actually taking her to agencies to help her look for work, my son, because he has not been in care, is not disabled, does not have mental health problems and has not been in trouble with the police gets no help whatsoever! He appears to be disadvantaged by a good education, and a degree, a smart brain and an ambition to do a masters degree and he desperately wants a job so he can pay for it. He has been unemployed for 18 months and has been seeing Ingeus for around a year but they do absolutely nothing to help him. The only help they offer is CV writing and job applications which he does not really need. They have told him there is not much they can do for him. He suffers from an extreme lack of confidence and social awkwardness and this is what he needs help with. They have never given him any work experience or interview practice. He was sent once about a year ago to go and interview for some work experience and it was in the bad weather, he made it through the ice and snow only to be told it was cancelled when he got there and he didn't hear any more about it. He is 24 so should still just count as a young person but not for long!

Ingeus are a private company. (Part of the mighty Deloitte Group of accountants.) This makes me wonder if I can sue them for non-performance. I was told I had to attend various workshops on different topics, this was made mandatory. The workshops were all run by the same person, who is laughably incompetent. He makes numerous mistakes of fact, he gets confused which event he is running and either him or the company often get the invite list wrong, with attendees getting repeat workshops but not the first workshop in the sequence. To top this, he tells lies about himself and his background (he claims various achievements, which on checking, have turned out to be false) and is in every way grossly incompetent. The 'workshops' on the usual topics like interview skills and team building, are utterly useless. Ingeus also run the usual selection process for candidate pool assessment. During this session the selector behaved in a plainly racist manner towards one candidate and generally treated everyone else like dirt. The process itself was laughably fabricated to produce a given result. (Everyone selected apart from those who did not have ID evidence.) The ID evidence demand was itself confused and contained possibly illegal elements. All of this makes me wonder if I can't take them to court under, for example, a Small Claim. After all, they are a private company are they not? They have wasted many hours of my time on these farcical activities, time which would have been far more profitably spent doing my own job searching activities. What do you CAG experts think about this, might I be able to get a CCJ against them for compensation for inadequate and useless service provision? Might I differently be able to argue that their restraint of me in these pointless workshops and other activities amounted to undue restraint or even kidnapping?

Hello All, I am thinking of sending an email to ingeus would that still class as a proper correspondence, I have the appropriate ingeus person's email address, has anyone send emails to ingeus! Is it better to send letter or email? Thanks helen

Hi I received a letter from Ingeus in Birmingham that my exit report was being sent to my local JCP. So I emailed for my copy form my advisor. Received it this morning. B'gger all on it apart form next steps. It states in the Next Steps box. Actively apply for jobs (I blinking apply for up to 60 jobs every two weeks) Consider alternative job goals (what brain surgeon or international fashion model???) Undertake additional skills training (did all their courses. Now doing Sage 50 and NVQ) Engage with JCP Advisor (always do!) Attend job interviews coming up (yep done that offered a job and then the b'stard retracted it!) Anyone else had the same standard form and did it state the same on the next steps?

Hello Everyone, My friend has been asked to attend a work programme with Ingeus it is her first and she is very nervous and is suffering from panick attack, she suffers from depression, anxiety, migraine and panic attacks! Her first appointment is today and she is unable to attend due to being sick and panicking! I will ring Ingeus for her and book another appointment, she cannot cope with anything on her own which I did mention to the DWP adviser on her behalf I had to already cancelled an appointment for her and booked another with the DWP adviser which I had to prompt her to go, the dwp are aware of her condition that at this present time she cannot cope with anything, she is under the hospital Intake Team and are awaiting an appointment from them which again the dwp is aware of! My concern for her would they allowed her to cancel this appointment I will let them know I am coming with her for her next appointment keeping finger crossed they don't give us too much problems has anyone cancel their first work programme appointment due to be unable to go because of being sick and panicky! We would like to know of anyone experience of cancelling their first appointment with Ingeus! Thanks

Hi All I have been going to Ingeus since April 2012, I have put up with there sarcastic comments and general degrading, however, my advisor today has told me there is nothing they can do to help me in finding work because I only search for work in one sector i.e. IT, and they are going to write to the DWP. Ingeus referral is that I am restricting myself for just searching for employment within one business sector, IT, of which I have worked in for the last 20 years. I have done everything they have asked of me, applying for 10 vacancies per week and attend any courses, such things as their Job Club. My concern is, how does this referral process work?, how does it effect my JSA/housing benefit?

Hello, recently my ingeus advisor has been very rude to me so i filed a complaint and it still continues. im on JSA, would i get sanctioned if i walk out of my appointment? she has been making me do impossible stuff too like, making me apply for 10 advertising jobs in a week that i have never applied for and she contacts them to make sure.

So I'm with the work programme and have been taking temp work with agencies for a few weeks here and there over the last few months. I sign off JSA, then do a rapid reclaim so that DWP know the situation. I don't always tell my Ingeus Advisor and over the last week he has been demanding to know all the work info which I didn't think was relevant for him to know. After bombarding me with phone calls and answer messages, he phoned one of the agencies and they gave him details of all the temp work I had done. I would just like to know where I stand. How much information do I have to give to Ingeus, why did this agency give out all this personal information to a stranger on the phone. Also as I now look like a pillock with the one agency and will never get any temp work again through them, will he now call round the other agencies demanding information, basically killing my chances of temp work. Long post, but would appreciate any advice thanks.

when i signed for the first time at Ingeus the other day they took my job search diary off me, i got told its to check if i have done enough. does this mean they'll contact every the employer of every job i apply for and write on the diary? :S

i was reading DWP Provider Guidance Chapter 5 Annex 1 and i dont exactly understand it... im told that if i withdraw my signature i will no longer need to go to ingeus? ( they are useless for me, they are constantly sending me on the same programs done 1 of them 3 times now, they are making me apply for jobs that i cannot do... they are putting me forward for jobs without informing me ). so is anyone able to explain this to me in a stupider way please? i would have provided a link to it but im not allowed...

I'm autistic and I've been unemployed for 5 years which means I'm experiencing regression so it's unlikely I'd be able to work, I find it incredibly difficult just attending the job centre once a fortnight and now they've got new rules such as Universal Jobsmatch it'd be even harder for me, also I had a terrible experience with Ingeus which has left me scared of being sent back there as it would likely make my autism significantly worse. The job centre have told me I don't meet criteria for JSA as I can't use a phone to contact employers, thus it seems like my only way of surviving is constantly switching between JSA and ESA. I applied for ESA for the second time last year - the first time I attempted to get on ESA I was denied, due to ignorance of the system I didn't appeal the firs time round but I DID last time and yet I was still found fit-for-work. I was denied ESA on 14th August so I want to re-apply this month...sooner the better as I'm on JSA as of 3 days ago and already it's causing me problems due to anxiety over new rules and the possibility of being sent to Ingeus, I'm absolutely terrified of my sign-on day on Tuesday. I hate that these people don't understand my problems and I have no way of making them understand. Is there anything I need to know about re-applying for ESA? Is there any way I could get onto ESA a little sooner? Is it true I may have to go to Ingeus even if I'm on ESA?

I have my first appointment at Ingeus in a couple of weeks and I am worried. I am 57 years old and I have been unemployed for just over a year. Prior to this I was on ESA as I was declared unfit to work. I suffer with depression, anxiety and have bouts of panic paranior. It is under control with daily medication but it does make me very nervous at interviews and the thought of working in a environment with lots of people. My condition therefore affects my day to day living. I don't know how the staff at Ingeus will view me, or deal with me. I can't accept just any old job, but I fear they will force me to. Any opinions please?

Hi Has anyone on the WP with Ingeus and been mandated to use their new website 'Ingeuswork.com' Wondered if anyone had any feedback on it and their results? I have found very little helpful to me, the distances are cost prohibitive travel wise or the jobs unmatched to my criteria. I was sent a Teacher role and a Lawyers Assistant!

Hi, I am currently on ESA - work group after winning my appeal two months ago. I was recommended that I don't be reassessed for another year. I have just had a call from Ingeus who want me to go in and see them to make an appointment. How often will I need to go and see them and is it compulsory? Currently I go into hospital 4 times a week for treatment and don't want to miss any of these appointments. Thanks.

Ingeus seem to think that my fortnightly signing on at the Jobcentre is separate. My contract is with the Jobcentre and not Ingeus. They (Ingeus) expect 3 jobs applied and declared to the Jobcentre and then as many jobs as they say I must apply for and declare applications to them on paper unless I want to be reported to the Jobcentre for possible sanctions. Are they allowed to force me to make many, many applications far in excess of what my Jobseeker Agreement stipulates? I always exceed the mininum requirements for activity that the Jobcentre expect of me. Has anyone made a request for info on this to DWP Central FoI Team regarding this?

So here is my story so far. ATOS WCA last year, passed with 16 points. ATOS reassesment beginning of this year, scroed 0 points for the same conditions i had last year. Went to tribunal, waited 6 months for the hearing and won it in August. Beginning of this month i was called by the Job Center folks to come in and speak to an advisor, which i expected, theres 6 of these interviews...or at least there was. In my first interview three days ago, the woman who interviewed me was really helpfull, taking time to explain things and asking how bad my health problems affect me. She then dropped a bombshell on me...i would be referred to Ingeus, the Work Programme people who "look after" JSA claimants. She looked almost apologetic, and said that there would be a chance that Ingeus would not even call me up and basically pass me over, which is what happened with the six interviews i had with the Job Center last year, i went to only one of them, was never called back after that. I got a phone call from Ingeus today, they want me to come in next week o.O The ohonecall interview was like i was on JCA all over again. Not one mention about how fit i was. I was asked to bring in a CV for my first appointment, i was then asked what kind of work I had done before, what kind of work i was "looking to do now", how far i would be willing to travel to find a job, how long i would be willing to work per day, and then the "interview" on the phone ended. Whats going on here? Will I end up being forced into a job on my first few interviews with this Ingeus lot? I told her i was on ESA and she said "yes we have it on our records"... o.O

I don't know if anyone can help me out, I am on a programme with Ingeus at the moment called the CAP (community action programme) and I was told they would reimburse me my travel expenses. As I drive to and from my volunteering position I was told I could claim back my mileage at 20p per mile, But I have just found out that the minimum the government says to pay it 45p per mile, Has anyone else had this problem? as I want to know if I can Claim back previously owed mileage and make them pay the 45p per mile. Thanks for your time Gary