Ingeus

[jordanleeshaw]

Advisor/adviser - Matters not (to me) which one you use. I wouldn't worry about spelling or grammar here, no one will think any less of you for it (just don't use txt sp33k).

 

Many people, myself included, recommend having a separate email account specifically for job applications and another for "official" communications - I have a dozen or so for various purposes, and one reserved exclusively for the likes of A4e (all emails to be sent to /dev/null ).

 

The use of 'txt tlk' is horrible. I don't use it in informal conversations with friends. There's no worries there.

 

I've removed private e-mails from one of the accounts he signed into as I'll use that for work related and contact between myself and my adviser.

[bumstonmcgee]

I have been chosen to go on the candidate pool by ingeus....I have a leter with a list and they want proof I have a passport/bank account/national insurance number etc....anyone else had a candidate pool appointment?

[antone]

I have been chosen to go on the candidate pool by ingeus....I have a leter with a list and they want proof I have a passport/bank account/national insurance number etc....anyone else had a candidate pool appointment?

 

I presume they're asking for proof that you have the documents employers might want to see to confirm that you're eligible to work in the UK. I'm not at all sure that they have any right to demand that you show said documents to them, though. I mean, they should already know if you have an NI number, but passports and bank account details? I wouldn't want to hand that information to Ingeus.

 

Mr P, any thoughts?

[joeski]

my friend has been sanctioned for a month for missing an appointment with his advisor de3spite the fact he filled out a holiday form and the jobcentre said it was ok, it would have been his first appointment with the advisor in question. he like me suffers from bad anxiety and depression and he just doesn't know how to handle situations, i have advised him that if it is that bad he should claim ESA but would he be entitled? also are ingeus advisors more careful with what they say if you take a family member or friend to appointments?

[Mr.P]

they should already know if you have an NI number, but passports and bank account details? I wouldn't want to hand that information to Ingeus.

 

The N.I. number is one of the key bits of information that is passed to a WP provider when a claimant is referred. If Ingeus can not find it in their records or have lost it, someone in that office needs a darned good kick up the backside.

 

Not everyone will have a passport, and if a claimant has never travelled overseas, it is unlikely he/she would have one. Further more, how many unemployed people can actually afford the £72.50 fee that is charged for a passport.... If you haven't got one, and Ingeus are demanding that you do, insist that they foot the bill.

 

Bank account - Sure, most people will have at least one, but it is personal and confidential information and the details should only be given to trusted individuals with a genuine need. e.g. A payroll department to enable earnings to be paid via BACS.

 

An Ingeus "adviser" is neither trusted nor has a need for bank account details.

 

If you have a passport and a bank account, the only response that needs to be given is a simple "yes". Anything more should be robustly challenged.

[antone]

my friend has been sanctioned for a month for missing an appointment with his advisor de3spite the fact he filled out a holiday form and the jobcentre said it was ok, it would have been his first appointment with the advisor in question. he like me suffers from bad anxiety and depression and he just doesn't know how to handle situations, i have advised him that if it is that bad he should claim ESA but would he be entitled? also are ingeus advisors more careful with what they say if you take a family member or friend to appointments?

 

Re the JSA sanction - if your friend has had a sanction applied, he should write to the DWP office concerned (the processing office, not the actual Jobcentre) stating that he is requesting a reconsideration on the grounds that he had already completed the appropriate holiday form and that the missed appointment fell within the period notified to, and agreed by, JCP. I assume he notified JCP about the holiday before the date of the appointment?

 

ESA entitlement? It's very hard to say who would or wouldn't be entitled based on forum evidence. Would his GP or other doctor be prepared to issue a sick (fit) note for him?

 

Friend or family accompanying? Again, difficult to say. I think if an Ingeus adviser knows they're making a dodgy request, they'd be less likely to do so in front of an independent witness. But the training some of them receive seems to be so poor that I suspect a lot of them don't actually know what they can and can't ask of a claimant. Still, I can't see what harm could be done by taking a companion for moral support. It certainly won't make them more likely to say anything bad.

[joeski]

Re the JSA sanction - if your friend has had a sanction applied, he should write to the DWP office concerned (the processing office, not the actual Jobcentre) stating that he is requesting a reconsideration on the grounds that he had already completed the appropriate holiday form and that the missed appointment fell within the period notified to, and agreed by, JCP. I assume he notified JCP about the holiday before the date of the appointment?

 

ESA entitlement? It's very hard to say who would or wouldn't be entitled based on forum evidence. Would his GP or other doctor be prepared to issue a sick (fit) note for him?

 

Friend or family accompanying? Again, difficult to say. I think if an Ingeus adviser knows they're making a dodgy request, they'd be less likely to do so in front of an independent witness. But the training some of them receive seems to be so poor that I suspect a lot of them don't actually know what they can and can't ask of a claimant. Still, I can't see what harm could be done by taking a companion for moral support. It certainly won't make them more likely to say anything bad.

 

 

yes he told the jobcentre and they said it was fine, he didn't tell ingeus as he hadn't heard from them i a while. also is it possible the advisor in question made up lies so that the DWP would definitely sanction him? i don't know if his doctor would issue a sick note or not but his anxiety and depression is worse than mine, just before Christmas he had a mini breakdown with all the stress and sat on the kitchen floor with his head in his hands for about half an hour. many people including myself have said that if his anxiety is that bad then it'll effect his ability to work.

in general i think most ingeus advisors are rude arrogant and don't fully understand the needs of some job seekers, i had to stop him today from closing down his JSA claim.

[Mr.P]

I seem to recall joeski asked for advice about this holiday issue a week or so ago - A request for a mandatory reconsideration should be made on the grounds that the JCP had been informed of the holiday.

It is unfortunate that the friend had not been correctly informed (by the JCP) that the WP provider should have been notified of the holiday dates... If it were me, I would stress that the JCP had been correctly notified and omit to say anything about the WP provider.

 

Any adviser is going to be a little more restrained if there is an independent witness involved, and they also tend to be less threatening if they suspect a conversation is being recorded... However, I note that the DWP stance on recording meetings has shifted slightly. The latest missive is somewhat woolly in that it says that you are entitled to record conversations, but a WP provider may raise a benefit doubt because it might not meet their standards of "acceptable behaviour".

[antone]

yes he told the jobcentre and they said it was fine, he didn't tell ingeus as he hadn't heard from them i a while. also is it possible the advisor in question made up lies so that the DWP would definitely sanction him? i don't know if his doctor would issue a sick note or not but his anxiety and depression is worse than mine, just before Christmas he had a mini breakdown with all the stress and sat on the kitchen floor with his head in his hands for about half an hour. many people including myself have said that if his anxiety is that bad then it'll effect his ability to work.

in general i think most ingeus advisors are rude arrogant and don't fully understand the needs of some job seekers, i had to stop him today from closing down his JSA claim.

 

Advisers making up lies? I don't know. JCP staff would probably not be so blatant, but these days I don't know what stunts WP providers would pull. Still, I agree with Mr P that he should request a reconsideration and not mention the fact he didn't directly inform the WPP.

 

Regarding ESA, if his doctor will sign a sick note, he can make a claim. At the initial stage of a new ESA claim, a doctor's note is sufficient. Without one, he will not be awarded ESA.

[joeski]

thanks guys i will tell my friend to request a reconsideration, is it likely he'll have the sanction stopped? i agree he should have told ingeus about the holiday but he assumed as he hadn't heard from them in a while it would be ok.

[sillygirl1]

My old WP adviser has been viewing my Linkedin account, but as I haven't updated it for a long time they are out of luck.

 

Fortunately at the moment I do have a job, found through my own efforts and my own rewrite of my CV - adding an old skill which now seems to keep me in steady work. It is until the end of March at the moment but will possibly go on for another 6 months or so - may even become permanent. The people are nice, the office is right next to the mainline station and it is in a good part of London for me (Borough Market is just at the top of the road - lovely grub there at lunchtimes!).

 

I am not sure why they still want to look at claimants accounts long after they have left the WP... unless of course they are trying to claim that they have helped me into long term employment and prove it with the printouts!

[joeski]

whats a Linkedin account? is it a social networking site like Facebook and Twitter?

 

nothing WP providers do would surprise me, all they are interested in is getting money for finding job seekers any old job despite the fact it may not be suitable for them. i would put in a complaint about the adviser as they have no right to snoop around your accounts.

[Mr.P]

A Linkedin account is indeed similar to a facebook profile in many ways - Aimed more at garnering business contacts rather than social media "friends.

 

Like Facebook, any personal information that you post on a Linkedin profile has the potential to be viewed by anybody. To all intents, the information is placed in the public domain, so a WP employee has as much right to view the profile as the next person. If the question was "what commercial need does X have to view a Linkedin profile", the answer would have to be "additional validating evidence for a job outcome payment" - Grounds for a complaint, No.

 

If you don't want people knowing personal/private/confidential information, don't go posting it on the internet.

[antone]

I am not sure why they still want to look at claimants accounts long after they have left the WP... unless of course they are trying to claim that they have helped me into long term employment and prove it with the printouts!

 

I suspect you're right - they're trying to find out where you work so they can claim the credit and the outcome payment.

[keiron rackham123]

just found out a lets say a future relative went in the jocentre with no job search, they made him sign in on universal jobmatch which proved he hadn't been on or 2 weeks and got away with it, yet i get sanctioned for writing jobsearch on a piece of paper forgetting to put dates but tell the manager the dates via telephone on my UJ account, the adviser knew the person outside the jobcentre as a close family friend, appeal in, hardship applied for (2 year old son) if we don't get anything by tomorrow we are literally not gunna swear but you know, we financially stricken ourself to have a phone line and internet so i can check UJ and have a phone number.

[vinny47]

Keiron,

Have you been sanctioned for points 89 and 90 of this link

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/169272/response/411434/attach/html/3/FOI%203354.pdf.html

[speedfreek]

Has this been posted? Also is this upto date?

 

FOI with Work Programme Providers induction letters from A4E, Avanta, Reed, Maximus and Ingenus

 

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

[keiron rackham123]

not exactly because they wanted screenshots/print outs aswell

[vinny47]

Is it the case that this is jcp related and not work programme related

i have been sanctioned for not providing print outs or screen shots.

I am ringing my jobcentre manager on monday, i was wondering if anyone can help me word it, i know they can't mandate screen shots or print outs.

At a guess JCP adviser wasn't happy with your job log asked for additional info such as screen shots, print outs of feedback from applications and has

raised a labour market doubt as per 90

[joeski]

if you have an appointment with your ingeus advisor and you cancel your claim before the appointment would that mean you wouldn't have to attend the appointment and couldn't get sanctioned? just wondering out of interest.

[antone]

if you have an appointment with your ingeus advisor and you cancel your claim before the appointment would that mean you wouldn't have to attend the appointment and couldn't get sanctioned? just wondering out of interest.

 

Yup, you can't be sanctioned when you're not claiming. As long as the appointment is scheduled for a day after the end of your claim, you couldn't lose money for not attending.

[joeski]

Yup, you can't be sanctioned when you're not claiming. As long as the appointment is scheduled for a day after the end of your claim, you couldn't lose money for not attending.

 

so if your appointment is on a tuesday and you cancel your claim on the monday you'd be ok?

[antone]

so if your appointment is on a tuesday and you cancel your claim on the monday you'd be ok?

 

Yes. No sanctions can be applied in respect of days when you're not claiming, so if you close your claim the day before an appointment, there's no issue.

[joeski]

Yes. No sanctions can be applied in respect of days when you're not claiming, so if you close your claim the day before an appointment, there's no issue.

 

thats good, i wonder how many people have did this and signed back on a few weeks later or something

[Mr.P]

if you have an appointment with your ingeus advisor and you cancel your claim before the appointment would that mean you wouldn't have to attend the appointment and couldn't get sanctioned?

 

You could do what I did - Go to the appointment, push all the right buttons and get the adviser to throw a hissy fit. Get it all on tape and finish of the appointment with a couple of pithy verbal slap downs

 

Not recommended if you need to reclaim within the two year period from the original referral - The adviser would probably be gunning for your guts if you ever had to go back.

 

For my efforts, I got sanction letters from the DWP and was informed that they (yes, multiple sanctions) would remain on file for three months.