Job adviser targets?

[SweetLorraine]

Hi,

 

do the JCP job advisers have any sort of weekly/monthly targets to meet? i.e. number of claimants removed from benefits, got back into employment etc;

 

I am trying to get back into the financial services area from which I have recently just lost my job, I have a JSA set of job seeking targets to meet each week which I exceed, yet my adviser doesn't seem happy with that and complains that I am not focused enough!

 

However he now seems to be pushing me towards applying for much lower paid jobs, outside of my work history/experience, which may involve shift work.

 

Any suggestions as to what is going on? Should I be concerned?

[flumps1976]

No there are no targets for JCP advisers to meet to ensure people are removed from benefits.

 

How long were you employed in your previous field and how long have you been unemployed?

[san_d]

No there are no targets for JCP advisers to meet to ensure people are removed from benefits.

 

How long were you employed in your previous field and how long have you been unemployed?

 

Not officially, but targets have existed in the recent past, according to this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/08/jobcentres-benefits-sanctions-targets

 

And give a look at this comment:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/01/jobcentres-tricking-people-benefit-sanctions?commentpage=2#comment-10205649

I work for the DWP and can confirm that the targets on sanctions have been increased. There has been a real push to sanction as many people as possible with the justification being that it makes people uncomfortable being on benefits. It certainly does that, the forms are complicated and some staff target less able customers for easy sanctions.

We no longer have targets for job starts, these have been replaced with "off flow" targets, basically getting people off JSA, Broken leg? Depressed? Having a baby? It all counts towards our targets as long as they are taken off JSA.

The vast majority of people who work on the front line for the DWP really do try to make a difference but its really frustrating for us when we have to deal with this pointless number chasing from our superiors. Not everyone is blameless but our jobs are made very difficult by these targets.

[anarchon]

No there are no targets for JCP advisers to meet to ensure people are removed from benefits.

 

How long were you employed in your previous field and how long have you been unemployed?

 

Actually, there are some indirect ones. It's known as the 'Off flow' performance measure and it measures the percentage of JSA claimants that have ceased benefit after 13 / 26 and 52 weeks on benefit. I'm fairly sure the performance measure is set at local office / district level. Advisers are expected to contribute towards an individual offices or districts performance target (e.g. 80% of JSA claimants who made a claim in April to have signed off by the following March) , although they don't have a set number individually. They are measured in other ways such as number of interviews per day etc. There is a brief mention of this in the latest DWP Annual Report and Accounts for 2011-12 (see page 24).

 

In response to the OP, JSA claimants are usually allowed a 13 week grace period to find employment in their chosen profession / SOC occupational choices before their JSAg is reviewed and amended. Beyond 13 weeks, an adviser will generally insist that a JSA claimant applies for any suitable employment - even if it's lower paid than their previous job. If the OP feels that the adviser is being unreasonable given that the OP feels that they are complying with the JSAg, then I suggest they take it up with the Adviser Manager in the first instance.

[Nystagmite]

I think after a set number of weeks, you are expected to look at different fields?

[flumps1976]

The advisers have a system called ADAPT which is completed to account for their day, they are supposed to have a certain percentage of their covered with customer contact so advisory interviews and yes the support is supposed to help wit the off flow, but there are no targets to remove people from benefits iygwim?

 

If after a period of time between 13 and at the very most 26 weeks you have not been successgul in securing employment in your chosen field then yes customers are required to extend their job search to include other types of employment including a lesser salary etc, after 26 weeks the majoroty of people are advised that tey should be seeking any type of employment that they are both qualified and capable of undertaking.

[SweetLorraine]

Hi flumps1976,

 

I was made redundant in March this year. I took some time out to deal with family things and a bit of a holiday. I have started looking to get back into work several weeks ago which is when a friend made me aware that I might be entitled to a contribution based JSA for six months. And I am entitled to it.

 

After six months I am not entitled to it anymore - so at most I will get only £1,800 from a pot I have paid into over a number of years.

 

I struggle to understand why the JCP think that I would consider taking a much lower paid job in another work sector, (which would actually harm my prospects of returning to the salary/sector I did work in) so that the DWP can 'save' less than £2k in the short-term.

 

At first the adviser seemed helpful, but now, after eight weeks he seems to be deploying somewhat passive-agressive techniques to persuade me away from considering managerial insurance-type jobs (my previous employ) towards also thinking about basic admin. roles.

 

In truth, if I can't get back inti the insurance sector I'm quite happy to go self-employed and do my own thing as a (struggling) writer.

[flumps1976]

I'm not an advisor but as you have been out of work for approx 6 months and do not have a job offer to start your advisor will be looking at you expanding your job search to include any type of employment you are capable of doing and are qualifed to do.

It isn't anything personal it is the way the system has been set up to work.

Are you not entitled to receive income based JSA after your 6 months of contribution based JSA exhausts?