daughters benefit journey

[Guest]

my daughter is on jobseekers, she has a son who was 5yrs old last year, and as a result she was removed from income support onto jobseekers, no problem with that, she has to find work for 20 hrs per week, to fit around school times and within realistic travel time for same reason. She is now single through no fault of her own, she part time cares for me as well as being single mum, neiher of us have tried to claim any carers allowance after the fuss of my IB with Atos, its just not worth the stress if we can get by.

 

She job searches online daily, attends the jobcentre to sign on, this is where I am puzzled, she has her appts for sign on days and updates them as to her jobsearching, she is on their website and they can check at anytime on her searches etc, so no need for the diary now. She has a job advisor who she has to also see, so this week she has an appt on Tuesday for job advisor then again on Thursday to sign on. This job advisor is doing her head in, its like continuing pressure, she looks for work on her behalf which isn't a problem, but telling her to apply for jobs she has no experience for even though it states on the ad it is necessary, and to keep reapplying for same job after 2 weeks, seems daft? my daughter cant do much more than she is doing with this daily job search. why is it necessary for this advisor? I may be wrong here but I am sure others on jobseekers don't have to have these advisor appts?

 

Our local JC is a nightmare, twice she has been sent home after being told they had no record of her appt, or it had been cancelled, only to find later that she should have been there. She did complain and it got sorted. Am just wondering what the hell is going on lol

 

Apology for rambling and if I am wrong on any points.

[flumps1976]

Adviser apppointments are madatory, how old is your daughter as those under 25 are required to have weekly contact and over 25 are required to sign once a fortnight with adviser contact between 2 and 6 weeks at a time.

Also as not everyone has registered on Universal Job Match or given permission to view the accounts the job search diaries are still required.

[Guest]

ahhh I see, all these changes. Thankyou flumps. I was with her at her last sign in and the guy said no need for diary, seems they don't know what theyre doing at our jc. She always keeps a written note of everything anyway, just as well. She is praying to get a job soon, so they are off her back, and I am grounded when shes not around lol which with the chronic fatigue isn't a problem really.

[estellyn]

If you get middle or higher rate DLA care or Attendance Allowance, then any claim your daughter made for carer's allowance would be approved. Though if you fet a severe disability premium you would lose that. Once your daughter had carer's allowance, she could also claim income support, which would also be approved due to the carer's allowance.

[RebeccaPidgeon]

my daughter is on jobseekers, she has a son who was 5yrs old last year, and as a result she was removed from income support onto jobseekers, no problem with that, she has to find work for 20 hrs per week, to fit around school times and within realistic travel time for same reason. She is now single through no fault of her own, she part time cares for me as well as being single mum, neiher of us have tried to claim any carers allowance after the fuss of my IB with Atos, its just not worth the stress if we can get by.

 

She job searches online daily, attends the jobcentre to sign on, this is where I am puzzled, she has her appts for sign on days and updates them as to her jobsearching, she is on their website and they can check at anytime on her searches etc, so no need for the diary now. She has a job advisor who she has to also see, so this week she has an appt on Tuesday for job advisor then again on Thursday to sign on. This job advisor is doing her head in, its like continuing pressure, she looks for work on her behalf which isn't a problem, but telling her to apply for jobs she has no experience for even though it states on the ad it is necessary, and to keep reapplying for same job after 2 weeks, seems daft? my daughter cant do much more than she is doing with this daily job search. why is it necessary for this advisor? I may be wrong here but I am sure others on jobseekers don't have to have these advisor appts?

 

Our local JC is a nightmare, twice she has been sent home after being told they had no record of her appt, or it had been cancelled, only to find later that she should have been there. She did complain and it got sorted. Am just wondering what the hell is going on lol

 

Apology for rambling and if I am wrong on any points.

Dont apollogise.... at the moment, it is not mandatory for candidates to create a Universal Job Match Account, and candidates who have may delete their account without any sanction being applied. Unfortunately, whereas JCP have no control over vacancies in the Real World, and cannot validate that they are even live, they may match candidates to them and sanction the candidate if they fail to apply.

 

If she deletes the Universal Job Match Account, then whereas staff may attempt to coerce any candidate to creating an Account, such nonsense is pure bluff and blunder at the moment. However, I would suggest that your daughter returns to a paper based Job Search Record, and continue to apply for jobs that she is skilled and qualified to do, and which reflect the jobs featured within the Job Seekers Agreement.

[Guest]

well yes she wont apply for anything that she isn't skilled to do, or that asks for experience she doesn't have, but the advisor is pushing her more and more to just apply for anything, which is ridiculous when she doesn't have the requirements being stated. She does still keep a written record of all her searches and applications, dated, as well as doing this online search on the website they told her she HAD to use. I was put off applying for DLA after the fuss and stress keeping my IB has caused, and am dreading the form due soon with the review situation. I wish these people lived in my head and body. Thankyou for that RebeccaPidgeon

[flumps1976]

How long has your daughter been claiming JSA and when did she last work?

This is taken into account when looking at what type of work she should be applying for.

Even if she doesn't have a UJM account the adviser will still job search and match to vacancies and this could be any job that is suitable, e.g capable and qualifed to undertake.

[Guest]

she has been claiming it since feb 2011 when her son was 5. she did performing arts at college before she had her son, sadly her partner left her before he was born, which wasn't the plan, they had been looking at property to rent together, I can only assume he had a panic up and couldn't handle it all, no explanation was ever given. She didn't work at that time, had her son, planned to either go back to college or get a job, but I was ill and got my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and fms, she has really been looking out for and after me, and bringing up her son on her own until very recently when his dad wanted contact, thankfully they have both been able to be adults and think of my grandson, and its working out fine for contact. My daughter feels its her time now to get out and live and work and have a life. Sadly she has no work record or experience, and to be honest, she didn't feel able to study further over the past few years, its been hard for her with her own stresses and me. My mother died suddenly and unexpectedly last year and the grief hit us all terribly, as a family we have been through the mill emotionally over the past few years. I am looking for a support group to attend, I have found forums and support online which do help a lot, and am freeing up her time with me as much as possible. Sadly my daughter has no experience, and it doesn't seem like there is much of anything out there for her. She is a strong girl though and I know she will come through this if given a chance.

[Guest]

Having read all this about sanctions league tables, and jobcentres "having" to sanction a certain number of claimants etc (same as atossers messicals). I am concerned at the amount of errors our local jobcentre makes, on 3 separate occasions, I have been to the jobcentre with my daughter for previously booked appointments, to see advisor, and to sign on, only to be sent away at the entry/checkin desk, being told the appointment had either been cancelled or was not "on the list"...only to discover later that this was wrong and my daughter should have been there. Thankfully, so far, she has been able to identify who sent her home and I was there as witness to it.

 

Today she has had cause to ring the jobcentre re an appointment booked for Thursday with her advisor, and she has asked to change it as her sons school are dismissing the children at 2 o'clock instead of the usual 3 o'clock as it is the start of that schools Easter break. As my daughter cannot be in both places at the same time she has to put collecting her son first. She rang the jobcentre, to speak to her 3rd new advisor, who wasn't there at 9 this morning, and told they would get the new advisor to ring her back on xxxxx xxxxx which wasn't my daughters number, or ever has been, they insisted this was the number on file...however my daughters previous advisors have all had her correct number which she still has now. Thankfully she was able to give them the correct number and ask they amend the number on file. She is awaiting a call back for a new appointment, and stressing until they ring. Obviously if they don't ring today then they will get pestered until its sorted.

 

I find this inefficiency worrying, I know they are understaffed and am not blaming any particular staff member as such, but when they have a job that depends on accuracy of information, and the power to sanction claimants, then they really need to be getting their part of this right.

 

If it was me I would be complaining and causing a rumpus until they did get it right. My daughter however is actually scared to cause a rift, terrified she will be sanctioned or in trouble for doing anything wrong. She applies for way over her job application number in her JSA Agreement, and does her absolute best with all of it.

 

If she does ever get threat of ....or sanction....I will get involved and raise the roof in that useless hole of a place they have the cheek to call a jobcentre.

 

My anger is at the Govt, if these offices were fully staffed, by staff that were fully trained, these errors would be minimal...I wonder if this is the Govt reason for cutting back the staff in jobcentres, they know there are hardly any jobs in the first place. Any reason to deny a benefit is the Govt's only consideration IMO.

[Mr.P]

In defence of the Job Centre - There are a few good people trying to provide help with what little resources they have. However, the good work is ruined by the gross and institutional incompetence of others. The situation is not helped by policies being dictated at a higher level and punitive targets set by senior managers.

 

During my last spell signing on, at each visit I would demand copies of all paperwork, record all conversations, and remind them that consent was required before passing personal information to third parties. Also "mate", "bud", or "chap" were totally unacceptable forms of address. It is Sir at all times - They are here to provide a service to us, the "customer", so it is reasonable that staff treat us as such.

[Guest]

I totally agree there are some lovely and competent staff in the jobcentre, which is why I don't blame any one personally, as I said I blame the govt totally, they dictate these targets, they have reduced staff numbers etc....its not surprising mistakes are made, what is worrying is that these mistakes, can lead to sanctions, and in no way are the fault of the claimant.

 

This is another situation where if not careful people are pitted against one another. The reason the jobcentre is a useless hole with none or very few jobs, is not the fault of the staff...its the useless and corrupt govt we have IMO.

 

Whoever the fault lies with, is neither here nor there to me, or any claimant, its the fact that these errors are dangerous to benefits.

 

I actually do feel for the staff that are genuine and efficient, they are somewhat like me, as I am genuinely sick but seem to be judged as a scrounger. Atos certainly "believe" as do the DWP that I am. Praise be for tribunals, long may they live!!!

[jasta11]

Biggest problem I have with the JC - apart from their lack of organisation - is the fact that they don't know their own rules. They should be reminding me of the rules, yet it's always me who has to remind them. They need to sit down and actually read every piece of guidance literature the DWP has concerning their job - and hopefully retain it in their memory.

 

If I was the JC manager I'd have regular tests and also use 'mystery shoppers' to come in, pretend they need advice and see if the clerk actually gives them it correctly. DWP send undercover people in to the WP's so I can't see why they don't do it to the JC's too; I'm ex-DWP and a lot of my ex-colleagues held a low opinion of the JC's.

 

As has been said, they aren't all bad but we tend to always remember the bad things more easily than the good.

[Guest]

well....finally after having made 4 phone calls, spoke to two people and left messages with them, and spoke to one very rude person who seemed to be inciting a row, my daughter was in tears. I took the phone and rang, asked for direct number to the current advisor, and got given it (had to pretend to be my daughter) my daughter then rang that number and got the advisor and her appointment changed without a problem, but was told she still had to attend the JC on Thursday to sign on and was given an earlier appointment to do so. So we are fully expecting to get there to be told this is wrong...however, if that does happen my daughter will ask for the manager. We have notes and dates of all the errors etc and its not on, complaining "nicely" has never been a crime......and I will be recording covertly. Hopefully it will get sorted out or even just run smoothly......

[Guest]

To be honest I don't think my daughter is coping with all this very well, its one thing looking for work and another having to deal with all these errors and stress which are IMO unnecessary, she is stressed, not sleeping, being treated for depression and anxiety, and although I haven't spoken about it to her, I think its all too much with the way she is feeling. I have Bipolar Disorder and FMS and my daughter helps me a lot, she has a 6yr old son, whose dad is good and shares the load by contributing financially and having regular contact sufficient to keep my grandson happy and keep the bond between him and his dad, and my daughter a break. She still has 5 evenings of home work the school expect done, and a home to run, endless hours job seeking and now has been told by JC to ring every job she doesn't get and ask why she was unsuccessful, she cant afford these phone calls and emails are rarely replied to. I am concerned this stress the JC is bringing will tip her over the edge. I can see myself in her, as I was 30 yrs ago, and I fear that Bipolar could be developing. I dread it for her if this is the case as she would lose her JSA and there where would she be. This Govt has a lot to answer for. If there was a job for her she would do it, have them off her back and get on with it. It seems unfair that people are treated badly when its not their fault there is a lack of employment.

[Nystagmite]

has been told by JC to ring every job she doesn't get and ask why she was unsuccessful,

 

That time could be spent doing something about getting her a job. (such as applying for other jobs) I think I can see where they're coming from though.

[Guest]

yes I can, and so can she, see that it would maybe help if it were something wrong with her C.V. or some training needed. She has emailed many but they don't like replying, they say that there are too many applicants to advise those who have been unsuccessful so assume by a certain date that you haven't been successful. So far none have replied as to why, ringing them does ensure getting someone on the phone but with only a prepay mobile that is rarely with much credit, its not possible to make all these calls, she applies for quite a few jobs in a week. She uses internet at her granddads for job searches, but he is a miserly type and wouldn't take kindly to his landline getting used that much. maybe she should ask to do it from the jobcentre, if she had no internet access she would likely be down there for searching jobs.

[Guest]

Actually that gave me an idea.....have just rang granddad and asked him if he gets itemised phone bills, and if so could she use his landline while there on her two weekly visits, and any costs she can pay him for the calls....he's agreed and said that if its not much he doesn't mind paying...if you knew him you would understand how that shocked me LOL bless him. It could help her if training is a reason. It shouldn't be the C.V. she spent I think a day and half with a JC advisor who was the C.V. guidance advisor, and had it cleared by her as good.

[antone]

That time could be spent doing something about getting her a job. (such as applying for other jobs) I think I can see where they're coming from though.

 

It could be. The way I see it is that asking for feedback after an unsuccessful interview is one thing, contacting all those employers who rejected the application is a different kettle of fish. I mean, most of them probably couldn't even be bothered to send a rejection note, let alone further feedback.

[Guest]

Well we shall see antone...she cant refuse if the JC are asking her to do it. whether she will get anyone to the phone who will do as asked is another matter, but at least she will have done it, noted the number, persons name, date and time of call....and at least now she can do it at granddads she can stop worrying about not being able to. I am also going to make alternative arrangements for some of the things she helps me with. I think she is overloaded and doing too much, she cant be part time carer for me and do everything else as well if she isn't at her best herself. May be time for me to admit I need more help and get it for myself somehow.

[jasta11]

Calling employers to ask why you didn't get the job is yet another favourite time-wasting suggestion by the WP. I have a very good CV and never hear back from 19 out of every 20 jobs I apply for - I'm quite sure if I did call back they wouldn't even recall my application among the many hundreds. Pointless exercise and a waste of time which would be better spent writing off for the next job.

 

If an employer deems me 'not suitable' for the job then that's it; no good asking why I didn't get an interview - their criteria for dismissing my application can be anything; maybe I live too far away, been out of work too long, my CV wasn't among the random fifty they picked out of the hundreds they received...the possibilities are endless! I never even think about it now.

 

I wish they would reply though - even if in the negative; at least it proves you applied in the first place. For this reason I tend to only apply via email now, so that I have a record of my application and if via an agency, an automated acknowledgement.

[Guest]

well that apparently isn't good enough for our local jobcentre...proving the application was made and knowing whats on the C.V. as they helped her do it....should be enough I thought. she was told to ring them all and has to do it, I doubt she will get very far beyond leaving a message and not getting a ring back, but heyho, if that's what they want. she does apply by email or online, so has the auto reply as you mention. As antone has said a feedback on an unsuccessful interview would make sense, but they don't contact you unless you are being offered an interview and then if you have been successful at getting the job....I cant understand why the jobcentre want her to ring every job applied for. But then there is a lot I don't understand.

[jadeybags]

It's not just the job center making errors unfortunately. Councils do too & some of us pay for it for a long time. Not going to go into details as I have bored people enough with it back in the day. But I guess human error will always happen. It's not that, that is the problem, it is the consequences that the claimant has to shoulder because of it isn't it...

[dyfed]

In defence of the Job Centre - There are a few good people trying to provide help with what little resources they have. However, the good work is ruined by the gross and institutional incompetence of others. The situation is not helped by policies being dictated at a higher level and punitive targets set by senior managers.

 

During my last spell signing on, at each visit I would demand copies of all paperwork, record all conversations, and remind them that consent was required before passing personal information to third parties. Also "mate", "bud", or "chap" were totally unacceptable forms of address. It is Sir at all times - They are here to provide a service to us, the "customer", so it is reasonable that staff treat us as such.

 

I wonder if JCP staff would defend us? I doubt it.

[Guest]

Yes as I said...silly unavoidable errors can cost the claimant, especially with all this sanction carry on. Has me now wondering how much is error and how much is just plain pre-sanction game play. The very rude person on phone today was asking my daughter questions and every time she was answering the person would cut in "let me speak" rather abruptly, the other staff there must have thought my daughter was being unreasonable, but I was here with her and she wasn't, why ask a question and not hear the answer? they weren't paying for the call I was. I cant abide arrogance in anyone, whatever their circumstances. Maybe with all this outing of the sanctions targets theyre having a bad time of it. Will see how Thursday goes...I will be recording.

[jadeybags]

I wonder if JCP staff would defend us? I doubt it.

 

You're talking about peoples bread & butter here, you don't really need to ask that? Happens in every trade tbh not just welfare. Who will volunteer info against the hand that feeds them.