Work Programme - Good Reason Letter

[Dounyas]

Today I received a letter from DWP saying that I a doubt has been raised because it appears I failed to undertake an activity Ingeus told me to do. It says that on 19.08.2013 I was notified to attend/participate in an appointment on 20.08.13 but that I failed to do so.

 

Now they need a good reason letter from me sent to the address on the letter before 06.09.13 to explain why I didn't undertake this activity.

 

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on 19.08.2013, whilst I was with my adviser, he said that he didn't have a digital copy of my CV on file , he said that if I didn't send it over to him I will get sanctioned from the jobcentre. I didn't want him to have a digital copy of my CV so I tried to give him my printed CV on paper but he refused. He insisted on a digital one. He then issued me with a mandatory work notification which normally has an appointment on it on the first page 20.08.2013 (which is automatically generated). The details of this letter mentions that the activity to be done at the appointment is that a CV will need to be emailed to him by 5pm on 19.08.2013 as a mandatory activity on the work programme. Failure to receive this cv and cover letter will mean that the job centre will be informed.

 

Although I wasn't interested in sending it to him by email, I have changed it to PDF (no changes can be done to it) with a copyright included then sent it to him. and he received it after checking with him over the phone and that was all completed before 5pm.

 

 

Now how can he expect me to attend the appointment on 20.08.2013 if the activity to be completed is on 19.08.2013.

 

I am sure this advisor is using this tactic to get me off the work programme. He is deliberately misleading me. I need to lodge a complaint against him.

 

What are the best points to raise in this letter to win this case?

Edited September 4, 2013 by Dounyas

[Mr.P]

Point 1) A Mandatory Activity Notice MUST give sufficient notice for the activity to be completed. Issuing a MAN for an appointment the following day is in direct contravention of this guidance.

 

You had already offered a hard copy of your CV to the adviser, yet he/she insisted on an electronic copy by 17:00 that day - Was sufficient time allowed for you to get home and generate the email, did you experience any delays from your internet service provider that affected the quality of service ?

 

Have you consented to the WP provider storing and processing personal information including your CV ?

 

 

Whilst your WP provider is not in a position to "get you off the work programme", it would certainly appear that he has set you up for a sanction. My initial response to the DWP letter would be:

 

"A M.A.N. was issued to me on 19-08-2013 for an appointment on 20-8-2013. The time allowed fails to take in to consideration my personal circumstances and fails to meet DWP guidance (Chapter 3a, Provider Guidance, para.36). It also fails the test of "enhancing their employment prospects and developing skills and disciplines associated with a normal working environment" (para.30). I had already offered a hard copy of my CV to which would have been acceptable to many employers and employment agencies."

 

Side note: Just because you watermark and copy protect a PDF, there are plenty of ways to bypass these protections. If you want to make it difficult to edit a PDF, export it as an image and then paste it in to a PDF.

[Dounyas]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I have signed no documents with them apart from the travel reimbursement sheet which requires my signature to reimburse me.

 

By signing on that sheet would that mean I have given them my consent to process my personal information?

[Dounyas]

the electronic copy of my CV I sent him that day, I included this paragraph at the end of my CV:

 

Data protection act 1998.

 

This document is provided for administrative purposes only. No permission to reproduce, distribute,

 

share, or disseminate the information contained within is granted or implied by its submission. Any

 

violation of these conditions will be reported to the Office of the Information Commissioner and may

 

result in criminal prosecution

[Dounyas]

In my reply to DWP, I will ask them to change my advisor due to being bullied by him and cause of his bad intentions.

[Mr.P]

I have signed no documents with them apart from the travel reimbursement sheet which requires my signature to reimburse me.

 

As you have not signed a consent form, the WP provider is mandating you to provide information in a manner likely to breach the Data Protection Act. Also worth a read of :https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/are_there_any_circumstances_when (thanks to jasta11 for finding that) - Any limitations of what a DWP/JCP adviser can ask for must surely extend to a WP provider under contract to the DWP. Include a copy of the FoI response along with a statement that you haven't signed any WP consent forms.

 

At your next WP appointment, bring out the clue bat and remind this "adviser" that you haven't signed any consent forms and that he would be in breach of the DPA should he demand personal information.

[Mr.P]

the electronic copy of my CV I sent him that day, I included this paragraph at the end of my CV:

 

Whoops... You keep posting faster than I can type up a response.... Let me get the timeline straight.

 

19-08-2013 You were handed a MAN instructing you to email a CV by 17:00 that day.

Before close of business, you complied with the MAN ?

The MAN issued on the 19th included a mandatory appointment which you failed to attend on the 20th ?

 

You then received a benefit doubt from the DWP for failing to attend the appointment on the 20th ?

[Dounyas]

Q)19-08-2013 You were handed a MAN instructing you to email a CV by 17:00 that day

A) correct

 

Q) Before close of business, you complied with the MAN ?

A) yes i did. I sent him a PDF copy with the data protection paragraph at the end of the CV.

 

Q) The MAN issued on the 19th included a mandatory appointment which you failed to attend on the 20th ?

The MAN included an appointment for the 20th that I didn't attend correct as the section detailing the activities for that appointment mentions that the mandatory activity is to send a CV to him by 5pm on 19.08.2013.

 

so, it was to my understanding, that the mandatory activity was to send the CV to him on 19.08.2013. although on 1st page an appointment for the 20th was generated when he printed this MAN out.

 

Basicly he just wanted me to send the CV on 19th. He didn't want me to attend on the 20th. But the letter he printed out included an appointment on 20th.

 

Q) You then received a benefit doubt from the DWP for failing to attend the appointment on the 20th ?

A) Correct.

[Dounyas]

he tried to deceive me in this action.

 

how can I be mandated to complete an activity for the appointment before the actual appointment takes place?

[Mr.P]

he tried to deceive me in this action.

 

how can I be mandated to complete an activity for the appointment before the actual appointment takes place?

 

You can be mandated to undertake any reasonable activity by certain dates - This is set out in http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-pg-chapter-3a-22-october-2012.pdf. However, you had been handed a mandatory appointment letter and failed to attend, thus incurring a sanction. Argue for a reconsideration on the following basis:

 

(From what you have said), the MAN was misleading in that it gave one date for an activity to be completed and another date for a mandatory appointment - This may fail the test set out in para.10 of the above guidance. That a mandatory appointment had been made for the following day may also fail the timing test (para.36-38). If this MAN had been posted, it would certainly have failed to meet the guidance set out in para.40. In both cases, no consideration was given to personal circumstances (if you have poor public transport in your area, it would help to mention this).

[jasta11]

If I can also add to the usual good advice of Mr P,

 

whilst I was with my adviser, he said that he didn't have a digital copy of my CV on file , he said that if I didn't send it over to him I will get sanctioned from the jobcentre.

 

It's not his place to say 'you'll be sanctioned'. All he can do is inform the DWP of the circumstances; they decide any sanction, not him. Make sure you mention him over-stepping his authority in your letter. I'd class it as a personal threat and report it as such. Nothing wrong with an advisor saying 'You could be sanctioned' but they have no right to say 'you will be sanctioned', as though they had that power.

 

Regarding the appointment you're supposed to have missed on the 20th, the mandatory letter should have stated what that appointment was for ie 'Jobsearch', 'Letter Writing Workshop' etc. The guidelines clearly state that they must specify why you're being asked to attend each appointment.

 

If the letter dated the 20th doesn't mention any activity for that day then it's not a mandatory letter. Sounds like he's just issued the letter to give you an 'official' instruction to send in your CV on the 19th - which you did - and is now trying to claim he'd set up a proper appointment on the 20th.

 

I'd include a photocopy of this 'mandatory appointment' letter with your reply to the DWP, hopefully they'll see that it's wrong or at least could lead to confusion.

[Dounyas]

Thank you Mr P and jasta11 for your advice.

 

I have included almost everything mentioned from your replies in the letter and a photocopy of the mandatory letter and a printout of the FOI response from DWP regarding mandating a jobseeker to provide personal information.

 

I also requested that they change my advisor.

 

Hopefully they would give him a lesson on how to deal with jobseekers and that deceiving is not allowed.

[Mr.P]

Regarding the appointment you're supposed to have missed on the 20th, the mandatory letter should have stated what that appointment was for ie 'Jobsearch', 'Letter Writing Workshop' etc. The guidelines clearly state that they must specify why you're being asked to attend each appointment.

 

If the letter dated the 20th doesn't mention any activity for that day then it's not a mandatory letter. Sounds like he's just issued the letter to give you an 'official' instruction to send in your CV on the 19th - which you did - and is now trying to claim he'd set up a proper appointment on the 20th.

 

I reserve judgement on whether an appointment letter not specifying the nature of any activity for that day constitutes an invalid mandatory activity notice - The final decision would be down to the interpretation of the rules by a DWP Decision Maker. Certainly argue the point with the WP adviser when he/she hands over the letter and insist on written clarification if needed.

[Nystagmite]

I'm sure they have to give more than 24 hours notice for an appointment? I think someone on here said it was 2 days minimum?

[Mr.P]

Can't put my finger on any hard and fast rules, only a suggestion from Chapter 3a:

Timing of sending the MAN

36. Ensure that the timeframe between issuing the notification and the taking part in the activity is reasonable.

37. If the MAN is posted, it is taken to have been received on the second working day after posting (not including Saturday or Sunday or bank holidays).

38. For example: If an activity was due to start on the Tuesday at 9am, it would be advisable to send the MAN on the preceding Tuesday. It could then be assumed to have been received in good time, it would be unlikely that the participant could provide good cause for non-participation due to not receiving the MAN in good time.

Method of sending the MAN

39. The MAN must be either handed directly or posted to the participant. If it is posted it is deemed to have been received on the second working day after posting (see above).

40. It is not acceptable to use electronic methods, such as text or email, to send the MANs to participants. However, it is acceptable to communicate electronically with participants to remind them of mandatory (or non mandatory) activities.

Note that there is a built in sanction route in the quoted guidance - Royal Mail aim to deliver 1st class post within one to three working days and 2nd class in three to five. Most WP post is sent out with a second class stamp on it, so you can guess what would happen if the appointment was three days after posting.... Always keep the envelope and note the delivery date ! Oh, and with Christmas only a few months away, R.M. delivery targets get suspended during December so don't count on 1st class post being delivered by the third day.

 

One memorable incident with an A4e "adviser" when it was pointed out that sticking a 2nd class stamp on and expecting it to be delivered in good time responded with "we can't be held responsible for the post taking three days to arrive.".