JSA - Actively seeking employment form

[Abbtt]

Hi,

 

I was previously told by my adviser screenshots of my mailbox are required to prove that I am actively looking for works.

 

For months there were never any problems with my job search. However now I am given some forms called Actively seeking employment (with questions like what did you do, when did you do it, job details etc) by the JC staff, she told me to fill it in and then show it to her tomorrow.

 

I really do not know why this happened as she obviously cannot be bothered to explain it to me. It somehow makes me feel that she did not trust the evidences I provided at all (she's photocopied the screenshots I provided).

 

I'd basically just like to ask if it is normal for the JC advisor to ask the claimant to fill out this form, when the claimant already provided screenshots of the mailbox?? I personally really do not know how to answer some of the questions listed. For examples: which JC did you use to look for jobs and on what date(s) did you visit/contact them? Can I simply say that I went to JC only to sign on??...

 

Just noticed that there are questions like "why do you feel that the steps you have taken to find work in the week in question give you your best prospects of getting a job？

Why did you not take all those steps to find work that you had agreed to on your agreement? (WHAT?!!) etc"

Very tricky questions I have to say!!

 

 

Thanks.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Abbtt

[Sparks_]

I think they are trying to trip you up son they can find reasons to sanction you, answer all questions with a positive answer....you HAVE taken all the steps agreed in your agreement, you HAVe carefully researched the companies you have applied for jobs with, you HAVE sent off applications

[Abbtt]

I think they are trying to trip you up son they can find reasons to sanction you, answer all questions with a positive answer....you HAVE taken all the steps agreed in your agreement, you HAVe carefully researched the companies you have applied for jobs with, you HAVE sent off applications

 

Thank you. I agree with you. I really feel like they kinda wanna trip me up.....

[Sparks_]

Thank you. I agree with you. I really feel like they kinda wanna trip me up.....

 

I think they are being forced to do that more and more as it gets near to election time just so the Condems can say how well they have done in getting unemployment levels down!

[Abbtt]

I think they are being forced to do that more and more as it gets near to election time just so the Condems can say how well they have done in getting unemployment levels down!

 

Well, yes! They are indeed very good at sanctioning people!!

[cher69cher69]

Well, yes! They are indeed very good at sanctioning people!!

Yes they are and I have found out some really concerning underhand activity within the job centres regarding who they target to sanction even if the claimant has done nothing wrong . Its disgusting they did it to my daughter said she never attended her sign on so she was sanctioned and got no money for a month she disputed this and found someone who spoke to her that day she was supposed to sign and got her money in the end but it was a battle it shoukdnt be like this not every young person wants to claim jobseekers my daughter hates it and cant wait to get a full time job shes a hard worker and it really ****es me off when the young and eager get treated like this because of a government who wants to muslesd the public it stinks

[Abbtt]

Yes they are and I have found out some really concerning underhand activity within the job centres regarding who they target to sanction even if the claimant has done nothing wrong . Its disgusting they did it to my daughter said she never attended her sign on so she was sanctioned and got no money for a month she disputed this and found someone who spoke to her that day she was supposed to sign and got her money in the end but it was a battle it shoukdnt be like this not every young person wants to claim jobseekers my daughter hates it and cant wait to get a full time job shes a hard worker and it really ****es me off when the young and eager get treated like this because of a government who wants to muslesd the public it stinks

 

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you for sharing your daughter's experience with the JC here. I really do not know why I was picked but I am definitely one of their target.

 

I've listed the questions on the form below, if anyone is interested to read:

Which jobcentres did you use to look for jobs and on what dates did you visit or contact?

Which newspapers did you check for jobs and on what dates did you check?

What employment agencies are you registered with and on what dates did you visit or contact them?

What other steps did you take to find work and on what dates did you take those steps?

List the jobs applied: name+address of employer, whre was the job advertised, how did i contact, type of work, date applied, outcome

Give details of any other employers contacted and explain why not if you have not contacted any other

why do you feel that the steps you have taken to find work in the week in question give you your best prospects of getting a job？

Why did you not take all those steps to find work that you had agreed to on your agreement?

State if there is anything that prevented you from looking for work in the week in question

Give dates and details of all the thing did to find work in the two weeks that before the period at issue

 

What do they mean "the week in question"? I've never have any problems with my jobsearch before!!

And how can I possibly remember what dates I did what exactly? What kind of answers they are actually looking for?

 

Why do they want to know what I did two weeks before this "period at issue"? Their colleague had checked what I've done back to that time and they apparently did not have any problems with it!!!!

 

I've showed my screenshots to them as required and now they are saying things like "in question" "at issue"? I known they are targeting me because this is not the first obstacle I encountered, and I won my case in court when the JC sanctioned me for not actively looking for work (they somehow just believed/thought I was ) early this year!!

Edited August 11, 2014 by Abbtt

[essexmat]

Basically, what they are doing is trying to get you angry so you lose your cool and they can sanction you or you decide you cannot take it and sign off. The system (JCP and WP provider, in my case INGEUS) made me so ill I reverted from JSA to ESA a few weeks back and have a 12 week unfit for work note due to a history of anxiety and depression - this way it gives me 3 months of relief whilst I look for work in my own time with no added pressure (unneccesary pressure Imay add) from these people.

 

You have two choices - play ball and do what they ask which will annoy them more or lose your cool and get sanctioned. There is another way around it - my way, but I had a history of A&D so played on that and I was bad a few weeks ago. Still not great but since I have not had to sign on and go to pointless INGEUS workshops or appointments I have been better. Honest people whould simply be left alone to look for work - we are being made to play a stupid game and jump through hoops to get our lousy £72p/w

Edited August 11, 2014 by honeybee13
Pejorative word.

[Charlotte_Henderson]

Well, yes! They are indeed very good at sanctioning people!!

 

Its the only thing they are good at lol

[essexmat]

Oh, and if anyone tells you they do not have sanction targets they are liars - of course they do

[Charlotte_Henderson]

Oh, and if anyone tells you they do not have sanction targets they are liars - of course they do

 

JCP and Ingeus have targets for everything.

[essexmat]

I have been relatively lucky with JCP advisers, mine have been generally OK but as soon as I got to INGEUS things changed (not from JCP side) from tolerable to just simply pathetic. They do not care about you, never think that they do, they want you in work so they can get their bonuses even if it means you are worse off

[Ingcredible]

100% spot on. I joined this candidate pool last year and ingeus have done nothing for me until the last 3 weeks when they have offered me 3 crappy jobs including one at a discount job on 10 grand a year. Im between the ages of 40-45 not a school leaver ffs. They are playing hard ball with me after i opened a can of worms about their policy on travel expenses. I'm now on the verge of losing the plot with a female management person who keeps texting me rubbish jobs. My dignity says dont hold back when i see them, and i am finding it harder and harder to play ball. They're not interested in my future, just their pathetic targets. Ive applied my arse off for proper jobs, and i remain positive. Just wish they would have some faith in my honesty and not have this sad one size fits all every one out of work is lazy approach.

[jasta11]

You've said exactly the same thing as I did in the long complaint I sent in to the heads of the work programme after leaving Ingeus. I wrote;

 

'Work Providers are given contracts to help and support those who genuinely need it, without wasting resources and the time of those who don’t. In my experience, the problem with the Work Programme - apart from the financial incentives and ‘quantity versus quality’ issues - is that it is a ’one size fits all’ scheme; every client is automatically deemed to be lacking in training, qualifications, literacy, confidence and life-skills and there is no provision for those clients who are already well-skilled and qualified - often more so than their so-called ’advisors’. The ethos seems to be ‘If clients need training courses, send them; if they don’t then send them anyway as we get paid and it looks like we’re helping’.

[sillygirl1]

I would answer those questions (and I was given them when I was on JSA over two years ago - it was the step before I got assigned to the local Work Provider (or should I say '''blood pressure increasing" provider, liWhich jobcentres did you use to look for jobs and on what dates did you visit or contact?

 

Which newspapers did you check for jobs and on what dates did you check?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

What employment agencies are you registered with and on what dates did you visit or contact them?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

What other steps did you take to find work and on what dates did you take those steps?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

List the jobs applied: name+address of employer, whre was the job advertised, how did i contact, type of work, date applied, outcome

A copy of my JSA document is attached, this is sufficient for them and should be for you, you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway

Give details of any other employers contacted and explain why not if you have not contacted any other

I have not been able to contact any other employers because I have been too busy filling in this intensive, intrusive document

why do you feel that the steps you have taken to find work in the week in question give you your best prospects of getting a job？

I have taken the steps explained to me by yourselves and listed in my JSA, these, by your own admission, should give me the best prospect of getting a job

Why did you not take all those steps to find work that you had agreed to on your agreement?

I have taken extensive steps, and I would now request that you undertake an English reading course to enable you to understand the words I write are the truth.

State if there is anything that prevented you from looking for work in the week in question

Spending time filling in this extensive intrusive form and expanding on the detail I already provide regarding my JSA obligations.

Give dates and details of all the thing did to find work in the two weeks that before the period at issue

See attached documentation -

 

I now require a copy of your Formal Complaints Procedure as I am suffering due to your harrassment and lack of sensitivity at time when I have enough financial problems to deal with - let alone continually monitor and record every single action I do relating to my jobsearch activities.

 

The whole job search thing is very exhausting in itself, let alone having to deal with people who seem 'programmed' to think you are NOT CAPABLE of doing your best on every job application and are 'Living the life of Riley' on basic JSA.

 

What peed me off about the Work Provider was if I had known otherwise I could have gone self-employed and got some funding, but because I was shoved onto them there was no funding for my age group(50+) whereas there was outside the WP scheme.

[Abbtt]

I would answer those questions (and I was given them when I was on JSA over two years ago - it was the step before I got assigned to the local Work Provider (or should I say '''blood pressure increasing" provider, liWhich jobcentres did you use to look for jobs and on what dates did you visit or contact?

 

Which newspapers did you check for jobs and on what dates did you check?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

What employment agencies are you registered with and on what dates did you visit or contact them?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

What other steps did you take to find work and on what dates did you take those steps?

This is listed in detail on the attached sheet - you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway.

List the jobs applied: name+address of employer, whre was the job advertised, how did i contact, type of work, date applied, outcome

A copy of my JSA document is attached, this is sufficient for them and should be for you, you already have this information from me on a weekly basis anyway

Give details of any other employers contacted and explain why not if you have not contacted any other

I have not been able to contact any other employers because I have been too busy filling in this intensive, intrusive document

why do you feel that the steps you have taken to find work in the week in question give you your best prospects of getting a job？

I have taken the steps explained to me by yourselves and listed in my JSA, these, by your own admission, should give me the best prospect of getting a job

Why did you not take all those steps to find work that you had agreed to on your agreement?

I have taken extensive steps, and I would now request that you undertake an English reading course to enable you to understand the words I write are the truth.

State if there is anything that prevented you from looking for work in the week in question

Spending time filling in this extensive intrusive form and expanding on the detail I already provide regarding my JSA obligations.

Give dates and details of all the thing did to find work in the two weeks that before the period at issue

See attached documentation -

 

I now require a copy of your Formal Complaints Procedure as I am suffering due to your harrassment and lack of sensitivity at time when I have enough financial problems to deal with - let alone continually monitor and record every single action I do relating to my jobsearch activities.

 

The whole job search thing is very exhausting in itself, let alone having to deal with people who seem 'programmed' to think you are NOT CAPABLE of doing your best on every job application and are 'Living the life of Riley' on basic JSA.

 

What peed me off about the Work Provider was if I had known otherwise I could have gone self-employed and got some funding, but because I was shoved onto them there was no funding for my age group(50+) whereas there was outside the WP scheme.

 

 

Hi,

Thank you so much for providing such detailed answers for each question. I already handed in the form and unsurprisingly I did not get any payment for the two weeks. I have no clues of why exactly they stopped it as I have received no letter from them at all. I will wait till the end of next week to see if there are any letters by then.

[sillygirl1]

Why wait, give them the same disrespect that they are treating you - explain to them that you are now unable to meet any jobseeking commitments as you have no funds, cannot feed yourself and cannot cope with the additional pressure.

[jasta11]

Hi,

Thank you so much for providing such detailed answers for each question. I already handed in the form and unsurprisingly I did not get any payment for the two weeks. I have no clues of why exactly they stopped it as I have received no letter from them at all. I will wait till the end of next week to see if there are any letters by then.

 

They're supposed to notify you in writing why your benefit was stopped. It's clearly stated in the Decision Makers guidance that 'all sanctions must be notified' and that a sanction 'is not effective unless notified'. I had a sanction once and they failed to inform me of it in writing so I quoted the guidance to them and threatened all manner of publicity - I got my money refunded. Worth chasing them up - they seem to be doing this a hell of a lot these days, stopping people's money but not telling them.