post work programme support in 2015. Help..

[stuartA]

so i have now finished 2 years in the work related activity group. got a meeting to discuss post work programme support and time on the work programme.

 

so i need to back a little to my first interview where i was put into wrag.

 

arrived early, checked in quickly with person was meant to see was told to wait until called over. over an hour later asked what i was waiting for. the lady i was to see had gone home, and got a new appointment for the next week.

 

i was ill when i was 14 caused epilepsy left arm and hand paralyzed rest of left side works at about 50% of right. was worried as i had heard bad things about in wrag and was advised to write my own action plan. as i never had any gcse or ever worked. the cv was first point. went to adult center which offers simple computer courses and worked out some which would be fast and easy for me to obtain but would need the ok of my advisor. (which i didnt get)

 

again i arrived early had a few sheets of A4 i typed out and were looked at for 2 seconds and handed back to me, signed into wrag told to expect classes, courses and ill receive a phone call.i was worried and expecting bad things. what i got was nothing (not moved or changed home of mobile number). one year later still heard nothing i had to get a new esa50 form and asked about not being contacted for a year. thank you and you will get a phone call was reply.

 

so now another year is up, phone esa number about a new form and ive still had no contact after 1st interview, he looked and said it seems there is some sort of appointment coming soon.and 3 months later i receive post work programme appointment.

so what now im rather worried as ive only seen esa horror stories online. Am i going to get done for not doing anything. could anyone Please help me with your experience or knowledge regarding the post work programme support.

Many Thanks..

Stu.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Stuart;

You raise several issues here all mixed in together. Might help if we can separate them first.

You are right that its best to start at the beginning. To that end then you wish to start with your first appointment or interview when you were referred to WRAG. It would appear that you had several botched appointments and interviews. Could you list them in order, with dates if possible, explaining a bit about your experiences at each.

Once on WRAG have you got a list of the activities that you were asked or expected to do, what courses were arranged for you, and what help, if any, you were given. Again with dates if possible.

At first glance it would seem you have good ground for complaining about the way you have been treated here.

Perhaps someone could refresh our memories as to what is expected of claimants in the WRAG group and what help they are entitled to receive.

No mention has been made of whether any doubt has been raised about your continued eligibility for ESA.

The next issue is the post work programme support interview. Have you got a date for this interview yet?

Have you been given a Work Programme Exit Report yet? This is a report by the Work Programme Provider of what you did, what they did for you, and what they suggest your next steps should be.

Here again a lot will depend on whether you are to remain eligible for ESA.

[stuartA]

thanks for the reply Lapsed Workaholic.

 

only had one appointment with the personal adviser had to sign up to work related activity group and not much was explained. she was a bit vague about what classes, support, courses, help with c.v, was just told to expect a phone call and that was it. there was no timetable of things to do, courses i must attend, jobs i must apply for, making a c.v. the interview didnt last long she seemed rather cold and didnt want to know anything i asked(mainly improving my non existent c.v and easy courses that will improve it. Just you will get a phone call.

 

there was no phone call. there were no follow up appointments/interview with the personal adviser. and no further letter at all from esa in 2 years except the esa50 form once a year.

 

got a post work programme support interview in 2 weeks time. and last month i was given esa again

[Mr.P]

If I understand you correctly, you had one or two meetings with a Work Programme provider two years ago, and heard nothing from them since. This is known as "being parked", a situation many conscripts would dearly love. In your shoes, I would breath a sigh of relief and be thankful that you can not be sent back for another two year stint.

 

Another plus is that you can not be sanctioned for the WP provider's negligence or their failure to maintain contact. Might be worth pointing out to the JCP when you have your Post Work Programme interview that the provider did absolutely nothing, no phone calls, letters, or meetings apart from the initial induction.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

I agree with Mr. P. that by leaving you alone for 2 years the WP Provider did you a favour. In most cases what they call helping is actually giving out grief.

 

This link will inform you of what to expect at your Post Work Programme Support and Completer Interview and help you to decide on what you may need to do to prepare for it:

 

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/163458/response/403920/attach/3/12%20Post%20Work%20Programme%20Support%20Chapter%20v1.2%202013%2006%2017.pdf

 

 

Can you remember if you volunteered to go on the WP or were you mandated?

 

The adviser will more than likely ask what you think you need to do to prepare you for work, or what you think is preventing you from increasing your chances of getting into work. Avoid making suggestions here, it could be counter-productive. You could simply reply by recounting your experience of WP. Make it clear to the adviser that you are not satisfied with the lack of help support received despite being promised it, it was not what you expected and nobody explained what exactly what you had a right to expect.

 

Another important point to bear in mind is that you do not agree to or sign anything at the first interview. Insist that you are not refusing to co-operate but need time to consider any proposal they might put to you, especially since the last occasion on which you went along with a proposal that they said would be helpful turned out to be anything but.

 

Anyway, have a browse through the Guidance in the link and I'm sure any queries you may have can be addressed.

[stuartA]

thanks mr.P and lapsed workaholic for replies.

 

i was told i have to sign to go into the wrag odds on ill be asked (told) to sign something else or i get sanctioned ill read up that PDF in a bit Thanks alot for that. Fingers crossed. ill report what happened at interview and will record it this time. Many Thanks again

Stu..

[Lapsed Workaholic]

So, you were mandated onto the Work Programme. The Guidance sets out what you can expect next.

 

Yes, the odds are that you will be asked to sign up for something else, probably something just as unhelpful as the WP was. The main thing is to insist on being given time to consider any options proposed. They may threaten sanctions but it is unlikely to be followed through since you are not refusing anything at this stage but merely asking for time to consider it.

[arcalite]

From what I can tell theres two things that can happen with work programme completers:

 

1. 13 weeks of daily signing

 

2. a 13 week CWP (Community work placement)

 

I got given the daily signing option which is probably the lesser of the two evils.

[reallymadwoman]

From what I can tell theres two things that can happen with work programme completers:

 

1. 13 weeks of daily signing

 

2. a 13 week CWP (Community work placement)

 

I got given the daily signing option which is probably the lesser of the two evils.

 

The above would only apply to JSA claimants, not ESA.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

From what I can tell theres two things that can happen with work programme completers:

 

1. 13 weeks of daily signing

 

2. a 13 week CWP (Community work placement)

 

I got given the daily signing option which is probably the lesser of the two evils.

Claimants exiting the Work Programme after April 2014 are placed on one of three Help to Work (HtW) Schemes.

 

1. Mandatory Intervention Regime (MIR)

2. Daily Work Search Reviews (Daily WSR)

3. Community Work Placements (CWP)

Claimants placed in #1 may be transferred into either of the other 2 within 8 weeks. They may also be put on Weekly WSR for an indefinite period, and more than once. This is at the discretion of the adviser.

 

Claimants placed in #2 may remain there for a max of 13 weeks, or may be transferred to either of the other two within 8 weeks.

 

Claimants placed in #3 may expect to spend up to 30 hours per week on the placement plus at least 4 hours per week actively seeking work. CWP can last for 26 weeks unless claimant gets a job in the meantime.

 

None of this applies to ESA claimants.

[stuartA]

so thanks lapsed workaholic -mr p- arcalite -reallymadwoman for the reply's

so back again..

meeting was changed to phone call a day before appointment

so today i was called by Alex. first off, he was a pleasure to talk too. so he wanted to assure me this wasnt pushing me into work (i believe him after the call) it was more what can i do to help you.

 

i can be a lazy git if left to it. im quickly approaching 40 and i need to do something im becoming unfit, unhealthy, and even lazier and im being wasted (in what i can do. i have so got used to being told in unemployable and excepting money for nothing. if only i can contribute in a little way i have always wanted that. i was expecting the worst, but hoping for the best though.

 

so the call.. explained my problems pretty well, he was understanding from the get go and said, if we achieve even nothing over the next year he was here to help me in any way for support and any way i saw fit to help me. he laid out some options first was C.V. i explained i done some work to see what i could do at the center round the corner and some qualifications i could get real easy, but needeed the ok from adviser, and she looked at me like i had grown a third eye. he again apologized for her none work with me. he was more than happy with a c.v. if i wanted to do that. he mentioned volunteering services. i think they would be more understanding of my problems to work around it and alex agreed that would be a good route to try or at least look at online. again he assured me if i didnt want to do this it was ok but even if we were able to get a few hours of something a week it could help me. i certainly agree with that 100%. if i felt it was wrong for me i can stop it or increase when i felt up to it. whatever i wanted and assured me once again that we didnt have to go down that route it was something to just look at and see if i felt i was willing to try it. he also mentioned the skills help (or health) check this would be a meeting to see what i could do or capable to try. its voluntary, but i gather this is the dodgy one, he said i do not have to do this at all. if i do. we might go a different way than they offer, and again said we can do it any way i wanted, even getting some paid work which wouldnt affect my benefits at all. i was not pushed in any way to anything and he was more than understanding with all my problems and he was Bloody Amazing!! i chose to do the skills help check. i should get an appointment next week. sorry for the waffling on there. ive seen to have hit lucky compared to my last, didnt really want to talk to me advisor this one totally understands from my point of view not a one size fits all or else. things will change but, backed with a good adviser i should achieve something. so the question i have is what is the skills help check??? i heard it from one side so have anyone done this ?? also no word about sanctions(woohoo) he apologized for her lack of work and not helping me..

Edited March 5, 2015 by stuartA

[Tj rodgers]

Claimants exiting the Work Programme after April 2014 are placed on one of three Help to Work (HtW) Schemes.

 

1. Mandatory Intervention Regime (MIR)

2. Daily Work Search Reviews (Daily WSR)

3. Community Work Placements (CWP)

Claimants placed in #1 may be transferred into either of the other 2 within 8 weeks. They may also be put on Weekly WSR for an indefinite period, and more than once. This is at the discretion of the adviser.

 

Claimants placed in #2 may remain there for a max of 13 weeks, or may be transferred to either of the other two within 8 weeks.

 

Claimants placed in #3 may expect to spend up to 30 hours per week on the placement plus at least 4 hours per week actively seeking work. CWP can last for 26 weeks unless claimant gets a job in the meantime.

 

None of this applies to ESA claimants.

 

Claimants Completing Work Programme before April 2014 totally left in the dark and regime varies in different areas even down to different jobcentres within an area lol