Another Job Centre Plus, sanctioning rant!

[HEADRAT]

Sadly the ball is always in their court it seems :/

Well of course it is otherwise people would never make an appointment

Your talking about a Government Department which is following rules that are meant to reduce the amount of JSA paid out (I'm sure they wouldn't quite phase it like that, but that's the reality).

It's pretty obvious they aren't going to give you "the benefit of the doubt" so it also clear that you need to cover you backside when you're dealing with them otherwise there's a good chance there'll "sanction you".

It's not rocket science is it!

 

[Kemik]

OP, it sounds like the Job Centre are taking the rules to the extreme. I can understand they are under pressure but it seems harsh the penalties they have applied if you re-arranged the interview. Maybe getting it in writing is a learning point for the future?

However, based on your experience with the Job Centre I would highly recommend looking at budgeting tools if you don't already use one. You mentioned that you received some extra cash at Christmas and used some of it to buy a graphics card, did you have an emergency fund at all? Next time you manage to scrape together some cash, try to save up to a month's expenses in a separate bank accounts. I realise this may not be easy at this time but at some point it will and it will help you to get through times like this.

In the meantime, fast food chains are surprisingly flexible when it comes to hours. I worked a day a week at McDonalds during college which got a few more pounds in my pocket. Every little helps, even if it is only temporary!

 

[Vidar]

Ok so you cant rely on family helping out with food/financials forever. Surely though between family and friends they could do the odd school run for you, the difference in having a full time job should afford you to be able to pay for occasional minding etc too. Its a hard job I know (3 girls myself) and a wife with health problems. You need to grab everything by the scruff though, the moment you let chances slide, the even keel starts getting awfully vertical awfully quickly. Get your face in somewhere, even if it means working initially for a week or three FOC so they can see you are worth it.
Your children come first, how they view you may be tainted as they grow up only seeing you on your uppers, leave your pride on your welcome mat and get out there and find work.

I am actively getting out there and am not just looking for security work but anything I can reasonably do but it does seem like trying to ice skate up a hill. I will however get my CV up on here for people to see and help with later on.

Why can't you get a hardship payment?

That's what its there for... if you can't afford rent or food you can get Harship even if you have been sanctioned.

Yeah the funny thing is they don't tell you they won't pay for the first 2 weeks regardless and it took a few days to get sorted so I was expecting my payment yesterday. It didn't get sent because they suspended my claim. For missing the appointment I did actually have on Tuesday.

It's not anti welfare, the welfare system is great, when people are long term unemployed and can't arrange themselves to attend one 10 minute appointment every two weeks, how can they possibly think they have anything to offer a prospective employer.

If you're directly referring to me, with all due respect every appointment I know about I turn up for and the job centre now require you turn up to various things almost weekly that are not your regular signing up appointment. The first appointment I missed I wasn't informed about yet they claim during my signing up appointment I was handed a letter. I wasn't as I'm pretty astute with paperwork.

The second appointment again was not a regular signing on appointment but ironically enough a compliance interview, which I was told had been rearranged for Wednesday anyway which I did go to only to be signed on as normal and told I hadn't missed anything when I said I was worried.

 

[valkynaz]

Threw a bit of spare money your way hopefully it will help out.

 

[Malevolence]

Anyway, The first appointment I missed I wasn't told about, they claim they'd given me a letter at my previous appointment but they hadn't so I was sanctioned for 3 weeks as apparantly not being told about an appointment when they're adament they did isn't a good enough reason for not attending.

You've got 'em bang to rights there then. If they hand you a letter, or any other type of form, at your appointment then you have to sign and date a form to say that you've received it. That then goes into your claim paperwork that they pull out each time you sign on.

Go ask them to find the relevant signature.

 

[Vidar]

You've got 'em bang to rights there then. If they hand you a letter, or any other type of form, at your appointment then you have to sign and date a form to say that you've received it. That then goes into your claim paperwork that they pull out each time you sign on.

Go ask them to find the relevant signature.

Hmmmmm that never occured to me actually, and they're insisting that it was printed off and handed to me while I was there. That is something that I'll be bringing up with them tomorrow!

 

[C64]

28580 Job vacancies available in Liverpool on Indeed.co.uk

How many of those are long term contracts
How many are zero hour
How many are minimum wage

My guesstimate would be 90%

Employers need to start putting the crack pipes down nobody good is going to work for minimum wage.
I have seen adverts for minimum wage menial unskilled jobs asking for minimum GSCE grades etc it's laughable.
This is why the immigration floodgates shall remain open brits don't want to live to work they want to work to live.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

How many of those are long term contracts
How many are zero hour
How many are minimum wage

My guesstimate would be 90%

TBF though, only the zero hour contracts are the ones I'd expect a job seeker to pass over (as it's a PITA to manage your JSA claim with the irregular hours/income). Zero hour contracts are only suitable for those not seeking a regular, garanteed level of income - e.g. students, retiress, no family to support etc.

There is nothing wrong with fixed term contracts and min wage jobs to get you off the dole - you can always continue looking for better jobs while you're working.

 

[C64]

You cant plan or do anything without some form of job security and knowing where you stand.Easy to tell someone just take that job but what happens 2 months later when the company lays them off or they don't get enough hours that month to even cover the rent.We need reasonably long term secure jobs, until then expect the unemployment figures to keep rising.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

You cant plan or do anything without some form of job security and knowing where you stand.Easy to tell someone just take that job but what happens 2 months later when the company lays them off or they don't get enough hours that month to even cover the rent.We need reasonably long term secure jobs, until then expect the unemployment figures to keep rising.

Oh, I agree with you on that - but turning down a min wage job whilst on JSA is daft, as is turning down a short term contract. I wouldn't blame anyone for side stepping a zero hour or low min-garunteed hour job though.

 

[Shoza]

It's hard not to sympathise with your situation even more so with young children, but everything really is within your own means. I've been there at the bottom, on jobseekers (9 years ago) being told to apply for hundreds of minimum wage jobs in areas I had no interest in and things I simply didn't want to do. I spent 3 months in total on job seekers and it was a daily nightmare and not conducive in the lease to finding a job. At that point I realised this wasn't for me, made some temporary sacrifices.

Looking back I lost 5 stone in weight, took free night courses and worked hard in a minimum wage job for 2 years until someone took a chance on me and offered me a dream career with full financial support for my degree course. Have never looked back since then and I am now doing extremely well.

You need a full time job now even if it means that some time with your children is lost - we all have to accommodate this and with time you earn more, have more flexibility, and have the ability to work and live in a way that allows you a lot more freedom, but most importantly to enjoy your life with your family.


There are good bits of advice in this thread and I hope you follow through with it all.

 

[CREATIVE!11]

Yep,

Sounds about right for the job centre.

If you try to ring up as well you'll be put through to a bunch of different people and nobody will even help.

I find that they are very quick to sanction and incredibly slow to help and sort anything out. In your case you informed them you couldn't make it. Should be simple right? nope.

I posted a story about my friend not being able to attend an appointment they booked and they wouldn't change it so he just phoned in sick and lied....

Sanctioning ruins lives. The sooner we get rid of this callous and uncaring government the better.

Sanctioning has it's purpose, it's to ensure nobody is taking the micky. But they are being handed out left right and centre and have increased so much under the tory govt.... you see stories all the time of people being sanctioned for very minor things. It basically leaves somebody without the ability to eat ffs.... you don't just throw them out lightly. They also doubled the length of sanctions this govt. A first time offence in the case of Vidar it would have only been a week, but now they'll do it for 2 or 4 weeks.

It's just disgraceful....

 

[dowie]

You cant plan or do anything without some form of job security and knowing where you stand.Easy to tell someone just take that job but what happens 2 months later when the company lays them off or they don't get enough hours that month to even cover the rent.We need reasonably long term secure jobs, until then expect the unemployment figures to keep rising.

Unemployment has been falling under the current govt, most new jobs are'nt zero hour ones either.


OP, sounds like some of this you had control over and screwed up, other bits you've got grounds to appeal the sanctions. Either way tis probably best keeping a small amount in savings. If you can afford expensive graphics cards you can afford to save a few hundred so you're not starving if something like this happens.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

OP, sounds like some of this you had control over and screwed up, other bits you've got grounds to appeal the sanctions. Either way tis probably best keeping a small amount in savings. If you can afford expensive graphics cards you can afford to save a few hundred so you're not starving if something like this happens.

2 for 3 - where's Tefal?

If he has to save to avoid starvation rather than use JSA for that purpose, then he should be refunded some of his NI conts.

 

[This never ends well]

op you need to find out if they stopped paying your rent while they sanction you and if you get sanction again it will be for 13 weeks, then 6 months.

 

[deusexlumina]

2 for 3 - where's Tefal?

He has a point though. Buy graphics card or save some money in case things are tight? If you're on your own its no big deal if you decide not to save, but when you have kids its a different matter.

 

[CREATIVE!11]

Don't worry, dowie, tefal and balky will be along in a moment to tell you it's all your fault.

Lmao love how accurate this was.

 

[Malevolence]

Unemployment has been falling under the current govt, most new jobs are'nt zero hour ones either.

More like the numbers have been massaged by sanctioning and sending jobseekers on dumb, useless courses. Both of which conveniently remove you from the unemployed column.

 

[balky12]

He has a point though. Buy graphics card or save some money in case things are tight? If you're on your own its no big deal if you decide not to save, but when you have kids its a different matter.

Also by the sounds of it he hasn't had the best of luck with job security what with bad luck and also his depression coming into play. So why wouldn't you save just incase you fall on hard times? To prevent you having to rely on JSA. Especially as everything thinks they are so 'incompetent'.

 

[Boycey0211]

Also by the sounds of it he hasn't had the best of luck with job security what with bad luck and also his depression coming into play. So why wouldn't you save just incase you fall on hard times? To prevent you having to rely on JSA. Especially as everything thinks they are so 'incompetent'.

How do you know he didnt save? I've got a nice computer and savings too....