They're welcome to their suspicions as I most certainly have no other work. My profession has very, very little to do out outside 8am-6pm as most functions are almost completely automated.

Hi all, They've asked me to do an online work academy training course via the National Careers Service, however the training is merely on how to apply to a particular sector. As I was under the impression this was a course you could take out of hours, I verbally agreed. However I've now found it has to be done during business hours, and thus is taking time away from looking for work. So, I don't wish to do it, however the joining instructions state I've agreed and sanctions will follow if I don't have a good reason not to do it. So, can the JC mandate I take this training course without my written agreement? TIA

HI all, Just noticed a new question about Minimum Wage acceptance, I have a long history of work and haven't worked MW in decades, and my concern is that benefit is stopped if I don't take a dishwashing job! I hope the rules haven't changed that drastically but would love to know what the new situation is, TIA

Ok, can I then just inform them of the start date - and leave it at that?

UC.

...or do I need to close it completely?

From the site admin here? Nothing (except everyone living to a ripe and happy old age), this thread should have petered out with my first reply to TomTom, he and that other nice chap then started asking about economics, to which I've just been responding since. Now...as it's clear nobody has a workaround to this DWP policy, which some of you actually agree with, and of course there are gigabytes of material available for the X Lives Vs £Y debate, which ultimately is a diversion from the entire purpose of this great site, I don't see a need to keep growing the thread. From the DWP? I want them to have the most basic of humanity (I'm sure knowing them as we all do that's asking a lot!!) to wait until we have a few weeks of data confirming that the people currently dying from Covid consist only of non-jobseekers, due either to being deep into retirement age, or extremely medically compromised. Which, as people of ANY age are still dying, means this demand to seek jobs, where WFH isn't guaranteed for this dangerous transition period, is immoral and outrageous.

We're already moving in the right direction, as of today, C19 deaths are no longer the leading cause of death. We re-opened the economy last Summer, if you will recall, only after the number of deaths had fallen to single figures not per day, but per MONTH. BUT - that target hasn't been met yet this time - it's wrong for even ONE jobseeker to die who didn't need to be exposed. If the DWP had started calling back people in reverse age order to that in which the vaccines were distributed, so 18-20 first, then 20-25 etc, that I could understand. However, that consideration was not made - as far as I know.

The invitation was to a phone meeting, but that isn't my point. We have variants arising roughly monthly, and no definitive assurance that the current vaccine stack will prevent death by one of the newer, potentially more malign mutations. This is why the the government's insists people maintain SD/handwashing etc. While I wouldn't blame anyone for feeling heightened anxiety at this time, my concern is simply for the lives that are still being lost to this virus, and the obvious risk to others. I am a member of 2, possibly more groups of heightened risk. We've all seen the huge numbers of fake jobs, and dubious employers / agencies that used the DWP job portal, there's clearly no care being taken to filter them, so I have no faith they would know how lax employers are, especially smaller private sector ones, with safety measures. Anyway I will be certain to add the risk groups to my journal, and inform the JC that the call is being recorded at my end.

There's no "But"s. The government advice remains that we should maintain social distancing and wearing masks. While that remains true, and that humans are obviously pretty crap at keeping distance and adhering to mask wearing, it is hypocritical of them to ask us to apply for jobs where we risk dying of Covid. The DWP are asking us to risk our lives in an ongoing pandemic. This is unacceptable.

This is nuts. 35 people died in the last week, the union that represents the DWP's own staff confirmed that most of them felt unsafe going back into the office, yet they're expecting us to apply for jobs with employers who don't guarantee full WFH, the only viable transport overcrowded tube trains where "social distancing" is a punchline, workplaces in multi-tenant buildings with 20-something workers racing around. Yes the economy needs to renormalize - but this is too damn soon. Job centre workers 'feel unsafe returning to work' - BBC News

Hi all, I've had a review booked by the JC, however my understanding is that all commitment to look for jobs was suspended, and still not yet reinstated. Is that still the case? Thanks

I was on UC in late March, and recently received some quite non-committal message that the commitments would be returning, but no indication when. If I remember correctly the expectation was that we could find at least one job per day to which to apply, or some such nonsense. Given that the government can only guess how many workplaces will be safe : 1) to commute to/from at the time of job application; 2) to work in at the time of job application; 3) to commute to/from at the date of starting a job ; 4) to work in at the date of starting a job, 5) to commute to/from at the date permanent WFH is dropped; 6) to work in at the date permanent WFH is dropped, and given that we have lost 20% of our economy, I fail to see how they can both reasonably and immediately mandate any minimum figure of jobs we must apply for whilst this virus just killed over 135 people in the UK (stats released today). That is only down from 155 last week, and about 175 a fortnight back. At this rate it will be another 7 weeks MINIMUM before the mortality rate is zero - if it ever reaches zero before the inevitable second wave.

Yes, no, and I hope not. No, let's not "reverse the thought", let's address the risk.

(firstly, a quick, but heartfelt THANK YOU to those essential workers who have been risking their lives in this emergency. I salute them all.) The current suspension of Work Search is only until the 29th June (afaik). No doubt the government are waiting for Death counts to come down, but at this rate, they won't hit zero until the end of July, IF they ever hit zero... Further, if the numbers from Beijing this week are to be believed, the second wave could hit in very, very little time after the first, and with just as little warning, and when it does, how many of us are going to be in the open, interviewing with companies who refuse to recruit over Zoom/Skype, and having to get there/back on packed Tubes, buses, waiting in the crowded Reception areas of multi-tenant buildings, many without plastic shielding? Dozens or possibly hundreds of office staff hurtling around blind corners towards you with no mask, no social distancing? You know how difficult it is just to go inside the damn supermarket and avoid other shoppers, how the hell are you going to do this in cramped, "open"-plan offices? So again - when does it become "acceptable" for the DWP to ask jobseekers to risk our lives?

I'm aware that DWP policy towards all job-hunters is that, "The government thinks it's right we turn up and work a 35 hour week, so we expect you to be looking for 35 hours a week, AND to turn up here on demand". I get that - I don't like it, I'm old enough to remember the days when they didn't even ask about your jobsearch. But I get it. It occurred to me that, in dragging me into these pointless UC meetings at the JC, where the "Advisor" blankly looks at the myriad agency/company names to whom I've applied, disinterestedly asks, "And how's the job search going?", while already clicking through the diary, they are - statistically - increasing the possibility of any of me, or anyone else attending UC meetings, dying from the virus. Sorry to scare you, but technically, that's a fact. We already have a precedent - Italy just shut down all it's educational institutions. Now, it is clearly a lot less important that jobseekers turn up every few weeks, than it is the DWP themselves turn up to their offices (though I'd argue the bloat within makes the vast majority of them an enormous waste of taxpayers money anyway). My own job can be done (and increasingly is) wholly online. Given that I could go into self-isolation, use Skype and thus be available for both interviews and actual work, the DWP, by insisting that I PHYSICALLY be present in their offices, are needlessly and therefore unreasonably increasing the chance of my exposure to, and demise from, this virus. And by extension, their own too. Can you imagine their horrified looks if I turn up coughing and spluttering in their offices? Perhaps I'd be so kind as to forewarn them, a day in advance, that I'd come down with something, that in fairness I was still strong enough to be up and about, but was very much in the initial contagious phase, and would leave it to them whether they REALLY wanted me to come in. Hmmm...

I'd like to do a favour to a company with a mission that is close to my heart, I can do this outside of the 35 hours I'm supposed to be looking for work, and not charge for it. It is however both within the broader scope of what I do for a living, and something a company would commonly pay for. Nor are they a registered charity. I'm loathe to inform the DWP because as far as I'm concerned it's none of their damn business, so I'm inclined not to. However, even though I wouldn't charge or do it within office hours, if they DID somehow find out, could/would they sanction me? TIA

I don't think you understand the question, I'll rephrase. Say you completed the application on Saturday - you then get a message online telling you to call an 0800 number and book an appt with the JC. That number is only manned 5 days a week, so you need to call on Monday, 9am-6pm. Also, the UC site says you have a whole FOUR weeks to book the appt or you have to start a fresh claim. (I just checked, it's slightly more than 4 weeks - though obviously I won't leave it quite that long as sod's law they'll be closed a couple of days before Christmas) I've just tried to call the number and was disconnected TWICE. It's now past 6pm so I'll have to call tomorrow. Question is, am I now going to lose a day's UC as they didn't pick up the call - or do I have 4 whole weeks because my claim starts from when I completed the online process?

Your neighbour's what was?

Hi all, I've read that once you've completed the online part of the application, you have 7 days to book a JC appointment. When you make a fresh claim for UC, does this start from the day you - complete the online part - call through to book the JC appointment - attend the appointment itself? I would have thought it's the first but I just want to be certain. TIA

Many thanks mate, I'll do exactly that. Just infuriating that with PAYE employment they'll happily wait until whenever your previous employer pays your final wages but with SELF employment you get hit with a damn taper. Staggeringly unfair and needs to be challenged imo.

Hi all, I need to get out some earnings from a previous (self)employment but I don't want to be hit with the taper. I'm on an overdraft but that is getting short. I should in hindsight have paid myself all of it at the start but due to cashflow couldn't. Is it possible to suspend my claim for a few days while I pay this? It's not enough to take me over the 6k threshold but it is better than running on empty. Cheers all !

Thanks, I have now informed them of the rough amount I've paid myself, and requested a review via the notes, but apparently they only review if I've been actively self-employed. What they want is for me to report payments made after the self-employment to the "Benefit Centre", split per Assessment Period - ouch . I haven't uploaded any payslips yet, which is another failing seeing I've had the company a few months now, and that will probably incur some fines, but I've now installed the HMRC Paye Tools software which enables upload.

About the only thing they don't know is that it's a Ltd company, it's name, and I'm Director. On top of that nobody told me it makes a difference what Assessment Period my payments to myself fall in.

Just to add I only set up the company after the beginning of this same FY.