Thanks Jasta, sound advice.

Yeah, hopefully it will. But it'll be too late for me. I'm living it now. My advisor seemed to take a perverse pleasure in my impotent anger. I'm sure she's not representative of all the hardworking folk on the frontline at JCP. But having now met over twenty in my years of signing, I fear she IS. How do they all sleep at night? What type of person enjoys wielding such small power over another? I'm sick to death of the whole bunch. No sympathy when they pick on some hardnut with MH issues and get their backs broken with one of those blue plastic chairs. I've really had enough now.

So I've just come from grabbing my ankles at the JCP and I'm fuming. The usual ten minute smile, show job search, write John Hancock and outta there was a 35 minute interrogation. As I've been unemployed for over 3 years and have finished the horror-show that was Ingeus, my advisor told me I MUST now go on a course or sign everyday. I told her this was a punishment and in no way helped me actually GET a job. She just shook her head and said so which is it to be? Your choice... a two-day course on 'Confidence Building' next week or every day sign or sanction? In addition to this I now have to sign every Friday going forward irrespective of which route I chose, yet still only get my JSA paid fortnightly. I said if I chose to sign everyday would they be paying my travel. No. No chance. Forget it. I chose the course. It will be an ABSOLUTE WASTE OF TIME. I don't need to be taught how to wipe my ass, or dress for an interview, or conduct myself not like a moron, thanks. I am fuming. I am being made to feel like a ****** just for being paid JSA. This is disgusting. How ironic they are sending me on a confidence building course when with their every action they are smashing my existing self-esteem, self-respect and confidence into a thousand pieces. EDIT: ALSO - She also basically admitted to me that these new measures are designed to **** off long term claimants into finally 'getting off their arses' and getting a job because the alternative regime will become too intolerable. Nice, huh? Wish I'd recorded the interview.

That's brill, thanks mate. (I just hope that if they mandate us to come in every day then that DOESN'T then become a 'normal signing day' and as such they won't have to pay travel)

I imagine they will be the one's who have to sign on everyday then. That'll be nice, won't it? - A thousand angry crims forced to hang around the JCP everyday

Can anyone point me to the DWP guidance that states they must pay for my travel costs to and from the JCP, please? I plan to print it off and show it to my advisor tomorrow when she says no it's my responsibility. Thanks

Yes please, that would be really helpful. I'm signing on Friday and crapping myself about it tbh.

OK, thanks for advice. I'll report back how it goes on Friday. Wish me luck, I've been feeling stressed and p'd off about it for the last few days now. All this sh*t for £70pw JSA. Awful.

I hear ya. But my advisor is very 'jobsworth' and passive-aggressive. I just know that if I start to get smart with her, or if she orders me to do a volunteering role (as a fit and healthy 40 year old man with no excuses) and I turn it down, she'll sanction me for failing to make myself available or refusing to carry out a mandated activity, or some-such BS. All I'll get for hassling her is two hours extra time-wasting and a big fat sanction at the end of it for my trouble. Does anyone know if I can refuse a mandated 'volunteering' role on grounds of simply not wanting to?

I'm due to sign on Friday, and my advisor has already told me that she will expect me to sign everyday or take a 'volunteering' role for 30 hours a week cleaning out council wheelie bins with my tongue, etc. I'm not a proud man, but I have a Masters Degree and over ten years working experience at Manager level. I honestly don't see how this enforced community service, under threat of sanction, will in any way help me get back into the job's market? I looked on the gov.uk website out of interest about sentencing for criminals and under 'Community Service Orders' I found this - ' You may get a community sentence if you’re convicted of a crime by a court but are not sent to prison. You may have to do unpaid work in your local community, like removing graffiti. This is called Community Payback. Community sentences can be given for crimes such as: damaging property benefit fraud assault ' So am I correct in thinking that being made to carry out up to 30 hours a week unpaid work just for claiming JSA is now akin to being convicted of assault? What's the difference? I'm genuinely scared what will happen on Friday. And looking online, I can't get a definitive answer on what my new rights are either.

This troubles me - are you saying that because there aren't enough volunteer places or work placements available we will simply have to sign on each day instead? It's all good if we don't need to take the devil's dollar. But some of us need to get the pittance the Government gives us, so we have to play by their rules.

I totally agree with you about the 'rut' thing. Our stories sound very similar. I used to be a teacher - hated it so much it drove me to a 'nervous breakdown'. I figured you only get one shot at life, so sold the flat I'd bought and used the money to retrain as a screenwriter - a life-long dream. That was back in 06. The money ran out a few years later, writing work got me pennies before drying up completely. I basically gave up and have been 'parked' on JSA and HB ever since. For me personally, even though I have got over my anxiety and depression issues that naturally followed my taking a shot at my dream and missing spectacularly, I've yet to get over my ego - that I have about ten letters after my name, have travelled around the world, been a 'reasonably' successful screenwriter, etc, but now the only jobs open to me are minimum wage and I'm not even getting those (as I'd rather put a bullet in my head than ever, EVER go back to teaching as it sent me mentally ill. At least until now I was left free to write and only sign on once a fortnight. Now I fear all that is about to change.

Hey not too intrusive at all, I read this thread for good debate and advice, so can hardly complain when someone replies to one of my comments! I was born in London, lived here all my life, recently lived in Hackney for twelve years, then when it got too expensive a few years ago I moved out to Harringay, then when that got too expensive to Tower Hamlets a few months ago. They're gradually edging me out either way it seems! ha! I'm a single guy in his 40's with no girlfriend, wife or kids. No job either. All I have are my friends and family who all live within 5 miles of me. I think to be anywhere you have to have 'business' (ie a reason) to be there. So whilst I have no problem moving to S****horpe or Luton to live in a cheaper flat with no chance of work or chance of making new friends because I have no money to go out, at least here in London I have a CHANCE of finding work and a strong support network of people who care about me. Edit: haha I love how the town of S c u n t h o r p e has been redacted by CAG. Such a rude town

To put the above into context I live in Tower Hamlets in a ratty studio flat - small, damp, nasty. £900pcm. If I worked you can add to that full rent, travel, work clothes, full council tax liability, Income Tax, NI contributions, student loans becoming payable, debt management plan cancelled too as I would have more than £50 a month disposable income, etc. I'd need to bringing home about £3kpcm before tax to even make it possible. JCP making me go for jobs on zero hour contract that even full time would pay £800pcm BEFORE TAX. It's a 'ffing' joke. Well a joke to them. I'm not laughing anymore.

At least when all the JCP staff get 'anxious and stressed' and quit, they'll have the knowledge how to hop straight on ESA

Agreed. But a country gets the democracy it deserves. And I fear the Tory's will get voted back in, as Labour is as much use as a chocolate fire-guard these days. Ed Millipede is a joke. I wouldn't even want to see him running a bath. Anyway, wrong thread for me to get all political on. So I'll leave it at that. I agree with EssexMat that it'll be darkly funny to see us all turn up at the JCP at the same time trying to follow this new regime. Actually don't know who I'll feel more sorry for - me/us, or the poor saps behind the desk slowly losing their minds. Either way it all sounds like one of Danté's circles of Hell after a few weeks of implementation.

Once again it's a style over substance idea from the Tory's in advance of elections. The general mood in the country seems to be 'I have to get out of bed at stupid-o-clock and go to a job I hate, therefore anyone who doesn't needs to be punished'. It's a race to the bottom, appealing to the lowest common denominator populism. What's most frightening is that it seems to be a vote winner with the majority, who've never had to dance through the 'set up to fail' minefield of the benefits system these days. Makes me really sad and angry in equal measure, but it's a pointless emotion because there's nothing I can do about it - except get a job and flip 'em the bird. But I guess that's what they want in the first place?

I don't get this 6 month forced community work thing that comes in today. Can anyone explain please? I thought there was a legal minimum wage in UK. And as I'm getting £70 JSA a week, if they have me working cleaning park benches for anything more than say 14 hours a week then it'll be LESS than minimum wage. But if they are saying it is forced 'Volunteering' then what is the difference between doing this and receiving a Community Service order from a court in lieu of imprisonment for a crime committed?

Haha, perfect. Couldn't have put it better myself. I spent two years being troubled by the Ingeus work programme trying to make me take McJobs. Even the children they had working as 'advisers' felt embarrassed to be there. What a damn shame people who really need help can't get it, and those who don't really need help as are quite capable of understanding that before an interview you need to shower, wear appropriate clothes, not be drunk, etc. ( I kid you not - Ingeus sent me on a course to teach me how to present at interview - including these gems. Other nuggets of enlightenment included, 'work out where the interview is being held before the day you have to travel, make sure you have clean clothes on, don't sit too far back in the chair...' My god, maybe people really DO need this advice? Maybe dogs need to be taught how to beg for food too? Lord help us!

Thanks Antone, I'll have a read of link now.

Apologies to all - I was drunk and feeling mean last night. No offence meant to anyone. Sorry.

Honeybee! the gatekeeper of all posts. holder of responses till the people with knowledge come around. I'm honoured you responded to my humble post. BE, Honey bee. x

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours." (Richard Bach). Exactly what I'm saying about MH - (unless your MH is physically psychiatric brain damage, rather than a life situation psychological MH issue...) shendor x

Thank you Antone for not shutting down debate - I agree it's a razor edge debate but hopefully we are all mature enough to conduct oursleves responsibily. My only point is that as someone who has genuinely suffered and I mean SUFFERED from anxiety and depression and (maybe touch wood) come out the other side for now, my observations are that the worst thing for me would have been for anyone to induldge me in my own ego-suffering, rather than forced me to think outside of myself and focus on things other than labels given to me. I read so many posts that say: "I can't possibly be expected to work because I have a diagnosis of anxiety and depression too, therefore leave me alone from ever having to look for work again, just keep paying me money forever, and if you don't it's not fair, etc". Maybe I'm still 'vulnerable' and need treating with kid gloves, maybe I'm not. Who knows? Either way, thank you for not shutting down the debate.

Thanks for not misunderstanding me BazzaS. That whole "Just pull yourself together" is crazy of course, and would've been ridiculous to me too back in the day. But, we can get better if it's issues like anxiety and depression - mental illnesses that are psychological rather than psychiatric (Understand the difference). It just makes me sad when I read this section of CAG and nearly everyone (not all but most) are talking about their anxiety and depression issues as permanent disabilities - rather than hoping with the right support they may change next month? I have colleagues with physical diseases that mean no how much they learn about themselves or how much their life changes, they'll never be 'fixed'. It's too easy to play the panic attack and depression card, to the detriment of people who really need money because they are physically ****ed without hope whichever way we look at it. At least with non-psychiatric conditions there is a chance we can get better, and the less we are indulged the more chance we stand.