What's it like to work in Job Centre?

[antone]

 

I'm afraid I find it impossible to feel any sympathy for those on the other side of the counter at job centres, I maintain that no 'decent' person could work there - not without falling foul of the system themselves after a very short time.

 

Talk about 'only obeying orders.'

 

On the whole, I try not to take things personally. But please be assured that very many 'decent' people work for JCP in very many different capacities. And we do so despite hearing stuff like the comment you've made in our working days and then hearing it all over again when we log in to forums like this in the hope that we can help people.

[antone]

I don't work in a Jobcentre, I do work in a BDC. We share an employer and work together, so I suppose potentially I'd have thoughts to offer.

 

But the general consensus seems to be that we're one step below Biblical tax collectors in the social hierarchy. So I plead for forgiveness if I'm disinclined to offer advice "off the clock."

[antone]

Erika's description of the recruitment process is accurate.

 

First we must complete an application based on competencies. The specific questions will vary based on the grade being applied for, but it's along the lines of "In scenario x, would you do a, b, c, or d?" I didn't find that stage particularly difficult.

 

Next you attend a test, where you are asked to find 12 errors in a piece of text, and answer 25 arithmetic questions with the aid of a calculator. Again, the passing score varies according to the grade being applied for - I scored 8/12 for literacy and 25/25 for numeracy, which apparently qualified me to apply for posts up to EO grade. I'm a mere AO, out here in the real world

 

If you achieve the required score, you will be called to an interview. This will be conducted by at least two people - both HEOs, in my case. The questions are along the lines of "Describe a time when you worked as part of a team to resolve a problem" or "Talk about a time when you dealt with a customer who was upset." Another one they like is "Tell me about a time when you followed procedures."

 

Since one of the main functions of the DWP is to help people back to work, it would be unacceptable if they refused to employ people simply because of gaps in their CV or the like. So a person who hasn't worked in a while (or, indeed, ever) may use, in the interview, examples drawn from time spent studying, doing volunteer work, hobbies and leisure, and so on. In the same way, the lack of an employment reference will not necessarily disqualify a person.

 

CRB/Disclosure Scotland checks are indeed carried out at the basic level - spent convictions are acceptable and don't need to be declared, at least for AA, AO and EO posts. Unspent convictions could well be a problem, especially for those whose job involves processing benefits (risk of internal fraud, etc.) As a rule, frontline staff in Jobcentres don't process benefits or handle money - that's what people like me do. I work in a Benefit Delivery Centre.

 

You are also asked about your general health, partly to establish if any accommodations are necessary to help you do the job (say, if you have a disability), and partly to ensure that you are well enough, physically and mentally, to take on the required responsibilities. These assessments are handled by ATOS.

 

Training periods vary. Telephony staff, for example, often have very little formal training but a good telephony operator will learn from experience very quickly indeed - 60 calls a day means that you have to pick things up quickly. That's how I started.

 

Regarding JC security staff - they are not directly employed by JCP, but instead by Trillium, the company that owns/manages the buildings. I'm surprised to hear about an individual being dismissed by Trillium and hired by JCP, but if they meet the criteria described above, I can see how it could happen. But be assured, although there are presumably some JCP employees who have contempt for the unemployed (just as there are some unemployed who have contempt for JCP staff - I encounter them every day, and indeed on this very forum) it is not a useful qualification for doing the job. We are not asked, at interview "How good are you at shafting those no-good layabouts who scrounge money from the honest taxpayer?" , and a person who approached things with such an attitude would not find that it helped their career.

[antone]

Excellent post, antone - there you go guys, from the horses mouth.

 

Thanks Erika. Coming from you, that is high praise

 

I suppose I should also point out that when I went through the recruitment process I had no idea whether I would end up working in a BDC, a Contact Centre, or an actual High Street Jobcentre.

 

It's also worth noting that it's possible to end up on a waiting list. All candidates who pass the application/test/interview must be considered for available posts, so there is something called a "Merit List". As posts become available, they will work their way down this list. In general, people are recruited in groups, presumably because it's more cost-effective to train people in these groups rather than individually.

 

So a candidate might get a letter saying "Congratulations, you have passed the selection process" and then not actually get a job for months. That happened to me.

[antone]

I see that the recently advertised EO and AO jobs are for working in jobcentres, but they say you may alternatively be offered an equivalent position in a Contact Centre or a Benefit Delivery Centre.

 

I'm wondering about a few things:

 

1. If someone applies for an EO job (Band C) may they, dependant on how their application goes, be offered a lower grade AO job (Band B) instead?

 

2. Is the decision to offer someone a position in a jobcentre/BDC/Contact Centre based on an assessment that someone is 'more suitable' for one position or another based on the selection process?

 

3. Or are geographical considerations more important (i.e. recruits nearer jobcentres or BDC's or Contact Centres get sent there because they live closer, saving travel time etc)?

 

4. Might someone, having applied for an EO job in a jobcentre, end up being offered an AO job in a BDC or Contact Centre?

 

5. Do BDC's process claims from specific areas (e.g. a defined region of their local county)? In other words, will claims from my jobcentre always be handled by the same BDC?

 

6. Do BDC staff and and jobcentre staff have much contact?

 

7. Are there rivalries or preceived hierarchies between jobcentres, BDC's and Contact Centres?

 

8. Are all telephone calls from claimants to BDC's and Contact Centres recorded; and to what extent are calls monitored?

 

Sorry about all these questions. I'd ask at my jobcentre, but I think they'd be reluctant to give full and frank answers. Also, they tend to freak out when I ask them things.

 

My answers are not definitive, and are not official answers given by the DWP. So here you go:

 

1) I've never heard of this happening.

 

2) There isn't a simple answer to this. Assignments are based on business requirements, and it's not inconceivable that this would include the suitability of a particular person to a particular role.

 

3) Recruits can ask for such considerations, and if they can be accommodated, they will be. But that's a big "if".

 

4) See answer 1

 

5) Yes, BDCs process claims from a defined area, and they have a number of associated Jobcentres. It's done by postcode.

 

6) Some contact, much of which is via email. There are people specifically assigned to deal with any issues between a JC and a BDC. On the whole, I have few complaints about JC staff. You'd have to ask one of them whether they have complaints about us. As with all working relationships, there are occasional problems - show me a workplace where that doesn't happen.

 

7) No, not really. We are colleagues. We all focus on different aspects of the job we're trying to do.

 

8) Calls to telephony operators are recorded. Others are not. In general, calls are not monitored, though if you're speaking to a trainee, there may be a trainer listening in.

[antone]

Thanks Antone,

 

I had the impression from the way the new jobs are being advertised that the prospect of working in a jobcentre is what is being pushed foremost (i.e. a people job with direct contact with the public).

 

My guess is that most applicants would prefer a jobcentre post (because people, on the whole, like working face-to-face with those they are helping) rather than a Contact Centre or BDC post (where the contact is less direct by telephone).

 

Like I say, just a guess. I think if I was faced with the choice of a position in a Jobcentre/BDC/Contact Centre I would certainly put the jobcentre first because I prefer to deal with people in person and actually see them.

 

Thanks for your answers. I thought perhaps our jobcentre had its own designated BDC because a friend of mine has been directed to the same office (which turns out to be a BDC) for benefits queries, crisis loans etc.

 

Now I'm freaking because I'm starting to use all these DWP abbreviations. EO, AO, BDC; and I've just been reading about AJCS (pronounced Ajax). My poor head ...

 

I suppose that if new jobs seem to be pushing frontline Jobcentre work, that could be where the vacancies are. I was actually asked to select in order of preference - would I prefer Jobcentre a, Jobcentre b, the area BDC and so on. I asked for the BDC as my first preference, and that's what I got. Of course, I have no idea if they actually read that form

 

In the end I moved from telephony in one BDC to processing in another. It's a personal thing, really: I'm not all that gregarious, so I wouldn't intentionally seek out work that involves face-to-face contact with customers. In the end, though, I'll go wherever I'm sent.

 

Pretty sure there's no Jobcentre with its own dedicated BDC. The one I work in right now has about 15 or so JCs that it works with; the last one had 10. In most areas, Crisis Loans are handled by a different BDC from JSA, ESA, IS and IB. I won't swear that's universal, though - to find out, I'd need to spend all my spare time researching the operational delivery structure of the DWP, and I've got beer to drink and footy to watch

 

And yes, the abbreviations, oh ****, the abbreviations. Half of the staff (including me) don't know what they all mean. That's not me insulting my colleagues - you'd need a memory like one of those kids who can remember every London bus number and recite them at will to keep track of them all, heh. It doesn't help that some of them have more than one meaning: for example, PDCS is both "Personal Details Computer System" and "Pension, Carers and Disability Service", heh.

 

I like my job, but I do find some aspects of it to be...bizarre.