Ingeus

[joeski]

will do even though i'm very nervous

[maroondevo52]

So are we !!!

[joeski]

the problem with me though is i have a bad habit of turning the car around and heading for the hills as so to speak

[Chester6]

at least when it's done you'll be relieved

[stikky62]

Hey Joe (...I feel a Jimi Hendrix song coming on) just remember when you do it you're not alone, we're all behind you ;-)

[Bullpoofilter]

the problem with me though is i have a bad habit of turning the car around and heading for the hills as so to speak

 

 

Joe, I'll be honest with you - the manager really won't mind and no-one is going to be upset or angry. Just hand it to the receptionist and if it helps, ask for a receipt. The manager should then acknowledge this and your adviser will be informed also. What you may see is whilst you're sat with your adviser and they get your details on screen a little alert may appear to remind them not to send your CV to anyone. This is nothing to worry about - it's just to help your adviser as they will have as many as 200 or so people that they deal with.

 

So, if it's what you really want to do then go ahead and do it.

[G4C389]

Was it still a lot of use to me sending a withdrawn consent letter even though iv been working for 6 months? And I addressed mine to the manager will he inform my old advisor (even though i havnt attended for 6 months) or will the manager hust put it on the system for anyone logging on to my file?

 

Joe, I'll be honest with you - the manager really won't mind and no-one is going to be upset or angry. Just hand it to the receptionist and if it helps, ask for a receipt. The manager should then acknowledge this and your adviser will be informed also. What you may see is whilst you're sat with your adviser and they get your details on screen a little alert may appear to remind them not to send your CV to anyone. This is nothing to worry about - it's just to help your adviser as they will have as many as 200 or so people that they deal with.

 

So, if it's what you really want to do then go ahead and do it.

 

And do advisors really have 200 or so people to deal with? When I was there i heard between 80-100 if that, my appointments were always a day before every 2 weeks, and do they really get abuse on a daily basis? If so. Why exactly?

[Bullpoofilter]

Was it still a lot of use to me sending a withdrawn consent letter even though iv been working for 6 months? And I addressed mine to the manager will he inform my old advisor (even though i havnt attended for 6 months) or will the manager hust put it on the system for anyone logging on to my file?

 

Most likely it'll just go on file - in fairness withdrawal at 6 months isn't going to make much of a difference. The three occasions that Ingeus would contact your employer would be:

 

Day Two - Did he start?

Month 3 - Is he still there?

Month 6 - Is he still there?

 

Beyond that there's no scheduled contact that I was aware of.

[G4C389]

I didn't mind my employer being contacted up to the 6 month mark then I just wanted to be left In peace,

 

I also didnt mind my advisor taking the credit for it as she helped me when I first got the job, and without that help I would if been up the creek lol

[Bullpoofilter]

And do advisors really have 200 or so people to deal with? When I was there i heard between 80-100 if that, my appointments were always a day before every 2 weeks, and do they really get abuse on a daily basis? If so. Why exactly?

 

Caseloads of 200+ aren't unusual - of course it depends on location, and which stage of the programme you were on. Initial appointments and the four weeks following that are called 'Insight'. This is often combined with the next stage called 'Boost' which lasts for 12 weeks. An Insight-Boost adviser may have 150 on his/her caseload.

 

Should you reach the end of the first four weeks and there are issues with your health, wellbeing or ability to work then a person is placed on the 'Engage' stream. This is a lower intensity, more person focussed approach - An example would be someone with a dependancy / literacy issues / confidence / mental health and serious offenders released on licence under a Multi Agency Public Protection Agreement (MAPPA). Appointments are more infrequent and can often be made over the telephone if that's right for the person involved.

 

Beyond that you have 'Routeways' which is in two distinct pieces.

Vocational Routeways - referral to an external provider / sub-contractor

Personal Routeways - referral to an Ingeus adviser with scope to set up own plans to do group work or one to one sessions (where I used to fit in with as many as 250 people on my caseload).

 

Beyond that you have 'Engage 2' which is the same as above and also Year Two which was just starting to gather pace when I left. Caseloads for these were also intended to be quite high.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Getting abused was something that happened all too often and I can't be certain of people's motivation or what they hoped to acheive by doing so.

 

As I said before - abuse can come in many forms and actually some of it was hilarious - it was more difficult not to laugh than it was to stay calm. Favourite ones for me were:

 

You're fat. (well spotted, I wondered who that lumpy bloke in the mirror was this morning)

You're from XXXXX, (again, I just thought my parents spoke funny and lived 300 miles away)

 

Seriously though, you see it everywhere and it can be as simple and banal as simple name calling to someone attempting to make their advisor feel bad through the use of condesceding language.

 

The funny thing is that people then beleive that they are then going to be 'left alone' or not worth the bother. In fairness it just became more of a challenge and it was more likely to get the advisor's reaction to do their job even more. Anyone who thought that they're going to get an easier ride for being rude or abusive generally got a bit of a surprise.

Edited January 8, 2013 by antone
Adjusted formatting - no content changed

[G4C389]

I see thanks, it's sounds hectic, the personal/vocational route ways stands out, at one stage I was ill and I called up to say I was on 2 appointments in a row, the first time I got a letter changing my appointment which was dated the day before, then the 2nd time I called up sick u got a letter referring me to a sub contractor, I told my advisor I already go to one if these if my own back and I was put back at ingeus for weekly appointments of interview teqnuques etc, which would of been more of a help to me anyway, she said they normally change your advisor at that stage (6 months attending) but she kept me with her, which baffled me! Would I have been sent to a sun contractor a bad thing because I called up sick to appointments?

[Bullpoofilter]

There is nothing sinister about going to a sub contractor. It's just a stage in the programme.

[RebeccaPidgeon]

Caseloads of 200+ aren't unusual - of course it depends on location, and which stage of the programme you were on. Initial appointments and the four weeks following that are called 'Insight'. This is often combined with the next stage called 'Boost' which lasts for 12 weeks. An Insight-Boost adviser may have 150 on his/her caseload.

 

Should you reach the end of the first four weeks and there are issues with your health, wellbeing or ability to work then a person is placed on the 'Engage' stream. This is a lower intensity, more person focussed approach - An example would be someone with a dependancy / literacy issues / confidence / mental health and serious offenders released on licence under a Multi Agency Public Protection Agreement (MAPPA). Appointments are more infrequent and can often be made over the telephone if that's right for the person involved.

 

Beyond that you have 'Routeways' which is in two distinct pieces.

Vocational Routeways - referral to an external provider / sub-contractor

Personal Routeways - referral to an Ingeus adviser with scope to set up own plans to do group work or one to one sessions (where I used to fit in with as many as 250 people on my caseload).

 

Beyond that you have 'Engage 2' which is the same as above and also Year Two which was just starting to gather pace when I left. Caseloads for these were also intended to be quite high.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Getting abused was something that happened all too often and I can't be certain of people's motivation or what they hoped to acheive by doing so.

 

As I said before - abuse can come in many forms and actually some of it was hilarious - it was more difficult not to laugh than it was to stay calm. Favourite ones for me were:

 

You're fat. (well spotted, I wondered who that lumpy bloke in the mirror was this morning)

You're from XXXXX, (again, I just thought my parents spoke funny and lived 300 miles away)

 

Seriously though, you see it everywhere and it can be as simple and banal as simple name calling to someone attempting to make their advisor feel bad through the use of condesceding language.

 

The funny thing is that people then beleive that they are then going to be 'left alone' or not worth the bother. In fairness it just became more of a challenge and it was more likely to get the advisor's reaction to do their job even more. Anyone who thought that they're going to get an easier ride for being rude or abusive generally got a bit of a surprise.

In respect to Routeways, candidates can be progressed via a Personal Routeway and then a Vocational Routeway or a Vocational Routeway and then a Personal Routeway. As to which option is assigned to a candidate, this has less to do with Best Practise or the needs of a candidate, and moreso with how vindictive an Administrative Clerk is to a candidate, and the need to fill places within classrooms which subcontractors have available. However, the Clerks are not in a nice position to be in, in all honesty, and if they could escape from such a job into the Wealth Creating Sector, and/or into something with a modicum of social responsibility, I am sure that they would.

[m0nty]

I've just been referred to Ingeous today, haven't received my appointment yet.

 

Though I am rather nervous of what it entails. I've now been out of work for 12 months. Initially I worked as network infrastructure engineer but was made redundant during the crisis when the company I worked for merged with another company who decided to keep their engineers but not us, that was a job i enjoyed doing mainly due to the fact it was just myself & a workmate out in the field at random & various places sometimes for a couple of days to a couple weeks.

 

After that I went self employed as a web developer, managing for 6 months, got a sub contract working as a developer for a company, i got paid per job, but they wanted me to work from their office 9am - 6pm 5 days a week. sometimes i earned around £500 a day (not often) sometimes i might only get £50 a week, then sometimes £2500 but that was over 2 months, it depended on the site i was developing and what it entailed. writing several thousand lines of code isn't easy under pressure with tight deadlines, but i couldn't sustain it. sometimes I was working 45-60hrs a week & not seeing anything. then only receiving around £250. they were starting to dictate the wage, no matter how many hours it took. A project manager with no programming skills can't understand why when he said this needs doing in 10 days, I came back & said impossible, this would take me at least a month.

 

+ the fact, i liked my old job because it was just me & a friend out at different locations. so no bosses looking over our shoulders, no office environment & no dealing with people.

 

I hate people, they annoy me. I'm kind of a reclusive person, with very few friends. only 1 or 2 that i see or speak to regularly (by regularly i mean once a fortnight). noisy environments annoy me, i can't concentrate, just 2 people having different conversations in the same room as me drives me insane, makes me agitated & uncomfortable. In fact if there are several people in a room or even another room in earshot of me, i find it difficult talking to people, it's like i can hear the background noise as loud as the person in front of me. it destroys my concentration. I have a shot attention span, pretty much why i gave up trying to drive cars after 3 crashed. the roads are safer without me on them. i love computers though & I work on a couple of open source projects voluntarily. I also have worked voluntarily on helping not for profit organisations build websites, never charging them for my time, some donated money anyway for my time, but i never asked for payment.

 

my point is, i really hate being round people, i hardly leave the house unless I have to. I'm terrible at paying bills & so on. I really think this WP is gonna send me crazy. it's not that I don't want work, it's just I know myself & I know I would not fit in in certain jobs. No I haven't had any psychiatric treatment or even been to the doctors. my friends say i get depressed. But i've never ever asked anyone for help, i don't even know how if that makes sense at all. In fact, other than my mother, I have never ever actually spoke about this before to anyone. I was a loner at school & I'm a loner now & i left school in 91.

 

these days I don't even visit my doctor for knee pain (which has been on my record since age 12) & not to mention back pain & a pain in my shoulder (which I had before but seems to be getting more frequent in the last few years since a little incident on a trampoline 4 years ago), i mainly either put up with the pain as i have a high pain threshold, or i get some pain killers from my mother.

 

did 4 weeks on mandatory placement at a charity shop in november, which really affected my back & left arm, I could hardly even hold a cup of coffee in my left hand without dropping it at times because i had a really sharp pain & my arm started shaking (probably a trapped nerve) so i rested it which the doctor said to do last time i had that problem (when I was working full time doing the networking), back then the doc said If i carried on doing that work it would probably make the problem more permanent), so I have tried to avoid doing work involving lifting or repetitive work.

[joeski]

Joe, I'll be honest with you - the manager really won't mind and no-one is going to be upset or angry. Just hand it to the receptionist and if it helps, ask for a receipt. The manager should then acknowledge this and your adviser will be informed also. What you may see is whilst you're sat with your adviser and they get your details on screen a little alert may appear to remind them not to send your CV to anyone. This is nothing to worry about - it's just to help your adviser as they will have as many as 200 or so people that they deal with.

 

So, if it's what you really want to do then go ahead and do it.

 

well i sent the letter via recorded post as i couldn't face walking into ingeus to deliver it, i've got a receipt from the post office

[stikky62]

well i sent the letter via recorded post as i couldn't face walking into ingeus to deliver it, i've got a receipt from the post office

 

Keep a check on the tracking number and when its been signed for print off a copy of the signature/proof from Royal Mail website and keep that with your copy of the letter.

[joeski]

will do

[Bullpoofilter]

I've just been referred to Ingeus today, haven't received my appointment yet...

 

Monty, just read through your post and wanted to take a little while to reflect on it before I responded.

 

Firstly, the initial appointment is nothing to be concerned about. It's really a 'getting to know you' exercise where you'll be asked a series of questions by your advisor. These are things like preferences / skills / any health issues etc.

 

You'll also be asked to sign a pair of forms - there's stacks of information floating about on these and it's your choice whether or not you sign them. Have a read through them and make your own choice.

 

and, that's about it beyond making a follow-up appointment.

 

A few 'survival' tips I'd recommend. The offices can be busy places, especially if they're in big cities. So, when you get your appointment call the office and ask to be seen in a side room. You can also ask if you can be the first / last appointment of the day which generally helps as less people are milling around.

 

Remember, your advisor won't know any of what you've written above so don't expect them to, explain the things you find challenging as it makes for an easier appointment for all concerned. If there are things that you'd rather not do then think of the things that you do want to do and what you need in order to get one of those jobs. Your advisor will do what they can but they don't have all of the answers. They almost certainly won't be a networking engineer / website designer so to help you through the recruitment process they'll be asking you plenty of questions, don't be purturbed by this. They're there to help you with the recruitment part - not doing the job itself.

 

Lastly, have a think about seeing your GP there seems to be plenty happening for you right now and they really are there to help, and trust me, there's nothing they haven't heard before.

[Putneynic]

 

I suggest you go in to Ingeus with ear plugs; that opens up the conversation to noise as a problem; if that proceeds to questions about whether you are being given any psychiatric help. You could take the big, big gamble of being honest with Ingeus that you need advocacy to sort out mental health problem, particularly the reclusive tendencies. But I personally would rather take that gamble with a friend, particularly the ones who think you are depressed.

 

There's a lot in your email; and I suggest that as you've taken a mammoth step already putting your fears down in text, clean the account up a bit and use it as a tool to explain your position ie. ask them to read this first, and then to ask questions at another interview.

 

Can't guarantee this will work - Ingeus advisers are under strain, and not helped by their all too common mediocrity.

 

All the best

[Nystagmite]

noisy environments annoy me, i can't concentrate, just 2 people having different conversations in the same room as me drives me insane, makes me agitated & uncomfortable. In fact if there are several people in a room or even another room in earshot of me, i find it difficult talking to people, it's like i can hear the background noise as loud as the person in front of me. it destroys my concentration.

 

I have this problem too. I was told by my now-ex adviser "it can't be that bad because you've just been diagnosed". Erm, why was I backwards and forwards to my GP begging for a referral then? If someone has just been diagnosed, they must have a problem. After all, why would they seek a diagnosis in the first place? Oh, and most people with it have it due to either ear syringing (like I do) or exposure to loud noises. (such as those who work on building sites, etc)

 

I asked for phone calls instead of face-to-face; as I'm more able to control the amount of noise and was told no. I spoke to a friend who said that it's a reasonable adjustment under the Equalities Act. I quoted this and was still told no and they couldn't give me a valid reason. I was told to come in, I did and was made out to be a liar. I was asked for medical evidence. At the time, I was waiting for a hearing test and an ENT appointment; so had no evidence.

 

Because I sent her an email after the appointment we had, she got her line manager involved. The line manager basically took her side and told me to get over it. I'm sorry; but you can't get over something which is so painful that you've got to go outside when more than 2 people are talking.

 

I spoke to my GP about this and another issue I was having (I was also diagnosed with Autism around the same time and was given the same response. It was also clear they were clueless) and they wrote me a letter stating my difficulties and the adjustments required. I then went back a few days later after doing some thinking and asked to sign off as sick as I'd had enough of being treated like a liar.

 

Dotted around the room where I had to meet with my adviser, there's a notice up saying they help long term disabled people back to work. I find this hard to believe - I can count at least 4 occasions where they refused to make reasonable adjustments and weren't able to justify it. ("I didn't think it was required" is not a valid excuse)

 

Since signing off, they've contacted me twice. They shouldn't be.

[gil_jnr]

Its complete and utter rubbish. You cannot be sanctioned in anyway whatsoever for refusing the data waiver, and for refusing to tell the provider who your new employer is. The fact that Gil_jnr was then offered financial bribes says everything you need to know about the validity of the providers wild and imaginative claim.

 

It's not only utter rubbish, it's also attempted fraud.

 

I've got a master CD of all the meetings that I recorded, including that one, and have posted a transcript of the meeting on this thread (about 30 or so pages back)

 

Seven months and many letters into their complaints process, and am at the level of the Regional Director who refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing and make a formal investigation.

[Reba]

Hi, I've been a long time follower of this thread, and only just finally decided to register and join in.

 

I've been with ingeus for about 5 months now. For the last few months they've had me in twice a week for 'group' job searches and '1 on 1 adviser' job searches. Both of which I'm generally sat alone and only have contact with the receptionist as I say hello and goodbye.

 

I've been passed around the office a few times and have a new adviser every week - not good for someone who doesn't remember names easily.

 

Right now they've sent me to a different training company to do a Level 2 retail course - I'm a trained vet nurse and definitely do not want to work in retail, to me I'd consider it one of the worst jobs I could possibly have. I didn't get asked if I wanted to go on this course, I just got a letter through the post 2 days before the course started saying it was mandatory I showed up, of course with additional sanction threats. It's 3 days a week, 9am until 3:30pm for 8 weeks, which as well as going to ingeus the other 2 days, has forced me to stop volunteering at local animal charity.

 

Is there anyways I can get out of the course without a sanction? I never apply for retail jobs, and JCP are fine with that. So I can't see how sitting in a ridiculously over crowded classroom for 8 weeks is going to ever help me.

 

If I could afford to I'd definitely sign off and look for work myself. I've had less interviews since I started at Ingeus than I did before hand.

 

Thanks for any help.

[debt4get]

Hi, I've been a long time follower of this thread, and only just finally decided to register and join in.

 

I've been with ingeus for about 5 months now. For the last few months they've had me in twice a week for 'group' job searches and '1 on 1 adviser' job searches. Both of which I'm generally sat alone and only have contact with the receptionist as I say hello and goodbye.

 

I've been passed around the office a few times and have a new adviser every week - not good for someone who doesn't remember names easily.

 

Right now they've sent me to a different training company to do a Level 2 retail course - I'm a trained vet nurse and definitely do not want to work in retail, to me I'd consider it one of the worst jobs I could possibly have. I didn't get asked if I wanted to go on this course, I just got a letter through the post 2 days before the course started saying it was mandatory I showed up, of course with additional sanction threats. It's 3 days a week, 9am until 3:30pm for 8 weeks, which as well as going to ingeus the other 2 days, has forced me to stop volunteering at local animal charity.

 

Is there anyways I can get out of the course without a sanction? I never apply for retail jobs, and JCP are fine with that. So I can't see how sitting in a ridiculously over crowded classroom for 8 weeks is going to ever help me.

 

If I could afford to I'd definitely sign off and look for work myself. I've had less interviews since I started at Ingeus than I did before hand.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

you could try, that the course is no use to you as you feel you already have the qualifications necessary to stand in a shop, otherwise my only suggestion is to make sure that whatever you do you FAIL the course otherwise you are going to be pushed into the first retail job they can get you into....unfortunately you will have to attend as it is mandatory....dtell em you are going to tape the course, find out the qualifications of the trainer...if they are running these courses they have to legal, and useful...

[Reba]

you could try, that the course is no use to you as you feel you already have the qualifications necessary to stand in a shop, otherwise my only suggestion is to make sure that whatever you do you FAIL the course otherwise you are going to be pushed into the first retail job they can get you into....unfortunately you will have to attend as it is mandatory....dtell em you are going to tape the course, find out the qualifications of the trainer...if they are running these courses they have to legal, and useful...

 

Thanks, if I failed it would they not just make me redo the course? I really just wanted to get back to volunteering - in a sector I'm actually interested in working in.

 

I was always under the impression that if I was already educated to level 3+ I wouldn't get the government funding for a level 2 course. Not sure why I've thought this? Guess I was wrong..

[flumps1976]

Reba the one problem is that if they believe that failed on purpose they could refer you for a doubt to DMA (marked as failure to comply) and also on work program you are supposed to be considering all types of employment available that you are capable and qualified to do.

They could re-refer you for the course again if you do fail of course.