Dodgy Job? Can I turn it down?

[Suppin]

I've been offered a job that on paper is 15 hours a week, which would mean that I would be better off with the job than on JSA. If an opportunity like this came up normally I would take it. However, here's the bad information about the job. It's only a temporary role, which is three months long. Most importantly the hours of work each day aren't fixed. Some days I would be working one or two hours a day and occasionally not at all. The interviewer was quite clear that I would only be paid for the hours I work and that on average I would be working less than 10. They mentioned that since I would officially be working 15 hours and technically being paid £90 a week, this would likely cause problems with my benefits.

 

If I go by an average of 10 hours a week, with travel costs taken away I would only receive £45 a week, which only just covers my monthly rent. As it would be less then 10 hours a week on most weeks the job wouldn't even cover my rent at all most of the time as I would be taking home less than £40 a week on average.

 

Am I able to turn this job down? It seems very dodgy as if DWP find out, I would technically have refused a £90 a week job, even though the job on average would pay around half of this. The interviewer did sound a number of concerns about my financial state if I was to take the job, so I think it is unlikely that they would report me to DWP.

[Mr.P]

Ask for written conformation of the minimum contracted hours per week and take it from there. By the sounds of it, you are being offered a zero hour contract with no guarantees of hours worked - On the face of it, a poor job, but with a decent number of hours, it could be worth doing..

 

Oh, check compliance with the National Minimum Wage regulations - £90 for 15 hours only works out at £6.00 per hour, and one I wouldn't even consider applying for (but then I'm over 25).

[Suppin]

Ask for written conformation of the minimum contracted hours per week and take it from there. By the sounds of it, you are being offered a zero hour contract with no guarantees of hours worked - On the face of it, a poor job, but with a decent number of hours, it could be worth doing.

I haven't seen a contract yet, but based entirely on the conversation with them during the initial interview it sounded like the contract stated it was a 15 hours a week job. I got the impression they have had problems with people claiming JSA and the job in the past.

 

Oh, check compliance with the National Minimum Wage regulations - £90 for 15 hours only works out at £6.00 per hour, and one I wouldn't even consider applying for (but then I'm over 25).

I rounded down. It would be £92.85 for 15 hours. The extra £0.19 an hour doesn't really make a difference as I also rounded down the travel costs from £3.30 to £3.00.

[Guest]

Am I thick? how can they tell you one thing but seemingly advertise the job as another in terms of hours worked?....How is it allowed even to advertise a job with 15hrs per week and then tell you at interview that's not the case? if it were me I would be asking them to put in writing what the actual guaranteed hours are, am baffled at this.

[Suppin]

Am I thick? how can they tell you one thing but seemingly advertise the job as another in terms of hours worked?....How is it allowed even to advertise a job with 15hrs per week and then tell you at interview that's not the case? if it were me I would be asking them to put in writing what the actual guaranteed hours are, am baffled at this.

The job wasn't advertised as far as I'm aware. I applied for one job and was rejected for it. When they rejected me they asked me if I'd be interested in an interview for another job. I had no idea what the job was until the interview.

 

I have no idea about contract law but it does sound confusing. I always assumed that if you were contracted to a 15 hour a week job, you would still be paid in full if you worked less due to the employer. I guess I was wrong or they found a way around it.

[Guest]

oh I see. it does seem confusing I agree.

[Lilly_Monroe]

Do not mess up your claim until you get something in writing what this job is offering and paying.

if you take it and then decided to leave the job - I think you will have to wait xx amount of weeks before you can claim again (sorry if I am wrong) but leaving of own accord goes against you..

 

I would never take any job via what the employer was telling me.

You have NO proof what so ever at the end of the day - they can then do what they want with you in regards of hours/pay.

[estellyn]

You can take the job and carry on signing on, just declare your income and hours, and the JCP will tell you when you have to sign off. Also if your income is low and you live alone, you can continue to claim housing benefit.

[jasta11]

Most importantly the hours of work each day aren't fixed. Some days I would be working one or two hours a day and occasionally not at all. The interviewer was quite clear that I would only be paid for the hours I work and that on average I would be working less than 10.

 

I don't need to read any more - those lines alone would have me giving that job a BIG 'no-no'. They mention 2 wages: the 'technical' one of 15 hours and the 'average' one of 10 hours. Too much variation...and all verbal, nothing in writing; bad sign! Sounds like even the company don't know how many hours you'll be working, which is absolutely no use to you - how can you plan and budget when you won't even know what your wage is week to week??

 

I'm sure the DWP - in their usual inflexible, blinkered fashion - would see the job as being 15 hours, doesn't matter what the actual hours are and would act accordingly if you turned it down. I'd either get something solid and contractual in writing or, if you're sure the DWP won't get to hear about it, I'd turn the job down. As it's only 3 month temp anyway, I think I could live without the grief, but that's just me. Let us know what happens and good luck.

[Guest]

yes I would definitely want something in writing.....and as jasta11 says for 3 months is it really worth all the hassle it could bring. I fell foul of an employer who offered me a job stating 20hrs a week, this was years back when I needed 20hrs to get tax credits to top up my wages, I had two kids at school and was a lone parent. the employer had duped me, taking me on in November to deal with their xmas rush, as soon as January came my hours went down to 12-16, silly me had no contract, had just believed what they said, the tax credits were stopped as I wasn't doing enough hrs, and I couldn't afford to live, it messed up all my hb and ct, a right mess ensued. To cap it all when I went to sign on the j/c told me I couldn't as I had given up my job.....I was ill with it, then some straight thinking friend pointed out that as I had children under 16 I didn't have to work and the j/c clerk had got it wrong....thankfully it got sorted, but I had to fight and appeal for back pay as the employer said they told me all along that it wasn't 20hrs .....like I would have put myself in the ***** ...... I would always now want hours of work guaranteed and in writing.

[Nystagmite]

I think I was told that you're not expected to take jobs which are under 16 hours a week?

[dyfed]

More and more of this type of miss-employment is coming I fear. The employers are holding all the cards. They can use and abuse you as they wish because they know that if you dont submit to their will then you end up begging on the streets.

This tory government want unemployed. It gives them power over the peasents.

[flumps1976]

Under the current rules you would not be expected to take a job under 24 hours per week unless your JSAg specifically states you are looking for 16 hours per week if you get what I mean?

If you did decide to take the job offer then as Estellyn posted you can continue to sign and declare the part time work and wages each fortnight.

[Suppin]

Under the current rules you would not be expected to take a job under 24 hours per week unless your JSAg specifically states you are looking for 16 hours per week if you get what I mean?

If you did decide to take the job offer then as Estellyn posted you can continue to sign and declare the part time work and wages each fortnight.

It states that I'm looking for work that is less than 16 hours per week, so I can't turn it down without risking a sanction.

 

If I was to declare the part time work and wages I would be risking fraud charges since according to the contract I would be working 15 hours a week and being paid £92.85. However, I would be declaring less every week, since I would actually be working less hours and also being paid less.

 

I decided to turn down the job in the end. It was a choice between a possible sanction, risking being charged with fraud, or no guarantee of any income each week. The possible sanction seemed to be the least risky option. The company don't have my NI number, so even if they do report me to DWP, which I doubt they would, it could be difficult for them to prove exactly who it was that turned down the job. I haven't mentioned the job in the page I show when I sign on either.

[jasta11]

Glad to see you got it sorted - you were being put in an impossible situation as far as that vacancy was concerned; we need a job to improve our life, not make it worse.