What Follows Post Work Programme Support ?

[Beachy Head]

According to the DWP website, Post Work Programme Support lasts for 6 months but no details of what follows. If anyone has any info I would be most grateful. Those who started PWPS in June will now be asking the question.

[Gay_guy1986]

Hi,

 

I had my Post Work Programme Support on 26.11.2013 and my advisor gived me a leaflet on what to expect in the next 6 months, these things may include:

 

1. Developing an on-line CV to assist with Jobsearch Activity

 

2. Completing mock Job applications and interviews to help build your interview technique.

 

3. Attending the Jobcentre more frequently then other JSA claimants.

 

4. Keeping in touch with your Personal Adviser on a regular basis.

 

5. Undertaking a skills assessment and addressing any skills needs.

 

6. Attending courses and other mandatory programmes provided by Jobcentre.

 

Also my advisor told me that I need to try very hard as its getting tough now in the next 6 months and I also need to treat Jobseeking as a full time job.

 

My next appointment is on 03.12.2013 at 12pm so I will let you know how I get on at my second appointment, my advisor haven't made any new agreement yet.

 

Hope this helps op.

 

Regards

Shaun.

[bcham]

I have been to see my adviser after serving my 2 years on the work program, i am a single dad 56 yrs old,and they are putting me on a single parent back to work scheme at college,,

she said the course would be all female as its a single parent course,can i refuse this as i would rather have a mixed class ,than be in a class full of teenage single mums,

[Gay_guy1986]

I have been to see my adviser after serving my 2 years on the work program, i am a single dad 56 yrs old,and they are putting me on a single parent back to work scheme at college,,

she said the course would be all female as its a single parent course,can i refuse this as i would rather have a mixed class ,than be in a class full of teenage single mums,

 

Did your advisor stated your course is mandatory? if not then sure you can refuse it but if its mandatory then sadly you can't as if you don't turn up then you could face a sanction on your JSA Claim.

[Beachy Head]

Hi,

 

I had my Post Work Programme Support on 26.11.2013 and my advisor gived me a leaflet on what to expect in the next 6 months, these things may include: ..........

 

Hope this helps op.

 

Regards

Shaun.

 

Yes but what follows ? Judging by the response no one knows.

[bcham]

Did your advisor stated your course is mandatory? if not then sure you can refuse it but if its mandatory then sadly you can't as if you don't turn up then you could face a sanction on your JSA Claim.

she never mentioned about it been mandatory,but think it will be,i wonder if it were a female sent on a all male course it would be different.

[sillygirl1]

I know somebody who teaches on security courses and had a load of people from a jobcentre, 15 people out of the 30 he had were medically unfit to take the course as they could not climb ladders or run after a thief, 9 could not speak English other than very very basic, and the remainder were semi-illiterate. He contacted the jobcentre manager and told them of the unsuitability of their 'customers' and requested that somebody from the jobcentre attend the course so they can see what it involves.

 

Somebody did attend and after that they stopped getting 'unsuitable' candidates as they were wasting their money sending the people - at £200 a time if they passed. This isn't a reflection on the people on this thread, just pointing out that JC staff are only doing what they are told to do, ie get people onto courses WHATEVER the course may be.

 

I had a re-engagement letter from my local lot (Prospects) after not having heard from them since June, (a telephone call at work to find if I was still working). I had a period of sickness and am back at work till the 20th December. After Xmas I will have some more work. My local lot told me they did not have any record of where I was working - I told them it shows how poor their administration is as they contacted my employer (the NHS) twice whilst I was there and asked for a report on my skills and suitability for the post!

 

I have a CT guided root nerve block steroid injection in January and don't know how I will react to that, it is for a trapped nerve in my neck due to osteoarthritis - so my long term prognosis is not good - however I am still expected to find work suitable for me until retirement age.

 

The whole work programme should be geared to people who have NEVER worked (disabled people may be excluded if 'medically proven' illnesses - and NOT via an ATOS assessment), by NEVER worked I mean the people who seem to find time to appear on Jeremy Kyle and watch him on their extra large sofas and tvs from Brightouse...

 

If they left the people who have a PROVEN work record off this scheme it would produce much better results and the staff would have a far more manageable workload.

 

Off to phone the HMRC now about my working tax credit!

[Mr.P]

[...]she said the course would be all female as its a single parent course,can i refuse this as i would rather have a mixed class ,than be in a class full of teenage single mums,

 

Sure, you can refuse any activity that the Job Centre puts you on. If you have been correctly mandated to attend, you will incur a sanction and lose your benefits for up to three years.

 

Not all single mums are teenagers - I know a few in their thirties and forties.

[sillygirl1]

You can only loose your benefits for up to three years if you have had previous sanctions - so three years for a 'first offence' is not a viable option. This kind of statement sometimes makes the posters panic when they are already feeling vulnerable.

[bcham]

Sure, you can refuse any activity that the Job Centre puts you on. If you have been correctly mandated to attend, you will incur a sanction and lose your benefits for up to three years.

 

Not all single mums are teenagers - I know a few in their thirties and forties.

theirs always one who goes over the top.

[Gay_guy1986]

So I have now been to my 2nd appointment at 12pm and these are the things I need to do:

 

1.Write to at least 10 employers a week

 

2. Phone at least 3 employers a week

 

3. Visit at least 3 employers a week.

 

4. Check my Universal Jobmatch account for 14 times a week at least.

 

5. Ask family, friends and people I have worked with before.

 

6. Look at Job websites and newspapers.

 

7. Internet x2 daily.

 

That sound a lot lol

 

Also I said to my advisor that I do not wish to let DWP/Jobcentre access to my Universal Jobmatch account and he said that is fine but I will need to print them of.

[Mr.P]

1.Write to at least 10 employers a week

2. Phone at least 3 employers a week

3. Visit at least 3 employers a week.

4. Check my Universal Jobmatch account for 14 times a week at least.

5. Ask family, friends and people I have worked with before.

6. Look at Job websites and newspapers.

7. Internet x2 daily.

 

 

1. That's £5.00 down the pan unless you hand deliver or email them...
   
2. If you run out of credit or can't pay the phone bill, will the JCP provide a phone...
   
3. Well, it gets you out of the house. Winter is coming, and they reckon it is going to be a bad one.
   
4. Twice a day ??? What happens if your internet connection goes down ?
   
5. As if you haven't exhausted that line already...
   
6. Fair enough.
   
7. Lose your internet, get sanctioned because the library doesn't open on a Sunday.
   

 

Sounds like you are going to have to get creative with your job search diary.

[ims21]

Some posts have been removed.

 

Keep it civil please guys.

[Lilly_Monroe]

1. That's £5.00 down the pan unless you hand deliver or email them...
   
2. If you run out of credit or can't pay the phone bill, will the JCP provide a phone...
   
3. Well, it gets you out of the house. Winter is coming, and they reckon it is going to be a bad one.
   
4. Twice a day ??? What happens if your internet connection goes down ?
   
5. As if you haven't exhausted that line already...
   
6. Fair enough.
   
7. Lose your internet, get sanctioned because the library doesn't open on a Sunday.
   

 

 

Sounds like you are going to have to get creative with your job search diary.

 

When I was claiming JSA and told to visit firms, ring firms etc, I got told a few times that some of these places were NO longer accepting calls for job placements, or handing out application forms.

It was costing them time and money in doing this day after day week after week.

It is crazy telling everyone to keep ringing, writing etc etc - most jobs go by word of mouth these days, within the smaller companies anyway.

I also imagine mass sent letters/application forms mainly go in the bin.

 

I told one of the JS staff this when I was signing on.

He said, that is NOT your problem, just keep doing as asked.

So they know it is futile.

 

Try contacting a company you wrote to, phoned or whatever some months later, and see if they can trace your inquiry - bet not.

[jasta11]

Also I said to my advisor that I do not wish to let DWP/Jobcentre access to my Universal Jobmatch account and he said that is fine but I will need to print them of.

 

You don't have to provide print outs from UJ either. Here's an extract from a Freedom Of Information reply dated 22 July this year from DWP Central Office, after someone asked the same question (full document here https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/169272/response/411434/attach/3/FOI%203354.pdf);

 

'In response to the question you have raised about requiring jobsearch evidence from Universal

Jobmatch. Advisers cannot mandate claimants to give them access to their Universal

Jobmatch account, nor can they force a claimant to print out screen prints of their UJ account.'

 

..something else advisors conveniently neglect to tell clients (assuming they even know it themselves of course).

[sillygirl1]

I've had yet another letter from the Work Provider, inviting me to an interview next Thursday and every Thursday thereafter, IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PROVIDER APPOINTMENTS (their bolding!).

 

I will be tearing them off a strip or two in the morning - they ALREADY know that I am working and will not be participating in any MANDATORY activity as I have no benefits to sanction - and should they wish me to appear they will have to PAY me to do so!

 

I really have had enough of their harrassment and will approach my local MP over the holiday period to see if they can intervene.

 

In January (as already mentioned) I have a CT Guided Root Nerve Block injection so don't know how that will affect my ability to work, no way are they dragging me to their offices to undermine any period my GP deems needed for my recovery - they are parasites of the worst order.

 

Clearly their administration is bad as the letter has a TAUNTON postmark and that is about 300 odd miles away, if not more - I am in south-west London so why the HELL are they using a TAUNTON postmark - unless they have 'inherited' a machine from another office - there is no return address on the letter and only a generic central London phone no (but I do have their local offices no anyway - dolts!). I also have several email addresses for advisers in the offices so I will let them know my extreme displeasure.

 

As I keep saying - lay off the people with a proven track record and concentrate on the people who have no proven track record of work.

[Lilly_Monroe]

I've had yet another letter from the Work Provider, inviting me to an interview next Thursday and every Thursday thereafter, IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PROVIDER APPOINTMENTS (their bolding!).

 

I will be tearing them off a strip or two in the morning - they ALREADY know that I am working and will not be participating in any MANDATORY activity as I have no benefits to sanction - and should they wish me to appear they will have to PAY me to do so!

 

I really have had enough of their harrassment and will approach my local MP over the holiday period to see if they can intervene.

 

In January (as already mentioned) I have a CT Guided Root Nerve Block injection so don't know how that will affect my ability to work, no way are they dragging me to their offices to undermine any period my GP deems needed for my recovery - they are parasites of the worst order.

 

Clearly their administration is bad as the letter has a TAUNTON postmark and that is about 300 odd miles away, if not more - I am in south-west London so why the HELL are they using a TAUNTON postmark - unless they have 'inherited' a machine from another office - there is no return address on the letter and only a generic central London phone no (but I do have their local offices no anyway - dolts!). I also have several email addresses for advisers in the offices so I will let them know my extreme displeasure.

 

As I keep saying - lay off the people with a proven track record and concentrate on the people who have no proven track record of work.

 

Well I expect if they cannot find work for most of us, the next best thing is to up the appointment anti, get as many people as possible to not attend and then get them sanctioned.

Save some money that way.

They must have target sanctions they have to meet as well as bums in jobs.

[antone]

Well I expect if they cannot find work for most of us, the next best thing is to up the appointment anti, get as many people as possible to not attend and then get them sanctioned.

Save some money that way.

They must have target sanctions they have to meet as well as bums in jobs.

 

The important thing to remember is that this isn't really about saving money. We can sanction 500,000 odd JSA claimants and it will make no meaningful difference to the welfare budget.

 

No, the point is to cast people as useless layabouts who are a drain on society and, as such, need to be penalised. This isn't a case of the DWP applying a policy to reduce the burden on the taxpayer, it's an ideological exercise intended to cast the sick and unemployed as shiftless wasters. And it comes from Parliament. They are the ones to blame for this. It's not pragmatic, it's dogma.

 

If it was really about the money, all we'd need to do is collect the missing tax from some of our largest corporations.

[Chester6]

The important thing to remember is that this isn't really about saving money. We can sanction 500,000 odd JSA claimants and it will make no meaningful difference to the welfare budget.

 

No, the point is to cast people as useless layabouts who are a drain on society and, as such, need to be penalised. This isn't a case of the DWP applying a policy to reduce the burden on the taxpayer, it's an ideological exercise intended to cast the sick and unemployed as shiftless wasters. And it comes from Parliament. They are the ones to blame for this. It's not pragmatic, it's dogma.

 

If it was really about the money, all we'd need to do is collect the missing tax from some of our largest corporations.

 

It also helps if you can con the unemployed into thinking it's their fault for being unemployed in the first place

[flumps1976]

nothing in place for post 6 months after being a work programme complete, top brass still thinking about it!

[antone]

It also helps if you can con the unemployed into thinking it's their fault for being unemployed in the first place

 

Agreed, yes, but who really buys that?

[Beachy Head]

UPDATE:

 

Claimants who finish Mandatory Intervention Regime (Post Work Programme Support) will remain on the programme until the Help to Work programme starts in April 2014. Help to Work will be applied to all claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance when they leave the Work Programme from April 2014.

 

Those who have been unemployed for three years or more will be mandated to:

 

* Take part in community work placements, such as clearing up litter/graffiti

* Attend daily signings at the job centre until they find work

* Participants in literacy or numeracy classes

[Chester6]

UPDATE:

 

Claimants who finish Mandatory Intervention Regime (Post Work Programme Support) will remain on the programme until the Help to Work programme starts in April 2014. Help to Work will be applied to all claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance when they leave the Work Programme from April 2014.

 

Those who have been unemployed for three years or more will be mandated to:

 

* Take part in community work placements, such as clearing up litter/graffiti

* Attend daily signings at the job centre until they find work

* Participants in literacy or numeracy classes

that seems contrary to what FLumps posted

[Chester6]

Agreed, yes, but who really buys that?

 

an supposed adviser at my local jobcentre does for a start

He lost the plot as I denied access to UJM and made it sound like it's my fault that I am unemployed after the schemes the jobcentre had said me on

Gonna complain about him

The best one I have met as a PWP so far is a petty vindictive bully and signing on wise is a jobs worth who didn't pay me due to access denied on UJM

[Beachy Head]

that seems contrary to what FLumps posted

 

I'm not permitted to post links on this forum however if you google Help to Work Scheme all the details are posted by the DWP. I am reliably informed that anyone on PWPS will be transferred to the Help to Work Scheme in April 2014. This could be another IDS omnishambles ala Universal Credit and the Bedroom tax so Flumps could be hedging his/her bets.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Beachy Head