Post work programme support - Your experiences?

[Mr.P]

Looks like things are going to get a lot tougher for the unfortunates:http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_work_and_pensions_group/dwp-news.cfm/help-to-work-and-sr13-conditionality

 

The Government is introducing increased conditionality measures from 28 April 2014 for JSA and lone parent claimants, and for or UC claimants from summer 2014. Although some measures will be phased in up to December 2014.

New measures were announced as part of the Spending Review 2013 (SR13), known as the SR13 Conditionality Package. In addition the Government announced a further stricter conditionality scheme for those claimants who have ‘returned’ to the jobcentre from the Work Programme known as the Help to Work (HtW) package.

 

Advisers have now been re-branded as “Work Coaches” and Job search review/Assistant Advisers are now to be called “Assistant Work Coaches”.

[jasta11]

Interesting reading - and for the most part, totally unworkable I think. They want people to attend the jobcentre daily for 13 weeks while at the same time reducing the staff by 10%?? This is the same staff who can't cope with the workload now.

 

Lots more new guidance for us to download and catch them out with. Bring it on.

 

Good to see the PCS is still on our side. I note their comment about increased security in the JC..I have a feeling they're going to need it.

[dyfed]

I was drunk at an interview once lol

The people who sent me wasnt very happy. Nevermind. Oh and I buggered there computer after changimg the BIOS lol

[Jmulv]

They sound a wonderful lot at your JC, Chester!

 

I'm well past the 6 month PWP mark now and they admit they haven't a clue what to do next so are just keeping it going - they call me in for a brief 1-to-1 every 6 weeks or so but they always seem happy with what I'm doing. I think I've been very lucky in getting decent advisers rather than 'stick 'em all on a course' types.

 

Pity that casually-dressed customer hadn't recorded the adviser being abusive - would have made one hell of a good complaint.

 

6 months? yeah sounds like it's basically more of the work programme. At the end of the day how can they do any more than you can to find yourself work. It's just ridiculous.

 

However I have heard about this working full time malarkey coming in now for 4-6 weeks for your benefit or being forced to volunteer. I made a separate thread to try attract some more input to get to know what I may be dealing with.

[Jmulv]

I have never had a job that required unpaid "training" to secure an interview. It has always been a case of interview->job->training. Employment legislation as it currently stands gives the employer the ability to dismiss any employee within the first two years without needing to give a reason.

 

If an "employer" is offering unpaid "training" without a genuine and firm offer of a job at the end of it, you are being taken advantage of.

 

Name and shame this "employer" please.

 

Good point here too.

 

I had to attend a "job induction day" which was organised through the JCP. The job itself sounded like it could be worth a punt until they started saying if you are successful you will have 6 weeks training, then you will potentially be offered an interview. I was sat there thinking what the hell?! 6 weeks training with the chance I may or may not get a job? this is insulting....

 

Looks like things are going to get a lot tougher for the unfortunates:http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_work_and_pensions_group/dwp-news.cfm/help-to-work-and-sr13-conditionality

 

Ahhh yes this is what I was making a new thread about. It all seems a little all over the place at the moment, hopefully it becomes clearer soon what will be expected of us, and measures I can take to avoid this useless tripe.... going in and signing in every day? ok what is that going to achieve for me? PLEASE MAGIC UP SOME JOBS THAT WILL ACTUALLY HELP!

 

Also for me nothing much has changed on PWP, i'm still pretty much just plodding along attending weekly. They keep telling me to fill out this job journal thing explaining the steps I will do every week. Which I do but I just keep it vague. They keep telling me to be more specific about what I do. I just wonder why printouts of my applications is not enough. Do I now have to write down when i'm taking toilet breaks during my applying for jobs? "took a 5 minute break here to take out the trash"

[neword]

I'm a PWPS and so far the amount of help I have had from my advisor (to be couch soon) has been virtually zero. I basically go in, get called, am handed the signing paper and they say thats it till next time. Even now I always have to wait beyond my actual signing time so what it's going to be like if the sign each day" thing comes in I do not want to know.

Mine thing she seems to push every time is I should apply for PIP (Care component as wife is disabled). We did that last December and it took the department that deals with it 18 days to send use the forms. This left us with just 13 days to fill them and send back and during that time we had to get a full medical history from the doctors and letters from the specialists that had seen her.

Because of delays receiving the forms back they instantly took it that we were not making a claim and then cancelled the lifetime award for DLA high rate mobility that my wife had. But they did not let us know the decision until 7 days before the DLA was going to be removed.

Had to spend some serious phone time to get them to reinstate the DLA.

So to say I was not happy with my advisor was an understatement (but I have been civil with her).

 

BTW any one know if it's possible to get your advisor changed if you do not like them or have a problem with them?

[antone]

BTW any one know if it's possible to get your advisor changed if you do not like them or have a problem with them?

 

If you're really unhappy with your adviser you can write to the manager of the Jobcentre and request to see someone else. They don't particularly like doing this, but they will do it in some cases.

 

Bear in mind that it is likely your existing adviser will be asked to comment on anything you write.

[Charlotte_Henderson]

I was on the two year work programme through Inge(ni)us b***ards. I finished last October and since then the JCP doesn't seem to know what to do with me (for which I am actually very grateful) I sign on once every two weeks and this consists of a different advisor each time, who looks at my donald duck job applications - literally sometimes I'll write Donald@Duck.com - position applied for Chicken sexer) and they sign me. Done and dusted in under two minutes. I don't mean to sound glib, but I'm SO grateful after going through the mincer at Ingeus that the JCP seem to have given up on me as a lost project so far. I'm left free to apply for REAL jobs rather than jump through all the training hoops.

 

Cant see it staying like this forever, id be careful what you right on your form. as one day you will get an advisor who does read them, and then your sanctioned.

[boomboomboom]

Looks like things are going to get a lot tougher for the unfortunates:http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_work_and_pensions_group/dwp-news.cfm/help-to-work-and-sr13-conditionality

 

always is gonna get tougher especially with a Tory government in charge! is it our own fault that we need to sign on to get money to keep us from been homeless and to survive!

 

good to see the PCS is on our side.

 

dont know why the dwp etc need to lie that the WP is a joke and is a waste of money as u would not need a help to work scheme after the work programme if they say "the wp is working and getting people jobs"

 

to me if i wanted to do there forced labour that the help to work scheme is a would do community service!

 

and for the advisers been changed to "work Coaches" and job search review/assistant advisers been changed to "assistant work coaches" i could not care less what they are called what is the difference going to be? they are gonna give u the same info etc like u get any other time u go to sign or see your adviser

[Chester6]

Any difference is only ever likely to be cosmetic as I doubt their attitude and manner would change

[neword]

Job centre advisor's/coach's.whatever you want to call them now have got to be very careful...why

 

The government keep proudly boosting how their policies are working and that there are now fewer people claiming benefit

 

Now if we say a JS advisor sees 1 person every 10 mins for 8 hours a day they see 48 people a day (hypothetically) multiply that by 5 and they see 240 per week.

 

So on that basis on a two week cycle a JS Advisor sees 480 people, Ok I will say 500 for easy figures. So technically every time the Number of unemployed falls by 500 the job of a JS advisor is at risk.

 

So we have the potential in the future that you could find yourself sitting next to your own advisor who is waiting to sign on themselves

 

So if there are any Advisor's visiting these boards and see this post remember that every-time you get someone a job you are also putting your own at risk.

[boomboomboom]

is this voluntary work/forced to only for 6months then sign on as normal again after it?

if u have to sign on everyday from what i heard it is only for 13 weeks is that true?

and plus the training u can get as your 3rd option how long is that going to be for?

 

has anyone on here been put forward for any of the HTW scheme yet?

 

as i am not sure if this is true but a heard its 8 weeks then u its a choice or your adviser picks one of the 3 options true or not?

[Tj rodgers]

is this voluntary work/forced to only for 6months then sign on as normal again after it?

if u have to sign on everyday from what i heard it is only for 13 weeks is that true?

and plus the training u can get as your 3rd option how long is that going to be for?

 

has anyone on here been put forward for any of the HTW scheme yet?

 

as i am not sure if this is true but a heard its 8 weeks then u its a choice or your adviser picks one of the 3 options true or not?

Its your advisor who choses

[Tj rodgers]

is this voluntary work/forced to only for 6months then sign on as normal again after it?

if u have to sign on everyday from what i heard it is only for 13 weeks is that true?

and plus the training u can get as your 3rd option how long is that going to be for?

 

has anyone on here been put forward for any of the HTW scheme yet?

 

as i am not sure if this is true but a heard its 8 weeks then u its a choice or your adviser picks one of the 3 options true or not?

My option was find my own voluntary work within 4 weeks or be put on mandatory work placement - my advisor said for people who have a previous history of employment part time voluntary work would be seen sufficient to get u back into a pro-active routine instead of the mandatory work placement maybe 2 or 3 days a week for a few months and see how things go

[boomboomboom]

My option was find my own voluntary work within 4 weeks or be put on mandatory work placement - my advisor said for people who have a previous history of employment part time voluntary work would be seen sufficient to get u back into a pro-active routine instead of the mandatory work placement maybe 2 or 3 days a week for a few months and see how things go

 

 

Aww well I shall see what I get told next time I sign on

 

Would rather do 2-3days work instead on been forced to for 6 months!

[boomboomboom]

Not sure if this will happen but I just seen in a paper for tomorrow that job seekers must take zero hours contract or face sanctions that's what been said from a Tory Minster but DWP are trying to ban zero hours contract but wonder how this will unfold

[Chester6]

Not sure if this will happen but I just seen in a paper for tomorrow that job seekers must take zero hours contract or face sanctions that's what been said from a Tory Minster but DWP are trying to ban zero hours contract but wonder how this will unfold

 

I read this

It makes you laugh at how hypocritical they are

If you are ordered to go for a zero hour job it claims you must apply and even accept it yet they claim zero hours are not forced etc now

[osdset]

always is gonna get tougher especially with a Tory government in charge! is it our own fault that we need to sign on to get money to keep us from been homeless and to survive!

 

good to see the PCS is on our side.

 

dont know why the dwp etc need to lie that the WP is a joke and is a waste of money as u would not need a help to work scheme after the work programme if they say "the wp is working and getting people jobs"

 

to me if i wanted to do there forced labour that the help to work scheme is a would do community service!

 

and for the advisers been changed to "work Coaches" and job search review/assistant advisers been changed to "assistant work coaches" i could not care less what they are called what is the difference going to be? they are gonna give u the same info etc like u get any other time u go to sign or see your adviser

The PCS isn't on your side. They are just trying to garner solidarity from claimants by laying the blame wholly at the DWP's doorstep.

If the PCS gave a fig about claimants they would be subverting sanctions and conditionality behind the scenes.

[Mr.P]

Not sure if this will happen but I just seen in a paper for tomorrow that job seekers must take zero hours contract or face sanctions that's what been said from a Tory Minster but DWP are trying to ban zero hours contract but wonder how this will unfold

 

Link to the story: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/05/jobseekers-zero-hours-contracts - This "policy" will only affect those on Universal Credit... As we all know, UC is having serious problems in implementation and cost overruns, so there is a good chance that many will escape the clutches of the system.

[ghost whistler]

The PCS isn't on your side. They are just trying to garner solidarity from claimants by laying the blame wholly at the DWP's doorstep.

If the PCS gave a fig about claimants they would be subverting sanctions and conditionality behind the scenes.

 

I have to agree and it makes me sick to hearSerwotka proselytize when he knows some of his members are willfully enacting these sanctions.

[ghost whistler]

The PCS isn't on your side. They are just trying to garner solidarity from claimants by laying the blame wholly at the DWP's doorstep.

If the PCS gave a fig about claimants they would be subverting sanctions and conditionality behind the scenes.

 

I have to agree and it makes me sick to hearSerwotka proselytize when he knows some of his members are willfully enacting these sanctions.

[Tj rodgers]

Just been told today when i signed on that i can go back to signing at my local jobcentre as people in wirral who finishd wp had to go to the main jobcentre for wirral in birkenhead which is a huge jcp over 4 floors the top floor dedicated to post work programme only but now the staff from there are being split up and sent to all smaller local jobcentres accross Wirral under New Reforms as Wirral has be chosen to change over To Universal Credit in July

[Tj rodgers]

Dnt know what to make of that but at least i get to go back to going to my local jobcentre in the village rather than the massive one all the way in the town centre

[boomboomboom]

Dnt know what to make of that but at least i get to go back to going to my local jobcentre in the village rather than the massive one all the way in the town centre

 

good to hear u should always have gone to your local job centre in the village instead of the one in the town less travel more job search.

 

my local job centre is not that big up and down stairs but its not the biggest of offices but it gets use to its limit but cant believe a jcp down where u live has 4 floors lol!

[Tj rodgers]

good to hear u should always have gone to your local job centre in the village instead of the one in the town less travel more job search.

 

my local job centre is not that big up and down stairs but its not the biggest of offices but it gets use to its limit but cant believe a jcp down where u live has 4 floors lol!

my local jobcentre sent me there coz all the staff that deal with post work programme are at the big jobcentre in the town centre its the same with other small jobcentres as i spoke to a woman who had also been sent frm her local office but now they are rolling out universal credit in our area they are sending one or 2 staff from the team that delt with pwps at the main jobcentre in town an placing them in smaller jobcentre in the district