Small Claims against JCP Manager

[nabwaki]

Please can I have help in instigating a judical review where the JCP Manager colludes with staff to threaten, verabl aabuse and spread lies about a person who is just trying their best. Their chip on the shoulder being the person is black well educated. Have heard from a reputable source that particular JCP does not like experienced graduates with 30+ years work history.

 

Thwe online instructions on Justice.gov are very confusing.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

You may not be at the Judicial Review stage yet. Have you put in a complaint?

 

My best, HB

Edited July 23, 2013 by honeybee13

[BazzaS]

Please can I have help in instigating a judical review where the JCP Manager colludes with staff to threaten, verabl aabuse and spread lies about a person who is just trying their best. Their chip on the shoulder being the person is black well educated. Have heard from a reputable source that particular JCP does not like experienced graduates with 30+ years work history.

 

Thwe online instructions on Justice.gov are very confusing.

 

Have you made a complaint about their behaviour?

Have you appealed any decision that you disagree with?.

 

A judicial review

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/judicial-review

would require you to take reasonable steps to have actions / decisions reviewed by their complaints / appeals process first. Remember that a judicial review doesn't review the actual action or decision, but the legality of the process of how that decision was reached.

[impecunious]

I'm not sure that many JCPs have the skills/experience to deal with any experienced graduates with 30 plus years' regular work history - in my case - white, female graduate with over 43 years of work experience.

 

You are not alone.

 

 

Imp

[Mr.P]

Agreed with other posters - You must follow due process and exhaust lower level complaints procedures before pulling out the big guns. Before calling for a judicial review, have you considered getting your MP on board and/or talking to the Equality Advisory Support Service ?

[steampowered]

Unfortunately I don't think this is the kind of thing that can be sorted through JR. JR is for attacking decisions made by public bodies. You cannot use it just to attack someone's attitude. Best to use the JCP's complaints procedure.

[nabwaki]

Thank you all – so far issues have reached the District Manager and it is all the lies repeated even when they do not make sense. Some are actually breaches of contract.

I have an independent witness on one of the issues prepared to talk to the JCP - at the moment they will not agree to the conversation. The Hdq Customer Service just passes back to District Manager. How can District Manager say you have qualifications/experience to work anywhere in the UK + internationally then imply you do not know what is in your own best interests? He says that I have been treated professionally at all stages.

Have an MP who just accepts what they say they are going to do, then post-meeting JCP does nothing post meeting.

I will just have to do something pretty unconventional so as not to let them interfere with the new support I have built up with promotion in my voluntary work.

[nabwaki]

What law can I use to sue the JCP Manager in the Small Claims Court if Mgr has made decisions that are proving to be personal rather than following DWP guidelines? Mgr refuses to accept independent professional evidence. Mgr has used public money to pay solicitors to threaten with false allegations to cover the deceit amongst JCP team? All this has cost me a considerable sum of money such that I even had to take out a bank loan to survive and improve my chances towards a paid role. Have documentary evidence of all the costs.

Nabwaki

[antone]

There is not enough information here to really answer your question. I don't think the Small Claims Court is necessarily the best place to seek redress against JCP if you feel they have been mistreating you. Have they responded to complaints made through the proper channels?

[andydd]

I agree with above. You cant just 'start' a Judicial review', Im not even sure of any Court Claim route you could take, what is your single accusation ?

[nabwaki]

My naivety was to believe that the complaints system in the DWP works. I have been through it up to the PHSO with the ‘support’ of my MP.

At each stage each person added more false allegations without evidence. The regional manager even claimed that I had been sanctioned when I had not been – you would think I would have noticed the gap in money coming into my bank account. As they got away with it they are still carrying with the deliberate mistreatment.

I have traced the instigator of most of these to the JCP manager. It has cost me a lot of extra money (on loan) keeping my skills up to date and throughout doing voluntary work. Through my own efforts I have been lucky to have secured a professional voluntary role.

Promises made of support similar to some of my peers have been withdrawn at the last minute. I would like to recover some of these extra costs to bring home to the JCP manager (if possible) that their role is to support people into paid roles [i am aware that JCP are the last people to get anyone a paid role]. However it is not with a smirking face to add extra obstacles.

In the case whose conduct has not been so critical I am taking the complaints system in one go whilst trying not to waste too much time on it.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

First of all, Nabwaki, I sympathise with you on your predicament and the frustration that you must be feeling in appearing not to be getting any further with your attempts to get redress after almost 2 years of trying.

 

Secondly, advice was given to you way back in July 2013 that the course of action that you were pursuing then in seeking a Judicial Review was not the right one when dealing with complaints against DWP.

 

You now appear to have decided on another course of action, the Small Claims Court, to take DWP, or your persecutors, to task. I will stand to be corrected if I'm wrong but I believe that there are laws that prevent individual employees of the DWP from being taken to Court as you propose to do.

 

So what is the answer?

 

The root cause of your dissatisfaction appears to be the treatment that you received at the hands of DWP staff, in particular the JCP manager.

 

From the few details that you have already described concerning the issues of your case I would suggest that your best, probably only, course of action would be to write formally to your JCP manager, and his/her superior at area level, informing them that you intend to proceed with action against them on charges of maladministration.

 

It might be useful to you if you perused the information on the following links:

 

1. The Civil Service Code - This sets out how DWP staff should be doing their job:

 

http://resources.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/civil-service-code-2010.pdf

 

 

 

2. Financial Redress for Maladministration: This defines maladministration, how a case of it can be pursued, and what can be claimed if it is found to have occurred:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/309964/financial-redress-maladministration-apr-14.pdf

 

 

 

3. Subject Access Request (SAR) This will get you copies of all information and documents about you held by DWP and provide the evidence, or lack of it, that exists on the issues in dispute. If you haven't done this already I would suggest doing it without delay. (Takes about a month to deliver). Copy of form can be down-loaded via the following link:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-request-for-personal-information

 

 

Armed with the information contained in the above links and a comprehensive list of your grievances, and how they have been hitherto addressed, an educated, objective presentation can be made that gives a good chance that you might get somewhere towards your goal of being compensated for losses incurred.

 

 

PS:

The " Financial Redress for Maladministration" link appears not to be working. Googling Financial Redress for Maladministration should lead to the document in question.

[citizenB]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220227/financial-redress-maladministration.pdf

 

Lapsed, is this the document you wanted to link to (fingers crossed it works)

[Lapsed Workaholic]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220227/financial-redress-maladministration.pdf

 

Lapsed, is this the document you wanted to link to (fingers crossed it works)

 

 

Much obliged to you Citizen B.

 

The link you have provided works well but it is to the 2010 publication.

 

The link that I was trying to post was to an updated version published in April 2012 and was still being referred to in FOI responses as recently as April 2014. It says on the cover page:

 

Financial Redress for Maladministration

 

Special Payment Scheme: Policy and Guiding Principles April 2012

 

 

This guide replaces all previous versions and applies to all special payment decisions made on or after 1 April 2012

 

 

This later version may be more appropriate for anyone intent on prosecuting recent claims.

[nabwaki]

Thank you Lapsed Workaholic and citizenB for your comments; it is helping make a decision.

Would you know where I can information in the law that prevents individual employees of the DWP from being taken to Court?

I had looked at Maladministration – however this relies on the civil servants being honest. In my experience, a large percentage of the DWP staff are amongst the most dishonest employees I have ever encountered in the UK in spite of written evidence.

You do get some honest staff. If a manager has for whatever reason, a grudge against you, they will ensure that you are not allocated to those helpful staff.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

The Jobseeker's Act 1995 spells out the status of Jobcentre employees vis-a-vis their role as representatives of the Secretary of State.That is why they feel that they can act with impunity and not be held personally accountable.

 

In an effort to balance that the adviser, and/or manager, has to abide by the Civil Service Code of Conduct when dealing with a claimant. If he/she fails to do so then the claimant has to follow the complaints procedures as set out, which may include taking action on the grounds of maladministration.

 

That is the only avenue that the law says we can use against them, whether we like it or not. That has been pointed out to you several times now by different contributors to this discussion. You seem to be determined to spend your money finding this out the hard way, which you are perfectly entitled to do. Only those you deal with at the Jobcentre will be happy to see you continue along the lines you are proposing.

 

If you are seeking redress because you have not been shown the respect or due reverence that you feel you deserve your subjective opinions will not mean a thing unless you have legitimate examples and evidence to backup your assertions of breaches of said Code.

 

You have chosen not to respond to the requests for specific details of your grievances. I can only try and point you in the direction of Guidance as I know it that exists to help you. I know of no other laws that circumvent the legal processes already outlined.

[antone]

I have to agree with Lapsed Workaholic here. He or she mentions that DWP staff are representatives of the Secretary of State and that, broadly, is what shields them from being held personally liable for actions taken in the name of the SoS and on behalf of the government. This is tied in to the concept of Sovereign Immunity.

 

The Civil Service Code of Conduct can be read here, and you must use the prescribed avenues of redress if you feel that a Civil Servant has breached the Code or otherwise treated you unreasonably. We are not attempting to disuade you from taking a route through the courts because we are fans of the DWP, but because, I think, most of us feel you would waste your time, money and energy in a process which is very unlikely to yield any results that will satisfy you.

[Helen2264]

My naivety was to believe that the complaints system in the DWP works. I have been through it up to the PHSO with the ‘support’ of my MP.

At each stage each person added more false allegations without evidence. The regional manager even claimed that I had been sanctioned when I had not been – you would think I would have noticed the gap in money coming into my bank account. As they got away with it they are still carrying with the deliberate mistreatment.

I have traced the instigator of most of these to the JCP manager. It has cost me a lot of extra money (on loan) keeping my skills up to date and throughout doing voluntary work. Through my own efforts I have been lucky to have secured a professional voluntary role.

Promises made of support similar to some of my peers have been withdrawn at the last minute. I would like to recover some of these extra costs to bring home to the JCP manager (if possible) that their role is to support people into paid roles [i am aware that JCP are the last people to get anyone a paid role]. However it is not with a smirking face to add extra obstacles.

In the case whose conduct has not been so critical I am taking the complaints system in one go whilst trying not to waste too much time on it.

 

I've read through your post and trying to figure out what are your complaints, are you a worker of the DWP or a DWP claimants? If you have names of those JCP Managers it should not be a problem. You've got your MP involved that's a start it makes things legal the rest

you should be able to deal with not much problems.

[stevemLS]

It's not really anything to do with Sovereign Immunity which in any event was largely removed by the Crown Proceedings Act 1947.

 

It is a combination of vicarious liability, it is generally much more fruitful to pursue an employer rather than an employee as they are more likely to have the resources to satisfy any judgment. That combined with most actions of civil servants are generally and technically decisions of the Secretary of State.

 

Having said that, I see no cause of action against anyone at all here. OP has had sound advice to spare themselves the cost and energy required to take court proceedings.

[nabwaki]

To clarify - I am a DWP Claimant.

 

Vicarious liablity does bring an interestiing angle. The particular manager's actions are clearly not those as specified in the Civil Service Code of Conduct. Some letters that I have contradict publicly available information on Gov.UK and partner sites. It has even gone to the extent of fraudulent evidence i.e. quoting documents that I have apparently signed yet do not exist. When requested to produce them, everything goes quiet.

[mbanani]

Erm! If you are well educated graduate with 30+ years experience then why do you want to start proceedings with judicial review?

You should be starting with lower down the ladder like complaining to JCP first.

[christopherlaw]

I would record every meeting with them.... everything! Create a database of sound recordings and phone calls for every contact you have with a civil servant, it may serve you well. If you want to pursue them in court then this would be a great place to start. There's an app for most smart phones which will capture incoming calls, for samsung it is called the "galaxy recorder". Every smart phone has a sound recording device for meetings.

ps do not tell them as they will terminate the interview. It is perfectly legal for personal reference and would stand up in the court of law

[SabreSheep]

I would record every meeting with them.... everything! Create a database of sound recordings and phone calls for every contact you have with a civil servant, it may serve you well. If you want to pursue them in court then this would be a great place to start. There's an app for most smart phones which will capture incoming calls, for samsung it is called the "galaxy recorder". Every smart phone has a sound recording device for meetings.

ps do not tell them as they will terminate the interview. It is perfectly legal for personal reference and would stand up in the court of law

 

ONLY legal for the purpose of creating a transcription. the actual recording would be inadmissable

[christopherlaw]

I was told that if there was good reason to use this information by a lawyer, then it could very well be possible used in your defence. Whether the judge sees it in transcript form or listens to the recording himself is here nor there really