MWA (Mandatory Work Activity) questions

[Jmulv]

Hi guys,

 

So 3 months ago I was made redundant from my job, it was a good run while it latest but I knew it'd be a sort of year or 2's worth of work.

 

So I've been claiming for 3 moths and I assume I've just hit the 13 week marker this week for MWA (Says in guidance notes people are generally not referred before week 13). My advisor has instantly sent me on it and I've personally no idea why.

 

When reading the MWA guidance it is for people who perhaps struggle with the discipline of a job etc, well none of thta fits me because I've been working before this for quite a while.

 

I've just had a hard time finding work again as I've moved back to my home town and it's a small place not really much going on around here.... but I didn't have much of a choice.

 

I don't understand how MWA is supposed to give me any useful experience. She just said it was because of a potential gap in my CV growing.... yeah like 4 weeks of random work will stop that.

 

Has anyone gone through this and what should I expect? it says the maximum is 30 hours a week so I assume 6hrs of work a day? How do they expect me to continuously fill out application forms and write covering letters for "5 hours of jobsearch activity" whilst working near full time?

 

Also what kind of placements can expect to do? it just says placements that offer "benefit to the community".

 

I don't want to do something for 4 weeks I feel will offer me zero benefit....if it's something of use then that's fine I can just complete the 4 weeks but my worry is searching for work whilst doing it.

[Jmulv]

I've also looked into MWA a bit more and to be honest I wasn't given appropriate reason to be sent on it I feel.... all my advisor said was a gap in your cv becoming a problem etc well someone made a FOI request to the DWP to detail who is appropriate for MWA and apparently that is not a good enough reason to refer a claimant....

 

dentifying claimants suitable for MWA

1. The following JSA claimants must not be referred to MWA:

 young people aged 16 and 17, as the primary focus for this age group is education and

training

 those participating in the Work Programme.

2. Other than that, it is at the Advisory Team’s discretion whether to refer a JSA claimant to

MWA, bearing in mind the policy intent as detailed below.

3. A JSA claimant potentially suitable for MWA is one identified through the work targeted

interview process as lacking, or failing to demonstrate, the focus and discipline necessary to

effectively:

 seek out and pursue job opportunities

 secure and retain employment.

4. As MWA places are limited, it is imperative the provision is deployed appropriately. Where

the primary barrier to a claimant finding work is a lack of focus and discipline on their part,

MWA has the potential to help them. But where that lack of focus and discipline has a serious

underlying cause, for example:

 a significant disability (whether physical or mental)

 a low level of basic skills

 a chaotic lifestyle due to drug / alcohol misuse

or where the primary barrier is something else altogether, for example:

 a background that includes serious criminal convictions

MWA participation would only be beneficial, and therefore appropriate, if it were deployed as a

step within a structured approach designed to address the claimant’s multiple barriers.

Deployed in isolation, or as the first or primary step, MWA would be wholly inappropriate.

5. It is debatable whether MWA is appropriate provision for claimants who are:

 working (paid or voluntary)

 undertaking employment related study / training

 taking part in or recently completed a Jobcentre Plus employment-related measure

(contracted or non-contracted) aimed at helping them move closer to the labour market

therefore, in such circumstances it is imperative that Advisory Teams consider most carefully

the merits of an MWA referral on a case by case basis.

6. MWA may be beneficial for a claimant that has recently received a labour market related

sanction / disallowance, providing an opportunity for them to develop the skills, disciplines and

behaviours sought by employers. (NB MWA must not be used as an alternative means of

addressing conditionality doubts. If there are doubts about a claimant meeting JSA

conditionality i.e. availability and actively seeking, those doubts must be addressed

appropriately).

7. If a lack of recent work experience is proving to be a barrier to finding work for an otherwise

well-focused claimant (even if they may be seeking out and pursuing job opportunities),

Advisory Teams should seek to address this with the claimant by discussing the ways in which

this experience could be gained - for example through Work Together, work experience or by

pursuing volunteering opportunities.

8. Where a claimant is unwilling to address a lack of recent work experience, and Advisory

Teams believe an MWA placement would address this barrier and help a claimant move closer

to the labour market, they should consider if a referral to MWA is appropriate for the individual

claimant.

9. MWA is not an appropriate means of providing recent work experience unless other options

have been explored and are unlikely to lead to the removal of this barrier – for example, the

claimant will / does not pursue options that would remove the barrier.

10. If a claimant is due to commence Work Programme (WP) provision within the next few

weeks, Advisory Teams must consider seriously whether a referral to MWA is the best use of

this limited resource. (NB In circumstances where a claimant approaching, or reaching, their

WP entry point has previously failed to start, or failed to complete, a MWA placement, if the

grounds for making the original referral remain valid then a further referral to MWA must take

precedence over the WP referral i.e. a temporary exemption, using the criterion ‘customer on

other suitable provision’, must be applied to the WP referral)

11. The final decision on a claimant’s suitability for MWA is one that must be made in

consultation with a Work Services Manager e.g. a case conference approach.

12. To provide the necessary audit trail, it must be recorded as a LMS conversation that the

required consultation has taken place.

 

I bring in ample printed proof of my job search activities.... also it is not supposed to be used to generate work experience.

 

So I'm questioning why I've just been sent on MWA randomly with no explanation?

 

I may file a formal complaint against my advisor to be honest, she doesn't even check my work search log half of the time. What should my next steps be? I feel like this referral was more of a punitive measure rather than one aimed to help as It wasn't explained at all as I said how this is supposed to benefit me?

[Mr.P]

I may file a formal complaint against my advisor to be honest, she doesn't even check my work search log half of the time. What should my next steps be?

 

Your first step would be to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration of the "activity", quoting the relevant sections from the guidance notes and supply supporting evidence (e.g. job search logs, speculative letters sent, etc). If you file a complaint against the adviser, you may find the next one will pick over your job searches and throw in a few benefit doubts if you miss any suitable vacancies advertised on UJM. Your call, but be aware that it does come with risks.

[obiter dictum]

Being on this MWA gets you off the unemployment figures, Same as being sanctioned or with one of these work place providers even though you are still claiming. It is a con job to manipulate the figures. That is why the Job centre staff push people into those three catagories at the earliest opportunty.

 

Gone are the days when the job centre was actually there to help you get a job

 

It is so the Government can brag the unemployment figures are down

[Jmulv]

Being on this MWA gets you off the unemployment figures, Same as being sanctioned or with one of these work place providers even though you are still claiming. It is a con job to manipulate the figures. That is why the Job centre staff push people into those three catagories at the earliest opportunty.

 

Gone are the days when the job centre was actually there to help you get a job

 

It is so the Government can brag the unemployment figures are down

 

Yep I thought as much, it's a method to massage figures.

 

Shock horror.... I looked it up myself.