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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Changing Nappies in Job Centre Plus/When there are no facilities

253 replies

Earlybirdtea · 12/11/2011 06:32

I went to register for job seekers allowance last week for the first time after just being made redundant. I arrived on time with my seven month old son, my 2 year old is in nursery).

Anyway during my meeting my son's nappy needed changing and there are no changing facilities or even toilets so I popped him on my shawl and quickly changed his wet nappy(Not Poo). If a baby is crying and there are no facilities then as a mother I believe that to be exceptable to change their nappy in the best available place which was on the floor,not the table and I was thinking of the point of view of others around me as if he got uncomfortable then he would have started crying which would have disturbed the other interviewees.

In short, I was told, You can't do that here, I responded saying there are no facilities and was told that this is an office environment, you would have thought that you would have arranged childcare!!!

I have written a letter of complaint and been informed that the lady who approached me was in fact doing her job as a health and safety professional, fair enough and, "there are Public Facilities within 100 yards of our building and in the future we will endeavour to highlight this when appropriate." It was also communicated to me that they encourage customers not to bring children to their interviews.

Am I being unreasonable to think that they should offer changing facilities, even special access/lockable? I really don't like the idea of going down the road to some public toilet block, there may be facilities in there I will have to check.

I also feel that they have no place to tell you that children are not really welcome in this environment, it is certainly not ideal I know. I do not plan to take my son to job interviews and have only just been made redundant.

Should I just back off and except their response, I have other important things to think about I don't plan on having to go there very long or on the other hand should I escalate this within their internal complaints procedure
as this is a bit mother and young baby unfriendly.

I would really appreciate your comments

OP posts:
Sirzy · 12/11/2011 08:53

Cj perhaps you could actually read the op or is that to much for you?

squeakytoy · 12/11/2011 08:53

Changing a babys wet nappy, on the floor, in the middle of a meeting is hardly appropriate. It could have waited.

PinkFondantFancy · 12/11/2011 09:00

I wouldn't have done it during the meeting but what the OP did seems fair enough to me-she put her shawl done first. I find it disgusting that there are no toilet facilities, that really isn't good enough.

cjbk1 are you for real??

squeakytoy · 12/11/2011 09:04

I am surprised there are no toilet facilities too. Any other government building that I have been in has had them.

trixymalixy · 12/11/2011 09:08

I wouldn't have changed a nappy on the floor it would have had to wait until the meeting was over.

This nonsense about not taking children is ridiculous, I saved my babysitting for job interviews, as it was I only signed on for 2 weeks.

cjbk1 I was made redundant after my DS was born and when pregnant with DD. What do you suggest then, abortion, adoption ?!?!?!

HoneyPablo · 12/11/2011 09:09

YABU
Would you take a baby to a job interview too?
Unless you really had no choice and there was nobody that you could have got to look after the baby, I think you were being unreasonable to take the baby in the first place.
Also, a wet nappy does not need changing immediately.
I am not disgusted that there are no toilet facilities. In fact, I am more disgusted at the thought of having to use toilet facilitieas at the jobcentre. God knows what you would find in there. A high proportion of claimants will be addicted to drugs and alcohol and they would probably need a security guard to keep all the homeless and dropouts out; they can't sit in Wetherspoons all day, can they?

BoffinMum · 12/11/2011 09:13

"A high proportion of claimants will be addicted to drugs and alcohol"

Really? Hmm

ditziness · 12/11/2011 09:19

Quick somebody help honeypablo! That copy of the Daily Mail stuck up her arse is causing internal damage!

GypsyMoth · 12/11/2011 09:20

Honey..... Are you for real?

trixymalixy · 12/11/2011 09:21

Honey, it's not a job interview though! When I signed on the staff were all delighted to see my kids and totally cooing over baby DD.

Takeresponsibility · 12/11/2011 09:21

As the whole point of Job Seekers Allowance is that you are a JOB SEEKER, you should be prepared to be sent directly from any interview at the job centre to a job interview.

You would not take your baby/dog/ gang of mates to a job interview, therefore they should not be at the job centre, therefore the JC do not need to provide facilities for them.

BoffinMum · 12/11/2011 09:22

LOL at Daily Mail Grin

Send them to the workhouses then.

BoffinMum · 12/11/2011 09:23

Actually I took my daughter to a job interview once, and got a post as Head of Music in a good school. Wink

hermionestranger · 12/11/2011 09:29

Cj are you really that pig ignorant? Really? I was made redundant whilst in mat leave with ds2.

The job centre is an awful place. The staff treat you like shit, you are unemployed so are beneath them. There are no facilities at the job centre I have to attend. I have an interview Monday, so fingers crossed!

As for go before you leave home! My appointments are usually around the 9;30 mark, so I go straight from the school run, so left home at 8:30 and it can be 10:30 before I get back, that's too long for some people.

NinkyNonker · 12/11/2011 09:33

Of course you cannot be expected to have childcare, they can't expect everyone to have close family nearby and I don't know any CMs etc who will take babies for the odd 30 mins here and there...and if you are job seeking it is an unnecessary expense.

But Yabu for changing a nappy on an office floor. A wet nappy could easily have waited, or you could have done it before.

lazylula · 12/11/2011 09:36

I see no problem with having a baby or child with you at the JC as you do not require a nursery place or childminder until you actually have a job as how would you pay for one to be on standby? With regard to the nappy, I would probably have changed the nappy before going to the JC, then would only have changed it if the baby had done a poo, then I would have changed the baby on my lap, which is the norm for me anyway. I have also changed dd nappy in her pram many a time as in our town the public toilets are disgusting and I am not sure if they have changing stations in them, Mothercare got rid of their baby room to fit in an ELC so there are no changing stations anywhere.

SHRIIIEEEKPoolingBearBlood · 12/11/2011 09:36

what exactly is the problem with changing a baby's wet nappy on the floor on a shawl?

NinkyNonker · 12/11/2011 09:38

And haha at being sent straight to appts. I signed on for 6 months before I went to Uni and was sent for no jobs whatsoever. That isn't how the world works. They recommend jobs, you apply in the normal way. How many jobs do you just turn up for ad hoc?

Jc should have toilets, it is a public service building

lazylula · 12/11/2011 09:41

CJ, I had a job before I had children, I am now a SAHM until my youngest goes to school or our situation changes and I need to go back, so I may well have a child with me when I am looking for a job. If I worked in my old job now, we, as a family, would be about £200 worse off as childcare for ds2 and dd, as well as before and after school care for ds1 would be alot more than I earned seeing as childcare for 1 child 6 years ago would have been more than I earned!

Minus273 · 12/11/2011 09:42

I agree with ninky.

I certainly couldn't afford childcare just for JC interview. I would also need to keep favours for the off chance I actually get a job interview.

HoneyPablo · 12/11/2011 09:42

Maybe it depends whereabouts in the country you are. Some jobcentres may have a better class of clientele than others.

duckdodgers · 12/11/2011 09:53

cjbk1
Maybe get a job before you start a family! then u won't have to visit the job centre

How nasty! Are you always this twatish or do yo have to practice?

In a perfect world - which we arent in in case you didnt notice from your ivory tower (we are in er...quite "difficult" economic times) - once we got a job then that would be that. But shock horror - some people are actually losing their jobs - its called redundancy. And it might even happen to people with chidlren!

nomoreheels · 12/11/2011 09:54

There are some right plonkers on this thread!

gordyslovesheep · 12/11/2011 09:55

pmsl at the idea that, especially in the current economic climate, job seeking equals drug user and/or homeless alcoholic!

yabu op - a wet nappy could wait.

a public building does NOT have to have toilets - ours doesn't

Akandra · 12/11/2011 09:56

So you're sitting in a JC waiting for an appointment. Your child starts screaming. You know the screaming is because his nappy is wet. Do you:
a) Change your child to make them happy/stop them screaming;
b) Let them scream because you can't change your child in the facilities available, causing them to be miserable and irritate everyone in the centre;
c) Leave the centre to change them, thereby missing your appointment and having your benefits cut so you won't be able to feed yourself this week;
d) Wave your magic childcare wand and make easy childcare available for all so you don't have to take your child in the first place.

If its d) can I have a wand too please? All my friends and family work. Most of them live at least a 30 minute drive away. I don't drive and my OH works 1.5 hours away. He had to use a lot of his leave up while I was recovering from surgery earlier this year. There is no occasional childcare available where I live during the day. The nursery's are so full you need to sign up to some of them BEFORE YOUR CHILD IS BORN even if you plan to take a full year on ML (not kidding here). Childminders are like gold dust.

I'll be moving house soon. Managing on my own and with my DD (11mo) in tow. Of course, I am BU to move house with my child and I'm sure someone will be along soon to say 'you are moving house with your child? What are you going to do, just shove them in a buggy all day and cart them around on the 1 hour round trip to pick up keys? You wouldn't take your child into surgery with you would you?'

The wand can be sent to me via Akandra, Magical Castle, NeverNeverLand.