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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder how it will work making unemployed people go to the jobcentre every day?

113 replies

Takver · 30/09/2013 13:43

From where I live, getting the bus to the jobcentre (in the nearest town) costs £5.50 return. So that would be £27.50 per week, or rather a large proportion of JSA. Its 12 miles (very hilly) each way, so I wouldn't have thought many long term unemployed people would be able to cycle it every day (most of the people out of work I know here aren't really in that good health).

Do you get a free bus pass if you're on JSA? All seems a bit mad, even by current standards . . .

OP posts:
nethunsreject · 30/09/2013 13:45

No free bus passes, no. It'd be over 20 quid here too, or takes over an hour for a very fit person each way. Not been thought through really!

Damnautocorrect · 30/09/2013 13:47

Maybe they'll open a costa inside so they can 'employ' the people on work fare to staff it?!

JemimaMuddledUp · 30/09/2013 13:47

That was my first though too. Although from the report I heard on the radio the turning up at the job centre daily was one of three options, so presumably you could choose one of the others.

I can see the point of getting people to attend the job centre daily in order to get help to find a job, but are there actually lots of jobs around? As with the best will in the world you can't magic a job from thin air, no matter how many times you attend the jobcentre.

treaclesoda · 30/09/2013 13:49

I wondered about this too. Bus fares are a huge expense, even for people earning a salary.

Fairylea · 30/09/2013 13:49

Maybe they'll open loads more job centres... so reducing the number of unemployed... thereby Cameron gets a didn't he do well badge.

Fucker.

Fairylea · 30/09/2013 13:50

(To clarify, I mean to make it so everyone has a job centre in walking distance....)

Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 13:50

"Although from the report I heard on the radio the turning up at the job centre daily was one of three options"

The impression I got was that people would be divided into one of three groups, not that they could choose?

OP posts:
Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 13:51

"Maybe they'll open loads more job centres... so reducing the number of unemployed... "

So long as they paid decent wages, it would probably work, that's the mad thing (though would make more sense to hire people at decent wages to build council houses or care for disabled/elderly people, obviously)

OP posts:
HeySoulSister · 30/09/2013 13:52

How does a daily trip to the jobcentre help you find a job?

You need an appointment to see an advisor for a start.... They don't just wander about handing job application forms out!

Also, the jobcentre doesn't actually have jobs there for you to apply for

cranberryorange · 30/09/2013 13:53

Its a 2hr 20 min round trip on the bus to our nearest job centre because of all the village stops so lets hope the Government have thought of the childcare costs incurred by those attending daily if the appointments dont fall well within school hoursHmm

Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 13:53

"I can see the point of getting people to attend the job centre daily in order to get help to find a job, but are there actually lots of jobs around?"

Round here, and I suspect in most rural areas, you probably do better walking round local employers hassling them. (I am an employer & these days I can't go to the shops without getting asked for casual work, sadly I don't need anyone extra :( )

OP posts:
HeySoulSister · 30/09/2013 13:54

Our jobcentre helps lone parents by letting you have your review at a local sure start centre instead if the jobcentre in town. Maybe that kind of thing could be expanded

Lj8893 · 30/09/2013 13:54

That's crazy! I'm not really up to date about jsa etc and thankfully am not likely to be in that position in the near future. But yeah, if I was it would cost me nearly £7 return a day

NotAQueef · 30/09/2013 13:55

According to BBC- the 3 options (of which daily visits to the job centre is one) are:
To still qualify for jobseeker's allowance they will have three options - work placements, such as cleaning up litter; daily visits to a job centre; or taking part in compulsory training, for example, to improve their literacy.

Fairylea · 30/09/2013 13:55

I'm not sure it's about reducing unemployment, rather so the Tories think the Jeremy Kyle style folk (after all that's what many Tories perceive the people on jsa to be) actually have to get out of bed and go and do something akin to going into work.

It's a bit ridiculous really. And extremely narrow minded. A bit like conservative policy in general.

pollyblue · 30/09/2013 13:56

I've just been scratching my head over Osborne's plans to ensure those on JSA do up to 30 hours per week 'work' for their benefits, in jobs such as street cleaning. I'm wondering if it will just mean - like Work Fare - that employers will no longer have to employ and pay for their own staff.

I's up there with Work Fare as potential vote-grabbing idea, but poorly thought out.

Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 13:58

"Our jobcentre helps lone parents by letting you have your review at a local sure start centre instead if the jobcentre in town. Maybe that kind of thing could be expanded"

Trouble is the sure start centre would be in the same town!

OP posts:
Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 13:59

I don't think that places like Pembrokeshire actually exist on the radar of government ministers (not a political point, both parties equally bad)

OP posts:
JemimaMuddledUp · 30/09/2013 13:59

Don't Jobcentres have job advertisments up any more then? Shows how long it is since I went into one, sorry.

Binkyridesagain · 30/09/2013 13:59

Well they do have to find ways to make sure that the feckless don't sit on their arses all day every day don't they.

Disclaimer; do not take above sentence seriously, and yes coalition I am talking to you as well!!

flaflafla · 30/09/2013 14:00

Manchester United will be delighted, instead of paying the likes of Wayne Rooney, £250,000 a week, they can have workfare people playing for them for £60 a week! Can't see any way that could go wrong at all, can you?

Of course that is ridiculous, just as ridiculous as the idea that "employers will no long have to employ and pay for their own staff" because they can set workfare people on instead, and they will be just as good as trained staff.

RubyRR · 30/09/2013 14:00

With millions unemployed the job centres will be very busy everyday. We would have a similar cost issue, over £5 return bus ticket each day, it sounds like a plan that makes sense possibly on paper reality is rather different.

WetAugust · 30/09/2013 14:01

It's just PR at conference time.

It won't actually happen.

They are closing job centres.

There are not enough DWP staff available to manage this.

Just froth - ignore.

flaflafla · 30/09/2013 14:03

I believe people that sign on nowadays just have to sign there name on a form and stick it into a box. There is no seeing of an advisor any more. Although it might be different for different claimants.

Piffpaffpoff · 30/09/2013 14:04

I am reminded of an episode of the West Wing where, for reasons that escape me, they needed something to announce -anything - and they went scrabbling around looking for something, no matter how crazy, they could announce as a new policy. This smacks of that. Its like an idea that would come up in a brainstorming session and would normally be discarded but this lot are so desperate for something to work that they are prepared to try anything. What lunatic thinks its reasonable to make people go in every day?

My concern though is, we had a similar discussion when the child benefits announcement popped up out of nowhere one day and not many people thought it would happen. A year and a bit down the line it's policy and is being enforced. I can actually see them being mad enough to do this job centre thing, no-one's going to vote for them again so why not go a bit kamikaze?

(sorry for the rant, got raging PMT - can you tell??)

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