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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:
LaRegina · 30/09/2013 14:54

Fair enough, takver, I've not seen any of those people for about fifteen years - we didn't stay in touch when I moved Grin.

My opinion is also being skewed by that C4 programme about 1940's benefits recently - where the very hands on approach of the benefits agency workers really did help people find jobs - although I realise it's probably much easier to find someone a job with the tv cameras rolling and a whole production crew on the case....

Tiredmumno1 · 30/09/2013 14:54

So those of you that are all for this, would you mind if they dropped your wages to match JSA?

Laquitar · 30/09/2013 14:58

LaRegina, my niece asked for esol or catering training and they told her there is nothing available.
I dont think they are keen to promote the third option, the training, i hope im wrong. They are more keen on workfare.

LaRegina · 30/09/2013 14:59

No. But then I sometimes work 40+ hours a week and trained 5 years for a degree to do the job I have. I also wouldn't really expect JSA to match my wages if I became unemployed though.

Darkesteyes · 30/09/2013 14:59

La Regina it would also help if goods and services were at 1940s prices. DH said that programme was useless for this reason.

Tiredmumno1 · 30/09/2013 15:02

That's not really what I was asking, ok to make it easier, do you think people should be paid less than NMW, and have no employment rights? That includes people that have been made redundant and also may have degrees?

Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 15:03

To be absolutely honest, I think at the moment the main thing that would help people here get jobs is for the economy to pick up.

As I posted above, it isn't a high unemployment area overall, but when there are going on 7% unemployed, it is always going to be the easy people that pick up work (so those that are just out of a job).

The people I know that are really struggling, if I am being blunt then they are going to be bottom of the list, they have poor health but not bad enough to be on the sick, they have mild but still problematic mental health issues, that sort of thing. They definitely are employable and if there were a shortage of workers they'd get taken on, but they're not going to leap out of an interview line-up.

OP posts:
Original poster
Takver · 30/09/2013 15:05

Having said that the people I'm thinking of I mainly know because they are doing voluntary work so I see them running the community cafe etc. I don't know if you are already doing voluntary work off your own bat then that will count?

OP posts:
PiddlingWeather · 30/09/2013 15:08

It would cost £13 return to get to the nearest JS centre, from where I live. It is 26 miles away. They already have a scheme where you can post your claim/proof of applications every week, rather than going in.

Carriepreston · 30/09/2013 15:13

Besides anything else there are not enough staff or enough room in the Jobcentres for this to work anyway

tethersend · 30/09/2013 15:17

Since the point seems to be to keep the jobless moving at all times, how about treadmills?

Or they could just run round roundabouts between the hours of 8 and 5?

MurderOfGoths · 30/09/2013 15:25

I used to hate the fortnightly jobcentre rubbish when I was job hunting.

Spend stupid amounts on travel in and out of town, get there, have a useless appointment where asking for help got you blank looks, then be told you have to check the jobs screens. Get given exactly the same jobs as if I'd just checked the website at home, but without the ability to email straight away/do online applications, print of a load of little bits of paper, and go home and repeat the process on my own computer.

Such a waste of time and money.

ivykaty44 · 30/09/2013 15:40

I have no problem with daily visits to a centre to work at getting a job and having to be at the centre to do this - it means they get up get dressed and have to actually be somewhere. This eliminated people that choose to work on the black market

my only request on that would be to supply a bus pass for twice daily travel - to and fro the centre. That all jobs can be applied for online at the job centre and the job centers are manned properly - then I think this would never happenGrin

If then through the daily visit a job experience come up that would lead to a genuine job then this could work.

But workfare is not about genuine jobs it is about large companies obtaining cheap workforce and then sacking them when their time comes to an end

Xales · 30/09/2013 15:42

I can see their logic behind this.

PTB (powers that be) - "You evil unemployed spawn of hell WILL go to the job centre every day."

Poor mug tries to book their appointment along with 2 million others.

PTB - "You evil unemployed spawn of hell didn't have an appointment at the job centre."

Poor mug - "but there were NO appointments."

PTB - "That is not our problem. You evil unemployed spawn of hell who didn't go to an appointment will be sanctioned by loss of benefits..."

niceguy2 · 30/09/2013 15:43

Personally I think it's just another electioneering policy that has been ill thought through. Just like the higher rate CB debacle and Labour's energy price fixing (cough) 'policy'.

We've now got a parliament full of MP's who only care about how policies will sound to their target electorate without any real care to the practicalities or long term desirability of such policy.

Making the unemployed go in daily appeals to the core Tory voters who read the Daily Mail each day and chunter about how these leeches are sucking us all dry (along with the immigrants of course)

But Gideon hasn't thought through the practicalities of having loads of claimants turing up each day, let alone the costs.

Prepare for more stupid policies to be announced as time goes on.

Ledkr · 30/09/2013 15:46

How about how people will afford to get to do their Slave labour jobs as well and also I think it costs more to take a lunch to work rather than heat up some beans.
It costs to work doesn't it?
I really feel for people who will be in this situation.
What about the job positions that these people will be filling? If there are vacancies they should employ people for a decent bloody wage.

stringornothing · 30/09/2013 16:28

From a London point of view (still plenty of jobs for the easily employable) I can see that this might dissuade some cash in hand workers from signing on, but it's a very blunt instrument, and wouldn't have any effect on night-time cash-in-hand workers anyway, so it's presumably punishing a lot of honest claimants in order to target a few criminals.

StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 30/09/2013 16:33

thing is though the number of 'feckless poor' who are long term unemployed that fit the stereotype of won't work is actually very low surely. There are long term unemployed folk who have mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues it would be far better to invest in sorting out the reasons people are unemployed and getting them into a fit state to be employed. I abhor this whole let's get them picking litter , / working in tesco / caring for the elderly etc. If there is a job available PAY a proper wage for it to be done. I had a spell of unemployment and no way would I have done some job for crap money, I am a skilled person with a degree, this does not make me any different or better but does mean I have zero skills for some of the stuff being proposed. If you were unemployed would you want to pick litter? The reality is that without support and help many people would have their benefits stopped so crime would go up, homelessness would increase and we would have people with severe problems being abandoned... for what? to save money? we would end up paying more to care for them in the long run than the benefits bill. investing in the causes of peoples unemployment and its a win win surely?

insancerre · 30/09/2013 16:37

I've been looking at the jobmatch site today as DS is comimg to the end of his 3 month contract. There are jobs, if you want an apprenticeship on £2 an hour, that is.
Depressing

ConferencePear · 30/09/2013 16:44

In this village there are no bus services at all.
Flaflafla suggested that this meant we really lived in the 'back of beyond'.
In fact we are about a ten minutes drive from a very busy airport.

Pendeen · 30/09/2013 16:46

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

...and would create tens of thousands of extra jobs staffing the thousands of extra job centres" :)

(Says Pendeen who's bus service is about to be withdrawn - thanks a lot Cornwall Council and Western Greyhound - so she would have a 3 hour WALK to the nearest JS)

IneedAsockamnesty · 30/09/2013 16:49

You do know you are allowed to be working whilst claiming Jsa don't you?

As long as its less than 16 hours and income is declared and deducted.

The sole point of daily visits is to make things difficult for the claimant and most dwp staff will openly admit this as well as confirming that they only put people on daily as a way to punish.

Darkesteyes · 30/09/2013 16:54

Wonder how unemployed people are going to wait in for things like the gas safety check if they have to go into the job centre every day.
Ditto having to do workfare. Sanctioned if you dont go into placement.
Threatened with breach of tenancy if you dont wait in for the engineer

tizzwozz · 30/09/2013 16:59

I don't actually live in the back of beyond! It is rural but not that rural, only 30 miles from a major city (with airport etc). But there's next to no public transport. There used to be a JC+ in town but it shut 3 years ago.

mydoorisalwaysopen · 30/09/2013 18:27

I think the reason will be that the government does not believe people are actually unemployed - just working in the black economy and claiming too. So those people will not be able to turn up and have to stop claiming.