Weekly JSA grillings are a waste of time

[feellikeahugefailure]

My jobcenter is asking people to come in every week, my advisor rolls her eyes at it and apologises for dragging me in (pretty much 3 hour round trip with rubbish local buses and waiting times) and it really cuts into my time.

Its almost like they are trying to make it difficult to put people off.

I've been fortunate enough not to have to sign on but from what I've heard, read and seen they're a waste of time and space, staffed by a bunch of wastes of time and space who seem to exist solely to sanction people for the stupidest things.

How do they sleep at night?

I've always said I'd love to work for something like the PIP assessments. I'd be fired within weeks because unless someone was blatantly swinging the lead I'd approve every claim for life, but imagine the difference you could make for people in the weeks you do last in the job.

But if he hadn't have gone for the interview. He'd have been sanctioned for that. FFS The powers that be, "Theyve (the unemployed) have got to win so way. You can't have it both ways. Unless of course Bi location is possible. They can't be signing on and attending an interview at the same time, and the sad thing is. I don't think it'd even a case of stupidity. It's out and out power thriving and bullying.

How Ian Duncan Smith keeps his job after the disgusting stories that have come out is unbelievable.
The worst ridiculous decision making I have ever heard is a person attending a health assessment/interview thing for ESA . He had a heart attack during the interview/assessment and was sanctioned for not completing the assessment!

Did the fact he was having a heart attack in front of their eyes not prove he was in actual fact not fit for work?
The fact no one is accountable for these ridiculous decision making is disgusting.

Agree with it being the most depressing thing, left my ex, moved 200 miles, despite this was feeling optimistic for the future, quite happy. Then my youngest turned 5, a few weeks later ended up giving up my college course because it was apparently too many hours, depressed as hell and despondent. Just started working at mcdonalds, it's not exactly my life's calling, people may sneer, but the sheer fucking relief at not having to sign into universal job match every day, not being beholden to the d cunting wp, is immense. I was sanctioned for not doing enough job searches whilst working full time for free in a charity shop, utter wankstains.

Was very tempted to write obscene things/rants in the activity history on jobs match once I had signed off, but was too chicken

Also experienced the endless courses of doom, where the need to smash your head into the desk until you lose consciousness is sometimes overwhelming. Including a 2 day course where the apparently ex mayor of a trainer made a sexual comment within 30 seconds if me entering the room

I was investigated, by a weirdo with a wig, because I took a previous employer to tribunal..to try and get compensation, which would have meant not signing on. The newspaper made a guess at where I lived so I was investigated for claiming at two addresses even thpugh there was no claim at the mistaken address it was the most stupid conversation I'd ever had.

Real welfare sounds like a positive site to help people get benefits

Complainaboutjobcentre.com

Jobcentresanctions.com

Jobcentremistreatment.com

JSAcomplaints.com

JSAmistreatment.com

Rudejobcentrestaff.com

Myawfuljobcentreexperience.com

Jobcentrekicksmewhenimdown.com

Jobcentrestaffshouldbesanctioned.com

Jobcentrestaffneedlessonsingoodmanners.com

Jobcentrestaffarethepits.com

Jobcentrestaffhashtagignorant.com

Stop me before I go on all night...lol!

Here's ahold one,I live in a lighthouse

Jobcentrestaffarebullies.com

idsisanarsehole.com .

Humm none of them roll off the tongue, maybe not something with jsa or job center as those terms will be gone soon.

How about something using the latin for unemployed like immunis or urbi? Or is this awful.

urbilife.com
immunislife.com

I was talking to a young man today with SLD who got found fit for work and ordered to attend DAILY sign on's

It's a 19 mile two bus journey that he cannot manage without a carer

Jobcentretwats.com?

Do job centre staff even help people find work? They don't have facilities to actually advertise jobs now do they so they're essentially just benefit processing centres, correct?

In the end I settled for jobhap.com/ simple and short. Hoping it will become a useful resource for people to share experiences and help to campaign to make the system better. It's really improved my mood this week having something productive to work towards.

Just added my post about the weekly signings jobhap.com/weekly-job-centre-signings/

If anyone else would like to share their story / suggest campaigns please do. :)

YANBU!

Brilliant work OP! Can you tweet it to the guardian?

Will be following :)

I'm currently out of work (was a professional white collar worker on a good wedge) and am just stating the 2nd week on JSA.

The job center may be one of the most depressing places ever- however- my advisor/ coaches have actually been ok and get that i likely be back in employment soon and have no doubts I'm not sitting on my laurels. The bloody universal job thing though.... What a POS. The guy even admjtted that there was a lot of shite on there. Sounds like another waste of taxpayer funds ay!

Good luck with the blog (OP) and anyone else going through JSA hell :) xo

Thanks :) that's a good idea! I actually have had 8 visitors that aren't me / robots - not bad for the first day

My experience with JSA seems to be very different to others, I have a very sympathetic and nice advisor who agrees with me about the stupidity of the system. At least these weekly meetings will give me more material, silver linings and all that.

Postitblue - if you have a story you'd like to share post it here jobhap.com/add-anecdote/

Great idea. Could be actually useful to improving. I'll add mine soon.

feellikea what strikes me straight away is how much money does it cost, forcing people to do all this, then two page forms to reimburse for travelling expenses? In the age of the internet, when you could apply ad everything online anyway.... Not saying you shouldn't be reimbursed (you so should - also for the inconvenience and time out of our day that means you can't be applying for jobs as you're going to the JobCentre!) But rather, that no-one should need to sign on when you can sing things electronically these days and apply for things online/scan and send proof of apps, etc? What century are they in?

Of course it's not really about helping people find jobs, is it? More about punishing people.

Picture on your site reminded me of something. Years ago a friend of my husband's bought a fairly crap building (he was a builder) to do up. He makes a living now partly because he rents it out... it's the local Job Centre. He charges them stupid rent (they're so thick they pay).

It would be cheaper to shut these down entirely - they serve no function.

Just when Iain Duncan Smith couldn't get any worse he claims this ridiculous lie. I thought this was made up when I read this but there is a video of him claiming this.

'People who have been sanctioned and had their benefits stopped have actually thanked him as it helped them focus and get on'
He claims 75% of people sanctioned said it helped them focus and get on with getting a Job.

Really IDS so people are actually thanking you for starving them and their children.
People who now have no money found the time and money to write to you or come and visit you to tell you thanks for stopping my benefits. I deserved my money being taken off me. Now with no money from benefits this helped my chances of getting a job.

The soldier who died from being sanctioned who had health problems, his sister has replied it didn't help her brother to focus and get on with getting a job.

I think IDS is getting mixed up with the fake people quotes they put on DWP leaflets about sanctions, either that or he knows he is lying but knows he can get away with it

JoffreyBaratheon - Sadly there is no public will to modernise the system. As you see from the comments on newspapers people love the idea of forcing JSA people to sign on daily / weekly. The travel expenses form means my advisor spends more time head down writing than talking to me. For another claimant that is on training she has to fill in the form x 5 every week as they are entitled to 40p a day travel expenses. I think fair enough for them wanting to claim that as JSA is so small that 2 pounds a week does make a difference. But its the same form for all expenses regardless of if its 200 pounds or 40p!

She is lovely, and has thank you cards on her desk so part of her job must be constructive - she's helped people that couldn't read or write get training and a job. However for most people the job centre is a waste of time. If someone has degrees and over a decade of working professionally and has just fallen on hard times they should have some disgression to just let them get on for X weeks before trying to make their life difficult. No one can live off JSA for long, its miserable.

I guess it helps keep the unemployed figures down if they try to stop people claiming it.