Job center telling me off for being 3 mins late

[makowhite]

When they never apologise when they call me in 20+ mins later (when I'm early) and the half an hour meetings never last more than 5-10 mins.

I'm rarely late, but seeing as the appointment is far longer than needed and they are late most of the time.

Comes with the territory. I can wax lyrical with tales of woe of being asked to attend a meeting at 1.50, being unable to gain access to the building until then, having to wait in a queue and then being told off for being late signing on !

Or a similarly timed review appointment, where I was kept waiting 10 minutes "because people like you are always late, so we set it 10 mins in advance of the actual appointment start time".

And worst of all, turning up on time, and being told I'd have to wait for 60 minutes, because "someone has just turned up with kids to sign on and review and he's a day late, and will need to be sanctioned, and this will take an hour". I made a massive fuss, and was signed on by someone else...who criticised me for "not bringing a written application for a job" with me as proof of a job search - emailed and online applications "don't count".

She then suggested I walk round the town centre asking if anyone had any vacancies (I am a multi-lingual postgrad who had just been made redundant).

They do make it up as they go along.

If you're early and they won't let you in which is the case for many many many of us in business life you do whatever it takes - most of us would sit in a cafe or if there were none under an umbrella. I also when I arrive on public transport decide if I might get lost between the station and the place so even if very early at the station I then go right to the place even if far too early to go in and hang around outside. We do that in life and it works, works very well. I recommend it as people's way of doing things.

If I am 3 minutes late for work I am reprimanded. My boss can be late no one says anything. It is the way of the world.

Because most of them are power tripping arseholes OP. You are lucky they didn't sanction you.

I really feel for anyone who has to sign on now. I had to about ten years ago as a lone parent and they were vile then. That was under Labour, I bet they are ten times worse now.

Oddly enough they might not have the money to sit in cafés if their destination is the job centre. Excellent list of suggestions of where to wait if early, though. Outside, or under an umbrella... Who'd have thought it. I'm guessing the list is not an exhaustive one

When i was on jc, the disabilities woman used to repeatedly send me for jobs that i couldn't do and told me to tell the jobs that i just couldn't work at certain times and then kept asking why i hadn't applied for this one job ( that i didn't have any of the qualifications they were asking for ).
They were useless.

RocketQueenP I lump the recruitment agencies the job centres club up with to launch "job seeking days" as "power tripping arseholes".

You could see from the looks on the consultants working at the City recruitment agency that we were basically an "inconvenience" and a form filling exercise.

I think as i stated before though it does have the knock on effect of making most professional workers who had to go to the job centre, ensure they got a job pretty damned quick and signed off hopefully for good.

thinkaboutit999 In the circumstance you describe I would expect the GP to apologise for keeping me waiting. Because I understand that the best of us are unavoidable detained at times, I would tell them that it was all right.

A little understanding is all the OP is asking for. She should have apologised for being late, but as she is rarely late, the advisor should have graciously accepted the apology. Likewise, the advisor should always say sorry for keeping a client waiting.

Many job centre staff are like the rest of us and manage to behave in a professional and courteous manner. Unfortunately, some of them don't.

They are gaslighting fuckers too.

Back in 2005 i was signing on and had a job interview in another town at 1pm. I thought i would get the 11am bus Plenty of time as its a 40 min bus ride.

11 am bus no show 11.30 bus no show. 12pm bus.....no show Now the bus stop then was DIRECTLY OPPOSITE the JC Three of them had been standing looking directly at me for an hour and yet i was told i had missed the bus. They had clearly seen me waiting for a bus that didnt show, How the fuck can you miss a bus that didnt turn up. After their shoulder shrugging and gaslighting i ran down to the train station and managed to get a train but ended up being 20 mins late. And before anyone bleats Well why didnt you get a train in the first place.....the bus was cheaper and i was on JSA. And i was at the bus stop in plenty of time.
For those at the JC to tell me id missed the bus when they were looking straight at me and could clearly see it didnt show is Gaslighting 101.

And again, in my experience as a recruiter, in the real world a majority of people are polite and on-time.

In my experience as a 'patronising twat' spotter, this caught my eye

999
Actually I'm one of those that sits there quietly waiting for, you know, an explanation. Not being aggressive and also not being given a reason.

Silently fuming, that the one and only time I call up and get through and get a first appointment, I'm sat waiting like an idiot. And as GP Practice Manager, I'm not sure if you have been in a reception recently (though I'm sure yours isn't like this) but, if there is time to discuss your weekend and the like, there is time to explain that the dr is going to be late because of an emergency with another patient, or if you don't want to go into that much detail, I'm sorry the doctor is running late, would you prefer to make another appointment (I feel as though I wrote that already. I did? Oh well it doesn't harm to reiterate)

What am I (yes me, cause sometimes it is about me too) going to the doctor for, an ailment I'd like tending to. A lump I've been sitting on for six weeks and after waiting a further 3 getting the courage to go to the doctor to enquire - everyone has their story . Forgive me (or not) for being the special snowflake feeling neglected when a little courtesy is all it takes.

As for 3 minutes, this is the Job centre! neither a plane nor a train. Oh and I've been late checking in once. Then the plane was late and we flew. Let's not pretend.

I am always early and I notice when other people are a few minutes late but no one else seems to. Three minutes can be the difference between other peoples clocks/watches. Three minutes late is nothing.

Half the staff at the JC are utter twats. I went with a friend not too long ago and the looks from the security staff were awful. I felt like a criminal.

JustAnotherPoster00

no no you are right. Companies much prefer to employ rude arrogant time wasters, truly they do, so recruiters will give priorities to candidates who have been late, confrontational and childish. Every single time.

no no you are right. Companies much prefer to employ rude arrogant time wasters, truly they do, so recruiters will give priorities to candidates who have been late, confrontational and childish. Every single time

3 minutes?

ODFOD

Let's be realistic, it's always the same people who are running late, are they really more unlucky?

Not necessarily. I once had a male advisor. Lovely bloke. Always helpful polite and professional. I saw a lady advisor once every three months. Again, always helpful, polite and professional.

I managed to find work experience myself, I used to sign on at 10am. Skipped in ajd told lovely bloke I'd dound work experience, he sorted everything for me and once I'd got my timetable through, he changed my sign on date for between 12-1pm (that's another story - if you found the work experience yourself they can't sign you off - well that was the case when I was claiming jsa anyway).

Cue me nipping up to the jobcentre to sign on when I got a bollocking off another not so lovely lady for being 'over 2 hours late!'

If it wasn't for me remaining calm ans assertive she'd have never have found the bright yellow post it note my usual advisor had pinned to the front of my notes!

*found not found.

Long time since I was in that boat (fingers crossed ) but I was thinking of saying

"...errr sorry - someone collapsed in the street so I stopped to give him CPR. If that ever happens to you (JC employee) I hope that whichever jobseeker comes along remembers that their appointment is more important "

Pointstaken what if they've been late yet neither confrontational nor childish? Do they get a real chance then? Late and rudeness don't always go together, however arrogant and condescending tend to join rude to make a great trinity.

Iggle that's so sweet. It's nice to hear from the other side.

Well, that explains a lot doesn't it iggle, I guess we are not wrong about the attitude and arrogance of job centre staff after all.

Buck3t

reading the thread, people who believe that 3 minutes is perfectly acceptable here also sound very angry and aggressive, throwing insults at other people just doing their job. It's their entire entitled and bad attitude that I am judging. I am not describing every person made redundant ever, just the ones on here with that attitude and bad language.

now, are they so unpleasant because they are unemployed, or are they unemployed and unemployable because they are so unpleasant?

People who are never late for anything, because they've got time enough to kill that they can arrive 30 or more minutes early for every appointment, can't have particularly busy schedules.

I had the pleasure of working with a former job centre employee. He was one of the most inflexible, unimaginative jobsworths I've ever met. Having been promoted way beyond his abilities at the job centre, he floundered miserably outside (dragging a few unfortunates with him). It appeared to me that the qualities needed to get ahead there aren't the same as those needed in most other organisations.

For balance, I've had many former-DWP colleagues who are brilliant (even ones from the JC!). I've also been on the receiving end of excellent support as a claimant. They're not all as bad as Iggle

I'm currently unemployed and they done this too me 4 weeks go only I arrived at my appointment 5 minutes and they wouldn't let me inside because I was early. By the time I reached my area of jc I was 3 minutes late and got told off . Today they told me I have to work in a shop 37 hours a week for 6 weeks wih no financial help not too mention the fact I'm now a single parent and no relatives my only living relative I speak too lives in a different country "But you'll sort something out". I'm so fed up of being treated like a second class citizen off the I'm considering cancelling my claim and going without.