...or are all Job Centres different?

[PinkyandtheBrainyOne]

Preface: not a political post but I am generally anti-Tory if that makes any difference.

My partner and I have recently signed on for Universal Credit for the first time. We have previously signed on when it's been JSA at a different JC in the same area but this is our first time at this JC.

The advisors have been polite, friendly and helpful. We have both found work quickly - much quicker than either of us expected. And while the small hours mean we will continue to need to sign on, both of our advisors have been very helpful in making sure that our appointments don't clash with working hours - even moving them when necessary due to overtime.

In the past, the Job Centre staff have been aggressive, moody and unhelpful - sending both of us onto anti-depressants. THIS is what we both expected this time and were pleasantly surprised. I visited another JC yesterday for an interview and again, all the staff were perfectly polite.

So, is it a bit hit and miss? I keep reading all these JC horror stories about advisers sanctioning people for stupid and evil reasons and I don't disbelieve them but it's not the experience I've had. I missed a JC appointment last week and all it took was a simple phone call and explanation and a letter from my supervisor to say I was working, and everything was fine.

I guess this comes down to: how have you found the Job Centre?

The issue isn't the manner of the staff or how quick the are to smile at you it's the system whereby people are being sanctioned for a variety of reasons and then they and or their children are going without food/ heating etc.

Customer service is a bonus but absolutely nothing to do with the real issues at the heart of the benefit system.

My experience to begin with was yours. Like you I was doing small hours so still attended, no problem at all.

After twelve weeks their attitude radically changed. No more appointments at times which were convenient. I was pressured to be looking for full time work (which now is 40 hours under UC) and expected to miss what work I had to attend the jobcentre - one time for a totally inappropriate interview - had I attended I would have lost my job and not got the one they found for me, I ended up having my JSA stopped for failure to attend even though with my disabilities it was impossible for me to do the work. Oh, and their disability advisor was on the second floor. No lift and 'not allowed' to see people downstairs.

That was ten years ago.

Now they sanction at the drop of at hat once those twelve weeks are hit, the distance people need to travel (there's one jobcentre in my county) and little work so the limit is more than double what it was - last I heard it was two hours each way was reasonable. They've also begun sending people to 'business' seminars which are full of organisations such as Herbalife - refuse to sign up? Sanctioned for refusing work. There's a time limit to respond to calls or emails to attend as well. You're expected (if single) to be looking for full time work so 40 hours a week, it's less for a couple.

My point - before twelve weeks, my experience was much much better than after when you begin to be considered long term unemployed.

At the end of the last recession I had to sign on, as overnight I lost my job due to the company I'd worked for 10yrs for, going kaput.
I found the experience infuriating but personally didn't get any rudeness, however I did witness it several times to other people.
I did have one advisor who was quite patronising until the day she insisted she had to check my CV for spelling and grammar. I suggested that she possibly wasn't the ideal candidate to do that, as she had made several obvious errors in the notes she had jotted down including spelling 'university' & 'educated' incorrectly. She backed off quite a bit after that. I didn't have to do it for long which I was grateful of but it wasn't a pleasant experience.
I found that they seemed to be ruder to people who obviously had less qualifications/education or obvious problems and there were some instances that I found quite awful to witness. I obvious don't know the complete circumstances of those interactions but I felt that they shouldn't have been played out so publicly even if they had been somewhat 'justified'.
They were also shit at dealing with disabilities, I have a hidden disability which I'm quite good at keeping hidden when necessary but the lack of understanding of this was massive when going through the process and I witnessed blatant discrimination of people with more obvious disabilities including the fact that the lift never ever worked and you had to sign on, on the second floor.

My DD was ordered to get off a couch last week, she's 37 weeks pregnant (it was a new claim). There was a long queue, helped by the Booking in adviser being as unhelpful and nasty as she could be.

Whilst my DD was waiting for the lift she heard her speak to a disabled Woman,who had hearing aids in both ears, in a disgusting manner.

""Customer service is a bonus but absolutely nothing to do with the real issues at the heart of the benefit system.""

They are, because it is arsey advisers behind unfair sanctioning and people being so intimidated that they can't attend the JC.

It's the whole ethos of the Job Center Staff that starts to shape the service and actual assistance given.

Well someone put it yesterday, we can buy seeds and grow our own fruit and vegetables in our gardens.

I don't think the person has any friends with disabilities or interacts with people with disabilities or mental health issues outside of her work time.

Many people working at a job centers are clueless about the people they are trying to supposedly assist. I know people who have been recommended jobs that they physically or mentally can't do. Others have been told they should be working when they have invisible disabilities. And on and on and on.

I was on ESA for a few months and was forced down there every couple of weeks for interrogation.

It's not a place for sick people. You get interviewed in the main area and I heard a man in a wheelchair being asked stupidly intimate questions with the 'advisor' making no attempt to muffle her voice.

Although it forced me back to work way before I was ready so I guess their methods worked.

Kingjeffreys I really think they should hire people who have been on ESA, or who have disabilities etc. as we know what life is like to be in that position

On the other hand...I was made redundant while pregnant, 12 years in that job. Left by partner just after baby was born, partner for 8 years. So had to sign on for benefits. I went when my son was about 6 months old, cried all over the advisor, told her I would have to return to my parents as I couldn't cope. She have me a massive hug, a tissue and a pep talk, ( I was 37). Amazing. I returned to work 3 months later, partly because she believed me and told me I could cope, would find a job and that I shouldn't be ashamed because the benefits system was to help people like me. So, yes, the attitude of job centre workers makes all the difference in my opinion.

I had two different experiences. I had to sign on when pregnant, the job centre staff were fine, did everything they had to do but were helpful and friendly. I then moved areas and had to go a different job centre(only once before my maternity allowance kicked in thank goodness), it was awful, rude staff and a really uneasy atmosphere. I heard some advisors speaking to people awfully, I think I was lucky because they knew I would be going off to maternity allowance so they just hurried my appointment through.

This might seem like a fantasy to younger people nowadays, but at our old job centre about 20 years ago there was a Disability Adviser. It wasn't a meaningless title- she was disabled herself and was not only able to understand and empathise with her clients, but also kept lists of courses and jobs that might be suitable for them. It was her support that got my husband useful qualifications and then a job which lasted for several years until he was no longer able to cope in a workplace.

Obviously she is long gone, as is the funding for any qualifications beyond basic english and maths (my husband didn't need those), but it is a brief window onto a better system.

Must be about 10 years ago now, before I got the job I'm in now. I was 10 months unemployed, applied for every job going. The job centre made me feel like utter shit, and my self esteem hit rock bottom. I never want to go through that again. They did nothing to help me find a job! The job I eventually got, was one I had applied for before I even applied for JSA! I've been in it nearly 10 years now.

I've never had any problems with my Jobcentre, I've been going to the same one for 12 years. They aren't particularly welcoming or accommodating, but neither are they aggressive or unhelpful. But I've always been on income support which doesn't have jobseeking requirements, and I only have to turn up once a year to confirm details.