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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder how you live with yourself if you work in a JobCentre?

182 replies

stinky81 · 31/01/2018 20:24

Really, just that. Sanctioning people for whatever reason you can think of to meet your targets. Expecting people to attend twenty minutes early for appointments then being forty minutes late seeing them. 'Signposting' people to foodbanks whilst refusing to acknowledge that you're referring people there because the state has failed them.
I understand that people need to earn a living, but to do that off the back of people more vulnerable than yourself? Sounds like bullying to me.
I don't claim benefits, and hopefully never will.

OP posts:
Battleax · 01/02/2018 10:51

TBF, I think a lot of DWP employees jated the changes and a lot left. But not everyone will have plentiful choices.

yowawewu · 01/02/2018 10:59

This reply has been deleted

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Ljlsmum · 01/02/2018 11:10

That's my point baked beans- the top bosses couldn't sack everyone. If enough group together and say no to the policies or just strike until it's changed then they couldn't possibly sack that that many staff and re-recruit. If there's not enough to train up the next poor sods to do the role.
Same as when junior dr's took strike action- too many to do away with.

BakedBeans47 · 01/02/2018 11:17

Well I certainly wouldn’t strike or take the risk I would be disciplined or dismissed over policies that I am no more responsible for than the man in the street. I take your point about Hitler/death camps etc but it’s not solely up to job centre staff to try and change things it’s up to everyone to make a stand.

Earthlingshlaag · 01/02/2018 11:26

Back in 2009 I had to sign on at the Job Center. Things may have changed a lot since then, but the staff were always great. It was quite ironic that they were all on short term contracts. My advisor wasn't having her contact renewed and quite possibly, could have joined the queue behind me!

Afternooncatnap · 01/02/2018 11:26

I worked in a role that put me in contact with the same sort of people (benefit claimants). It's also a job people find morally wrong. But you do what you need to do to pay the bills. You try to be nice and help people but the majority grind you down with their attitudes and bullshit.

It may seem that staff are unsympathetic but, my kids been in hospital, my house has been robbed, my mum died. 99% of the time it's lies and excuses. The staff have heard it all before and you become hardened to it.

We should not judge people that want to make an honest living doing difficult jobs that no one else wants i.e traffic warden, bailiff, jc staff. We should judge those that refuse to work when they are able to.

pinklemonade84 · 01/02/2018 20:18

We have been made to sign into Universal Credit due to dh losing his job. We had our id check today and I have to say the staff at the job centre were lovely.

The lady who saw my husband for his appointment actually saw him early so that he didn’t have to wait around for ages after I finished. And the man that I saw was absolutely lovely and couldn’t do enough to help. He kept commenting that he wished every appointment was so easy and the claimant as organised as we were.

I actually let the op of this thread cloud my judgement and I went into the appointment today so nervous and ready to be looked down upon. When in actual fact it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

I have nothing but admiration for the people who can work such a stressful job and be subjected to such abuse and vile attitudes from the people that they’re trying to help

Halie · 01/02/2018 21:29

It really depends on the advisor you are lucky/unlucky enough to get. I had some truly awful 'advisors' and some who were genuinely nice. I'm sure the advisors could say the same of their clients too.

Their job is to direct you towards employment but the tactic I saw most often was directing you towards employment by demonstrating to you that living on benefits will be hell compared to working min wage. The way they do that is by ordering you to attend an appointment at a particular time and then making you wait half an hour to be seen to and never allowing you to be late - or else sanctioning you (for that and a myriad of reasons). I used to think it was sheer incompetence that they could never keep their appointment times and that they could never find me a job - but now I believ that's it's simply their tactics to make you hate the system so much that you'll take any job to get out of it. I don't condone it, it's just an observation from experience.

Teacupinastorm · 01/02/2018 21:44

Oh OP. This is so wrong it’s laughable.

I’ve worked in JCP’s (but not for them) for the last couple of years. Work coaches are not targeted.

I’m not getting into a big debate about it, but only a very small percentage of the claimants I worked with were proactive and keen to find work. I came out of that job shocked that the stuff I saw didn’t shock me anymore, if that makes sense.

I was actually made redundant and offered a job as a work coach. I declined. And not for the reasons you’re stating.

IJustLostIt · 01/02/2018 23:10

I once claimed benefits while I was studying an access course.

A rep took great pleasure (I could hear it in his voice) by saying "well you're REALLY not going to like this, you're not entitled to anything because you're at college 13 hours a week, and the threshold is 12 hahaha. That's too bad."

Why he felt the need to use those words is beyond me, and I found it quite hurtful at the time.

DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops · 02/02/2018 00:16

Ex-colleague of mine who had previously worked in a Job Centre had worked there because a) she needed the job, b) it was the job that fitted her life best hrs and location wise at that time. She was utterly lovely and very nice to me, a wet behind the ears new uni grad.

I know she caught scabies working there though. If you aren't a fan of the Job Centre staff, I suppose you could view that as no good deed going unpunished.

RoseWhiteTips · 02/02/2018 00:25

The job is in a par with being a traffic warden or a referee. Maybe some enjoy the tiny bit of “control” they have.

RoseWhiteTips · 02/02/2018 00:25

...on a par

lilabet2 · 02/02/2018 02:15

I absolutely see what you mean and agree with you OP.

safariboot · 02/02/2018 02:52

At one point there was four of them stood round a computer trying to figure out what to do to prevent sanctions kicking in, which, yes, we could have appealed, but we didn’t need that shit right then, and they clearly agreed.

This from a PP is interesting. It seems to imply that in some cases at least, sanctions are automatic, Computer Says Sanction and unless the jobcentre employee can input a reason to not sanction, the claimant gets punished.

For all the positive stories from the Jobcentre there are also the numerous negative ones, of insensitive and cruel sanctions. As OP demonstrates, it's all too often the case that a group is judged by its worst members and actions, not its best. The same applies to the benefit claimants themselves.

safariboot · 02/02/2018 03:00

Really, being late is hardly the end of the worls. Appointments everywhere (gp, dentist etc) often run late. It doesn't make them terrible people.

Yes, but when the rules seem to be that they can be late every time with no penalty, that you have to wait as long as it takes no matter what your circumstances, and that if you are late even once you'll be denied a month's income - no wonder claimants get pissed off.

IHATEPeppaPig · 02/02/2018 03:04

One of my closest friends worked there for a bit, she wanted to help people (and now she works in the charity sector) - she left due to these issues, so YABU.

WendyHadWings · 02/02/2018 03:08

OP has clearly got it in for people who work in job centres. Why ? They need a job too.

Boffin90 · 02/02/2018 05:31

So, let’s scrap all the jobcentre workers....
What next OP?
An online/ telephone system only?

I can hear it now- Why can’t I just go and speak to a human!
I have no internet.
I have no phone.

There are good and bad in every industry but to target a specific group of workers is mightily unfair.
People may hate bailiffs until they are the ones unpaid money.

Genuine question though...
What would you like to see happen?

Boffin90 · 02/02/2018 05:32

That was supposed to be chasing unpaid money.

ApacheEchidna · 02/02/2018 05:42

Don't blame the front line staff. I would direct the same question from the OP to every Tory mp and every Tory voter but I already know the answer. It's just because they believe that everyone who needs to go to a job centre is by definition a workshy layabout who wants to pocket taxpayers' money and live the life of Riley. The system is perfectly designed if you believe the claimants all deserve this treatment.

Hippadippadation · 02/02/2018 06:24

Urm what? FIL worked in the job centre for over 40 years, doing all kinds of jobs. He was exasperated with how it worked by the end, but he definitely is not a bully and did not enjoy giving people bad news. His hands were tied by the red tape and processes.

Cupoteap · 02/02/2018 06:52

Does that answer your question op?

CPtart · 02/02/2018 06:55

I work with the general public. Some of the moaning entitled attitudes of people grind you down. Get where I'm coming from?
I feel sorry for them.

superdink · 02/02/2018 15:16

Front line staff have a moral duty to speak out against injustice and unfairness. This includes job centre staff, nurses, doctors and care workers. Following orders is no excuse. Fear of unemployment is no excuse. Too many of our good people are turning a blind eye to evil.

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