To take a job with the DWP even though I will lose friends

[Sunsnet]

I currently work a minimum wage job in retail. It's long hours, exhausting and for really shitty money. Sometimes I earn less than minimum wage as I'm salaried and not entitled to overtime.

I've just been offered a job with the DWP. I'll earn 50% more, have a WAY better pension plus more benefits. I'll even be able to work fewer hours so I can spend more time with my family and STILL be better off than now. BUT, I have friends who think the DWP is immoral and by working for them I will be implicit in that immorality.

I agree that the way the DWP works at the moment is immoral, but surely we need good people to work there to ensure that people who need the help and are entitled to it actually get it. Or am I just clutching at straws to justify my position?

I have one friend in particular who says they will never speak to me again if I take the job. This friend is independently wealthy and never needs to work again, I am not. I do not own property, have a family to support, I'm a single parent and I have no qualifications so have no hope of a better job.

Would I really be that awful a person to sell out and take this job?

I think you should do what is best for you in your circumstances. Security and finance is important.
I will add that I turned down a job working for DWP quite a few years ago but I had two job offers and chose the other. One of my reasons was that they were sanctioning people left right and centre who has missed appointments and a girl I knew of who couldn't leave her hospital bed at the time was sanctioned in this way.
I just thought no way can I do that to people. They are disgusting but they are just carrying out directives from the government at the end of the day but I didn't and don't want to be part of that.
I think if I hadn't had another job offer I may have had to take it though. So people shouldn't judge the staff, it's the government who will be given a big judgement very soon, hopefully. I will stay up all night and watch the sad faces of the self serving tw@ts as they lose their seats one by one.

I could never tell someone not to take a job.

I can only say what I would do, in my unique circumstance. Personally, I would never apply for a job with the DWP & I am considered poor. I have had dealings with them personally that led to my mental health worsening & I have witnessed disabled people being unable to eat or heat their homes because of the DWP’s actions & processes.

Employees of the DWP don’t make the rules, that’s true, but they’re willing to carry them out for a salary. “Just following orders” doesn’t sit right with me, particularly when those orders have resulted in vulnerable people dying in their own homes with no food in the cupboards. A quick Google search will reveal these very real cases. I think the problem is many people haven’t actually seen the impact the DWP can have on vulnerable people, in the flesh. It’s easy to be detached about it, until you’ve seen or experienced it yourself.

The UN & more Judges & Coroners than I could list here have repeatedly condemned the DWP’s practices over the past decade & as recently as last week. The DWP has been criticised repeatedly by anti-poverty & disability charities for the way they treat vulnerable people.

I can’t write it all down here but there is a wealth of information online about the DWP’s. Perhaps do some research before you commit? Research around their targets will highlight they are not interested in truly helping people. One of the biggest sticking points for me is the DWP’s refusal to accept medical evidence from doctors, including specialists such as consultants, psychiatrists etc. The DWP genuinely think they know better. That’s dangerous & has left people suffering terribly.

Another important factor is workplace culture. I’ve learned the hard way that the working environment for employees is so important. There is a lot to suggest that working for the DWP is hard, stressful & mentally exhausting. That doesn’t surprise me one bit, particularly when you consider the way they treat claimants. You will be dealing with some of the most vulnerable in society who have been denied what they are entitled to. The DWP’s targets mean valid application have to be rejected. At least the first time round. Can you imagine being on the receiving end of that as a claimant with nowhere to turn? I’ve seen the consequences of this. It’s worth bearing in mind that the DWP waste ungodly sums of tax payers money fighting vulnerable claimants in court. For the record, over three quarters are overturned by Judges & panels who have nothing good to say about the DWP.

A lot of people have been badly let down by the DWP and their feelings are valid. I wouldn’t tell anyone they couldn’t take a certain job. But I have to admit, it would change my perception of them if they told me they were going to work for an organisation linked to so much distress, cruelty & ultimately death. I don’t know how it couldn’t given all I’ve seen & experienced.

OP i hope some of the positive posts have actually helped you come to a decision about the job offer and who your friends are or rather who your friends are not …please update us

@Sunsnet
Put it this way if this real life senerio situation was a reverse they or a couple of them in your friendship who are in your situation would be tempted financially to take up your job offer,

As i have found in life some people are very hypocritical to say the least at times.

Unless
they have no right to say in your life how you provide the bacon for your family when you are up against financially

As they don't pay your bills ,

There opinions don't mean nothing...!

Typo omission circle *

I’m a bit confused by people who think it’s ok to tell someone else what to do - even more perplexed they would tell you not to take a job that you obviously want.
My first response would have been well done and congratulations - I agree this person does not seem to actually be a friend but is happy to pass judgement.

Good grief. One of my best friends works for the DWP. She is a work coach for those on UC and is one of the most compassionate people I know. The DWP is vast. It’s not just about UC sanctions. And even if that is your job role, OP, still take it. Your friend is not your friend.

Take the job. Its better for you and your children. Any "friends" you lose were never friends to start with. A true friend would be pleased for you.

Good luck x

They are not your friends then. Why do they hate DWP so much? They must have something to hide?

Take the job. Better salary and pension. Your friends can’t be true friends if they judge you for where you work

@TweetypiePez , it is equally possible that a large number of the people being encouraged into jobs by the DWP are actually perfectly capable of full time work.

TAKE THE JOB! I am unsure why your 'friends' feel you shouldn't take it. Seems strange to me. What's the problem with working for the DWP? It is a government
organisation with roles and responsibilities affecting us all.
Best of luck in your future role that offers much better prospects all round!

Totally agree

Totally agree!

And people who work at job centres who aren’t sufficiently qualified to really know peoples capabilities as they don’t know them well enough would know this how?

A friend of mine’s daughter has complex learning difficulties and has been let go by various companies as her difficulties mean she has significant trouble with working memory and initiative etc, yet DWP will not accept her capabilities are severely limited and keep trying to force her into any old crappy job only for her to get let go within weeks as she can’t keep up with the demands, and round the cycle goes. They refuse to give her limited capability benefits.

I think when people aren’t affected they don’t think of the potential flaws and inhumanity of it all, they need to employ people with adequate knowledge of illness, disability and mental health issues before judging anyone’s circumstances, but they don’t.

People who work in job centres aren't the ones who do work capability assessments

These pretence fake friends are not your friends, they do not pay your rent or bills, they do not pay your child care food, nothing if they have an opinion on your job. Walk away, leave. No proper decent friend would stop you from progressing in your life no matter what job you do. I have three friends that work for child tax credits, I'm pleased for them, they are now in work from being on the dole. Don't stand there and doubt yourself and take it, you do not have to take that from anyone. Walk away

Yes, I know, but she’s been for a work capability assessment and they still haven’t acknowledged her problems. I have known her since she was born and I know they are quite significant, yet her work capability assessment report was contradictory. The only people who have acknowledged her problems are independent people at a PIP tribunal. She now gets PIP on account of her learning difficulties, the same ones that don’t exist when it comes to jobs 🤣

Can she not go to tribunal for the work capability decision too ? It is possible to be awarded one without the other though. So someone may qualify for PIP but be deemed fit to work. With the work capability assessment they are assessing whether someone can do any type of work. Many people with LD can do some type of work although I appreciate this can bring significant challenges and they may need additional support to find suitable employment.

I just cannot believe that you can call someone your friend if they judge you and threaten to disown you for taking a better paid job in order to provide a better life for yourself and your family.
Take the job and disown the so called friend , they're no real friend to you.
As for calling the DWP immoral and by extension anyone who works there immoral, it just beggars belief.The DWP can be fairly described as inept and incompetent , even uncaring to some extent but none of those things qualify it as being immoral.

DWP process is a) fill in form, get looked at and processed against a set of tick boxes, if refused then b) go for review, this gets looked at with the assistance of medical staff if required, and can be supported by GP report, then c) appeal, which goes to independent panel who can award up to 3 years - this will admit medical and social worker evidence. These people are completely independent, often JPs, retired doctors etc. So if she does have incapacity, then she needs support from social workers or medical professionals. Sadly, she will need some real help to fill in the lengthy documents to get through the process.
Having said that, they will base it on the fact that she is potentially able to do supported menial work, if she is physically able, but it is getting the right work. Our local college has a course for those with lesser abilities, with placements.

Clearly you've never had any dealings with the PIP department.

Yes, I understand, she could technically work, but the employment available to her is extremely limited, yet she is still expected to live off the same amount of money as someone with full capacity just looking for work which I think is wrong when, to me, she is clearly even less able then some physically disabled people who are entitled to ESA or whatever the UC supplement is.

Take the job, and if its doesn't sit well with your values once you've started, you can hatch a plan to move on - to something even better, not backwards.

Your friend is entitled to their stance, but you are entitled to your decisions too. Your friends don't pay the bills, your friends don't parent your children! What's more important here?

To walking on wheels who thinks they know me better thy I do myself - you are wrong - I have had several dealings with PIP through DH including a tribunal (won by the way ) hard and cruel policies I agree but I still wouldn't call anyone who worked for them immoral.