To this is absolutely insane! Universal Credit Sanction

[ThisIsInsane]

Adult DD has had an absolute nightmare trying to get a job since she was fired just before Christmas,

She wasn’t happy in the role previous to that so applied for another, got it, gave her resignation. Three days into the new role, she was told, she wasn’t a good fit and immediately fired. She did absolutely nothing wrong btw.

This has massively affected her mental health. She’s never been fired before or been unemployed.

She has literally applied for over 1500 jobs since then, only got two interviews which she wasn’t successful at.

She missed a UC appointment in June. Not sure what exactly happened but she has evidence of her job search. At every appointment they tell her she’s applying for a lot of jobs and there’s noting they can do to help.

They have sanctioned her UC so she has only got £7!

According to the letter she has been sanctioned for 30 days for a first offence of missing one appointment after 6 months in which they have not helped her find a job!

She has an appointment later today and I’m planning to go with her to complain as she isn’t in the right head space to. I just think it’s totally disgusting! She lives at home luckily but can’t pay her phone bill even!

Imagine if she was living on her own and had no support!

AIBU to think this is extreme and unjustifiable punishment?

This does not surprise me, I saw 'I Daniel Blake' which highlighted benefit sanctions.

If you did not vote in 2010 or voted Tory then, you are of course partly responsible.

Say nothing, smile, move on. Sadly it doesn’t give a very good impression to have been at the previous company only 6 months and then to lose this job in a very short time. Has she registered directly with any agencies? That helps more than indeed in my experience.

How is she applying for 'a 1000 jobs' if she's sleeping 16 hours a day?

I actually admire her for speaking up. Most of us would also have been shocked, but walked away saying nothing, thus condoning the remark. I realise it won't be any consolation, but it's clear that if that's the MD's attitude, she's probably had a very lucky escape because his attitude will dictate the culture and atmosphere within the company, and his firing of her was retribution for her speaking out.

I'm sorry you're having a tough time, depending on your children ages you may be entitled to extra help on Student Finance (and UC) but please check as I'm not sure 100% if the rules have changed or not. A lot of people have had to step into their savings or move back home to study. People suggest teaching as not enough teachers and its only a year course. It's hard having to retrain. OP daughter seems to be single and childfree atm, so it will be easier for her hence people suggesting retraining.

OP you need to read up on the government website for UC sanctions because something isn’t right here. They don’t take all your money for one low level offence. You need to appeal.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-sanctions#sanction-levels

Oh also I agree AI is awful. I keep seeing former colleagues being made redundant on LinkedIn and salaries going lower and lower. I bowed out and retrained where AI can't be used.

Exactly that's how the system works. She should have attended the appointment or at least asked if the time could be changed if she had a good reason for not being able to attend. Why is she spending the whole day in bed.

What do you mean by “they haven’t helped her find a job”?
I don’t think that’s the benefit office’s actual remit?

If an appointment clashes with work hours, you message UC explaining and they will rearrange quickly. It’s very easy, this is why they are harsh on no shows!

I'm so sorry for your personal circumstances icantwaitforsummer. However you're being very judgemental of the OP's daughter. Benefits are not 'free handouts', they are paid for by taxes paid by all of her family and friends and she will contribute in her own taxes as soon as she finds work. She is obviously very keen to work and the system is set up to punish people who are struggling and vulnerable.

A wealthy society such as the UK's should support those who through no fault of their own cannot work or cannot find work.

The way the DWP run UC is absolutely ridiculous. It's all tick boxes and robots, and slow robots at that. Occasionally there is a nice advisor who sympathises that some of what the DWP expects is stupid, but they often aren't paid enough to bother even thinking about doing anything about it. The hoops are set out and you have to jump through them, BUT if a UC advisor or case manager makes a mistake (which they do), then you will have to fight for months and months on end to have it solved. And there will be absolutely no apology or accountability afterwards.

So don't listen to anyone telling you to have your daughter suck up to them and act all contrite. Being nice won't get her anywhere, they don't care, they're not going to let her off because she's sad and sorry. Equally, complaining about the rules won't get her anywhere either.

She just needs to take it on the chin and not do it again, and don't give it a second thought.

On a slightly different note, could your daughter benefit from some additional training? Something different to her background?

How old is she and what sort of thing is she applying for?
What does she want to do?

I think that’s the standard process if you miss an appointment and do not contact them with a reason why and rebook. I don’t think it’s going to be beneficial for you to go in there and complain. She’s an adult and if she can’t attend due to MH issues then she needs to tell them that as otherwise it just looks like she’s not bothering to attend.

exactly!

I do think your DD has had some really bad luck but I don't think the scatter-gun approach to job applications will be helping. She must feel so demoralised but was she actually qualified and experienced for so many jobs? Has she been to her GP about her mental health? If she's able, volunteering and/or further training or retraining could be very helpful.

Thats a very harsh sanction.

I used to be on the U.C. equivalent in the republic of ireland.

If you missed one appointment , they would not cut your money.

If you missed a second appointment you would be called in for a meeting and asked to explain yourself. If you had no reasonable explanation, your money could be cut, but say if you receive 800 euro a month UC, they would cut it by 80 euro a month.

You would never be left with 7 pounds for a whole month. So harsh!

Or perhaps her Dd has missed more than one appointment?

I suspect if she didn't live with parents providing as safety net she'd have gone to the appointment. Thankfully she's not alone.

My ds is in a similar position. His mental health is terrible at the moment (issues that have surfaced due to a seriously abusive childhood before he was finally removed from his birth parents and adopted by us as an older child). He's worked for many years and after losing his job recently, due to ill health, he claimed UC for the first time ever 6 weeks ago. In that time they have cancelled appointments twice at short notice. He doesn't drive and had made arrangements for transport to the job centre and "psyched" himself up to attend, even though he had already provided a fit note from the doctor that has covered him from the start of his claim a few weeks ago and covers him for a few weeks more yet. They cancelled on him twice at short notice and he had to attend at another time, which he did, however they asked to see him again this week and he'd just got back from a very stressful visit to the doctor and messaged them to say he didn't feel well enough to attend the appointment scheduled for the next day. He's now got a telephone appointment for next week and has been told he may be sanctioned due to his non attendance yesterday, even though he messaged them on his journal the day before. It seems to be OK for them to chop and change appointments, as a previous poster said, they hold all the power. Like your daughter, our ds lives with us but I dread to think of the impact of these sanctions if he lived alone.

You still don't call the managing director rude.

I have a manager who is extremely rude to everyone.

I am still polite to her, as i want to keep in my job.

You learn to ignore people like that.

This is very good advice.

MN Make sure you pay your way on a date because equality
Also MN Ignore sexism and misogyny at work

They are horrible. They do treat people like shit.

I had to deal with all this when i was on job seekers allowance in ireland. They call you in and make you feel like shit.

They like to harrass you so much, that you get a job just so you dont have to deal with them again. I suppose they are effective that way.

The job centre are shit. Both exH and DD have had to use them and they offer absolutely zero help getting a job. They both did it with no support.
However it is very clear you have to follow the rules. If you can't make an appointment you have to let them know
and rearrange and it needs to be a decent reason like a job interview.
I'm sorry your DD is suffering with her mental health. Is she getting any support for that? Is the GP aware? Is the job centre?
Don't go in all guns blazing. She needs to apologise and promise it won't happen again.
Is there someone she can ask to look over her CV? Also make sure she changes it when she applies for different jobs in different sectors so it's always relevant to the job

I think you should support your daughter but teach her to stand on her own two feet. Going to her meetings with her belittles her.
Also, how is job / interview / application ready if she is so depressed she is sleeping for 16 hours a day. I wouldn't hire someone in that frame of mind.