Jobcentre Plus falsifying new job counts
February 16, 2012
Seems DWP is up to its old tricks again. On the day the DWP Press Office announces a “Rise in employment and vacancies shows a stabilising labour market” the 9621 vacancies for that day showed some major concerns especially how Jobcentre Plus is using the job database as a spamming ground for work placements, job search sessions and misc “opportunities”.
The latest figures also show that there are more jobs in the economy. With 476,000 vacancies available at any one time, this is a rise of 11,000 on the three months to October 2011.
So how much of these 476,000 “vacancies” are real? Lets take Wednesday 15th February (the day the press release was released)…
WP/JSA PRISON LEAVERS/PG9
Job Description: None Entered.
This is not a job vacancy. This is not a job vacancy. This is not a job vacancy.
Out of 9621 listings (we prefer not to use the generic term jobs as many are not) for that day, 1555 “job” listings (approx 16% – Approx 1 in 6!) were WP/JSA PRISON LEAVER/PG9 (x27) and WP/JSA PRISON LEAVERS/PG9 (x1528).
Most are duplicates anyhow. Some “job” reference codes:-
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(LIS/23151) (BEK/31551) (BEK/31552) (WAX/38965) (WAX/38966) (WWJ/55328) (WWJ/55329) (WWJ/55330) (AVO/35941) (AVO/35942) (BLO/109197) (BLO/109198) (LEL/18340) (LEL/18341) (WIL/28705) (WIL/28706) (WIL/28707) (GTT/33084) (GTT/33085) (GOR/28818) (GOR/28819) (CIN/13162) (CIN/13163) (FPK/16339) (FPK/16340) (FPK/16341) (BDG/4446) (BDG/4447) (SHV/4654) (SHV/4655) (SUO/49697) (SUO/49699) (BEP/21833) (BEP/21834) (CUN/17871) (CUN/17872) (TOS/28973) (TOS/28974) (HYT/14955) (HYT/14956) (STK/23066) (STK/23067) (STK/23068) (WRT/30914) (WRT/30915) (WHX/29715) (WHX/29716) (GRA/18159) (GRA/18160) (SLE/23393) (SLE/23394) (PTM/5618) (PTM/5619) (LEK/19837) (LEK/19838) (LLD/35984) (LLD/35985) (PAS/16479) (PAS/16480) (ATS/22074) (ATS/22075) (NEL/30517) (NEL/30518) (ENF/41067) (ENF/41068) (ENF/41069) (MAM/27519) (MAM/27520) (WLG/19089) (WLG/19090) (GOO/28194) (GOO/28195) (NEQ/41677) (NEQ/41678) (WEJ/17722) (WEJ/17723) (IWM/82056) (IWM/82057) (IWM/82058) (LIW/71779) (LIW/71780) (GVS/11536) (GVS/11537) (TEL/64771) (TEL/64772) (ADS/22997) (ADS/22998) (HOW/15424) (HOW/15426) (LEH/20660) (LEH/20661) (CHL/75732) (CHL/75733) (PEH/28580) (PEH/28581) (HEL/26762) (HEL/26763) (BUD/17735) (BUD/17736) (HAZ/33926) (HAZ/33927) (BLE/42609) (BLE/42610) (NOS/141835) (NOS/141836) (BPH/10271) (BPH/10272) (BPH/10273) (HOK/26459) (HOK/26460) (LOT/22622) (LOT/22623) (POT/29065) (POT/29066) (HVE/14554) (HVE/14555) (STR/31121) (STR/31122) (STR/31123) (DAR/52876) (DAR/52877) (HND/12545) (HND/12546) (HND/12547) (FLN/17834) (FLN/17835) (LAC/51176) (LAC/51177) (WIR/33558) (WIR/33559) (WIR/33560) (FHH/23689) (FHH/23690) (MXX/5174) (MXX/5175) (QFH/17536) (QFH/17537) (QFH/17538) (BAQ/11545) (BAQ/11546) (WEM/45185) (WEM/45186) (WEM/45187) (SPA/34888) (SPA/34889) (LYS/7588) (LYS/7589) (LYS/7590) (KNN/13945) (KNN/13946) (KNN/13947) (RHY/51913) (RHY/51914) (LOS/48315) (LOS/48316) (TEW/27877) (TEW/27878) (CHH/18422) (CHH/18423) (BLN/24383) (BLN/24384) (COM/16269) (COM/16270) (COM/16271) (SPB/15133) (SPB/15134) (HED/13666) (HED/13667) (BTR/29531) (BTR/29532) (RIC/54786) (RIC/54787) (RIC/54788) (TRD/10727) (TRD/10728) (NUM/19497) (NUM/19498) (LBH/54936) (LBH/54937) (CVD/103333) (CVD/103334) (KWW/16590) (KWW/16591) (WBA/36761) (WBA/36762) (WBA/36763) (SAL/39817) (SAL/39818) (WOJ/19396) (WOJ/19397) (ALK/14124) (ALK/14125) (CUM/37665) (CUM/37666) (JBU/20818) (JBU/20819) (JBU/20820) (EHL/2081) (EHL/2082) (CAC/47720) (CAC/47721) (PEI/18313) (PEI/18314) (LCR/62577) (LCR/62578) (ANS/7871) (ANS/7872) (FAM/27727) (FAM/27728) (THN/19477) (THN/19478) (CLE/43103) (CLE/43104) (SWA/21356) (SWA/21357) (CAK/57061) (CAK/57062) (WAC/18932) (WAC/18933) (EJB/213408) (EJB/213409) (STI/52363) (STI/52364) (MAH/39274) (MAH/39275) (STQ/19939) (STQ/19940) (BLI/10428) (BLI/10429) (BAY/34702) (BAY/34703) (NEC/8922) (NEC/8923) (NEC/8924) (BTN/13508) (BTN/13509) (MUS/36045) (MUS/36046) (NWA/23548) (NWA/23549) (BAF/13479) (BAF/13480) (MIV/14169) (MIV/14170) (SLN/21056) (SLN/21057) (LDY/11968) (LDY/11970) (WGH/7706) (WGH/7707) (WGH/7708) (CLY/27521) (CLY/27522) (ESB/24553) (ESB/24554) (MAK/23821) (MAK/23822) (TON/46132) (TON/46133) (CTS/7373) (CTS/7374) (CTS/7375) (TXT/8371) (TXT/8372) (NOG/7516) (NOG/7517) (HLN/6144) (HLN/6145) (MKH/8456) (MKH/8457) (WOF/22773) (WOF/22774) (BSD/27488) (BSD/27489) (SHE/22325) (SHE/22326) (STY/102632) (STY/102633) (STY/102634) (NET/60706) (NET/60707) (MIC/4745) (MIC/4746) (MIC/4747) (CLF/3293) (CLF/3294) (YST/8953) (YST/8954) (DUN/18275) (DUN/18276) (MOE/37474) (MOE/37475) (HVN/15240) (HVN/15241) (WOL/107947) (WOL/107949) (SOP/69076) (SOP/69077) (POD/21036) (POD/21037) (EXC/84533) (EXC/84534) (CAV/56207) (CAV/56208) (CWM/35581) (CWM/35582) (EAN/29928) (EAN/29929) (BKN/31045) (BKN/31046) (WHL/16923) (WHL/16924) (STL/78826) (STL/78827) (SST/5250) (SST/5251) (HOQ/36419) (HOQ/36420) (MOJ/11028) (MOJ/11029) (MOJ/11030) (HUW/56477) (HUW/56478) (HWJ/15117) (HWJ/15118) (SEK/30652) (SEK/30653) (WAH/82008) (WAH/82010) (HEJ/37678) (HEJ/37679) (SPE/20891) (SPE/20892) (BDN/103) (BDN/104) (BIF/23726) (BIF/23727) (RDN/19078) (RDN/19079) (BTT/37793) (BTT/37794) (HAT/15206) (HAT/15207) (CLK/4426) (CLK/4427) (HUD/100902) (HUD/100903) (RAW/31368) (RAW/31369) (LOU/27298) (LOU/27299) (STU/25585) (STU/25586) (BKW/11381) (BKW/11382) (SBH/28555) (SBH/28556) (OBN/10958) (OBN/10959) (GRT/65642) (GRT/65643) (CHJ/26777) (CHJ/26778) (PRS/132761) (PRS/132762) (QPC/18382) (QPC/18383) (QPC/18384) (PYT/35994) (PYT/35995) (THR/32583) (THR/32584) (CVT/24867) (CVT/24868) (DRL/23691) (DRL/23692) (LOG/53812) (LOG/53813) (FEG/17170) (FEG/17171) (LEF/86863) (LEF/86864) (ABI/35673) (ABI/35674) (BRP/16797) (BRP/16798) (WEU/63936) (WEU/63937)
Other vacancies
Amongst the remainder:-
- At least 263 (approx 3% of the total) are “zero opportunities”:- These are Government schemes and appointments that are not jobs or work placements
- Around 742 (approx 8% of the total) are advertised by a known recruitment/employment agency:- Many jobseekers believe they either are duplicating a vacancy already advertised or advertising jobs that don’t exist (such as future jobs)
- At least 558 (approx 6%) are burst vacancies:- These are self-employed opportunities. Self-employed people are sole traders and employ themselves, thus its not a job vacancy. Its merely an enterprise opportunity. Advertisers are not employers for the aforementioned reason.
- At least 165 (approx 2%) were known workfare positions:- These are a position of work without pay, and forced for benefits.
To recap… 18% (the remainder – approx 1 in 5) also cannot find you employment. Lets combine these… makes approx 35% known to be not jobs. This strictly excludes fake jobs and scams.
Approx 1 in 3 jobs are not jobs
Just in one day, 35% of the so-called jobs are not job vacancies. DWP Press office lying again?!
How we calculated it:-
- dgJobs has access to the database – wasn’t searched from directgov – would have broken before then!
- From the total listings we noticed so many of the “prison opportunities” so we did a search for the remainder and found 1555 in total.
- 263 “zero opportunities” are determined by SOC 0 (internal) code.
- 742 “agency jobs” determined by employer name (agency) and job description containing the “XYZ is operating as … ” line
- 558 self-employed positions determined by job description
- 165 workfare positions determined by phrases such as SBWA and work experience in the title or job description
February 16, 2012 at 10:57 am
Tens of thousands of unemployed people made to work without pay
Figures show 24,010 jobseekers were told to undertake work experience or lose benefits between May and November 2011
Tens of thousands of unemployed people have been made to work without pay under threat of having their benefits removed for at least 13 weeks, according to the latest government figures.
The first set of statistics on the government’s mandatory work activity (MWA) programme reveals that from when the scheme started in May 2011 until November, 24,010 jobseekers were referred to work for four weeks unpaid for 30 hours a week.
Under the scheme – the first of its kind in the UK – jobcentre managers have the power to make unemployed people do a month’s work experience at charities, government offices or high-street chains if they feel claimants “fail to demonstrate the focus and discipline necessary to seek out, secure and retain employment opportunities”. If they do not take part, claimants have their benefits removed for 13 weeks. A second failure to take part means benefits are removed for six months.
In a separate scheme, managers can also ask jobseekers to take up unpaid work experience (WE) for eight weeks. However, under this programme, people can refuse to do the work or pull out within the first week without having benefits docked. Figures for the programme reveal that 34,200 jobseekers undertook such placements from January until November 2011.
The figures show a wide variance between gender and race groups entered into the two schemes. Of those being referred to the mandatory scheme, 75% (18,000) were male, while 66% were male in the non-mandatory WE scheme.
Figures for ethnicity reveal that 24% of those being forced to do work experience were from minorities compared to only 13% on the voluntary WE scheme.
The large differences raise questions about the choices being made by jobcentre claims managers after a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) insider told the Guardian they could see no statistical reason for the a racial variance.
There has been exponential growth in the number of people being sent on mandatory “workfare” placements since they were introduced in May. In the three months from September referrals doubled, and by November, the last month for which figures were released, there were more people being sent to mandatory placements (8,100) than starting a WE placement (6,600) throughout the whole of the UK.
In response to questions about the figures, the DWP warned that the number of those referred for mandatory work would not precisely equate with those who were actually starting such placements, for which figures were not currently available.
“Not every claimant referred to mandatory work activity starts on the scheme,” the department said. “This can be for a variety of reasons; for example, they may cease to claim jobseeker’s allowance before the start of their placement, their circumstances may change, or they may remain on jobseeker’s allowance and fail to start a placement.”
The department added that the figures for the two schemes were not directly comparable and they had carried out a full equalities impact assessment.
“Mandatory work activity and work experience are two different schemes with different aims and referral criteria. The department does not make direct comparisons between the schemes.
“Claimants are referred to mandatory work activity on the basis of suitability for the scheme, regardless of their gender and ethnicity. A full equality impact assessment has been completed with regard to mandatory work activity. As set out in this equality impact assessment, a higher proportion of males claim jobseeker’s allowance compared with females. These early figures suggest that the proportion of claimants referred to mandatory work activity who are male is slightly lower than predicted in the equality impact assessment.”
The department also said it had plans to introduce a three-year sanction for those who failed to complete MWA for a third time under welfare reforms currently making their way through parliament.
“Ensuring participation in mandatory work activity will be critical to help some claimants prepare for work. Failure to complete a mandatory work activity placement without good cause will result in the sanction of jobseeker’s allowance for three months. This will rise to six months for a second breach. Subject to the passage of the welfare reform bill, a three-year fixed sanction will apply for a third violation.
The shadow employment minister, Stephen Timms, said: “With unemployment at its highest rate since 1995 and long-term youth unemployment doubling in the last year, it is absolutely clear that this government’s welfare-to-work programmes are not doing the job … Complacent ministers simply must do more to get people into work.”
Article here.
February 16, 2012 at 11:28 am
“However, under this programme, people can refuse to do the work or pull out within the first week without having benefits docked.”
No. You can only “pull out” of the work experience scheme if you have attended the first day and then, of course, within the first week.
“A claimant is regarded as having good cause for failing to attend or giving up Work Experience providing they
1. attend the first day of Work Experience and
2. give up not later than one week after the date on which they begin Work Experience and
3. do not lose the Work Experience place due to misconduct”
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/m-08-11.pdf
February 16, 2012 at 10:59 am
It’s easy to see that the DWP are under intense pressure to find the figures that Coalition wants.
Unfortunately for them they don’t seem to realise that in this day and age people can find them out, with a bit of graft, through the Web.
The dread Hand of Ipswich Unemployed Action strikes again!
February 16, 2012 at 11:51 am
Indeed, the mistake they made was giving them identical titles… if they rephrased a few most people wouldn’t have realised it.
Yep, that IUA scares the hell out of them
February 16, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Andrew can you do a post about refusing consent and when you ind a job just fill in section four of the jsa booklet as ou don’t have to provide a company name. To make it harder for thrid party providers to claim result money. and also it is a good idea to put a letter in your aplication to the company telling them they you don’t want your information shared with dwp.
February 16, 2012 at 2:15 pm
tescos how now boobed and now blaming the DWP for a error for advertising a night shift job for jsa and expenses
February 16, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Yes I almost died of laughing.
Its a technicality because it was listed with “BENEFITS + JSA” instead of “N/A”. Most of them are like that, which allows us to list them all, see … http://www.dgjobs.co.uk/workfare.php
February 16, 2012 at 2:36 pm
BENEFITS + JSA ? haha, I should stop doing comments with loud distracting music on, makes me make big mistakes!
February 16, 2012 at 5:03 pm
The jobcentre and DWP are mad. Period.
February 16, 2012 at 5:20 pm
An Account: Day 1 of 6 months
The government has another great workfare idea: Make everyone who has been on the Work Programme do six whole months of full-time forced unpaid labour. It introduced a pilot scheme for this idea, the bizarrely named “Community Action Programme”, which is being implemented by profit-making “Welfare to Work” companies. We hear from one unlucky person about the shambles that was the first day of their six month stint.
After being informed that I had won the “lottery” so to speak, I was duly summoned to attend a Community Action Programme “Welcome meeting” on this fine February morning. Determined not to be too sullen despite having been previously shall we say, a little under impressed by the so called assistance received through A4e 6 months prior, I tried to open my mind to the possibilities that may be offered by Pinnacle People, and knowing that I have little choice but to attend or lose my benefits, off I went.
I had been informed by letter that this session would take approximately 3hrs! So having parked and paid for a day’s parking, I made my way to their plush offices and after being greeted and offered a beverage, we sat waiting for others to arrive. Of the 14 booked in 3 of us were there at the allotted time 4 others drifted in over the following 20mins! Good start!
In front of each of us was placed a brochure outlining what was to befall us, maybe a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy would of been more apt but hey ho, also each of us were given a copy of a default Action Plan with spaces allocated to be filled in/edited after each session. (May I point out that this document requests signatures and dates of birth, so those like me concerned with Data Protection, TAKE NOTE!)
After listening to the program outline, it was soon apparent that yet AGAIN, I and the other unfortunates who have been conscripted into yet another debacle will once more be wasting our time and Government money to line the pockets of another bunch of… No, I won’t do myself the injustice of just swearing for the next hour, but I will point out a couple of points that really guile me!
During our meeting the young man pointed out to us that… “though I do not know any of you, it’s important for you to undertake this programme as those that have been unemployed for a long time fall into bad habits and this will stop those that sleep in all morning and spend the day watching Jeremy Kyle from continuing living like this, not that I am saying any of you do that…” Nice touch!
He continued to state that “…it was not the company’s fault that we were there but the Government and as such, if we felt that this was not for us, don’t take it out on them, go see the people at the job centre, but you will be unlikely to get anywhere… the only way to get of this programme is to get a job or sign off”. One could expect that I suppose?! But it’s hardly the way to instil trust and encourage those forced to take part to see some kind of benefit in the whole procedure (the benefit bit wasn’t a pun!).
Having made it crystal clear that any non compliance or a failure to “take part” in ANY activity they deemed suitable would be seen as a failure on OUR part and as such may constitute a breach in our agreement, we were told that THEY did not have the power to issue sanctions on our benefit,so it was pointless coming to them and complaining. HOWEVER it was their duty to inform the Benefits office if they felt that an individual was disruptive or was reluctant to comply with their requests! At this point we were directed to SIGN the documents in front of us which contained the Consent to Share Information… I declined… At that point the young man loudly asked why I refused to sign, So, politely I told him at this time I was “unhappy” to sign such a document as it was a non mandatory requirement, he then made a point of telling me (and those sat watching) THREE times that he would have to report this… So I guess my Black Ball is on its way!!!
The best bit is yet to come… I am still struggling to actually believe my own ears on this, but BELIEVE IT OR NOT during our meeting (of 40mins NOT 3HRS so there goes £3.70 on parking!) We were actually told that in our Area the person whose job it is to secure placements is struggling, that the opportunities have dried up, that… “IF WE COULD HELP THEM BY LETTING THEM KNOW OF ANY COMPANY THAT COULD TAKE US ON, THEY WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVE” ARE YOU BL**DY KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!
The second document (Action Plan) which they were so adamant we sign, stated clearly that within the next 7 days we would commence our work placement… We were then told our nextmeeting would be in 14 days!?!?!? What?? How?? But we don’t have a placement to go on!!! Yeah… I didn’t sign that one either, oops!
Please, Please, Please somebody, anybody, anybody with any sense that is, surely somebody can see what a farce this all is and do something about it.
February 16, 2012 at 11:18 pm
I’m sorry to tell you that the farce will only get more farcical as the programme progresses…
Pinnacle People keep their costs down by renting space in community centres or serviced offices instead of purpose-designed training centres and by employing people like me as free-lance trainers.
One centre where I work has a decent number of computers, a printer that works and lovely reception staff who greet people politely when they arrive. Others are not so well equipped….
… And I suspect the quality of those us who work on the programme varies just as widely.
(I sat in on a really dreadful “Welcome Meeting” the other week, not unlike the one you attended. After about ten
minutes I wanted to give the trainer delivering it a good, hard slap and tell him to stop being such an arrogant little weasel.)
minutes I
February 17, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Brilliant account! I keep thinking that pretty soon I’ll wake up and this whole farce will ahve been nothing but t dream (or nightmare). The whole workfare concept is like something out of a Kafka novel – it really is hard to believe that it’s going on. Keep posting with your experiences – let us know if anything happens betore your next appointment and if there’s any attempted come back for non signing either the waiver or the agreement.
Stay strong!
February 16, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Work for free and ‘be of benefit’ to a multinational like Tesco
A Tesco job advert offering ‘JSA plus expenses’ reveals the sinister reality of government work experience schemes
So now we know. Back in August last year, I wrote a comment piece for the Guardian, focusing on the increasing noise about people being forced to work in return for their jobseeker’s allowance – an idea whose roots extend well into Labour’s time in government. It focused on two things: so-called mandatory work activity (MWA), whereby people are forced – via the threat of their jobseeker’s allowance being suspended – to put in 30 hours a week doing work “of benefit to the community”; and other “work experience” schemes, in which people do up to eight weeks of unpaid labour, with one proviso: they can refuse to take part or pull out during the first seven days, but thereafter the work becomes compulsory, under pain of their benefit being withdrawn.
Yesterday, my colleague Shiv Malik pointed to the numbers of people involved in the scheme between May and November last year; 24,010 had done MWA, while 34,200 had participated in the second kind of work experience. The key revelation, though, was that in the last month for which there were figures, MWA numbers were outstripping those for non-compulsory(ish) work experience by 8,100 to 6,600. In other words, MWA seems to be mushrooming, along with its hardline sanctions regime: the first time you refuse to take part, you lose your benefit for 13 weeks; the second, for six months. Subject to the passing of the current welfare reform bill, rejecting MWA for a third time will mean no benefit for three years – and, one assumes, destitution.
At which point, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what all this actually entails. Thanks to referrals by both jobcentres and private-sector Work Programme providers, it’s about people effectively working for nothing, not only in charities and the public sector, but in huge retail chains. Thanks to the legal action launched by Cait Reilly, we all know about Poundland. Asda, Boots, Argos and TK Maxx, and the Arcadia group (including Topshop and Burton) are also involved. Hats off, perhaps, to Sainsbury’s and Waterstones for announcing that they have ended their involvement with this kind of work experience, but if you want an indication that workfare may be turning into an immovable part of the private-sector economy, consider last night and today’s blizzard of outrage about a Tesco ad placed on the Jobcentre Plus website. It’s for nightshift workers in East Anglia, who will be paid “JSA plus expenses”. In response, Tesco’s Facebook page has been transformed into a glorious example of an online demo, brimming with anger. “I’ll be boycotting your stores with immediate effect until you stop this exploitation – I will also be urging all my friends and family and contacts to do the same,” goes one post. “No more Tesco for me until you withdraw from this government workfare scheme … It is compulsory forced labour,” says another. The company are trying to keep a lid on it all, with little success: “You can delete as much as you like but this will now go viral,” offers one poster.
On Twitter, Shiv Malik revealed other adverts for similar roles at Tesco, and Tesco’s explanation shifted. As Left Foot Forward reported this morning, their initial line was that they “are taking part in a government-led work experience scheme to help young people” which “has already led to 300 permanent jobs”. They then put the advert down to “an error made by Jobcentre Plus” and claimed that it should have been “for work experience with a guaranteed interview at the end”. As far as I can tell, they still want to employ nightshift workers for nothing.
Whatever the answer, the crucial point is that unpaid work – bad enough when it applied to supposed “interns”, but grim beyond belief when used on the unemployed – is now being built into what some people call The New Normal. Given the thousands involved, it clearly represents a boon to the kind of multinational giants whose profit margins must be creeping upwards thanks to the plentiful supply of people – and please, all you free-marketeers, read this bit slowly – effectively paid a pittance to work for them by the taxpayer. Note also the way that even more sinister aspects of all this are pointed up by the breakdown of people who’ve done work experience, as opposed to MWA: 13% of work experience “participants” are from ethnic minorities, but when hardened compulsion is used via MWA, that number rises to 24%.
Last year, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told me the “community benefit” meant that MWA would be kept out of the private sector – but on the ground, that doesn’t seem to be working, at all. Now the DWP claim only that they “expect that every placement will offer people the opportunity to gain fundamental work disciplines, as well as being of benefit to local communities”. Also, if you still think that all this denotes only short-term arrangements that aren’t an offence to public morals and shouldn’t be too onerous for anyone, consider one of the more overlooked aspects of current welfare-to-work practice: something called the community action programme, under which people are mandated to work for their benefit for up to 26 weeks. That’s six months, to you and me. Such outrages continue to be rolled out at speed; the horror is only compounded by how little attention mainstream politics continues to give them.
Article + comments here.
February 16, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Tesco’s unpaid labour shows the flaw at the heart of workfare
There is fresh outrage against the government’s flagship workfare program today, as an advert on a government job seekers’ website revealed the extent of Tesco’s involvement with the work experience scheme, which involves mandatory work under the threat of removal of benefits.
The advert which sparked the concern was for night shift work with Tesco in East Anglia, with pay listed as “JSA + expenses”. The position was advertised as permanent, despite being labelled as part of the “sector-based work academy” (SWBA) scheme, which limits placements to six weeks.
Within hours, a number of similar positions were found by Guardian journalist Shiv Malik: One advertising salary as “benefits and travel to work costs”, another in Clevedon paying “normal JSA”, and a third – the only one clearly labelled “work experience” in the title – again paying”benefit plus travelling costs”.
Tesco’s response to the discoveries has been fluctuating. Originally, their customer care Twitter feed was replying to complaints by delivering the PR line:
“We are taking part in a government-led work experience scheme to help young people, this has already led to 300 permanent jobs.”
At 10:32 this morning, however, they changed their tone, and started telling people that:
“This is an error made by Jobcentre Plus. It should be an advert for work experience with a guaranteed interview at the end.”
Regardless of whether it was an error – made at least four times, by four different Tesco stores – the fact remains that even the best spin on what Tesco is doing involves getting the free labour of a significant proportion of the 24,000 jobseekers who were told to start working for no pay or lose their benefits.
This represents a significant transfer of wealth from the taxpayer to Tesco, a business which, in a disappointing half year, made only £1.9 billion of profit.
Just as when they refuse to pay their employees the living wage, every person working for the supermarket chain while still receiving state benefits is an in-kind subsidy from the government; this is just more transparently the case when Tesco pays no wage at all.
Tesco has a choice in this matter. Many of their competitors, such as Sainsbury’s and the Co-op, have confirmed that they will not be using work experience labour; but Tesco insists the decision is up to individual store managers, and as a result the allure of free employees seems to tempting to resist.
At it’s heart, however, the problem lies with the government program which legitimises this practice.
The claim that it is aimed towards providing useful work experience that will lead to jobs is demonstrably untrue; both from the preponderance of placements which provide ‘experience’ in jobs which require none, and from the evidence provided by cases like Cait Reilly’s – taken off valuable work experience in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to stack shelves in Poundland.
Instead, it is looking more and more like this workfare program is driven by populist anger against ‘benefit scroungers’: The logic seems to be that if they can work, they should work; and if there are no jobs available, they should work for free until there are. It is policy by demonisation, and it is shameful.
Tesco’s unpaid labour shows the flaw at the heart of workfare
February 16, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Job details
These are the details of the job selected
TESCO NIGHT SHIFT
Vacancy from
Job No:
BSD/27442
SOC Code:
0
Wage
JSA+EXPENSES
Hours
TBC
Location
EAST ANGLIA IP32
Duration
Permanent
Date posted
09 February 2012
Pension details
No details held
Description
Interviews as part of SBWA, dates and times to be arranged by the store.Contact Amanda Evans at Tesco.
How to apply
For further details about job reference BSD/27442, please telephone Jobseeker Direct on 0845 6060 234. Lines are open 8.00am – 6.00pm weekdays only. All calls are charged at local rate. Call charges may be different if you call from a mobile phone. Alternatively, visit your local Jobcentre Plus Office and use the customer access phones provided to call Jobseeker Direct. The textphone service for deaf and hearing-impaired people is 0845 6055 255.
TESCO NIGHT SHIFT
February 16, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Anyone who has worked for Tesco can tell you that the training consists of one morning followed by a long shifts of unskilled mind numbing work.
February 16, 2012 at 8:36 pm
SBWA = Sector-Based Work Academies
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/sbwa-employer-guide.pdf
February 16, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Send automatic protest tweets to workfare companies!
http://www.pint.org.uk/work/
February 17, 2012 at 10:37 am
FALSE JOB FIGURES – PLUS (OR SHOULD THAT BE MINUS) A LITTLE COMMENT ON THE ‘HIDDEN JOBS’ MARKET
Another major element on the subject of misleading job figures is the number of people who don’t get counted as unemployed and actively seeking work.
Millions of part-time workers are actively seeking full-time employment – which doesn’t exist for them – so a more realistic total of jobseekers according to the TUC is 6.3 Million.
Combine that colossal figure with all the disabled people heartlessly kicked off IB and DLA, who are now being brutally forced onto indefinite workfare schemes of dubious legality in return for the much lesser JSA, and the competition among all other jobseekers – already sky-high – is going to become ludicrous.
Even thousands of criminals are being made to work – mostly for private enterprise – so that in itself takes away more jobs from the general population and increases the already stiff competition among all other jobseekers.
It is the perennial competition faced by all jobseekers which is the killer blow on the soul-destroying treadmill of no-hope jobeeking.
All these hidden unemployment figures make a serious challenge to the babbling “mindset” ideology being promoted by Work Programme providers pushing the alleged “cure” of the hidden jobs market for the moral disease of unemployment.
Political ideology allied with hate-filled headlines in the tabloids about the workshy bleeding the taxpayer dry is not the way to reform the Welfare State – especially at a time when the economy is shrinking and the jobs market rapidly deteriorating. That gloomy state of affairs is going to continue for some years to come.
All the Big Society ideologues will succeed in doing is, at best, to move people from unwaged poverty to waged poverty, or, worse still, in trapping them in a perpetually revolving door of workfare schemes – the most paradoxical and mean-spirited policy of all.
February 17, 2012 at 5:22 pm
[...] Full Report Here [...]
February 20, 2012 at 11:29 am
[...] We have criticised Jobcentre Plus’ Labour Market System, workfare job vacancies advertised on there, Jobcentre Plus using workfare and false job advertisements to distort job counts. [...]
February 21, 2012 at 12:31 am
[...] Jobcentre Fudging Statistics: http://intensiveactivity.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/jobcentre-plus-falsifying-new-job-counts/ [...]