What you need to know when you go to your 1st appointment at the Jobcentre after your Work Programme
From Obi Wan Kenobi .
This valuable contribution should be closely read.
I have correlated FOI request and a DWP release, you will need this when you go to your 1st appointment at the Jobcentre after your Work Progamme finishes as you may be lied to by your Jobcentre Adviser, with this you will be able to put them straight, copy this if you want to. You may have tidy it up with Microsoft Word.
——————————
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team.
email: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Universal Jobmatch Toolkit: 22.03.13.
Chapter 03 – Using Universal Jobmatch. (UJ)
Issuing a Jobseeker’s Direction to mandate JSA claimants to
create a profile and public CV in Universal Jobmatch:
51. Where you have explained the benefits to claimants of creating a profile and public CV in Universal Jobmatch and they will not do so willingly, they can be mandated to create a profile and public CV.
52. However, for legal reasons, you cannot issue a Jobseeker’s Direction to mandate a claimant to create a profile and public CV unless a DWP IAD service is reasonably available to them should they need to use one – for example, because they do not want to accept cookies and therefore need to have access to a device on which cookies have already been accepted.
53. You also cannot issue a Jobseeker’s Direction to mandate a claimant to give us access to their account – this is their decision not ours.
Actively Seeking Employment:
82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this.
Press release Government announces details of post Work Programme support.
Organisation: Department for Work & Pensions.
Updated: 3 June 2013.
Policy: Helping people to find and stay in work.
Every Work Programme returner will also be required to register with Universal Jobmatch to aid work search and job matching. This will allow their adviser to check their work search activity online – should the claimant give permission.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-details-of-post-work-programme-support
————————————–
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team.
e-mail: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Our Ref: VTR 2437
12th June 2013.
Dear XXXX XXXXXX
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.
It is not mandatory for a person claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to supply Jobcentre Plus with an email address and home telephone number. There are currently no plans for any third parties to be given direct access to accounts on Universal Jobmatch.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
DWP Universal Jobmatch Team
More…..
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
Annex A
e-mail: [email address].
gov.uk
Our Ref: VTR 2437
12th June 2013
Annex A
Dear Glenn Marden,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which has been copied below along with
our response.
1. Is registration on Universal Jobmatch mandatory through a Jobseekers’ Direction.?
As of Friday 1 March 2013, where appropriate advisers can require some Jobseeker’s
Allowance (JSA) claimants to create a profile and public CV within the Universal Jobmatch
service via the Government Gateway.
Initially, the Jobcentre Plus adviser will explain the benefits of the service to the claimant. If
they still refuse to use Universal Jobmatch, the adviser may then consider whether it is
reasonable to issue a Jobseeker’s Direction to mandate them to create a profile and public CV
on Universal Jobmatch.
Before issuing a Jobseeker’s Direction the adviser will take a claimant’s individual
circumstances into account including whether they have access to the internet or not.
Jobseeker’s Directions require Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants to take specific actions which
will help them find work, and failure to do so without good reason may result in a benefit
sanction. Jobseeker’s Directions can be issued under section 19A(2)(c) of the Jobseekers Act
1995.
2. Does a Jobseeker on Benefits have to enable, tick the online account boxes, to allow a
Jobcentre Adviser to see all their personal jobseeking activity?
Claimants can choose to allow DWP access to their account on a purely voluntary basis by
ticking a box within their UJ profile.
3. Can the Jobseeker register but not consent to let the Adviser view activity leave box
unticked?
Access to your Universal Jobmatch account is only available to DWP staff once you have
given your consent; this is on a voluntary basis.
4. Has there been a change recently in 2013 to data protection and privacy laws to force
anyone claiming benefits that they should be forced or coerced into using the Universal
Jobmatch website.?
Jobcentre Plus advisers are able to require Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants to register
with Universal Jobmatch (UJ) and to upload a CV where the requirement is reasonable taking
into account all of the claimant’s circumstances. The JSA claimant then has a choice about
whether to give permission for DWP advisers to access their account. If the claimant aqrees to
adviser access, their adviser will be able to look at their UJ account to see whether they have
uploaded a CV as required.
If the claimant does not agree to adviser access, they will need to provide proof to their adviser
to show that they have registered with UJ and uploaded a CV, as required. They can do this,
for example, by printing off copies of the relevant screens. Requirements that can be imposed
on JSA claimants in relation to UJ are compatible with the European Convention on Human
Rights or Human Rights Act 1998.
DWP has powers to require JSA claimants to register with Universal Jobmatch, where this is
reasonable (taking all of the claimant’s circumstances into account, including whether it will
improve the claimant’s chances of securing employment, and whether they have reasonable
access to the internet), using a Jobseeker’s Direction (under section 19A of the Jobseekers
Act 1995). It is not necessary for DWP to obtain the claimant’s consent for such processing to
be lawful. Use of Universal Jobmatch does not require the user to waive their rights under the
Data Protection Act.
The Department for Work and Pensions takes its responsibility as data controller for the
information that we control very seriously. Universal Jobmatch was designed with the privacy
and confidentiality of the jobseekers information at the forefront.
Employers cannot access jobseekers’ personal data or CVs unless the jobseeker applies for a
job or replies to an invitation to apply. Prior to that point only very high level, anonymous
jobseeker information around skills and experience is available to employers when they have
conducted a jobseeker search.
The Universal Jobmatch jobseeker Standards of Behaviour advise that you should not be
asked to reveal personal details such as bank account details, National Insurance number,
date of birth, driving licence or utility bill information as these items are not relevant to an
application process. This does not negate our responsibilities as data controllers but is meant
to help the jobseeker with general advice about their information when they exercise their
rights as the data subject when searching for employment.
5. Is it mandatory requirement that job centre plus or workprogramme providers should have
peoples phone numbers and personal email address on their computer systems? If not can
these be requested to be removed without any fear of sanctions?
It is not mandatory for a person claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to supply Jobcentre Plus with
an email address and home telephone number. There are currently no plans for any third
parties to be given direct access to accounts on Universal Jobmatch.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Universal Jobmatch Team
——————————————————————————————————
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing freedom-of-information-
[email address] or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any
review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk
Ipswich Unemployed Action. 
Good info, but what happens if you are ordered to provide a full bank statement?
And what happens if you are ordered to email the Jobcentre a copy of your CV, bearing in mind that by doing so, you will also be supplying your email address, which, as we know, is not a mandatory requirement.
Apparently, a Jobcentre advisor can issue a Jobseeker’s Direction to make you send a copy of your CV by email, but that is in conflict with the FOI request above, which makes it clear that supplying an email address is not mandatory!!!
Interesting poser here!
Tobanem
June 20, 2013 at 4:24 pm
You do not have to supply any bank account info what soever apart from the initial process of setting up a claim for jsa etc to the DWP, work programme providers also have no right to this.
The FOI request is legal so their stuffed.
Haven’t seen the info where they can order a CV be sent via email, if so they are again being highly presumptuous as a lot of people don’t have internet 24/7. Really cant see how or why they can order it sent in that format,id drop a line to your MP regarding that.IMHO they are being bloody minded again.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:02 pm
Your CV is your own property. You made it spent time designing it so they have no right to ask for or retain it. Show them a paper copy to prove you have one but don’t let them keep it. They want it emailed so they can steal it and store it on their system which they have no right to. Sneaky bastards!
Matthew
September 8, 2013 at 3:57 pm
My advisor is very unhelpful and invasive. She has recently requested that I bring in my CV so she can see it. She is in no qualified position to tell me what makes a good CV.
My question is do I have to to show her my CV? It is a requirement.
Meanwhile I will make an official complaint about her. As I feel uncomfortable sharing any of my personal information with her regarding my working history. Especially since she has no idea what she is doing, is very intrusive and has shown to very judgmental and assumptious. .
Blue
October 8, 2013 at 11:54 am
They shouldn’t ask about your bank details as your JSA claim is already running, (when you go back to the JCP you don’t do a rapid reclaim like we did after New Deal) hence no bank detail’s need to be given as they already have them.
If they require you to give them a copy of your C.V. just print one off at home and edit your email address out, therefore fulfilling their request.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 20, 2013 at 4:33 pm
And edit your home and mobile phone number out as well.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 20, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Thanks for the acknowledgement andy.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 20, 2013 at 4:44 pm
dear obi wan i have just read and contacted FOI request collated material you posted as i am having issues with JCP UJ targetting me after recent ending of work program scheme i also am santioned for a period of 7years and have today received my 4th letter from DWPS head barristers in london field fisher waterhouse who i have also told to go do one but politely so as not to be imprisoned asbo ordered and civil criminal prosecutions & expenses sought after them of me for them bringing the prosecutions!
i have now sent them evidences of the utah data centre usages and the advisors lying or not being even ever informed of what it is they are introducing here to the unsuspecting masses and have revoked my permissions to use cookies or submit cv email tel number etc however in your posting it is not exactly clear how you word a FOI request as you mentioned wordprocessing doctoring it to suit yourself? i found DWP responses concerning UJ but no suggested wordings for a review or FOI request as it is my next rdv is my first after work program i wish to be prepared for them as they have stopped my benefits and are working hard at doing their level bests to shut me down! i have fought solo until now when i discovered your excellent info and site! thanks for all the good excellent work you are doing it is very much appreciated!! thanks dave
david huxtable
October 4, 2013 at 9:02 pm
“It is not mandatory for a person claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to supply Jobcentre Plus with an email address…”
That’s interesting to know, since today I have been given an appointment time for my post-WP interview at the jobcentre, and the advisor who gave me my appointment details stated I will need to give my email address. She even went as far as to write this down on the letter she gave me.
So what should I do? Do I do as stated by her, and give my email, or do I stand my ground and refuse to hand it over?
Perhaps it would be best to create a throwaway address, as I might well need one soon when I get bullied into signing up to Universal Jobmatch…
Samwise Gamgee
June 20, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Samwise Gamgee:
Print the above off and take it with you to your appointment at JCP, they won’t be able to argue with it, but if they do – call for a floor manager to come over and be present in front of your adviser.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 21, 2013 at 5:19 am
I’m being bullied now but not a lot of jobs I am going for is on UJM!!
puameliaclinic
June 20, 2013 at 9:49 pm
in what way are you being bullied? you don’t have to solely use UJM website.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:14 pm
So after 2 years of bullying on WPP, 6 months of the same stuff? Nice. Why don’t the creeps that thought this up just hang themselves.
something survived...
June 21, 2013 at 1:07 am
VERY VERY IMPORTANT – STOP PRESS!
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think everybody has missed the obvious, I have been looking through all the releases by the DWP regarding Universal Jobmatch and all it states is:
You are ‘Mandated’ to create ‘A Profile and Public C.V. on Universal Jobmatch’.
Once you have done this (as far as I can see) – There is NO mandate to use Universal Jobmatch to search for a job.
This is why I think the DWP have left Paragraph 82 in the Unversal Jobmatch Toolkit – maybe they have had to leave it in by law.
Actively Seeking Employment:
82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 21, 2013 at 6:13 am
JSA claimants are expected to do all that is reasonably expected of them to actively seek
work. As part of this, we would expect them to look for work through as many different sources
as possible. This may include using Universal Jobmatch if it is reasonable, taking into account
their circumstances including whether they have suitable access to the internet. If use of
Universal Jobmatch is expected, this will be included on the claimant’s jobseeker’s agreement.
Click to access 1927%20response%20v1.0%20a.pdf
Yables
June 23, 2013 at 1:21 am
PS, The main thing that will be classed as “unreasonable” to register is if the Jobcentre IAD’s don’t support the amount of claimants using them
Yables
June 23, 2013 at 1:29 am
Yes, from “Samwise Gamgee” above, it is becoming clear that Work Programme returners are being asked for their email address. Can I ask “Samwise Gamgee” if the advisor also asked for a copy of your CV to be sent by email? Were you asked to provide a bank statement too?
Although at first it appears not to be mandatory to give your email address to a Jobcentre advisor, an advisor might require you to apply for jobs which the advisor can send you quickly by email, and if you refuse to accept these vacancies, you are deemed to be restricting your chances of securing employment, and so can be sanctioned as a result! The same reasoning can be used for your telephone number.
Of course, a claimant might well say the advisor could send details of these vacancies by letter post, or suggest that the advisor can give the claimant these vacancies when the claimant calls into the Jobcentre in person – which the claimant will be doing frequently under the new intensified hit squad regime now operating in Jobcentres for Work Programme returners!
As I said already, it is an interesting poser – there is more to it than meets the eye!
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 12:11 pm
To your two questions, the answer is “no” to both. All the advisor was an up-to-date CV (so a paper copy should be OK), and my email address (discussed already). No bank statements or other documentation were requested. It would be my guess what each returner from the WP is told depends entirely on what the advisor who arranges their interview at the JCP thinks is appropriate.
scarecrow78
June 21, 2013 at 3:34 pm
I don’t know why I’m “scarecrow78” all of a sudden. But I’m the Samwise Gamgee referred to above.
Samwise Gamgee
June 21, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Like me you change name and avatar so wpp and jcp have a job tracing you
Mr Middlesex
June 22, 2013 at 8:47 am
By not using the UJM website, will not be restricting your chances of employment despite this half wit governments mentality. Its an idealistic approach they are mandating and one which in my view will not work.Others have already seen over the past 2 years that there are many more websites out there far more fit for purpose than this pile of crap they have designed.
Its a numbers game, job centres cant cope with claimants hence the serious lack of IADs all over the country, and now library’s are feeling the pinch and will soon be charging for net access and print outs etc.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I am intrigued by this as my adviser hasn’t managed to send me 1 application in 2 years.
Its just a tactic they like to use, id point them in the direction of the FOI request where someone asked the question of email being required, request that they write, tell them you don’t have full internet access as a lot don’t on jsa regarding costs etc.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Found this comment from “Super Ted” on Johnny Void’s blog:
“why cant i post on iua site have i been sacked from that as well as i cant post on it.for some reason or i have been band from posting.”
Any ideas?
http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/join-the-riff-raff-outside-the-peoples-assembly-on-saturday-22nd-june/#comment-54598
Lumpenprole
June 21, 2013 at 12:18 pm
Have any readers on here been asked for a bank statement when returning to the Jobcentre from the Work Programme?
Have you been asked to complete and sign a paper questionnaire with reference GLED MF47, asking 10 assorted questions about personal information, including details of bank accounts, and if you have a bank account, then you must provide a FULL statement?
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Put at the side of that question – None of your goddamn business.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 21, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Obi
Another Jobcentre questionnaire (no official reference this time), printed on shabby re-cycled paper and headed “Getting a Job”, asks four pages of various questions including questions about Internet use.
It asks if you use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace or “Other”!
Then it goes on: What else do you use the Internet for? Is it:
A) Jobsearch
B) Web Browsing
C) Email (what is your email address)!!!
D) Financial Transactions (banking, paying bills)
E) Gaming
F) Online Shoppimg
G) Other (please specify below)
Pretty intrusive, eh! I wonder what answers they get to question G above???
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 3:38 pm
I use Facebook for a), b), C), D), E), F) and, especially G)
1) To keep up with the “Anomalous Mind Management, Abductee, Contactee Helpline (AMMACH)”, which offers counselling and support for people who believe that they have been abducted by aliens – run by therapist Joanne Summerscales and ex-broadcast engineer Miles Johnston.
2) To see how my job application to join the Illuminati is going.
3) Bull fighting and bear-baiting news.
4) To pay for my $4000 a day crack habit.
5) To find a way to turn lead into gold.
Andrew Coates
June 21, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Devil Worship knitting circle.
Finding out way’s to screw the Work Programme.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 21, 2013 at 8:24 pm
An MF47 statement is part of a Customer Compliance interview, details of which may be found here:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/customer_compliance_department_u
Lumpenprole
June 22, 2013 at 9:55 am
It looks like the original MF 47 was or still is a form for reporting benefit fraud, this may have now been adapted for finding out if people in reciept of JSA are claiming it legitimately.
all I have found this so far:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/customer_compliance_3
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 11:13 am
Meanwhile, from the man who described the unemployed as a parasitic underclass of benefit scrounger:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/ukip-party-leader-nigel-farage-1973705
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 12:36 pm
My public CV on Universal Jobmatch does not have my full address or phone number on it as I will not have these on the internet for everyone to see. For my address I have put ‘Blackpool’ followed by the first three digits of my postcode. Underneath I have put ‘Full address and phone number available on request’. If an employer is interested he/she will have no problem in e-mailing me but the scammers/hackers just won’t bother. I only use UJ where it is the only way of applying, much preferring to go direct to an employer via e-mail/letter etc.
Blackpool Lad
June 21, 2013 at 2:47 pm
FAO Blackpool Lad
How many job vacancies does your Jobcentre advisor send you by email?
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 3:04 pm
None so far, but I’ve only been on it about a month.
Blackpool Lad
June 21, 2013 at 3:33 pm
FAO Blackpool Lad
Yes, you might not be getting a torrent of job vacancies by email from your Jobcentre advisor as yet, but wait until you meet the new hit squad with their intensified jobsearch regime!!!
Tobanem
June 21, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Thats very smart and exactly what i will do.
many thanks.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:25 pm
What if your email account designates the sender as unsafe and blocks part the message or sends it straight to your junk folder and classes it as spam
philip
October 5, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Fair enough if they can find suitable vacancies I haven’t managed to find myself, but there is no point in sending me vacancies I can’t do/aren’t qualified for. People applying for jobs they can’t do wastes employers time. I used to work in personnel and advised managers not to use the Job Centre for this very reason.
Blackpool Lad
June 21, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Loved Tobanem’s comments on question G. I have a warped sense of humour and would enjoy making up outrageous answer’s!
I will make use of Blackpool Lads comments on disguising address personal details ect. on my CV.
Carol Joyce
June 21, 2013 at 4:19 pm
I’ve supposedly had a sanction doubt raised for failing to provide an electronic CV to my work programme provider. This will be interesting.
Anyone seen recent FOIs regarding such? it’s always that bullshit same old tired language they don’t confirm or deny, just obfuscate! It’s annoying to say the least.
I’ve had a google and there is a good one, but it dates back to FND! Might still have weight? It’s been a while so I’m thinking that perhaps the DM has decided not to sanction.
It would be handy if they told you they are not sanctioning you. Mind you, that would almost be an admission that one didn’t have to supply the CV.
So if I hear nothing more of this sanction it either means the provider fucked up somehow or the DM has decided not to sanction. My provider has been quiet too.
Saying this will probably mean I get both a work programme appointment and a letter asking why i have been a naughty non compliant ‘customer’.
Just that if nothing happens with regard to this then does this mean it’s fine?
And when i tell the jobcentre people I will not be uploading a CV even if i register my name and the bare basics, will this be accepted by them.
The thing is they could sanction you again for the same offence. No double jeopardy here.
Or would they? I am not far from the end of my ‘contracted’ 2 years with the pimps.
I speculate my exit report will be damning. Maybe those of us who have been treated badly and can prove it ought to perhaps doing our own reports. Of course after they have had their say first. And with most of these idiot advisers in their psychopathic workplace, they do get rather sloppy as they almost squeal with delight to put the boot in.
Give ’em enough rope. I await my exit report with some interest. Although it wont be too in deoth. But who knows? I’m going to request a copy, that’s for sure.
Stay strong people.
Mr No
June 21, 2013 at 7:17 pm
you can show provider a copy of cv and edit details like email and phone number.They have no power to take a copy especially if you send them a with hold consent letter found here http://consent.me.uk/workfareconsent/ you have a legal right to insist on all contact in writing by post, they don’t like it but i am afraid that’s tough crap on them.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Tobanem-
You do not have to provide the jobcentre with a cv, I don’t know where you have got the idea that you do, that is what the box on the Jobseeker’s Agreement that provides consent to them retaining your CV (or not) is for. A jobseeker’s direction to do so could be argued as unreasonable.
Mr. No-
If you stand by the Data Protection Act they cannot force you to let them retain one, they only want it to distribute and they need your permission for this. If you tell them you’re not giving permission, there’s no point them having it. Here is a recent relevant FOI-
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/jsa_customes_personal_data_cv
Also, Andrew Coates, Obi Wan-
Interesting to note that that article about post WP Intensive support was blatantly changed to reflect the fact that they cannot force you to tick the box on UJ, originally it claimed it was compulsory.
KJ
June 21, 2013 at 11:07 pm
Tobanem, the most important part of that FOI is this:
“A person may choose not to agree with this, and this refusal would need to be referred to DWP decision Makers to consider whether the refusal to take part in what is now a common method of applying for jobs could demonstrate that the individual is not taking all reasonable steps to gain employment and take part in the programme, and whether therefore a sanction should be applied.. ”
This is the ruse they use to make anything they want mandatory. Telling people that they don’t have to give a CV (or a telephone number, or an email address) is setting them up for a sanction!
Lucozade
June 22, 2013 at 6:35 am
Lucozade-
It comes down to the reasons you provide to a DM for not doing something, but really the Jobcentre should not be raising sanction doubts if a person doesn’t want to provide their details otherwise the DWP wouldn’t be saying it’s not mandatory. Obviously the reality is different. Regarding a CV, I will repeat for the one millionth time that you do not have to let them retain one. I am not claiming that no-one has ever been sanctioned for not providing a CV. However, if you get your reasons right, you do your homework and you stick by the DPA and the DWP’s own guidelines, they cannot sanction you. There is a wealth of information out there to support this and I have used it myself.
KJ
June 23, 2013 at 12:44 am
FAO “KJ”
Despite the details from recent FOI requests, where it is clear that providing an email address and a telephone number is not mandatory, it remains the case that many claimants are still being told in everyday practice that they must provide a CV.
The position is not straightforward, because, as has already been said, a Jobcentre advisor can always say that if vacancies can’t be sent quickly enough by email (or telephone) to a claimant, then the claimant is restricting his/her chances of securing employment, and so can be sanctioned.
Did you read fully my earlier post about that on this page?
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 8:14 am
Tobanem-
I did indeed read your post fully, and I don’t know about the e-mail and phone situation because I have never had a problem with the JCP having them (not that they’ve ever used them). All I am saying is that the Jobseeker’s Agreement clearly indicates you don’t have to provide a CV for them to retain, and the WP providers are bound by the same rules. And yes, I have put this to the test, a sanction doubt was raised but no sanction applied when I gave them the legals.
KJ
June 23, 2013 at 12:30 am
That maybe their view but its just that and nothing else. The FOI request is legal and would quash their idealistic mentality if they wanted to push it for legal reasons. I would just print out the FOI request and show them that, there is no real argument as what is fact is fact. Its all idealistic bull shit this stuff about not being seen to be seeking employment by using their suggested methods,millions have found work previously without dwp or jc+ and will continue to do so.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Contradiction Much ?
82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this.
Reviewing jobsearch activity – claimant using Universal Jobmatch
(No DWP access to their account)
87. You may ask claimants to show prints of any number or all of the screens/pages detailed in the paragraph 86 (Activity History,Application History,Alerts,Messages,Saved Jobs,Recommended Jobs,Saved Searches) from their Universal Jobmatch account
Yarbles
June 22, 2013 at 12:11 am
I hope you all realize that with the JCP staff having the ability to demand printed copies at any time of anything on your Universal Jobmatch account they’ve effectively side stepped the Data Protection Act entirely.
The Data Protection Act would have protected your info in electronic form but with the staff having the power to make you print it out at-will makes the “I do not wish share my info with the DWP” opt-out option effectively useless.
Now put on your best Nazi SS officer accent and say “Papers Please”
Yarbles
June 22, 2013 at 1:15 am
OFF TOPICS BUT Overheard and seen at wpp
Advisor sitting with client at computer reading and looking at UJM
A Look there is a job for a stores man
C It says own transport required
A ”Yes’
C I Can’t Drive
A Mark I am Not Interested In This Job
C No I don’t have the correct qualification I can’t drive
C I’ll tick I dont have the qualification required
A You will tick I am not interested in this job for EVERY JOB ON THE SCREEN if you don’t apply for them
Mr Middlesex
June 22, 2013 at 7:53 am
Sorry Should Have Added..IT WAS NOT SEETEC [THIS TIME]
Mr Middlesex
June 22, 2013 at 8:41 am
Don’t you mean shittec?
spidersweb42
June 27, 2013 at 11:09 am
I have sent 3 FOI requests to DWP asking:
1. Can JCP advisers legally ask us for our bank statements?
2. Can JCP advisers legally order us to do something that is not in our current Jobseeker’s Agreement?
3. Universal Jobmatch: I know it is mandatory for us to register our profile and public C.V’s but is it actually mandatory for someone claiming JSA to use Universal Jobmatch to search for a job?
Will post replies on here, when I get them.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 9:07 am
Obi
Useful move! You could have enquired if it is legal for JCP advisors to ask for a bank statement in cases where a claimant has already provided one in the past.
Needless to say, whatever the true legal position is, many claimants will still be misadvised and lied to, and most of these claimants will still remain ignorant of the rules – which is what JCP advisors take advantage of in the first place!
Many JCP advisors are themselves ignorant of the (ever changing) rules – the rest are economical with the truth. Such is the nature of the Jobcentre beast!
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 9:24 am
Perhaps I should more correctly shorten your sobriquet to “Obi-Wan”, instead of the incomplete “Obi”!
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 9:27 am
The Force is with you – The DWP have turned to the darkside.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 9:32 am
The MF 47 explained.
01 Overview of Customer Compliance
Introduction
1.
Customer Compliance is the term for the action taken to ensure a benefit customer gives the correct information and reports all relevant changes at the right time during the life of the benefit claim.
2.
It is not a criminal investigation and Customer Compliance interviews will not be performed under caution.
3.
In the vast majority of Customer Compliance cases a robust and challenging, face-to-face interview takes place with the customer to ensure:
correct benefit entitlement;
all information is obtained to enable an overpayment/underpayment to be calculated;
the causes of the overpayment/underpayment;
how to stop it happening again; and
the customer understands the possible consequences of not complying in the future.
Click to access 01%20Overview%20of%20Customer%20Compliance%20FRAIMS%202.pdf
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 11:34 am
More on the MF 47:
Apparentley the bank statement request is bollocks, this is just to confirm your name and address. You can also use Passport, Driving Licence, Utility Bills, Rent Agreements, Identity Card.
The full MF 47
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/76479/response/194086/attach/html/5/04%20Undertaking%20the%20Customer%20Compliance%20Interview%20070711.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 11:44 am
Bank Statement Will Also Show Them ”Any Other Income ?”
chewbacca
June 22, 2013 at 11:49 am
I went to pick up a car vehicle tax disc last month, it came up on the screen that the car was insured and had an MOT. Big Brother is here…
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/22/uksp-j22.html
Annos
June 22, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I suggest you copy this to Microsoft word and print it out, take it with you to your first appointment with all your other documents.
This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request ‘Customer compliance department – updated’.
email: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
The Customer Compliance interview
1. The aim of the Customer Compliance interview is to:
• discuss the case having regard to the reason for the referral
• obtain accurate information from the claimant
• conduct a full review of the claimant’s circumstances
• reinforce claimant responsibilities.
2. At the interview, the Customer Compliance Officer (CCO) will take the following action:
Step Action
1
Introduce themselves using their identity card for home visits, or
their identity card or appropriate name badge for office visits.
2
Confirm the claimant’s identity. Suitable documents to confirm
identity are the following that state the claimant’s name and
address:
• passport
• driving licence
• utility bill
• rent agreements
• bank statements
• identity card.
If the claimant cannot provide evidence of their identity, cross
check the most up to date personal information held on
Departmental records with the claimant and record details of the
checks on the file. This must also be done if the interview is
conducted over the telephone.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/76479/response/194086/attach/html/5/04%20Undertaking%20the%20Customer%20Compliance%20Interview%20070711.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Bringing the interview to a close.
Give the claimant a copy of the MF47 statement if they request
one. If the interview has been conducted via a home visit inform
the claimant that a copy will be sent by post.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 1:02 pm
I have some ongoing health problems. I waiting for various tests and maybe an operation. I am on the WP. Both the WP and JCP are telling me that although they recognise I have health problems and I am on long term medication. I won’t be able to get ESA etc as my arms and legs work. By the way I am waiting for an operation on my arm caused by the long term medical condition. That will leave me wanting physiotherapy over a period of about 3 months. In addition to which I also have Asthma. So once I have had the operation, even though I will be visable in my disability. Heavy Cast etc. I will be fit even though I am unfit. What does one have too do in order to get ESA
Kevin The Kingon
June 22, 2013 at 12:14 pm
For “Kevin The Kingon”
You ask not surprisingly: “what does one have to do in order to get ESA”?
Some people who have been found fit for work have died shortly afterwards. Other people with a history of chronic illness are in hospital fighting for their lives after a heart attack or a stroke when the letter arrives declaring them fit for work.
Clearly, harrowing cases like that are not fit for work – but try telling that to the heartless Coalition Government who are hell-bent on thinning out the claims despite the suffering, the suicides and the premature deaths of the victims.
So yes, your exasperated question is highly relevant these days!
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Thank you Mr ”Tobanem”. It was in fact a Doctor at the Atos medical in Ipswich that found a problem. She sent me to my Doctor with a referral for the hospital. She apologised to me and told me that if I had been in her country ”Croatia” , I would have been granted a disability pension because of my medical condition which by the way is congenital-genetic. I have lost jobs kin the past because of it. I now find that it has been declarable for employer liability purposes for years. But nobody seemed to want to tell me that. I will just keep on with the WPP and JCP until otherwise. Thank you for your reply. At least I know I am not the only one fighting these bastards
Kevin The Klingon
June 22, 2013 at 2:40 pm
If they do insist on a bank statement, cut off the top section with your name and address and the banks name on it, this way they won’t be able to see your account activity.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 12:20 pm
“Bank of Spain calls for elimination of the minimum wage”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/22/spai-j22.html
There has been talk here in the UK about doing this (it is going to happen, soon), workfare is going to play a part in providing cheap labour to employers in a much bigger way then it is now, it will become the accepted norm, they have planned it all out to the last detail. The global scale of this evil is truly staggering!!!. Where is the left when we need them…Fighting each other in perpetual civil wars.
Annos
June 22, 2013 at 12:47 pm
“London Metropolitan Police demand water cannons”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/22/lond-j22.html
Annos
June 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm
As the old saying goes…”Preparation is nine tenths of the job”
Annos
June 22, 2013 at 1:18 pm
FAO Obi Wan Kenobi
You say: “Apparentley the bank statement request is bollocks, this is just to confirm your name and address. You can also use Passport, Driving Licence, Utility Bills, Rent Agreements, Identity Card”.
Have you seen an actual copy of the Questionnaire GLED MF47?
There are 10 questions on it about personal information. Question 6 is as follows:
Do you have one or more of the following:
Bank Accounts
Building Society Accounts
Credit Union
ISA
Post Office Account
Savings
Investments
The questionnaire goes on to ask “If you have answered YES to any one of the above, you MUST provide FULL statements for ALL that apply”
So you see, cutting bits off a bank statement is not acceptable, plus, the section of the questionnaire quoted above is not about merely confirming your name and address or indeed your identity, it is specifically about your financial circumstances.
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Ok, it not bollocks, I should have read futher before making that statement.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Tobanem:
31. Additionally, if a referral suggests the claimant has undeclared capital in the form of savings and at interview denies they have an account with the bank/building society on the referral, the bank/building society in question must not be contacted.
32. In cases where the claimant admits to a change in circumstances, advise the claimant that the case will be referred to the DM and benefit entitlement may be suspended immediately until the documentary
evidence is provided.
33. If further information or confirmation is required for benefit correctness or overpayment calculation, take the following action:
Step Action
1
For bank details complete form A42 and send to the relevant
Bank/Building Society. Record this activity on FRAIMS and set a
BF date on FRAIMS for the return of the A42 as per ‘Activities’
instructions in the FRAIMS guidance. If the claimant refuses to
sign the A42 obtain as much information as possible from the
claimant about their savings and include the details on the MF47.
If the A42 is not returned, record the details on FRAIMS as per
‘Activities’ instructions in the FRAIMS guidance and take follow
up action with the financial institution. Forward the details to the
DM. Note that use of Social Security Fraud Act Powers is not
appropriate to obtain details from the financial institution. Under
no circumstances should the MF47 be issued to banks/building
societies.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 1:47 pm
To get Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) you must:
be 18 or over but below State Pension age – there are some exceptions if you’re 16 or 17
not be in full-time education
be in England, Scotland or Wales
be able and available for work
be actively seeking work
work on average less than 16 hours a week
go to a JSA interview
Also, to get income-based JSA you (and your partner if you have one):
must usually work less than 24 hours a week (on average)
must have £16,000 or less in savings.
https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/eligibility
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 1:53 pm
“Annos” and others might be interested in this report about the kettling tactic of the police:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22949861
Apart from the kettling, one lawful protester in this case was asked to supply personal information before being released from “the kettle”.
It’s almost like that already for benefit claimants herded like cattle in Jobcentres every day now! Sign here or else you don’t get released!!
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 1:54 pm
If you have savings over £16,000, you can’t usually get incomebased
Jobseeker’s Allowance. Below this limit, for each £250 of
your savings over £6,000, your benefit is reduced by £1 a week.
Click to access dg_199994.pdf
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 2:03 pm
I’m going back to my Devil Worship Knitting Circle now to chill out for a bit.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 2:20 pm
The exception to new and substantial rules
10. There is one exception to the definition of new and substantial which covers GMS capital referrals ISIR001, (merged with ISIR008)
JSIR001 (merged with JSIR008), ISIR005 and JSIR 005 only. These
referrals are generated where the capital exceeds the lower tariff
income level but falls short of the higher level. This means the
customer may have capital between £6,000 and £16,000.
11. At the start of the interview it should be made clear to the customer that the interview is concerning the specific information on the FRF (GMS referral).
12. If, when undertaking the interview it becomes apparent that the
customer has other savings that in total may exceed £16,000, the
case should be referred to FIS to investigate further.
——————————————————————————–
link to page 1 13. It is important that no commitments are made to the customer about how the matter will now be handled and that questions are limited to determining the total value of the capital. Any details obtained should be captured on the MF47 statement.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/76479/response/194086/attach/html/6/05%20Completing%20the%20MF47%20statement.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Mark my words, this new regime by Jobcentre Plus/DWP is going to cause trouble on an unpresidented scale.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 2:54 pm
I can see a time coming that when on the wp, you’ll have an intensive jobclub regime unless out on mwpa. )0;
Philip
June 22, 2013 at 2:59 pm
For Obi Wan Kenobi
Be careful with Devil worship. The term “Obi” in your soubriquet can be connected with a form of witchcraft or sorcery in West Africa or the West Indies bringing about sickness, death or disaster.
All the talk of “may the force be with you” has a ring of the occult about it.
Mind you, I’m sure there are plenty of sorcerers in high places practising their dark arts in modern politics – the Benefit Reform Act has certainly brought sickness, death and disaster to many of its victims.
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 3:08 pm
I’ll tell you want, I’m that pi**ed off whith all this new info coming to light, I’ve just been to buy a bottle of vodka, first time in two months.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Im there with you tonight, mine is JD.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:44 pm
well what anyone thinks of the eu and its membership,the laws it provides protects people from exploitation and bad practice throughout many areas.its not surprising given politics in this country some would like to see this end.its simply not tolerated elsewhere.
we are european not american in any way,perhaps teresa mays puss should reflect that too given recent headlines.
what time will bring after the no work programme will tell,meddling job centre staff who weren’t supposed to be involved at all during this have caused me and no doubt others to be given wrong information interfering, and now there’s threats to those who don’t bend to every whim on return to jobcentre plus.
ken
June 22, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Ken:
You want to spend some serious time going though all the DWP documents regarding JCP and JSA/ESA benefits, because there are things in their own statements online that you can use against them (DWP/JCP) amd by law they have to abide by them.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 3:31 pm
It’s times like this you wish your lottery numbers would come up, a couple of million would see me right, and you could really rub it in when you go hand in you signing on booklet for the last time.
I would have so much fun going through everything they have to explain to you regarding this new regime, waste their time going through all the forms and when it’s finally finished, tear up the forms right in front of their poxy little faces, saying guess what, I’m gonna sign off right now because as of this morning I have become financially independant, so f*ck you – f*ck your forms and f*ck your little Hitler style regime.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 4:06 pm
I seriously don’t think that people who have a job at the moment realise what is going to happen to them should they lose their jobs, they may have been brainwash by this coalitition govt into believing that we are all skivers, but the moment they go to make a claim for JSA – then it will hit them like a brick in face, what we have been saying is correct.
It’s easy to believe one thing when you are solvent and working, but when that one thing becomes your thing when you lose your job – that’s when it gets real.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Obi Wan Kenobi
Go easy on that vodka!
Tobanem
June 22, 2013 at 5:20 pm
How can it be right to force anyone to have a public profile/CV on Universal Jobmatch, against their will, for anyone and everyone to see and harvest data from? How can you be compelled to make your name, address, phone number, work history, qualifications and such like internationally public against your will? Can you really be forced to put your personal data into the public arena like this?
Jizz
June 22, 2013 at 5:21 pm
Off now, Rhianna, Beyonce, and Nicole Sherzinger await on YouTube videos, Tata!
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Just as an FYI – The monetary limit used to be £3,000 not £6,000, before the JCP could start deducting £1 per pound after that amount, I would suggest this is still the case and DWP have lied yet again.
Just letting you guys know who have a few bob in the bank.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 22, 2013 at 7:37 pm
What i am doing is getting vacancies where I can contact the company directly and I can print off the emails that prove I have applied. With anything I think need censoring getting a black marker through it.
And in the case of a lucky break could then inform the JC of any interviews etc.
So that when they start getting silly I can bring in my recent history without them even seeing anything printed from a UJ account.
And by ticking that box that doesn’t allow them access, I think that should quite legally extend to any access at all. Including printouts from UJ. It just says ‘Access to account’ on the screen, taken literally that should mean any and all. No access means no access!
I will be asserting this should push come to shove. hence I will simply write out my own jobsearch activity and back it up with other proof of job applications such as emails to and from employers. That should quite legally do them. Especially as they say ‘they cannot specify how a jobseeker keeps records. Hey, we’re all doing what we can and reporting.
Feels like being in the resistance! Ha!
If they do not like this compromise then I will let them sanction me. Do they really think we like struggling on benefits? Our research is simply in order to survive this regime. Not so we can avoid working. The narrow minded who read this stuff probably think that every one of us here is just a lazy fool. We know better.
if I could perhaps find more than two jobs that were suitable for me to apply for in a fortnight then i would have a chance of getting away from these psychopaths who would see us suffer and not even have a second thought about it. I’m not one of those that sit there in the jobcentre with a handful of those slips of paper that the jobpoints dispense.
Just in the vain hope that it will keep them happy. Fuck that. If there are no jobs in any given fortnight then they should accept it.
I often say to them when asked that it’s been a bit slow on the old job market this week.
Maybe in my jobcentre they actually know that! Just my tuppence.
Stay strong people.
Mr No
June 22, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Hi Mr No,
Just wanted to say i loved your post and your so right.
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:47 pm
But this is the problem: they can argue with it. Not least of all because some membvers of staff are just pig ignorant wankers. If you do, they can forward it to a decision maker. This means placing a ‘doubt’ as to the validity of your claim, and we all know what that means even if you are in the right.
This is why we need the PCS to fully support a union wide no sanction policy. It was Labour that changed the prsumption of innocence, in such situations, to one of guilt which meant, while the doubt was being processed you could still receive benefit.
That said, people should stand up for their rights. I fully endorse anyone using the rules correctly and insisting that staff do their job correctly. Just be aware of what might happen.
Frankly all of this is Orwellian. They can’t force you to sign over your data, but it turns out that if you don’t they can just make your life a misery. Why should I have to prove anything to these people if I choose not to give an adviser access? Why should I be compelled under pain of sanction to sign to a website, no matter how secure? Why should my word that I have registered not be enough? Again and again the unemployed are treated contemptibly and the PCS do nothing.
ghost whistler
June 23, 2013 at 8:33 am
As far as I can see, the JCP/DWP are using this as an excuse to look into your private bank account (big brother snooping) to make sure you don’t have over £6,000 in there, and that your claim for your benefit is genuine.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 23, 2013 at 10:15 am
Batshit-crazy Tory is crazy – Mark Littlewood, DG of the Institute of Economic Affairs, wants the names of all benefits claimants (including pensioners) published on a website for all to see.
Derp.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2346714/Why-Osborne-publish-names-benefits-claimant–pay-An-incendiary-idea-save-500m-A-DAY-welfare-bill.html
Samwise Gamgee
June 23, 2013 at 1:27 pm
Beyond belief. Another myopic perspective isolating and scapegoating the Welfare State as the reason for the country’s economic ills by saying: “The reason that the Chancellor can’t get spending under control is simple. If you can’t or won’t tackle Britain’s ballooning welfare budget, it is very difficult indeed to balance the books”.
Beyond belief!
Tobanem
June 24, 2013 at 7:12 am
another piece of tory bull shit workers Vs shirkers again!!
george
June 26, 2013 at 7:50 pm
More madness:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/fury-boss-atos-gets-280k-1986312
Tobanem
June 24, 2013 at 7:47 am
Its all about using one regulation/act against another, if this isn’t applied then we risk losing benefit.
With this said when attending this interview and in connection to signing upto the UJ site it is up to them first to prove that the hosting server and management (monster) of complete operation reside on british soil as if NOT the Data Protection Act is non invoid.
It is a British citizens right under law to protect the flow of their personal and sensitive data, especially in regards to third parties (ie, you are first party, DWP is second party making the UJ site a third party).
With this I would suspect that they have already or will do, make zero attempt to secure this important information, meaning that you could be signing up to a website and parting with personal information that isn’t protected by British law. I uncovered this when I discovered that Microsoft has no money taking agents in Britain so when you or someone else orders a copy of Microsoft software online that you are not protected by DPA which I have ICO confirmation of in the form of an email.
DWP, JCP, you name it, they all have to abide by the DPA as its the law. The only power DWP or JCP have is the exemption under I believe section 3 of the SSA which implies only to them giving out your data to a third party.
Now im unaware of everyone elses job search on the UJ site but it has plenty of jobs with contact details without the need to sign up although they by majority wont be in your area.
Now dew to the nature of my skill set I have to look for work all the way up and down the country and have noted that most employers only hire candidates in their respective area.
JCP/DWP are all about how many jobs you apply for regardless of evidence proving that one application can be as effective as twenty or not, meaning job application total doesn’t equal more success at finding work meaning that their only quoting THE LAW OF AVERAGES. This is a theory and not an equation and I can say the same about the success of increasing your chances of by uploading a CV. If your already a member of monster.co.uk or Jobsite you will already be aware of it and it will stand as evidence to the fact, especially as yet again they will not be offering any evidence to support they theory.
Now on one of the posts above it was outlined that where no proof is offered that records already held can be used for cross reference purposes so do propose this and record their verdict. Its safer and both reasonable and legal to ask them what they currently have and to confirm this to be true or otherwise however do remember and you will have to prove this that any changes they don’t have we’re notified or that they are very, very recent as failure to notify of changes is also a benefit offence.
OK, incase your not in the know like some already posting, this interview right upto the 6 months work placement is for JCP/DWP, one of entrapment. They have cleverly cobbled certain things together that would have most trip on. Imagine a tripwire infront of you and one behind you.
When any person enters this interview they are whats termed legally uninformed if the information already supplied is incomplete. As I pointed out if they cant supply information in black and white that you could take to any judge or lawyer as regards where these servers are based or managed you are already LEGALLY UNINFORMED.
If it turns out that it isn’t on British soil and thus under British law and you did sign up it means as long as they (JCP, anybody) access it on foreign soil that you legally cannot do anything about it and yes it can be used against you, even by governments. The prism project is one shiny example of this in play.
Generally though british soil or otherwise their increasing their chances of finding evidence if such exists to use it against you. The very fact that their asking about internet habits further proves this as im sure you agree in no way shape or form does this help you find work or increase your chances of.
For starters DONT USE A SMART PHONE ON THE SITE EVER, EVER, EVER and that when you connect to this site that you mask your IP behind an anonymous PROXY SERVER if say using a home PC however your free to use it on any PC and theres no laws against its use PERIOD.
Also encrypt and copyright protect your electronic documents before uploading, which again has no law against. This will in all likelihood prevent you from uploading as is the case with many a website however I cannot say this with certainty as regards the UJ site as im not a member but if it does the encryption will block their search engines which is what looks for jobs you could apply to and the copyright makes it illegal to open and edit it in any manner.
If encryption is something you just don’t understand then simply make the CV on a COMPUTER WITH A WORD PROCESSING PROGRAMME AND USE WHITE TEXT WHERE THE SPACES ARE. Basically even though its viewable to the eye the search engines see your CV as just one big word, meaning it cant produce a result, meaning they will have to do it by hand if they wish to find you vacancies. Its also permissible to replace the spaces with symbols like say a question mark but do make them random. Additionally no where in the rules does it say it must be in English so you could do it in French or as I would suggest if required done in programming code or even binary code.
ADDITIONALLY theirs no law that states you cant open and close a UJ account as many times as you like meaning you could open and close one everyday or even every job.
NEVER CREATE ANY ONLINE ACCOUNT USING YOUR REAL NAME, NEVER USE YOUR NAME IN NAMING AN EMAIL ACCOUNT ADDRESS.
NEVER USE SMART PHONES TO CONNECT TO THE UJ JOBSITE UNLESS YOU CAN FULLY BLOCK YOUR IP ( I can state as communication engineer and IT specialist), YOU CANNOT FULLY BLOCK ANY SMART PHONE.
ALWAYS USE A REMOTE TERMINAL THAT YOU HAVE ADMIN ACCESS TO HOWEVER IF NOT THEIR ARE SITES THAT ACT AS ANONYMOUS PROXIES THAT YOU SIMPLY ENTER THE WESITE ADDRESS INTO. DO TEST THE PROXY BEFORE CONNECTING TO THE UJ SITE AS NOT ALL DO A COMPLETE JOB.
When you except these cookies one of the things they do is log your internet habits so in theory could gain them from their as its not considered personal information yet so isn’t covered under the DPA.
I could go on but it would be easier to sit one of these interviews which I will shortly and give feedback their after more closely matched to the needs of all.
As I said if possible as most phones have this feature do record it and upload to youtube removing any information that is deemed personal, ie names, NR number, however do point this out on the site that it is in accordance with DPA and KEEP THE ORIGINAL FOR GOD FORBID COURT PURPOSES.
Now they will no doubt refuse permission in accordance with the DPA so either do it secretly or announce that in cases of abuse even if suspect which is a criminal offence that the DPA nolonger applies so you legally don’t need their permission and that often a judge in such cases will except such evidence such as how does the wife prove abuse if she has to ask for abuser for permission to record the incident ?
Well I will print more as I know more so peace to all.
gaia
June 24, 2013 at 9:53 am
Gaia, I bow to your superior computer knowledge. Perhaps you could help explain why my computer will let me view jobs on Universal Jobmatch but will not let me log in to it. When I try it says ‘Error 404’. I can log in at my local library or at A4e but not at home (perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise!). Could it be my intenet security blocking the cookies? My adviser at A4e says I should try Google Chrome but I am unwilling to use a different browser when the only website I have a problem with is UJ.
Blackpool Lad
June 24, 2013 at 11:04 am
freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
24 June 2013
[FoI ref No 2822]
Dear XXX
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 21 June which has been copied below along with our response.
I know it is mandated for people claiming JSA to create a Profile and Public C.V in Universal Jobmatch, however from what I can see it is not mandated that people claiming JSA have to use Universal Jobmatch to search for a job.
Can you please confirm this in plain english (i.e. Yes or No)
It is not mandatory for JSA claimants to use Universal Jobmatch to search for a job. However, JSA claimants are expected to do all that is reasonably expected of them to actively seek work. As part of this, we would expect them to look for work through as many different sources as possible. This may include using Universal Jobmatch if it is reasonable, taking into account their circumstances, including whether they have suitable access to the internet.
If a JSA claimant refuses to use Universal Jobmatch to search for a job and as a result, they are unable to demonstrate they have taken all the number of steps to look for work on their Jobseeker’s Agreement without good reason, then benefit may be affected.
Additionally, JSA claimants who have a Universal Jobmatch account (either through their own choosing or through being directed to create one by an adviser by issuing a Jobseeker’s Direction) can be required to apply for any jobs advertised on Universal Jobmatch that the adviser thinks the claimant is capable of doing. If the claimant fails to apply for any of these jobs without good reason, then benefit may be affected.
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF http://www.ico.gov.uk
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 24, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Is this available on an official website? I couldn’t find it on whatdotheyknow.
Lucozade
June 24, 2013 at 10:05 pm
Same here I couldn’t find it on the DWP website, that’s why I send an FOI diectly to the DWP FOI Team. It is correct.
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 25, 2013 at 5:50 am
It may be buried in the DWP INTERNAL website
-----
June 25, 2013 at 7:25 am
Food Poverty: “I was brought up not to steal. But that’s how bad it’s got”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2013/jun/24/food-poverty-growth-in-shoplifting-groceries
Lumpenprole
June 25, 2013 at 9:50 am
Polly Toynbee:
“The social fund is the last resort, the final gasket that blows in the benefits system. Jobcentres did offer social fund loans or grants in an emergency, but in April that function moved to local councils to do as they please, un-ringfenced. The Children’s Society finds they make randomly different provisions and conditions. In Stoke four experienced staff, sympathetic but canny, field some 50 calls a day from people at the end of their tether. Checking the caller’s status on several data bases, they can hand out vouchers for food banks, open their own food cupboard, sometimes offer clothes or top up empty gas and electricity keys. Families needing nappies, milk or school uniform are sent to children’s centres. “No, I’m sorry, we don’t give out money or loans any more,” begins almost every phone call. “No, I’m sorry, only food for three days”. No, no bus money.
Most callers have been referred from the jobcentre, an irony since most people’s crises are caused by what the jobcentre has done to them. Errors delaying payments have left some starving. Many have been “sanctioned”, with benefits stopped for weeks: a catastrophic punishment, often for trivial infringements – even the best reasons for a missed appointment are dismissed. This team sees letters demanding attendance that arrive after the appointment date, but people are still sanctioned. The Department for Work and Pensions denies the existence of quotas, but jobcentres are under intense pressure to cut people off, with league tables and threats to offices or staff who sanction too little. The DWP is delaying the publication of data on these new tougher sanctions – expected to be shocking.
All human misery is here. Some callers are in tears, some shout in frustration after a series of rebuffs, some plainly have mental health problems ignored by the sanctioners. Some are just out of prison, arriving with nothing at all, no change of clothes. One ex-army man suffering panic attacks has been sanctioned when he couldn’t leave his home. Some have been on the streets: homelessness is rising in Stoke. How desperate can you be when you have nothing to feed your children and debt collectors are pressing? A man who went totally blind last year has been thrown off disability benefit for missing an appointment, his debts building as he has a spare room.
Some have lost disability benefits after an Atos test, and can no longer make ends meet. Many are deeply ashamed at having to beg for a food parcel. Council tax and bedroom tax debts escalate. One frantic woman loses it after being evicted, her husband’s family is harassing her, and she’s been kicking off at the jobcentre, which doesn’t help. Then her phone battery goes. Calls to this office have risen by a quarter but the fund has exactly £80,000 a month, regardless of demand.
If Cameron and Osborne visited Stoke Citizens Advice bureau, they’d find people queueing round the block as the service struggles to cope with this crescendo of woe. The debt advisers find growing numbers cannot survive as benefit cuts and council and bedroom taxes push them over the edge. There is no Sky, no cigarettes, no drink – yet after rent and electricity many are left with an impossible £10 a week for food, clothes, travel and everything else.”
Polly can say all this, and yet she still supports Labour. Incredible.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/25/osborne-spending-review-intensive-care
Lumpenprole
June 25, 2013 at 10:09 am
Overheard in a Jobcentre recently when someone was being signed-up to Universal Jobmatch – whether they liked it or not.
“…yes, tick the box [allowing access to UJM account]…basically it’s to avoid any hassle otherwise.”
Tobanem
June 25, 2013 at 11:57 am
”Mr Tobanem” I was at my work programe centre in Ipswich. [NOT SEETEC] One pa was on this site, saw them writing a post. I quickly moved a way, could not see what they were writing. Did not see username. I was worried about a sanction or worse. Do we have any ”friends” within any wpp ?. Should we proceed with caution?
Kevin The Klingon
June 25, 2013 at 12:32 pm
FAO Kevin The Klingon
On what day and at what time did you witness what you described?
Tobanem
June 25, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Sounds like nudge theory in action or we’ll target you.
Yarbs
June 25, 2013 at 7:43 pm
“Kevin The Klingon” has went silent.
I wonder if Kevin The Klingon is the same as “Kevin The Kingon” (sic) who first appeared on this page on Saturday?
Tobanem
June 25, 2013 at 1:55 pm
I just found this link. It’s people commenting on their post WP experiences with the Jobcentre.
http://aftertheworkprogramme.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/tell-me-what-they-want-you-to-do/
chris11
June 25, 2013 at 4:01 pm
Thanks for this. My date with destiny is in the third week of July. Hopefully by then I’ll have read up enough – here and elsewhere – to prepare me for the horrors that await.
Good luck to all facing the JCP in the coming weeks and months…
Samwise Gamgee
June 25, 2013 at 5:08 pm
I’ve had an exit review,including do you see yourself job ready,and thoughts of workfare would be suitable.their intent on snooping and phishing for information is very clear.reading down much of this is clearly none of their business also.
tell them little to nothing.
ken
June 25, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Seen this:
http://a4e2aande.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/jobseekers-direction-mandating-registration-with-universaljobmatch-with-dwp-access/
Can the DWP really get away with this?
ck
June 25, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Forgot to mention I saw this on Boycott Workfare,could be that the “wording of this letter is in error”.Difficult or impossible for DWP to demand this.
ck
June 25, 2013 at 10:33 pm
I have had two post work programme interviews, details can be found on aftertheworkprogramme.wordpress.com .
In my second interview I had to fill out JSA application forms, while filling them out I had my advisor answering a list of questions that I had prepared and forgot to find out why I had to fill in the forms. Does anyone know why this is required?
aftertheworkprogramme
June 25, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Send an FOI to the DWP.
email: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 26, 2013 at 8:46 am
Done, will update with any progress.
aftertheworkprogramme
June 26, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Welsh government-backed website offers SEX industry job advice.
A probe has been launched into the website, which included tips on becoming a stripper and running a lap-dancing club
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/welsh-government-backed-website-offers-sex-1997373#ixzz2XJIXE72g
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 26, 2013 at 8:48 am
..
v
June 26, 2013 at 12:36 pm
New JSA claimants will have to wait seven days before they are paid there benefits (instead of the three days currently), and around half of claimants will have to sign on weekly, rather than fortnightly. These changes, which are part of a new raft of tough (or to be fair downright cruel and unnecessary) plans, are due to be brought in next April.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23058853
Samwise Gamgee
June 26, 2013 at 3:39 pm
“their benefits”, not “there benefits”.
Derp
Samwise Gamgee
June 26, 2013 at 3:49 pm
The problem with this is that they will have to have twice as many staff (as they will effectively seeing twice as many people) or they will only have half as much time to see each person. Wonder which it will be? One day the PCS union will get off its knees, but I won’t hold my breath.
Blackpool Lad
June 27, 2013 at 9:28 am
Now there is a cap on PUBLIC SECTOR salaries, maybe just maybe {but don’t hold up any hope}, some pcs staff maybe on our side.
former civil servant
June 27, 2013 at 10:01 am
In the How To Avoid Workfare leaflet, it says you don’t have to hand over your CV to a JCP/WP adviser.
Click to access occupy-times-info.pdf
What legislation or rule can I quote if an adviser calls my bluff and insists I hand it over under threat of a sanction if I refuse?
chris11
June 27, 2013 at 7:24 am
The Work Programme after two years has an incredible Failure rate of 86.6% – yet the Department for Work and Pensions are only too happy to keep throwing billions of pounds of Taxpayers money at it. It’s time this party was over!
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 27, 2013 at 2:17 pm
The Work Programme – cheap and ineffective.
There’s a nice little graph on here showing the Work Programme has missed it’s year 2 target.
http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2013/06/the-work-programme-cheap-and-ineffective/
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 27, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Even the Daily Mail condemns the Work Programme as an expensive failure:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2350334/The-work-scheme-costs-40k-job-Only-Government-scheme-lasting-role.html
The Daily Mail along with the other news media should now be doing a major report on the soaring levels of sanctions being imposed on the unemployed – a position which is hard to justify when the Work Programme has simultaneously failed so miserably.
Tobanem
June 28, 2013 at 9:56 am
Nowadays, even a university degree won’t guarantee a job as a shelf stacker – or as a hospital porter, waiter, bartender, road sweeper or window cleaner etc!
Just how are the unskilled, illiterate, unqualified, moribund, long-term unemployed going to realistically compete in today’s harsh jobs market, especially after returning from the failed Work Programme to face the intensified job-search regime run by the new Jobcentre hit squads?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2349983/Graduate-tells-struggle-job-number-shelf-stackers-degree-double-just-years.html
Tobanem
June 28, 2013 at 10:09 am
“Transcripts released this week by the Irish Independent record conversations in 2008 between leading Irish bank executives, joking about how they had scammed billions of euros to bail out the now-defunct Anglo-Irish Bank.”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/29/bank-j29.html
The Tory party is to the left of New Labour…
“However, Labour has one caveat: in alliance with the most vociferous sections of the ruling elite, it also wants pensions to be included in the future cap on welfare spending.”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/29/cuts-j29.html
Annos
June 29, 2013 at 9:41 am
“Angela Merkel regards content of Anglo Irish Bank tapes with contempt”
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0628/459326-merkel-views-leaked-anglo-tapes-with-contempt/
As if she didn’t already know!!!, she is part of the problem, not the cure.
Annos
June 29, 2013 at 10:33 am
I provided a 3 month bank statement in my post wp interview. I remember glasgow asked for one of these a couple of years ago and sent it back to me as well, This time I took it to the JCP . They claim it’s so they can see if you have any savings or are hoarding the payments. They did not take a copy of it the advisor just glanced at it and handed it back.
Intensive Activity
June 29, 2013 at 10:00 am
Full Detailed Information on what happens when you go back to the JCP after The Work Programme.
Exit Reports, Hit Squads and the Work Programme
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/exit_reports_hit_squads_and_the#incoming-403920
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 29, 2013 at 12:16 pm
This page is for Work Programme finishers on JSA.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/163458/response/403920/attach/html/9/JSA%20WP%20completer%20int%20letter%202013.5.16.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 29, 2013 at 12:18 pm
PWPS Jobsearch Review – Welcome Back Script.
You are about to complete your time on the Work Programme and will be
returning to Jobcentre Plus who will help you in your search for work.
When you return you will have a 40 minute diagnostic interview with an
adviser and we will assess you to ensure you get the correct type of help from us to support you back to work.
You will then receive support through either: the Jobcentre Plus Offer where you will receive personalised help in your job searching or if we decide that you need more help to get a job, through the more
intensive Mandatory Intervention Regime.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/163458/response/403920/attach/html/15/PWPS%20Jobsearch%20Review%20Welcome%20Back%20script%202013.05.16.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 29, 2013 at 12:29 pm
The DWP is due to issue its annual report shortly, so the next time you hear IDS & Co waffling on about welfare reforms and the “success” of the Work Programme etc, remember the contents of the following report which lists an astounding 35 examples where truth has become the casualty:
Tobanem
June 29, 2013 at 2:11 pm
If your a tennent renting, you really need to take a look at this site for Landlords to complain about tennents.
http://www.landlordreferencing.co.uk/discuss/community-forum/bullying-tenants-slur-landlordreferencing-co-uk-and-increase-our-membership/
Obi Wan Kenobi
June 29, 2013 at 2:47 pm
Can anyone who already participated in the 1st tough meeting at JCP after WP give us the following information:
– JSA Agreement you are imposed to sign (ideally scanned copy), the point I would like to know is if there are any different clauses compared with the existing one
– DWP’s announcement on 31 May says “At their first appointment they will have to agree a binding back-to-work plan laying out what they are required to do.”, is there any fixed format or legally binding form for the back-to-work plan apart from the new JSA Agreement?
– In another forum, 1 person talked about 35 hrs job search which another person said it hasn’t been legislated though, according to Securing Your Rights on Welfare to Work(fare) site (I’m not yet allowed to attach its link) it looks already done, does it apply only when Universal Credit starts? Is there anybody who are told 35 hrs is mandatory?
Thanks.
May
May
June 29, 2013 at 3:59 pm
The 35 hours will come in when Universal credit starts. It’s supposed to be at the discretion of your adviser but elsewhere DWP have clearly stated that job searching should be a full time, i.e. 35 hour, activity.
Lucozade
June 30, 2013 at 11:05 am
As a previous post and others have said on this site, This has the makings of the old style jobclubs or even worse the Training Opportunities Programme from the 1970’s Anybody remember the Old Employment Rehabilitaion Centres the long term unemployed were forced to attend ?
Tizer
June 30, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Why is everybody panicking about 35 hours a week job search. All the Universal credit 35 hours stipulation is, is putting in black and white what always has been expected.
Please suggest how this will be enforced. It is not possible to get every claimant into a jobclub, jobcentre etc, as there aren’t the spaces available. As I said before it is just stating in clear terms what has always been expected.
spidersweb42
July 1, 2013 at 9:09 am
Hello May
From my own experience the JSA form is the same format, ie states look on internet, apply x jobs a week etc, call friends, make one cold call a week etc etc. The only difference I saw is that there is no wage agreement ! no limit on shifts( You can get this amended if for instance you refuse to work nights which is your human right) The one main difference it says is to check Universal Jobmatch for x amount of jobs a week. Now being as its only mandatory to register but you do not have to use it to apply this seems like an area of concern to me. I will certainly look for clarification on this and quote the freedom of information request to the floor manager .nothing was mentioned about 35 hours, just that the client has to come in daily( a ruse of course to try and sanction you if you are late for a single appointment within the next 180 days ! )
Intensive Activity
June 29, 2013 at 4:06 pm
To add to my post, if you refuse to give them your CV ( As is your right) and refuse to allow them permission to look at your Jobmatch account( again your right) then they have to leave the box unticked on the JSA where it says they can retain your CV and distribute it both via email and non email means.
Intensive Activity
June 29, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Hi Intensive Activity,
Many thanks for your prompt answers.
Just a few further questions,
– regarding the CV, is Job Centre entitled to send / share it with prospective employer without our prior consent (or with our consent)? I didn’t allow my work programme provider to do that, but I’m wondering if Job Centre can do it legitimately if they want.
– what documents / materials were you required to bring in your 1st meeting? I read some people were requested to bring ID & bank statements to review your updated circumstances.
– how was your meeting organized? I mean, I was told by my work programme adviser in the last meeting that I would attend 4 day meeting at JCP when I am referred back there (not full day but 1 hour for the 1st day, 40 minutes for the 2nd etc, and she had no idea about the agenda for each meeting, obviously she heard it from someone who already went through), I’m in North London and I guess it depends on the area / job centre though just trying to check how did you complete your first meeting?
– finally, just curiosity, what additional task do you do on top of the things related with Universal Jobmatch? Weekly meeting rather than fortnightly? No mandatory work experience etc? If you don’t want to mention, no problems.
Appreciate your input.
May
May
June 30, 2013 at 8:16 am
Hello May
1. If they have your cv . I am guessing they can do what they wish with it.
2.ID and 3 month statement
3. I think around a month before my WP ended . I was told by the person signing me on that I had an appointment. No letter or anything.
4.daily signings & MWA to be arranged shortly. ie contractor would write to me.
Hope this helps
Intensive Activity
June 30, 2013 at 9:27 am
In answer to part 4.
You can avoid MWA if you are already volunteering and also if you are doing some job related training. So get yourself on a part time, free, job related course. There are loads of them on the internet. Make sure it qualifies as part time though so you don’t lose your JSA.
The MWA doesn’t become official until you receive the letter from the provider (of the MWA) not when you were told about it by the Jobcentre. So get it arranged before then.
Lucozade
June 30, 2013 at 10:56 am
Hi Intensive Activity,
Thank you.
I thought your original comment of “the client has to come in daily” is the daily visit to Universal Jobmatch & search activities.
Does “daily signings” mean do you have to visit Job Centre every day for sign-in?
May
May
June 30, 2013 at 9:34 am
Hello may , yes EVERY day.
Quite ridiculous really
Intensive Activity
June 30, 2013 at 9:45 am
Tell them you intend to record every meeting (you have the right to do this). They then, by their own regulations, have to provide a private room for the meeting (so you don’t record other people at the Jobcentre). I think you’ll find they’re less likely to bring you in when they have to find a room for the meeting.
Lucozade
June 30, 2013 at 10:50 am
Hi Intensive Activity,
OMG, I simply can’t find any reason to help you improve finding job with it. What made them justify such ridiculous imposition?
May
June 30, 2013 at 10:06 am
None whatsoever, hence the term “Intensive” and “Hit Squad”. When more and more people come off WP.(like 90% of people who started it) then we will see if the Daily signings will become weekly ones. I cant see the system being able to see everyone . everyday.
Worst thing is it disrupts the flow of a good jobsearch .imagine Working on a good cover letter at 2pm on wednesday. Waiting to fill in an online application after that, or practice an aptitude test for an upcoming interview. Oh no sod all that and drop everything. Have to go see advisor in 15 minutes! wasting 2 hours for some that have to travel in on bus from rural areas
Intensive Activity
June 30, 2013 at 10:33 am
But it won’t be the ones that live far away from the Jobcentre who will be made to come in daily, it’ll be the ones who are within easy walking distance so they don’t have to pay their fares (as they do if it’s not your signing day).
Lucozade
June 30, 2013 at 10:47 am
I imagine so.would still leave a lot of clients coming in daily . Especially in built up areas where jobcentres are located a couple of miles apart at the very most
Intensive Activity
June 30, 2013 at 10:58 am
Yes, I agree, their resources can’t cope with it.
The last question, when was your 1st meeting?
May
June 30, 2013 at 10:38 am
Would rather not say
Intensive Activity
June 30, 2013 at 10:39 am
No problems, thank you.
May
June 30, 2013 at 10:50 am
What can you say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/miners-fear-worst-after-closure-4731381
Annos
June 30, 2013 at 11:35 am
Its not getting better out there!
Hantsman1205
July 1, 2013 at 8:43 am
Depends on who you are!!!…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7096954.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7196420.stm
Annos
July 1, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Here is another current report about the Miners – this time relating to the Miners strike of the 1980s:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-pm-gordon-brown-calls-2013947
Tobanem
July 1, 2013 at 8:50 am
How much should MPs be paid?
MPs’ pay is back on the agenda, with reports suggesting the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority may recommend £10,000 pay rise for MPs. What is a reasonable salary for a Member of Parliament?
You can vote for how much you think their yearly salary should be.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2013/jul/01/mps-pay-rise-poll
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 1, 2013 at 2:00 pm
“Authorities witch-hunt homeless families in Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/07/01/home-j01.html
Annos
July 1, 2013 at 11:14 pm
“Downtown Detroit tenants hold meeting to fight back against evictions”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/07/01/gris-j01.html
Annos
July 1, 2013 at 11:30 pm
What Has Detroit Got Too Do With Looking For Work In The UK
---
July 2, 2013 at 8:50 am
FAO “-”
You ask “what has Detroit got to do with looking for work in the UK”?
Well, they say what happens in America today, tends to happen in this country tomorrow!
Tobanem
July 2, 2013 at 11:03 am
It goes to show that what is happening around the world is a common occurrence. Do you not find it strange that the USA and the UK are running the same parallel policies towards the working class . It should make you start to think about what is going on and learn, always remember what happens in the USA happens in the UK tomorrow!.
Annos
July 2, 2013 at 11:13 am
Tobanem,
I didn’t copy what you had said, I started to write my post before you posted yours, was talking to someone at the same time, that is what took me a little bit longer to post. Amazed when I saw your post, thinking the same thing at the same time!!!.
Annos
July 2, 2013 at 7:28 pm
I haven’t seen any adverts for Hit Squad members yet. So where were they recruited from?
chop
July 2, 2013 at 9:29 am
WPP PROVIDERS MOONLIGHTING
Sirloin Steak
July 17, 2013 at 11:27 am
The hit squad are just the same JCP staff but who have had a bit more training (or at least that’s what they are claiming).
Lucozade
July 19, 2013 at 12:51 pm
chop they are just regular dwp workers, you see them usually in a rotation of 5, however i have had already been shunted around a bit as some are fully booked for other stuff. In reality its no real hit squad. the JCP manager has decided to pick the 5 most unpleasant plebs in the jobcentre and put them on a performance table to see how many sanctions they can earn.
Bet the winner gets a free trip to mallorca . just like those ghastly boiler rooms
Intensive Activity
July 2, 2013 at 12:12 pm
At our local jobcentre the ”frontline” and ”reception staff” are normally on a rotation of about 3 months then back to the backroom etc
stowmarket
July 2, 2013 at 12:23 pm
It is worth noting however that if you have a disability and need adjustments to use a computer. The the use of the Internet Access Device IAD is NOT feasible
kyron1977
July 2, 2013 at 7:22 pm
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
Annex A
e-mail: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Our Ref: 2991
02 July 2013
Guidance current at 28 June 2013.
Chapter 03 – Using Universal Jobmatch (UJ)
Claimant has agreed a pattern of availability of less than 24 hours per week.
101. Where a claimant has agreed a pattern of availability on their JSAg of less than 24 hours per week and the hours recorded on the job are clearly less than 16 hours per week, you cannot notify the claimant to apply for the job.
102. However, if the hours of the job were not recorded by the company you can notify them to apply for the job if the job is recorded as part time.
103. Where a claimant has agreed a pattern of availability on their JSAg of 17 hours per week and the hours recorded on the job are 20 hours per week, you cannot notify the claimant to apply for the job.
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/166809/response/404751/attach/html/6/Chapter%2003%20Using%20Universal%20Jobmatch.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 4, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Has anyone had a meeting with National Career Service staff as a course of PWPS (Post Work Pogramme Support) interview? This is supposed to be for Skill Assessment. Appreciate if those who went through this session can share how it works.
May
July 7, 2013 at 1:59 pm
I had mine a few weeks ago, I think they will try to offer training if possible and they will be interested in your CV, there is not a lot that they can help me with so all that I was asked to do was to change the layout of my CV. The person that I saw was actually helpful as they are not employed by the job centre.
aftertheworkprogramme
July 17, 2013 at 10:58 am
I like the way they use the word ‘Invited’.
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
Annex A
e-mail: [email address].
gov.uk
Our Ref: VTR 2947
DATE: 27 June 2013
Annex A
Dear XXXXXXX,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 26 June 13. You asked:
Is it true that people who’ve completed two years of the work programme are having to make a fresh JSA claim? If so, why is this please? Surely they’ve been on JSA all the while they’ve been on the work
programme so why would they have to fill out new JSA claim forms when their two years on the programme have ended?
Existing JSA claimants returning to Jobcentre Plus after completing their time on the Work Programme do not have to make a fresh claim, they are invited to attend an adviser led diagnostic interview at the Jobcentre.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 13, 2013 at 10:44 am
Had my exit review A4e on 17th JUNE took 2 mins.
post work appointment for 25th JUNE
i turn up she moans about something,saying ive got to use the uj site all the time,i couldn’t get a word in i wanted to say i had problems with ujs(i had virus,which shut pc down ..and gave me dead job links)
but she wouldn’t let me speak she handed my forms back and said thats it thank you,i asked about post work programme she said “im to busy”so i left.
Week later on the 2nd JULY
i went in sat down and she looked at my uj and said this is not good enough and what’s that “Send message/feedback (DWP)” i said ive got a problem has you know but you insisted i use it so it totally messed me up.
she said might have to go upstairs!.i signed and left.
Went in 9th JULY
new adviser for my new post review very nice we did a new js agreement now write to 2,phone 0,vist 2 employers,5 times a week uj,20 items not 25.
i left happy.
11th july i get letter from council saying rent/tax suspended from 17th JUNE??
same letter JOB SEEKER CEASED from 26th JUNE ..please contact council….
So friday 13th LOL great date i didn’t get any money,no letter from jobcentre ..nothing at all
so that means i went there twice and no one bothered to tell me.
i still got no idea im going today to try and find out
Bryn Jones
July 15, 2013 at 4:32 am
Maybe the use ”invited” rather than mandated. You CAN REFUSE an invite. But they don’t tell you the consequences of not accepting
Recklinghausen
July 17, 2013 at 11:26 am
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/166503/response/403597/attach/html/3/WDTK%20Response%202947%20Kruse.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 13, 2013 at 10:47 am
UJM UPDATE – Note the extra wording in pragagraph 82.
From: Operations FOI Requests Department for Work and Pensions
e-mail: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Our Ref: VTR2846
15 July 2013
UJ Toolkit Chp 3 v37.0 11.07.13.pdf
Chapter 03 – Using Universal Jobmatch (UJ)
Actively Seeking Employment
82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this – it is not therefore possible to require JSA claimants to give DWP access to their Universal Jobmatch account.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/165890/response/408735/attach/html/4/UJ%20Toolkit%20Chp%203%20v37.0%2011.07.13.pdf.html
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 16, 2013 at 4:31 pm
I have been ordered to create a UJM account, i am using their IAD’s they have to pay my travel there, therefore i cost them £5 per day to go there My adviser said today he needed my email address i said no but he didnt seem to understand.. so when i go back with my print out public cv and UJM print out i will say no and ask for a floor manager if he says anything
Eric Greenwood (4727)
July 18, 2013 at 12:49 pm
The Local Jobcentre that I use has told me that all they need is my ujm account number. The Pa that told me this said that whoever asked for my email address is wrong. I was told that they should have this on file details anyway as they ask you for it when you 1st sign on
PETERBOROUGH
July 18, 2013 at 1:29 pm
I was told by my personal adviser in Job Centre that I would need to do 35 hours job search which some other people also reported in various forums.
Under Universal Credit, it may be the formal requirement, but at this moment in time, is there any legislation that enforces the 35 hours? (I have never seen regulation)
If it were specified in Job Seeker’s Agreement and if I signed, then I’m afraid any failure to prove 35 hours search would lead to sanction.
Can anyone in particular Obi Wan Kenobi enlighten me on this point?
Is there any ground allowing me to refuse 35 hours job seeking activity at least avoid signing the agreement that mention it?
May
July 22, 2013 at 1:42 pm
There is nothing on your jobseekers agreement that specifies you have to look for work for 35 hours a week, as I have recently signed a new jobseekers agreement.
However what it does say is and I quote “Looking for work will be a significant part of my everyday activities, taking several hours each day”. Those hours are not clearly defined, so could mean to you depending on how you search for work a few hours a day or if you have internet connectivity at home and sole use longer as you have more opportunity to look.
It is not specific so don’t worry about it.
spidersweb42
July 22, 2013 at 1:52 pm
May:
As long as you do some of the steps (weekly) that are listed on it you should be ok, unless your adviser is a real pain in the arse and insists you do everything listed.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Hi Spiderweb,
Many thanks for your prompt response that is informative.
Yes, there may not be pre-printed clause but there could still be a chance that the adviser adds special remarks of 35 hours in the section such as Other Activities?
May
July 22, 2013 at 2:04 pm
There is a little box on the front page of the jobseekers agreement which says how many things you have to do. For example, mine says x number of things a week consisiting of writing to employers, i.e applying for x jobs, phoning x number of employers and looking on Universal Jobmatch x number of times a week.
That is the enforceable bit. The bit which says other activities are incidentals to the mandatory part. I for instance have other activities to do such as look at twitter x times a week though last week I didn’t look at it at all.
It’s only the things per week you need to be concerned about, the other activities as I have siad above are in addition to but are not as such mandatory. I hope this helps. Any more concerns just reply.
spidersweb42
July 22, 2013 at 2:27 pm
My little box has no number in it at all.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 2:31 pm
On the very front page of my jobseekers agreement it says I must do at least x number of things a week.
When I turn the page to the inside pages of the agreement it states x number of letters to employers, phone calls and using Universal Jobcrap x number of times a week which comes to the total of things required stated on the front page of my jobseekers agreement.
spidersweb42
July 22, 2013 at 2:37 pm
On my front page it says I must do at least X number of things a week – mine has no number at all – it’s been left blank.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 2:44 pm
Dont worry then they’ve cocked it up. Does it say anything on the inside two pages of your agreement? The jobseekers agreement is your bible, it’s what governs your existence until you find work.
If on the inside of the agreement it has boxes ticked requiring x number of phone calls, letters to employers which means applications and using universal jobcrap each week follow that.
I find when I read all the 5 pages of my jobseeekers agreement it seems self-explanatory
spidersweb42
July 22, 2013 at 2:51 pm
Yep, it states so many jobs to apply for by writing, phone, jobseekers direct and so on, but no number in the box on the front page.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 3:02 pm
There is nothing anywhere in my jobseekers agreement about Universal Jobmatch at all.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 3:05 pm
From: Operations FOI Requests Department for Work and Pensions
e-mail: freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Freedom of Information Ref 2864
The Jobseeker’s Agreement is a record of the agreement made between the claimant and their personal adviser. Legally it must reflect the type of work the claimant is looking for, the hours they are available to work and the number of steps they can reasonably be expected to take each week, to look for work. As such, it is tailored to individual need and subject to change.
Advisers may also recommend that claimants undertake other activities not included in the Jobseeker’s Agreement. These may be recorded in an Action Plan or may simply be a verbal recommendation. Unless a claimant has been issued with a Jobseeker’s Direction instructing them to undertake a particular activity, these recommendations are not mandatory. The adviser is simply encouraging a claimant to carry out additional activities which they believe may also help the claimant in their jobsearch.
Obi Wan Kenobi
July 22, 2013 at 2:29 pm
Hi Spiderweb & Obi Wan Kenobi,
Thank you for your answers, which make me a bit easier.
May
July 22, 2013 at 2:39 pm
I know what you mean. The reason you feel like that is the way in which the Work Programme has treated you through bullying, demonising and blaming and it makes you think you have to watch your step all the time otherwise they will sanction you.
My experience is the complete opposite at Jobcentreplus. They want to help you but keep you motivated as well. My expereince post work programme is they will ask you in once a week and require a certain number of applications and activities and if you do it they will be alright with you as they have no reason not to. It’s about keeping you motivated and positive, not lets trip the claimant up and sanction them. It’s working for me. I would also suggest you find some activities in any spare time you have if its only for a couple of hours a week to show your determination to find work.
spidersweb42
July 22, 2013 at 2:47 pm
Anyone on here know anything about a UK charity called “Debra” – and the extent of its involvement in Mandatory Work Activity?
Debra is using claimants on MWA in charity shops in Glasgow.
Also, how much of Debra is a Charity, and how much is business?
Sentinel
July 22, 2013 at 3:57 pm
spidersweb seems decent enough, heard bad reports from people i know, I am already on UJM, and my CV is, I do voluntary work, any chance hit squad could stop me doing it?
marky
July 24, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Also thinking about signing off, if hit squad too bad, if i signed on again say 26 weeks later, would I still go straight to hit squad?
marky
July 24, 2013 at 8:09 pm
If you sign off for 26 weeks (plus one more probably to be sure) you should go back onto normal signing and avoid the hit squad. It’s all in this lot somewhere: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/exit_reports_hit_squads_and_the#incoming-403920
Lucozade
July 25, 2013 at 10:22 am
b4 it was wait 13 weeks and it would be a new claim after that,not sure if its still the same but i think it still is
super ted
July 24, 2013 at 8:21 pm
If you do voluntary work and all you receive is your travel expenses you can volunteer for as many hours as you like (kind of them I don’t think) as long as you continue to be available and actively seek work. You will have to complete a form which asks you how the voluntary work will assist with your jobseeking, which in reality means assist with your job prospects.
I personally would talk up the positive benefits of the volunteering giving you updated skills, up to date references, improving any disability you might have, increasing your social inclusion.
There is of course no guarantee that jobcentreplus will accept this as the form goes off to a decision maker
spidersweb42
July 25, 2013 at 11:27 am
I expect I will be placed on mandatory intervention regime, rather than jobcentreplus offer, even though I do voluntary work, have a decent CV, and qualifications
marky
July 25, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Just a small point here:
The fact that there is a box to either tick or un-tick to give access to your UJ activities means that it is a CHOICE.
If you are told that you HAVE to give access, then ask them WHY that box is there….. then show them their own DWP internal memo that says that it is a voluntary decision by the claimant.
epsom
July 26, 2013 at 10:26 am
The DWP’s own guidelines state:
“82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this – it is not therefore possible to require JSA claimants to give DWP access to their Universal Jobmatch account.”
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/165908/response/410266/attach/html/5/Chapter%2003%20Using%20Universal%20Jobmatch.pdf.html
Lucozade
July 29, 2013 at 10:38 am
Does anybody know what you are supposed to do on Universal Jobcrap when it says you have an invitation to appy for a job even though the job in question is totally inappropriate?
spidersweb42
August 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Apply – what difference does it make? It’s a press of the button.
They don’t even give you a mechanism to write a decent covering letter (which in my experience makes the difference when getting a genuine acknowledgement).
Nobody, not even the Job Centre, has any respect for Universal JobMatch.
Andrew Coates
August 8, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Yes, a covering letter is very important – a trick they have missed despite having such a big budget.
(btw Andy, got a new post waiting)
Universal Jobmatch
August 8, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Do you apply for the job that invites you to apply, or not
spidersweb42
August 8, 2013 at 1:56 pm
So, from what i understand. We can refuse to sign up for UJ if we do not wish to store cookies on our home computers. Then the job centre will say “Well we can allocate you an IAD here at the job centre”. At that point I then sign up for UJ, but not gateway, I refuse access to the account, and just provide a print screen to show I did infact upload my CV.
First question. What is the difference between UJ and gateway? When I try to sign up for UJ, it prompts me to create a gateway account. So from what I see, you cant sign up for UJ without creating a gateway account?
What happens once that’s done. Will they expect me to go to the job centre everyday to use their computers to job search for hours upon end? What about travel, will they reimburse?
I have my post-work programme meeting today, and to be honest I’m more worried about being forced into ‘training’ or an ’employment scheme’ than this. However they’ve been pestering me for months to get UJ, so I fear they will be extremely pushy today.
Honestly, I think I’ll just sign up for UJ normally, and just refuse them access to my account. It could backfire if I go down the other route, to where they have me going down the job centre every other day, and that just inconvieniences my job searching.
Ciruss
August 12, 2013 at 12:29 am
This is part of DWP memo sent to advisors–or employment officers as they should be called:
“Access to UJ Account
If, and when, a claimant signs up to UJ, they
will be encouraged to give DWP access to their
account. However, it is absolutely clear from a
legal perspective that the claimant does not
have to tick the box to give DWP access to
their account, and can provide alternative proof
of UJ sign up and use, e.g. screenprints”
..and that is a directive for the advisors.
Here is link to the PDF:
http://www.join.pcs.org.uk/download.cfm?docid=97E623EF-6571-4354-A23D8174845D4341
print it out and show them.
epsom
August 12, 2013 at 12:55 am
Ciruss I would strongly advise you to sign up to Universal Jobcrap and then just advise them that under paragraph 82 of the guidance, which they probably won’t know, you don’t wish to give them access and if asked say you are happy to give them evidence however they want it.
That way you are complying with the legal requirement to receive jobseekers allowance and are willing to look and provide evidence of your search for work, but you are not happy with DWP sending you emails and you are mature enough to look for work without their intervention.
I also advised them that when I originally allowed access to advisers and JCP i got sent completely poorly tailored vacancies to apply for which were totally inappropriate.
Good luck
spidersweb42
August 12, 2013 at 7:55 am
Thanks guys. (I forgot to check back here following my appointment, to leave a reply)
I signed up to UJ prior to my appointment, and to be honest the meeting did not go bad at all. She was just interested in my opinion of the work programme, and how work ready I was.
I did however have my first appointment with my advisor on monday just gone. I was late due to them changing the bus route, and he was ok about it, bar the ‘friendly’ remark “I wont sanction you this time”, oh how nice of you.
He wants me to bring my CV to my next appointment, so I’m just going to print it out while redacting the obvious information, my address, number, the places I’ve worked at.
One interesting thing he said was that he’d take a look at my UJ account. He’ll have a nice surprise when I refuse to let him.
I do have a question. I am so sick of the job centre texting me when I have an appointment, and I notice even in the information put here, they avoid answering the question of if we can request they remove our number/email from their database. Does anyone have any information on this?
Ciruss
September 12, 2013 at 1:56 am
Just remeber cirrus you only have to place a public cv on Universal Jobcrap and sign up. It is not mandatory to allow JCP access to your account. This comes under the data protection legislation laid down in European and British law, which allows people to prevent certain information they don’t want shared from being passed on to third parties.
When you go to the profile heading of Universal Jobcrap click and scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see three boxes. If you read them there is only one box you have to tick the others are voluntary.
I have never had a text message from jobcentreplus, only former Work Programme providers which I continuously complained about and eventually the texts were halted. I suggest if you want texts from jobcentreplus removed you tell them you have no objection them contacting you by phone, email, letter but you find text messages invasive.
Good luck and may the force be with you always.
spidersweb42
September 12, 2013 at 11:07 am
Another reason you don’t want to give JCP access is they may arrange an interview for you for a totally inappropriate job and you will have to attend or have your benefit sanctioned, so if you refuse access they can’t refer you for interviews that are inappropriate or sanction you if you don’t attend.
I am afraid JCP is now an agency which is directed to be punitive with regards to benefits and for the most minor indiscretions will and can sanction you, because of government policy. The staff are pressurised to refer claimants for sanctions and if they are seen not to be doing so are put on performance improvement plans and are under managerial supervision.
This is government policy and direction which jobcentreplus staff must abide by.
spidersweb42
September 12, 2013 at 11:14 am
My advisor told me something that just isn’t right. He said he was the only guy in the whole office that is helping the post-work programme people. He has 100 young people seeing him and is completely booked up. No one else will help because they’ve been told they have quotas to fill or else they get fired. Being the hardest the get into work, they’re all worried about their jobs. He’s requested help several times because he just can’t handle the work load, and yet no one helps. Which sucks. He said he’s doing it because he doesn’t care, someone has to help these people into work.
So I completely understand the whole thing about them trying to roll out as many sanctions as they can.
It’s rather sad that it gets to a point where the people that are there to help you, refuse to do so because they are being grilled by their own bosses.
Ciruss
September 12, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Yes, your adviser will have a nice surprise when you tell him he can’t have access to your account. And so will you when you see his response. And I say that without malice. When my adviser suggested I should give her access to my account so that we could do a job search together (her words not mine), I politely declined her very generous offer. I then got what I can only describe as the “wounded look”. Looking at her, you’d think I’d just turned down the offer of the blowjob of a lifetime.
jj joop
September 12, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Perhaps that’s what she really wanted to give you that blowjob after all their job is boring quite a lot!!!
spidersweb42
September 12, 2013 at 3:15 pm
What happened after that? Did she just let it go, or did she try to use a botched up sentence of jargon to try and force you to give access?
Ciruss
September 17, 2013 at 9:58 pm
According to what I overheard in a JC+ The advisors will no longer have a desk. Like they do now. They will all have IPads and when a victim comes in I mean customer they will be shown to a computer where they will have to logon to Universal Car Crash. This gets around the refusal to give current staff access to your UJ Account. Has anyone done any request about this and does anyone know if you can be compelled to logon onto one of their computers ??
kyron1977
September 12, 2013 at 6:37 pm
Under the post work programme regime you can be expected to show your activities on Universal Jobcrap, and any notes you have made if the jobcentre has an IAD for you to access.
This is at their expense and their photocopy paper if they want to print it off and keep a copy.
spidersweb42
September 13, 2013 at 5:25 pm
Sorry….they may expect you to show your activities on UJ, but as is stated so many times here, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE THEM ACCESS.
That is why there are boxes on UJ for you to untick or tick to either give access or not.
It is also CLEARLY stated in their own rules and regs, given to them by the DWP and in the form of the UJ toolkit..
You have to REGISTER, yes….. but whatever they say to commit you to giving access, you can show them printouts of your job applications.
epsom
September 13, 2013 at 5:48 pm
I have to say they told me to log on to one of their computers and I said I cannot as I don’t like germs and keyboards have a lot of germs.
selfproclaimedinsanity
November 13, 2013 at 6:23 am
Keyboards have more germs than the inside of a toilet bowl!
Kim & Aggie the Cleaners
November 13, 2013 at 9:09 am
From what I have observed, The Jobcentres ‘New Regime’ advisers are now stuck, they seriously don’t know what to do with people who have returned from the ‘Work Programme’.
The ‘New Regime’ advisers are now desperately trying to conn the unemployed into giving them access to their Universal Jobmatch accounts (which everyone now knows we don’t have to do), so now they have resorted to putting people onto ‘Employment Skills’ courses and any kind of MWA’s in an effort to hit their ‘Targets’ and keep their jobs.
The Jokecentres have now switched from being there to help you get a job – to penalising you for being unemployed through no fault of your own – this is most pathetic and needs to be stopped, Labour need to address this and make it part of their manifesto for the 2015 General Election.
Obi Wan Kenobi
September 18, 2013 at 7:48 am
This should help.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/are_there_any_circumstances_when#incoming-416439
chris
October 5, 2013 at 7:56 am
At Watford Jobcentre, claimants are being told that they HAVE to tick the box allowing their advisers to have access to Universal Jobmatch, as they are no longer producing those blue jobsearching forms on which to record their jobsearching. “Everything is to be digital, and you have to allow us to have access”, is what I have been told.
It sounds like cobblers and I still haven’t ticked the box, but many claimants have.
Oxheymoron
October 12, 2013 at 11:21 am
You just show them their OWN UJ Tookit and their OWN rules—which state quite clearly that you do NOT have to give access.
Thats why there are BOXES to either tick or untick….meaning you have a choice.
After you have shown them this, ask to see the rules that say we HAVE to give access….
when they cannot show you, you tell them that you are now reporting them to the DWP for flouting their own rules, and if necessary, taking them to court.
epsom
October 12, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Well, my local Jobcentre is now trying a different tack.
Apparently I need to ‘tick’ the box’ on Universal Jobmatch in order to make it easy for them to trace my online account amongst the scores of claimants who have a similar name to me.
Perhaps they are finding it difficult to do a text search of my name whilst using the mouse to scroll down the page?
I have also been told to supply them with my last three bank statements, a copy of my tenency agreement and my passport/driving license.
Oxheymoron
October 17, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Oxheymoron,
Did you read the letter and also the PDFs that I sent you?
You need to tell them that they are using devious tactics to get you to do things which are CLEARLY against what their guidelines say.
They are NOT helping the individual.
They are trying to achieve SET TARGETS—failure to achieve them may result in THEM losing thier job.
They are instructed to send claimants on any type of course ( I was told this by my advisor last time), even if it is not beneficial—-THEY ARE TRYING TO SEND SQUARE PEGS INTO ROUND HOLES.
Show them the PDFs I sent you, particulary the highlighted one.
As regards bank statements etc, they are clearly overstepping their remit.
You should tell them that you are seeking legal advice from your a solicitor who specialises in the EU human Rights Act., and tell them that they will be held responsible if it goes in your favour.
epsom
October 17, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Thanks Epsom
Yes, I read your pdfs files. Thanks, once again.
As it happens, I have just come back from a ‘course’ that was a complete waste of time.
I am also having trouble locating my last three bank statements and my birth certificate, so they might just have to do without.
I am hoping that my letter gets published in the local paper tomorrow!
Cheers.
Oxhey
Oxheymoron
October 17, 2013 at 5:39 pm
For “Oxheymoron” and others commenting about the controversoial access boxes on Universal Jobmatch.
In a recent post on this site entitled “Campaign Against Cruel Sanctions” an email address is given where benefit claimants and Civil Servants alike can contact the PCS Union and report any experience of sanctions (or even the threat of sanctions).
If anyone has been told against all the rules that they MUST tick the box allowing DWP access to Universal Jobmatch, then they should also report that matter to the PCS Union. Here is the email address to send any complaint:
welfare@pcs.org.uk
And here is the link to the report:
https://intensiveactivity.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/campaign-against-cruel-sanctions/#comments
It can never be acceptable to tell claimants lies and trick them into ticking the now infamous “access box” on Universal Jobmatch. That is bad enough, but to further threaten and intimidate claimants with sanctions for not complying to the lies and trickery in the first place is utterly unacceptable – and should in fact be in the Press and the Courts.
Tobanem
October 12, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Epsom and Tobanem
Many thanks for your prompt feedback, which I will pass on to those claimants who recently raised this issue with me.
I will also use the email address to contact PCS and let them know what is happening.
Oxheymoron
October 12, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Wow! Tobanem!
I just read the PCS report on Conditionality Week celebrations. How sick is that!
I have just sent an email to PCS, and I am now thinking of writing to my local newspaper explaining the regulations on Universal Jobmatch for the benefit of my fellow claimants.
It seems the least I can do, considering the “inaccurate” nature of the advice they are getting from Jobcentre staff.
Oxheymoron
October 12, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Anyone know where I can get a look at the Universal Jobmatch Toolkit?
It’s not showing-up in Google.
Oxheymoron
October 13, 2013 at 7:43 am
Oxheymoron,
If you have an email address, I can send you the PDF of the UJ Toolkit.
My email is cardinal761@msn.com
epsom
October 13, 2013 at 10:37 am
Here is the draft of my letter to the local newspaper:
I would like to draw the attention of your readers to an apparent discrepancy in the advice that is being offered to claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance at Watford Jobcentre.
Many claimants are being told that it is now compulsory for them to ‘tick the box’ allowing the Jobcentre to have access to their online jobsearch records if they wish to continue receiving Jobseekers Allowance (which is currently being paid at a rate of about £2.04 an hour).
However, a quick browse through the guidelines for Jobcentre advisers (aka the Universal Jobmatch Toolkit) would seem to contradict this. In Chapter 3, Paragraph 82, it states quite clearly:
We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of
their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this – it is not
therefore possible to require JSA claimants to give DWP access to their
Universal Jobmatch account.
Further down the chapter – in Paragraph 89 – it says:
the onus is on the claimant to provide evidence of their jobsearch activity (by whatever means they choose).
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/165908/response/410266/attach/html/5/Chapter%2003%20Using%20Universal%20Jobmatch.pdf.html
Click to access UJ%20Toolkit%20Chp%203%20v37.0%2011.07.13.pdf
Oxheymoron
October 13, 2013 at 8:33 am
Epsom
That’s very good of you.
Will do.
Oxheymoron
October 13, 2013 at 12:14 pm
I am in the fortunate position of having worked for organizations that have required me to sign the Official Secrets Act. I can not and will not discuss this employment with the JSA adviser and have told that she can not envoke ay rule or mandate that requires me to break the Law. I have the names of the Employers on my CV but I am not authorized to even discuss with her… She is pressuring me to provide her with an email address so I have created an account called dwparetonosey@********.com.
I plan to show her FOI letter when i next go to the JC. When she asked me for my email address today I refused and she insisted I signed a statement indicating I was refusing. I did sign but added the word UNDER DURESS after my signature
Vice Admiral T'Moro
October 15, 2013 at 5:46 pm
@Vice Admiral T’Moro
I hope your former employers are going to provide you with food and shelter when the JCP stop your JSA. Perhaps you’re like Bear Grylls and can survive in the wild 🙂
Lumpenprole
October 15, 2013 at 6:44 pm
‘Official Secrets Act’ is a good way of ‘padding’ your CV, another one is ‘consultant’ i.e
Jimmy Bond
Employment History
2003-2013 Official Secrets Act
1993-2003 Consultant
—-
CV
October 18, 2013 at 7:08 pm
… of course you could have been on JSA, in prison or whatever for 20 years but how would an employer know… 🙂
CV
October 18, 2013 at 7:12 pm
I have just been called in by the Jobcentre and told to bring my last three bank statements with me. I was then asked to explain why it was that I was receiving two payments of £240 a month. So I looked at the bank statement and said ‘thats my Housing Benefit from the Council’. It’s perfectly legitimate .
The Jobcentre adviser then demanded to know why I’d spent £37 and 99p on Amazon since August and I have to show him my receipts. (I spent 99p on a T-Mobile Sim card and £37 on a piece of DTP software that will enable me to edit a parish magazine). The next time I go I am supposed to take my Amazon receipts with me.
I know they are trying to catch out those who are buying and selling on Amazon, but are they entitled to see my receipts/ account details, and do I have any legal redress?
Oxheymoron
October 18, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Hi Oxheymoron,
I have just sent you a reply by email.
I am trying to get some answers on this, but I believe this is WAY out of line.
You should have refused to show them your statement…. they are your personal and PRIVATE information.
THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR MONEY ON!!
You really should have told him that he was being recorded (perfectly legal) and that he would now be reported to the DWP and that you will be seeking legal advice from your EU MP……for having the audacity to ask such personal questions
epsom
October 18, 2013 at 1:09 pm
Hi Epsom
I agree with you; I should have challenged them, but I was taken completely by surprise.
I will now consider recording all my interviews with the Jobcentre (though I might have to use Amazon to buy the equipment). 😉
Oxheymoron
October 18, 2013 at 6:08 pm
@ Oxheymoron
Show them your receipts and pay cash next time, or do without. DTP software when you’re unemployed? They’ll think you’ve got a “black market” job. Wrong I’m sure, but that’s how the average JCP clerk thinks. They can be very twisted!
Lumpenprole
October 18, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Lumpenprol
Funny thing is my relatives all have Amazon accounts and I could still buy stuff I need through them, without the DWP ever knowing about it. It’s just really silly, and counter-productive.
The irony is that I’ve been saving for the DTP software (£36 from Serif) because it will enable me to edit pdf files and earn some legitimate money editing a small magazine.
But I take your point; it looks like the days of buying £2 t-shirts on my Amazon account are gone.
Oxheymoron
October 18, 2013 at 6:05 pm
for some reason my adviser is now paying me petrol money and not even asking for a receipt for it and just going of the miles i have to travel to get there and giving me how much it cost from the aa rout finder site, also got the next weeks travel in advance aswell to be paid in to my bank account in 3 working days time so i have some money to get there.
looks like they cant afford the bus fair after all as i said ill be there every day buy bus if i have too if they will pay the 30 odd quid a week that it would cost them to go 5 days a week.:)
super ted
October 18, 2013 at 6:26 pm
You not better screwing them for the bus fare, ted. It costs a lot more to run a car than just petrol.
Pistonhead
October 18, 2013 at 7:18 pm
well if i ride my bike next week ive already been given the travel money so big mac on the way home, i need petrol too you know 😉
super ted
October 18, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Well, I had my first post work programme support interview this week. I went armed with my tape recorder and a load of print offs in case things went a bit “box ticked”.
My adviser ceased the opportunity to send me to a career’s adviser as a mandatory excercise and will probably have a few extra tasks to do under threat of a sanction for agreeing to it. The key is to negotiate a better JSA agreement, ask as many questions you need to to understand the motive behind why they want to put something new into your agreement. I stood my ground and politely explained that the bottleneck designed to get people off the dole is not the same as the “creation” of jobs, something myself (without capitol), the jobcentre advisors or the career advisor I’m due to go and see has the power to do….create jobs.
Without our collective unemployment these “CV” tweeking houses would be empty!
A4E,Seetec etc etc do not produce anything tangable to help the survival of man, they do not produce food, they only consume it!
Remember that the people who work in these places are only one letter away from being unemployed themselves, be respectful always, they are people, just don’t sit there nodding without getting something out of it that you know will help you, find out everything they can do to help you train,learn or motivate you without just ticking their computer screen boxes that will only serve to trip you up otherwise.
The Flying Dutchman
October 22, 2013 at 5:13 pm
The last JCP sign on day I had a lovely new “Clerk”,aggressive and unresponsive “Why have you not granted access to your UJM account”..for several reasons,but mostly because I was told it was mandatory “I must have access to verify your JS activity”…I have written it down in the little form/book I was given “How do I know that you did not just write that down?” I actually did write it down,who else would of done it? “I cannot verify it with out access!” I have print outs from the UJM website “I will not accept those,how do I know they are real?” Am I mandated to allow you access? “I need access,I cannot verify your JS and am raising a doubt”……I looked for the hidden cameras as it must of been a skit for Monty Python,sadly I was wrong!
ou812
October 22, 2013 at 5:14 pm
You are not the first jobseeker this is happened too… 😦 they will even raise a ‘doubt’ if you refuse access to your email/non-ujm accounts…. and you will be duly sanctioned.
GL24
October 22, 2013 at 5:32 pm
For ou812 and others that have ignorant “advisors”:
If you have registered, then they can see that you have registered by your account details you put on when you registered (they have a PIN number I think, they can then see that you registered).
As is posted many times on this thread, you DO NOT have to give them access….AS PER THEIR OWN RULES.
PDFs are on this thread somewhere which you shoud download and show them.
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE FOREWARNED THAT YOU WILL OR MAY BE SANCTIONED.
You should tell your “advisor” that he or she will now be reported to Head Office and you are seeking legal advice from your EU Member of Parliament and others, for failing to inform you that you may be sanctioned and explain that you did all you were required to do, and not told to do anything else.
If they continue to insist that you HAVE to give access, then, again, show them their OWN rules (which you can print out), and tell them that their own job os on the line because they are intinidating clients with false statements.
That is ILLEGAL.
Tell them that you recorded the conversation (perfectly legal, as it was in a public situation).
epsom
October 22, 2013 at 9:50 pm
http://news.sky.com/story/1164731/star-wars-audition-call-put-out-by-disney
Just got threatend with a sanction for entering my application for Yoda on Universal Jobmatch!!
SCK4444 (@SCK4444)
November 6, 2013 at 6:50 pm
If it was a legitimate application for a job that was advertised, then you should tell your advisor that you are reporting them to the DWP Head Office and taking legal action for the threatenend sanction.
Again, do not let them get away with making up rules on the spot.
Ask them why the threatenend sanction, and tell them that you are recording their answer (legal, as in a public place).
You have applied for a vacancy–which means you are meeting your requirements.
epsom
November 6, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Thanks Epsom
SCK4444 (@SCK4444)
November 6, 2013 at 7:21 pm
I was reading through this and I thought I would mention how terrified I was when the person signing me on said you have to put your record on UJM otherwise when your advisor sees your account they will stop your benefit when the person signing me on prior to this told me as long as I have evidence it was fine, clearly they don’t read their own rules.
Actively Seeking Employment:
82. We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this.
selfproclaimedinsanity
November 13, 2013 at 6:07 am
My adviser said she needs to send appropriate job opportunities that are not publicized but only known by job centre staffs, and in order to do so she needs me to accept her access to my Universal Jobmatch account.
If I refuse it, she may consider I’m not following Labour Market Condition namely neglecting available job application which could lead to sanction.
This looks a new trick of enforcing their access to my Universal Jobmatch account.
Does anyone have any comments or any idea about countermeasures?
May
May
November 19, 2013 at 12:38 pm
There can be no question whatsoever about giving anyone access to UJM against the users will.
No ruse or pretext from Jobcentre personnel is acceptable, because ticking the box granting access is completely voluntary – no one can coerce you under any circumstances to tick the access box.
It would also be a breach of the Data Protection Act for anyone to force you to give access – no matter how plausible or devious their pretext is.
Tobanem
November 19, 2013 at 12:46 pm
For the further attention of “May”
Tell your advisor that she can give you details of any job vacancies she has “found” for you by sending the details through the post to you, or when you next attend the Jobcentre in person.
Tobanem
November 19, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Coercion:
Coercion, as an element of duress, is grounds for seeking the Rescission or cancellation of a contract or deed. When one party to an instrument is forced against his or her will to agree to its terms the document can be declared void by a court.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/coercion
Obi Wan Kenobi
November 19, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Good advice has been given already may, but I would tell your “advisor” that there should be no “secret jobs” that are only available for the staff to see (how ridiculous!) and that you are going to report her to Head Office for breach of DWP rules and regulations, as outlined in their UJ Toolkit.
All jobs on UJ site are availabe on TotalJobs and Indeed.com.
epsom
November 19, 2013 at 4:59 pm
For the even further attention of “May”
You might find the following comment on UJM of interest:
http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/universal-jobmatch-wins-worst-website-award/
Tobanem
November 19, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Hi Tobanem,
Many thanks for your prompt and informative comments.
Yes, I’ll exactly follow your advices, in particular by admiring their excellent award achievement, lol.
May
May
November 19, 2013 at 3:53 pm
BTW, regarding the New Claimant Commitment that is being rolled out to nationwide https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jobseekers-to-start-signing-new-claimant-commitment-today , which seems to be completed by spring ’14, does it apply only New JSA Claimant or also apply to Existing Claimants?
May
December 19, 2013 at 2:03 pm
I had my final work programme appointment today. It didn’t go well, but I expected that. It turns out that the reason I’m still unemployed after 104 weeks, is because it’s all my fault and nothing to do with the WP parking me and not doing anything with me.
There was a disagreement at that stage, and the exit report wasn’t completed. So no doubt they’ll issue the jobcentre with the exit report in my absence and who knows what work of fiction that’ll be when I go to my post WP interview at the jobcentre in 2 weeks time.
I’m interested to know how they’ll explain that it’s all my fault. As according to their own database, I’ve complied and never missed an appointment.
I used to keep myself up to date with all the possible get out clauses in the guidances. But I’ve fallen a bit behind recently and taken a bit of a breather while the going was good. But I think I might have some work to do with finding & understanding the Hit Squad Survival Guide.
I’ve already gone down the Universal Jobshite denial of access route when signing on and I’ve arranged a possible voluntary job that I should start after Christmas. But does anyone have any suggestions or know where I could start to find any & all updated other guidances that I’ll need to deal with the Hit Squad?
Nephew of Anarchy
December 20, 2013 at 10:38 pm
Just been reading these about the new Hit Squad regime. Wow.. It’s Auschwitz 2013.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/exit_reports_hit_squads_and_the
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January 9, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Hey.
This is possibly the wrong page to be asking on but I’m struggling to find the info online. Does anyone have any info about taking support to sign on? My doctor has given me a note saying I suffer with anxiety and therefore need someone with me for jobcentre appointments but my advisor says her manager will not allow this. Is there any truth to this?
:I (@A52155734)
February 10, 2014 at 3:54 pm
I can’t quote you chapter and verse but I am pretty sure that you are allowed to take a friend to support you (I believe this is known as a McKenzie friend).
In your position I would take your friend along. If their presence is refused for no good reason I would then make a formal complaint.
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