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Loading ...It is official: jobseekers have no rights. Jobcentre Plus doesn’t follow the law. There is no punishment against the Department for Work and Pensions for breaking the law or for human rights violations. Claiming benefits has become more difficult with many Benefit Delivery Centres using lie detectors which work by picking up anxiety etc. in the voice, the norm once been on hold for 20+ minutes, resulting in some people being unable to claim… and to top it off now New Deal Scandal has received numerous reports of jobseekers being removed from the Jobcentre without any legal justification and incriminated.
The Jobcentre
Most Jobcentres are set up with what seems like one camera per each square meter of the building. Security doesn’t stop there – they also have between 2-5 security guards on patrol – typically standing around bored out of their heads curious of what a proper job would be like while grateful they don’t have to sign on – and requesting signing on books, to give them a task to do! While waiting to sign labour market declarations (or simply “sign on”) they generally intimidate jobseekers.
Why so much security?
Jobcentres typically have a ratio of 3 staff to 1 security guard. Whereas I understand that due to their silly decisions and the fact that everything needs to be done over the phone waiting between 20-40 minutes, can get people upset, especially when the jobseekers have children and due to the jobcentres mistake they have not got the money they are entitled to and have to wait several days to get the money through (an example of a case I witnessed). Even so, if the security are there for the staffs safety – why so many security guards?
The Answer…
The latest case reported, Comrade Attacked by Job Centre Security and Ipswich Unemployed Action Member Attacked by Security Guards at the Ipswich Jobcentre Plus Office, involves the misuse of the security. A jobseeker disagreed with a member of staff and requested for someone else to look at the decision, the staff member stormed off without warning, called security and left.
Not just one, not two, but three security guards surrounded the jobseeker and called the police claiming the person was trespassing. This was after Jobcentre Plus gave the jobseeker an appointment. I personally don’t think trespassing is even possible as the Jobcentre Plus offices all over the country are public buildings. It is unknown what the decision was about however there is no independent regulator and the only way forward with a bad decision is to ask for a second opinion – better done while you are there rather than via a Decision Maker months down the line.
Surely, (taking the side of the Jobcentre in this scenario example) if there were cause for removal, they only required one member of security (all security guards have to be SIA licensed and therefore are trained) to ask the jobseeker to leave the building and not to hold the jobseeker captive until the police arrived.
Conclusion
The conclusion is, jobseekers have no rights. If an employment officer is awkward and potentially not following the law and procedure as they should do – it is tough – the jobseeker isn’t allowed to disagree with the decision. This is surely a Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Expression Human Rights violation.
Of course, not all jobseekers will be in the right; but surely they are entitled to a second opinion from time to time.
Wouldn’t the situation be better if the Jobcentre staff member allowed the jobseeker to speak to another member of staff for a few minutes that would simply backup the first decision without reconsidering? I am sure most jobseekers would accept it and leave. All about Customer Service and the Jobcentre has no idea.
I find it hard to believe how anyone would wish to set up camp at the Jobcentre – my personal experiences were.. go straight in, sign on or attend interview, then straight out, a totally depressing place, avoid hanging around in there.
seatless gripes
a welcome and timely article. for my part, i would like to make a formal observation regarding the absence of chairs around the public telephone points at hackney jobcentre, mare street, london e8. this building formerly had four telephones for public use, but this number was doubled when the jobcentre was refurbished and combined with the dwp income support office. although the provision is still inadequate, the new booths were designed with shelves at a level suitable for seated persons and chairs were provided. when it became apparent that the queue for telephones was unbearably long, the manager, being a caring sort of chappy, decided to remove the chairs in order to discourage claimants from making over-long comfortable telephone complaints to his dear department – the distressing result is that the shelves are far too low and one must bend over at great discomfort when dialling or writing. however, i do not worry myself unduly on account of this unfortunate situation as i am confident that the jobcentre would never implement a policy which would be in breach of health and safety regulations.
job protectionism
at hackney jobcentre, there are computerized jobpoints on both the ground and first floor – the jobpoints on the ground floor being permanently over-subscribed, whilst those on the first floor are largely unused. sadly, one is not permitted to use the jobpoints on the first floor unless deemed a ‘new deal claimant’ and zealous security guards keenly bar access to the first floor to foil any improper jobsearching. in fact, no matter the length of the queues for jobpoints on the ground floor, job-security-guards will threaten ejection by police if one does not desist from such unauthorized behaviour. i have even had the experience of a security guard religiously and repeatedly cancelling the screen every time i attempted to make a search on it, whilst another guard insulted me on the grounds of my inability to follow instructions and my despicable jobless status – the second character fault being a direct consequence of the first, in his considered opinion. the specialist insulter jobguard proceeded to puff himself up and promote himself as a role-model employee who would never question any order given him, or its validity. i have to admit that i was quite impressed, and presume that he would have tackled any armed job-bank raider if the need had ever arisen – regardless of any personal risk to life and limb. in retrospect, i must eternally thank him from saving me from myself and from perpetrating any foolhardy, delinquent acts of which i would later have felt deeply ashamed.
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totally agree with the article. i was unemployed during thatchers 80s and luckily have been working mostly since but was made redundant 6 months ago. in my job centre stockton on tees i find the dole clerks are more interested in chatting up whichever security guard they fancy rather than doing their job and advising jobseekers the security guards act like they are on duty outside a nightclub.john
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Some advisors at my job centre (Leytonstone, London) have told me that they will not put me through any application process due to my dyslexia and impaired vision, just goes to show that they dont want to help anyone other than themselves and that people in a government based line of work do discriminate.
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it might be worth seeing the disability employment adviser at the job centre,that should keep you off new deal for a while,it is important as you have done to disclose a disability.
not everyone has a visible disability and those on the front line job centre roles appear untrained and indifferent to those needs,its bad enough for a healthy normal person to deal with, let alone a person thats under disability entitlements.they have to tread carefully in these situations.
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Well i’ve already made an official complaint to the job centre and the dissibility and equal rights commission, as well as writing a letter to local MP. I understand that some people might find it difficult to recognise a disibility like Dyslexia as well as handle it, but i read somewhere —-”Job Centre Plus vacancy taking procedures and policies are designed to ensure that all vacancies advertised comply with the disibility discriminations act” So if they enforce employers to abide by this law then surely they have to aswell. I just think its wrong that someone as willing to work as i am, is suddenly put down and discriminated against. im sure aswel that im not the only one they are doing this to
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what annoys me as far as job centres are concerned is as suggested they state laws/policies/standards’ and are the first to break laws’ and and bend rules (massively) ,that as far as i have experienced an understatement.certainly there is some very nasty individuals in these places.much like the chief constable who called speeding motorists “petrol heads” and was caught speeding himself.
certainly there is a case to answer,i have been very dubious of these “standards” and statements’ and as usual with job centres it down to cost thats the problem and the will to change.
the dwp are good about putting out worded statements’ but the reality is somewhat different on the ground.
i agree they should be doing more to promote positive solutions to disabled people and heavily marketing them,society as a whole is to shoulder responsibility,how many disabled people have appeared on programs like the apprentice for example?.
unfortunately (the job centre) from what i have seen, appear to be hell bent on continually “changing the rules” i have lost count to the times i have heard the “rules have changed”.it appears the priority focus is on sanctions’ even for someone who forgets or makes an honest mistake now the reality is loss of benefits’ at an instant.
this policy is an utter disgrace,i dont know why their not called sanctions’ plus instead.they cannot provide any positive solutions a headless snake of an organisation behind the scenes.
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