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Loading ...You may have heard about assaults on Jobcentre Plus staff in the news, however, these figures are largely distorted. They refer to Incident Cases and not solely due to physical assault – which we will explain later.
Six months ago Jobcentre Plus boasted over 1,600 security guards costing the taxpayer over £40 million a year. I am sure this amount will be on the increase as new claimants are increasing.
This article will focus on: a) are all these security guards necessary? and b) how many actual assaults were there?
Security
There are over 1,600 security guards working at Jobcentre Plus offices all over the country costing taxpayers over £40 million per year.
Jobcentre Plus staffing
There are approximately 65,940 staff (not all Jobcentre Plus frontline staff – figure changes in different sources so only an estimate) which makes 1 security guard to 40 staff – or as an estimate to a local jobcentre (if they are all distributed the same) all the staff in face-2-face contact, 1 security guard to about 5 frontline staff.
In the 2007/08 financial year staffing at Jobcentre Plus cost the taxpayer £1.8 billion.
Assaults
There is around one assault per day at the Jobcentre Plus network. Assaults are not good however one a day on a national scale isn’t too bad (an assault is a rather mild attack, more serious violence doesn’t fall under this terminology) and concerns are raised when the statistics state there are 4 security guards to one assault.
Of course, look at it from another angle, employing 1,600 security guards and the problems of assaults are still an issue – something here isn’t right.
Outstanding issues
- Poor customer service, majority of frontline staff are disrespective and some even racist – the first problem to eliminating assaults is to give jobseekers more respect. I have personally experienced being talked down to, accused of false statements and accusations including on the same lines as benefit fraud and been forced to apply for unsuitable jobs (becomes a Jobseeker Direction) I had no chance of being able to get. I have also experienced some Jobseekers being subject to verbal and racist attacks.
- Disadvantaged position – another issue is the pressures stuck on the Jobseeker. First, s/he is filmed on up to 100 or so cameras, one camera at each square meter (or seems like it) – this doesn’t bother some people and some may not even notice but to others it becomes very uncomfortable. Secondly, the jobseeker has to tolerate security guards continuously walking around, individually one by one looking at every Jobseeker and sometimes trying to do the mind reading thing. If the person is confident there is no reaction, if the person isn’t that confident they will look “suspicious” when breaking the eye-2-eye contact – this then adds them to the queue of those requiring to have security “keep an eye” on them.
- Use the phone! and “We can’t do that here” – Even though the Jobcentre has staff who are not signing people on or New Deal Advisers, they refuse to assist you with anything asking you to ring the BDC. I have personally been told “we are unable to do that here” even though my New Deal adviser has done it before therefore possible.
- A quick shit service – it is not about quality but quantity. To the best of my experiences and what I have read elsewhere, even though stated in glossy guidance booklets, typically no one will help you write a CV they will just give you a big book to read through, you are not allowed to change your Jobseekers Agreement when you sign on (only at interviews and New Deal appointments), it is difficult to arrange an appointment with your “Personal Adviser” and rather difficult to get in contact with them too, and appointments are strictly for one purpose, should you have enough time left in your time slot security will be requested to eject you from the premises or police be called, if you refuse to leave requesting anything different to that initial purpose.
- Security obstructing services to Jobseekers without valid reason – Jobseekers are sometimes prevented from accessing services:- whether that is stopping someone attending an interview or appointment with the only purpose of making you late getting your claim terminated, preventing you using Jobpoints (a requirement to receive JSA as stated in the Jobseeker Agreement) and especially now when Jobcentres are open later, the doors are locked for security, thus the Jobseekers have to wait for security to come and open them (or walk away thinking the place is closed, opening times not updated) thus making the Jobseeker late or resulting in them not attending the appointment or interview.
- 6 month sanctions – Jobseekers are constantly reminded about receiving 26 week sanctions even when there are limits imposed such as New Deal where first offence can only be for 2 weeks.
- Overcrowding and lateness – An increasing problem around the country is people having to stand waiting to sign on. If you are a few minutes late you will have problems, but they can make you wait 50 minutes to be seen without even an apology (personally experienced this – I was worried I came down the wrong week; no fun when having to stand up!)
- Staff internal motives - Talk out of line? Prepare to be summoned by a security guard giving you the unrealistic timescales of 1 minute to vacate the building before they threaten to call the police. If you say something they don’t want to hear then don’t be surprised if the police are called. They consider themselves gods – they will not allow a second opinion from another member of staff regardless of rank – they will likely get upset and flag security to call the police – barely a crime is it?
I was surprised when hearing the news of an assault happening every day – not shocked – but it is lower than I anticipated. Let me state what all Jobseekers have to put up with:
- Retarded personalities – sarcasm, allegations, being talked down to, racism, being criticised over everything (“Why are you late?”, “I had to wait ages at the front and then I had to wait 5 minutes to be called over”,”Yeah, I know staff shortage today so don’t worry about it. Just make sure you are on time in the future” – can they not understand that some people would take offence to it?)
- Bullying and intimidation – Staff and security constantly keeping tabs on people and harrassment, numerous security cameras all over the place
- Everything is done by phone – Jobcentre Plus is investing heavily in customer service including calling people “customers” and renaming various job titles, but you can’t talk to anyone face-2-face anymore. All appointments and interviews are done over the phone or at another interview – if not automatically done by BDC. You can’t have a conversation longer than 2 minutes without an interview.
- Services varies extremely from that of what is advertised - Jobcentre is no longer about welfare payment service, it also acts as a recruitment agency and delivers services such as New Deal to claimants.
Assaults are bad – but I feel they are somewhat justified. They are not unprovoked attacks.
Security guards actually makes the situation worse: a) staff feel more secure working and know they can mistreat claimants more knowing there is reinforcements should they come unstuck b) they intimidate jobseekers c) jobseekers know about them dispatching police, so if a problem arises, the jobseeker will naturally step up on the defensive as security will be closing in, police will be called increasing the probability of police arresting them which normally means losing rights to benefits – and also intimidation.
Assaults in Wales
In Wales there were 2,400 incidents in three years. 2,110 incidents were classified as “verbal abuse“ and 41 incidents of “physical abuse“.
What is an incident?
We will describe what the DWP sees as “physical abuse” (not all are actually assaults) and “verbal abuse“. Not all “physical abuse” relates to someone being attacked – these statistics are wrongly distorted.
Physical Abuse
Includes (but is not limited to):
- Small items thrown (but missed)
- Large items thrown (but missed)
- Spitting (but missed)
- Thumping the security screen
- Hitting and kicking furniture, slamming doors (without damage)
- Punch, headbutt, slap, or kick ( attempts (that misses) )
- Small items thrown which hits (small items = pens, paper; any impact doesn’t need to be excessively violent)
- Large items thrown which hits (furniture, chairs etc.)
- Spitting
- Struck by customer (touching, holding, punches, kicking, slapping, headbutting)
- Struck with weapon owned by customer (or presumed to be; I think it means one brought into Jobcentre)
- Struck with weapon found on premises
- Hitting and kicking furniture, slamming doors (with damage)
What I have placed in bold is what I would say constitutes “physical abuse“, that in italic that is an attempt to. I don’t see how and why they would allow a door being slammed to be mixed in with the “assaults”.
Sadly, this will always become a tickbox exercise…
- Someone talks in an argument and accidently some (minute amount) saliva travels through the air and hits the staff member. This is disgusting but wasn’t deliberate and shouldnt be categorised as spitting.
- Someone gets upset and throws a pen down, which bounces off the table and touches the staff members arm. Customer apologises, there was no intent of harming anyone by doing so, but gets reported as throwing a small item.
- Someone gets told they have been given a 6 month sanction but didnt receive acknowledgement in the post, goes to sign on and gets told a sanction exists. The customer kicks the chair with frustration. Causes no damage just causes some attention. is reported for “physical abuse”.
Verbal Abuse
Includes (but is not limited to):
- Face-2-face “verbal abuse”
- Telephone “verbal abuse”
- Abusive written correspondence (yeah I know…)
- “Threats” (face-2-face or via phone)
“verbal abuse” has no definition – it can be presumed to mean unfriendly, unpolite, rude or offensive.
“threats” has a wide ranging and rather strange definition which includes:
- Waving objects around that isn’t aimed at you (therefore a YoYo could be defined as threatening)
- Harassment (including sexual harassment and racial harassment)
- Intimidation
- Saying “don’t send anyone near my house” (a quote, how pathetic)
- Threats to be followed or possibility of an attack
As there is no definition, they could be counting every moaning or rude customer as “verbal abuse” which isn’t right, my personal definition is threatening, swearing or otherwise saying something which brings fears to personal safety or of someone you know, causes distress or intimidates.
Misc Stats
There are around 14 jobseekers to 1 member of fulltime staff, which equates to 2 days a month for each Jobseeker. This typically is around 20 minutes a month for those signing on and one hour and a half a month for those with a Personal Adviser.
In 2007/08, Jobcentre Plus paid out £1.2 million in compensation claims.
Summary of links contained in above New Deal Scandal post
Related posts
- Information Commissioner: Jobcentre Plus sending sensitive information to Royal Mail is OK
- New Deal Scandal & Welfare Reform: network snippet
- New Deal Scandal & Welfare Reform: network snippet
- Benefit Busters: Episode 2 Preview
- Government keeps Ipswich Detention Centre open
- A4e Hull Benefit Busters Episode 2: now on 4oD
A4e has managed to suppress a website that was critical of it. They went to all the trouble of writing to the web hosts and claiming it was defamatory. They really don’t like criticism! But Watching A4e has been reborn at watchinga4e.blogspot.com
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Your site was shut down?!
Blimey. I hope you had a backup of the content. I had recently done the same for this site in case DWP tries to have it taken down.
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Yes, it was shut down. But they left the site builder open for me, and I was able to copy and paste as much of the content over as I wanted. I wonder if they tried to have Radio 5 Live, the Observer and Channel 4 News shut down as well!
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Thats lucky
a4e are no match for the press hence them not doing anything about it.
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I have been passing the word, to the other ex a4e’s. they are all saying its wrong. who will pass it onto others..
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Exactly, all “physical abuse” are presumed to be assaults.
Slamming a door, kicking furniture, spitting on the floor (disgusting) and knocking on the window… the first two being potential criminal damage, are not assaults and no staff were harmed by such actions.
The “verbal abuse” can be anything, any criticism or complaining about Jobcentre can be under this heading. Even if you hung up the phone on them (whether deliberate, accidental or telephone fault) this comes under “verbal abuse” even though you haven’t “verbally” done anything.
DWP employees: grow a backbone!
As for a4e shutting down watching a4e, it has not stopped the news against them. I will actually post about this now I have a spare few seconds.
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# Overcrowding and lateness – An increasing problem around the country is people having to stand waiting to sign on. If you are a few minutes late you will have problems, but they can make you wait 50 minutes to be seen without even an apology (personally experienced this – I was worried I came down the wrong week; no fun when having to stand up!)
I completely know what you mean (and about retarded personalities). For my first New Deal meeting I arrived ten minutes early,but was not seen until about 45 minutes after my appointment time, and then was repeatedly asked to ensure I arrived ten minutes early for each appointment.
Almost immediately after, my advisor went on holiday, so if I had a problem at the place they sent me, no alternative person was arranged for me to ring in my Jailer (sorry, ‘Advisor)’s absence.
I am wholly unsuprised about the assault figures. Actually, I’m suprised there haven’t been more considering the degrading way people are treated by the dole.
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Yes – I would like to remind everyone about the fact that the assault figures and “physical abuse” (which can include slamming doors, spitting (not at someone) and knocking on windows – no where near a person let alone harming one) are used interchangably. For argument sake, discarding these other incidents under the “physical abuse” category, one assault a day I think is (like you said) not so surprising.
I would advise people to arrive 5 minutes early… any earlier you are (where I am anyway) told to stand up at the front or alternatively told to leave and come back (one guy was early by 13 minutes, and was told to leave the building, if you are early by 5 minutes (or the pool of 12 seats or so are full) you aren’t allowed to go down to sign on). It was so bad the last time I came to sign on. It was difficult getting through the doors. Even thoguh they have 2 members of staff dedicated to the “front desk” working fulltime all day… one customer per a 5-10 minutes time slot was served (thats between them both and most enquiries are a brief 2 minutes maximum conversation telling them to either wait and continue standing or ring up the BDC by the phones; they even told one customer (to ease overcrowding a slight bit) that they couldn’t ring the required number from the Jobcentre, which I know is untrue because I had previously been made to ring it, and told him to try at home (or it could be a race thing, but I will stick to the previous reason in fairness).
They also took several minutes to hand out a couple of signing on books… you would have thought that no one was working on the front desk! Yes, instead of them taking it in turns to do one job of handing out the signing on books (which is largely done by security anyway) they both at the same time did this task while wandering around buying time. It is like, they speak to a customer, then need a rest… they are human too! They spent more time down the opposite end of the building then where they are paid to work. Yes, I am unemployed and could do a better job.
Word of advice for those attending a New Jobseeker Interview the appointment time they give you on the phone is always 20 minutes before your actual appointment time. This is really cheeky as when you complain you have been waiting say 35 minutes for your appointment, you have only been waiting 5 minutes officially to them… which is well in their targets, with 10 minutes being early as you were told. A rather stupid DWP employee at the BDC got confused telling me two times then it came out, their dreadful system. Unless the staff are keen and without a customer (I say keen as after waiting so long they aren’t actually doing any work while you wait) where they might call you over early; You are almost guaranteed a long unnecessary wait of at least 20 minutes if you are on time.
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Do not let any little scummy civil servant talk down to you. you are better than them much better.
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Coz you’re UNEMPLOYED …oh dear!
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agree with everything !! fact fact fact !
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well said matey
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my advisor is a lovely young lady named danielle who
treats me with nothing but courtesy and respect so
please dont tar them all with the same feather!
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I agree with the above, although the majority of staff are reasonable people, there is a minority who treat Jobseekers like *hit.
I know, i worked for JCP. Seen it happen often and the behavioue is condoned by some managers.
It`s all a numbers game. Get them in, get them out. Tick all the boxes and meet targets. Staff are demotivated and demoralised.
I quit as a result.
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there is a nda and an ea who are both ***holes the nda cant even see someone at the correct appointment time and as for the ea he seems to think that you are something he trod on that a dog owner didnt clean up
Tell me big al why would an ea suggest to a (at that time) that a 48 year old male should apply for a vacancy working in a PERFUME SHOP YES YOU READ RIGHT A PERFUME SHOP was he taking the wee wee or what just as well iam a tolerant person as anyone else would have most likely belted him one he also wanted me to apply for jobs in Dundee
in the same week Dundee had been announced in the media tv and papers as the second biggest unemployment blackspot in scotland the job he wanted me to do was a car park attendent which involved a lot of walking i have arthritis and job seekers agreement states sedentry work only due to arthritis walking about as a car park atendent isnt as far as am concerned sendentry work as my knee swells up if i do to much walking to the point i cant put any weight on it and usually means resting it for anything up to two weeks but his plan backfired on him anyway as the hours were 3pm till 11pm and there were no buses or trains after 11pm back to cupar as i refused to use my car as i told him the insurance does not cover travel to and from permanent place of work (it does actually but i wasnt going to tell him that.
nda threatened six months benefit sanctions for refusing to do six months nd placement have since found out that he couldnt do this as it has to be two then four then 26 weeks not straight into 26 weeks he also told me i would still have to do nd for 26 weeks once benefit sanction period had expired is this true?
i phoned him about a job i was thinking of applying for it was 15 hours a week and nda told me i would still have to do new deal placement surely he was wrong about this as i would have signed off if i had got the job and as my nda he should have encouraged me to apply for it funnily enough at my next interview he asked me if i had applied for it and i said no that he had put me off it because of still having to do new deal but surely even though it was 15 hours i still wouldnt have had to do new deal?
any help big al much appreciated
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I have to agree with almost all of it.
Like one of the comments, it is unfair to suggest they are all the same, but I am sure many are, and many take all the crap they DO get from job seekers (we know they exist) and just tarnish everyone as the same.
The waiting times are crazy, for a few minutes of them checking my form, I usually wait 4x longer after i’ve sat down. Since I can see all the advisers, I can see how long many of them are there sat with no one, and even the one that calls me, usually sitting there twiddling their thumbs. Although I don’t really know what they are doing when they have no one at their desks.
I’ve hardly seen the same person twice, isn’t that normal? I hear of some people talking to the same each time… one that I saw was slightly tech savvy which helps with what I am looking for, but I’ve never seen him again since…
I have also been told to leave by security btw… because I turned up on a bike! I’ve always used it before, but on this day of my back to work session, I was asked to “leave it outside”, and when I countered his statement (what do I lock it too?) he just walked off and ignored me!!
£40 Million, £1.8 Billion *JUST* on staffing?
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Yes, however, the £1.8 billion figure is from 2 financial years ago! Since then as far as I am aware they recruited a lot more staff to deal with the increasing numbers of unemployed.
Figures for this financial year wont be disclosed until later years; even though the year is far from over, no projected figures are disclosed.
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