Flexible New Deal Scandal:
Flexible New Deal

So you are unemployed, about to make a claim for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) or have made a new claim for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) however not attended an New Jobseeker Interview (NJI) yet. This article explains what you need to know about claiming Jobseekers Allowance.

You wouldn’t have thought that the Jobseekers Agreement (JSAg) would be a crutial element to claiming. The problem is most claimants see it as simply a pathetic agreement which is created just as procedure, whereas the truth is the Jobseekers Agreement is in effect, within a limited capacity, your power to create a law to your specification of how some elements of the Jobseekers Act 1995 (as amended) are implemented and used.

The Jobseekers Agreement (JSAg) has two main uses:- The first is to trap the typical naive Jobseeker in to being required to apply for more widespread jobs than otherwise could be argued as reasonable. As the average jobseeker doesn’t realise the full impact of the Jobseekers Agreement they will go along with whatever the Employment Officer (EO) suggests, they then sign and it becomes a large element of the rules for receiving Jobseekers Allowance. The second reason is for the Jobseekers Agreement to be used for enforcement – or should I say to decide about applying sanctions or refusing later benefit claims.

You may also hear the Jobseekers Agreement (JSAg) being an agreement you negotiate, where you pledge what you will do weekly to find work, what your responsibilities are, your availability and what restrictions you have.

Was it just me? ..Or did I hear the word negotiate mentioned? Read on… View the rest on Flexible New Deal Scandal

I can’t stress enough how great it is to have a job which is permanent and secured

Tonight I wish to raise the major unemployment issue: the System’s  Cherry Pick or Park approach.

Regardless of being in a recession or not, there are two distinct groups of unemployed people that are jobseekers who are on benefits:

1) The Lucky.

The lucky group will only be unemployed for a short period typically between 2 weeks and six months and head back into sustainable long term fulltime employment. This employment is likely to be secured by knowing friends and family, and even keeping in the loop of internal job vacancies from previous employers rather than the overcrowded application processes.

and

2)   The Unlucky.

The unlucky group is destined to remain longterm unemployed with the occassional unsustainable short jobs (Agency, temporary etc.) from anything between several hours a week here and there, and 4-9 months. The unlucky ones are forced to register for agencies who are only usually interested in promoting very casual work – which obviously are unsustainable, inadequate to live on, and without much notice (a phone call on the day to work is common) – and requires either signing off for the period (then signing back on afterwards) or going down to sign on and declare work resulting in no payment and probably a staff member reporting you to the fraud squad.

Wonder why there are so many agency jobs advertised at the Jobcentre?

89% of the recuitment industry in the UK is for temporary jobs.  The Government is supporting this multi-billion pound industry and sticking the economy before people as usual (apart from with the banks of course). Putting it another way; the industry’s combined turnover for permanent jobs and normal non-permanent contract jobs make up only around one tenth (11%) of their annual income.

The rest is made up of short term casual short notice jobs. Do you want to be rung up at 7:30am asking if you can start work at 8am for 4 hours at minimum wage?

Employers prefer someone who has stuck at their job for long periods of time

No employer likes candidates who have worked on several different jobs in one year.

Jobseekers Allowance terminated

The jobcentre has for a while allowed jobseekers to be more choosey for jobs they apply for. Generally, if you aren’t better off working than receiving Jobseekers you don’t have to apply. Agency work on the other hand, is an exception to this rule – if you declined the above offer for example – you would likely receive a sanction for it.

New Deal

New Deal is infamous for “Cherry Picking” and “Parking”…

This has to stop!

It actually is a human right for self-progression etc. it is not right for people to just be parked (like a car?) in the car park of unemployment waiting for petrol. Then someone comes along and hand washes the car. The car needs petrol! It doesn’t matter if the car looks brand new, still needs petrol to get anywhere! (don’t ask lol)

Unemployed? What category have you fallen in to?

I don’t believe that the “clever” ones get the jobs and the “dumb” ones don’t. This is why I called the groups “lucky” and “unlucky”. Luck has a part in all this too. Feel free to leave a comment, if you are unemployed, stick which group you think you fall in to, looking back at past events and the current circumstances.