Re: work search review declaration / declaration coupon

by Non Deficere Tue May 22, 2018 9:57 am

dboy wrote:Went to jobcentre lady who took the form off me was at the front desk, explained I had a appointment with the manager regarding a lost jsa28 and told them it was they who took the form from me.

Could not remember me at first until I reminded them they told me they had lost 7 pounds due to the same illness.

“Oh right the manager is not here today, I am the manager, I will deal with it.”

Went over to the terminal brought my details up and then said with some glee “you failed to attend”

Explained there was no failure that I had informed them the day the before I was due to attend that was the reason I brought in the JSA.

“Oh right,” tap tap tap “I know what happened I put it in the bag. Yes I remember now I put it in the bag. My mistake sorry.”

No idea what “put in the bag” means to be honest but to prevent this from happening in the future have you a Email address so I can scan and Email any forms to prevent this from happening in the future ?

“No you cannot do that for this sorry”

Are you sure I think I can remember reading somewhere you can ?

“No not at all”

Hmm Ok what about my next appointment ?

“We have changed the way we do things now, you will allocated a random work coach each fortnight “

So we wont be using those coupons or seeing the same work coach each fortnight ?

“No”

Well put me on the back foot it was pointless complaining to the manager who messed up and now it seems they are not using the coupons any more

I am not a conspiracy theorist usually but for some reason considering all this has taken place after my work coach properly broke down on the last meeting.

Am I the only person being allocated a random work coach ? Was the expression “in the bag” a insider joke... why have those coupons now seemed to have vanished , was they even a manager or just covering their ass, so left with more questions than answered.

Also the appointment card card now says my personal advisor (not work coach ) with the initials wbr ? (just noticed its a very faded jc025 V2.0 2013)

Seems to me the DWP must have a mountain of old forms, paint ,cubicles etc from days past they are offloading onto this jobcentre wouldn't be surprised to see Jason king on my next appointment.

Very Strange! lol!

However, it all seems sorted.

I think "in the bag" means the postal bag.

The change of wc may be intentional or it could be the time of year, i.e. peak holidays.

by dboy Wed May 23, 2018 12:35 pm

I have decided to write directly to my MP not entirely sure how to word it I will give a brief overview of the chain of events then follow with a few questions. anything to improve this appreciated.

Blah blah

Why did it take from 9:00 till 6:30 in the evening to get a reply leaving me with no money over the weekend.

If they had responded on each occasion they promised to get back in touch with me I could have visited the job centre on Friday and would not have had to wait until Monday.

I had to walk 6 miles in total to get to the job centre and back and was offered no help or assistance even though they were aware I was recovering from diarrhoea and sickness and not eaten for 4 days.

Someone should have the authority to make a direct payment and follow up with the paperwork at a later date.

I hand deliver to prevent the worry of mail getting lost in the post. This was a failure of process and more worrying that it was a manager who took the form from me. it is also worrying to learn that I had been marked as failed to attend, if I had believed my payment was just delayed and not got in touch at the earliest opportunity then my claim would have been closed.

I am unable to afford to send mail signed and very concerned that this may occur again in the future.

I have asked for proof of receipt when I hand deliver but they refuse to provide anything.

I have also asked if I can scan and Email forms , but was told no.

So given this I hope you agree me with me that this is not acceptable and a solution needs to be forthcoming to prevent further instances.

May I ask that you take this case up on my behalf and find out exactly why all this occurred and if any improvements can be made to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

blah blah

by Non Deficere Wed May 23, 2018 12:53 pm

Dboy

If you want to send me a draft to look at, I will be happy to do so.

by Brutus Thu May 24, 2018 5:22 am

As a tentative proposal (if I remember correctly something similar was proposed in the old UM forum) would it feasible to have some sort of fund raising site, where members could donate and admin could use the funds to help needy members?

Just a thought...

by Non Deficere Thu May 24, 2018 1:23 pm

Brutus wrote:
As a tentative proposal (if I remember correctly something similar was proposed in the old UM forum) would it feasible to have some sort of fund raising site, where members could donate and admin could use the funds to help needy members?

Just a thought...

Hi Brutus,

Your proposal is so thoughtful and kind. Smile

I expect many people are concerned about the payment method as well as privacy.

The "Community Unite Union", provides help for members in Hardship amongst other things:

http://www.unitetheunion.org/growing-our-union/communitymembership/communitymembershipbenefits/

I understand communications/payments on-line can be a concern for many people.

by Brutus Fri May 25, 2018 6:07 am

Kindness shine through the darkness of indifference, and we remember a good deed more that any act of cruelty. I do not think anyone should be ashamed of being human but the issue of privacy should be considered, too.

I am not knowledgeable enough but I wander if there is some kind of account (I m not worried about authorities being able to trace it to an individual as long as it is not publicly traceable ) where one can transfer money using an avatar as front.

A sort of public anonymity could be preserved but at the same time it could be used as a direct action tool for reciprocal help.

by dboy Fri May 25, 2018 2:04 pm

While I applaud the idea unfortunately in my opinion it would be very much open to abuse, folk with good intentions are highly susceptible to social engineering techniques. You could never really be sure they were genuine cases without establishing some facts and that is where privacy would become a issue.

A central fund of money at the DWP in cases such as mine where a nominal direct payment could have been made to tide me over until the facts were established and then later clawed back at some point if it was found to be no fault of the administration.

If it was found to be a error on their part as it was with me then it could serve as a nominal compensation and not be clawed back.

It is only money after all, they print enough of it, we are not short of a few bob.

We get financial penalties for making simple mistakes, why should they be any different.

It could mean the difference between life and death, the final straw that breaks the camels back.

The days leading up to the next payment are always the leanest however hard try to budget what little is left over after bills.

by Non Deficere Sun May 27, 2018 4:23 pm

dboy wrote:Anyone know anything about work search review declaration form for jsa. I cant scan it but they also calling it a declaration coupon.

Basically you fill should fill it in and drop it off each fortnight between lets say 12:00 and 12:45. giving us a 45 minuet window.

The form/coupon says you must put your Email address and telephone number NI number on the form and then to take along a form of ID together with your job search evidence. Failure to do so will affect your benefits.

So far I managed to provide my job search evidence verbally and refuse to give them my email and telephone so it is something I have no wish to do.

What would be the best way to approach this I am thinking a letter to the office manager to write back to confirm I do not need to put my contact details ?

No idea why this form has suddenly appeared they could be separating jsa claimants to a fast track system as the numbers diminish and allow the staff to concentrate on UC or it could be a result of me standing up to them on my last encounter.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/work_search_review_declaration_d#comment-83603

I think the practice was stopped as a result of the FOI above. Smile

by dboy Sun May 27, 2018 6:19 pm

Was it Robert or Roberta Bruce who said “if at first you don’t succeed”

I knew it was “in the bag” for Dawn when realised Frank had took an interest . (S)he (Frank) must have a 24/7 hotline to the DWP , so not surprised now why the form had vanished on my last visit.

Just this randomized work coach scheme they have now implemented to replace the forms that vanished overnight to deal with.

I rang up the free phone to double check and they confirmed they cannot tell me who my Work Coach will be.

With over 200 potential work coaches it will be a interesting "Journey" to say the least however long this recent change lasts.

by Non Deficere Mon May 28, 2018 6:48 am

dboy wrote:

Was it Robert or Roberta Bruce who said “if at first you don’t succeed”

I knew it was “in the bag” for Dawn when realised Frank had took an interest . (S)he (Frank) must have a 24/7 hotline to the DWP , so not surprised now why the form had vanished on my last visit.

Just this randomized work coach scheme they have now implemented to replace the forms that vanished overnight to deal with.

I rang up the free phone to double check and they confirmed they cannot tell me who my Work Coach will be.

With over 200 potential work coaches it will be a interesting "Journey" to say the least however long this recent change lasts.

I should imagine that one of the roles of the information officer is to alert DWP if they identify that policy is not being adhered to. The Universal Jobmatch guidance was updated many times due to people raising concerns on the 'What Do They Know Site'.

I think everyone's claim docs will pooled and selected at random due to staffing constraints. The declaration form idea was one way to circumvent one to one interviews. However, it was and is clearly unlawful. Any referrals to the Decision Maker would have been an abuse of process and procedure.

by dboy Tue May 29, 2018 2:16 pm

Non Deficere wrote:
I think everyone's claim docs will pooled and selected at random due to staffing constraints. The declaration form idea was one way to circumvent one to one interviews. However, it was and is clearly unlawful. Any referrals to the Decision Maker would have been an abuse of process and procedure.

Yes staffing issues are to blame just found out they have a lot of staff away on training for Universal credit so they expect this random work coach to last 8-10 weeks and as you say have withdrawn the coupon after complaints/problems.

by ABC Tue May 29, 2018 4:20 pm

dboy wrote:
Yes staffing issues are to blame just found out they have a lot of staff away on training for Universal credit

Slightly related ... my work coach tried to get me to do a group signing in a few weeks time when he'd be away but I reminded him that I had "issues" in groups and so that got dropped pretty sharpish. I was surprised though that group signings were still happening, I thought they were illegal?

by dboy Tue May 29, 2018 4:59 pm

ABC wrote:

Slightly related ... my work coach tried to get me to do a group signing in a few weeks time when he'd be away but I reminded him that I had "issues" in groups and so that got dropped pretty sharpish. I was surprised though that group signings were still happening, I thought they were illegal?

As far as I know they are not mandatory to attend and you can request to see a work coach instead if you are not comfortable in group environments.

We had several of those last year was fun to say the least mainly due to staff shortages was quicker for them, some just ticked our names and let us go, others decided to drone on for 30 minuets about vacancies while some used it as a opportunity to bring in a third part provider to have a chat with us all.

Once you are signed on there is nothing stopping you leaving and generally they get signing out the way first.

by Non Deficere Tue May 29, 2018 6:18 pm

dboy wrote:
ABC wrote:

Slightly related ... my work coach tried to get me to do a group signing in a few weeks time when he'd be away but I reminded him that I had "issues" in groups and so that got dropped pretty sharpish. I was surprised though that group signings were still happening, I thought they were illegal?

As far as I know they are not mandatory to attend and you can request to see a work coach instead if you are not comfortable in group environments.

We had several of those last year was fun to say the least mainly due to staff shortages was quicker for them, some just ticked our names and let us go, others decided to drone on for 30 minuets about vacancies while some used it as a opportunity to bring in a third part provider to have a chat with us all.

Once you are signed on there is nothing stopping you leaving and generally they get signing out the way first.

I concur!

It is okay to take your signature, which verifies you are available and actively seeking work and your circumstances haven't changed.

Checking jobs search must take place in a one-to-one interview unless postal signing applies.

A Jobseeker Direction is required to mandate a claimant to attend a group session, which must be helpful to the individual.

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