Assistant Work Coaches

I got an email from the JCP today. And I noticed the    person's job title was ' Assistant Work Coach I wasn't sure that this role existed.

So my question is are these Assistant Work Roach's  a trainee or on a probationary period? Furthermore, do they have the authority to 'Sanction' or ' Mandate' etc claimant's to activities?

Any advice is welcomed. Also do they display on their JCP badge (Happy to Help) that they are a trainee roach .

They are assistants so they would just ask the work coach above them to apply the sanctions. Sanctions need to go to a desision maker first anyway. That does not delay them stopping your money first though. Ask your work coach what the position entails. That will fill their day up.

Here is the reply to the FOI about the new list of area managers. I will post it on a new topic somewhere.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-partnership-opportunities-with-jobcentre-plus/jobcentre-plus-district-managers-contacts-for-partnership-opportunities

Thanks #Oneman .
Been wondering are they some of the "13,500 work roaches " the DWP wanted to enlist? (23/11/21).

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/article/how-dwp-hired-13500-new-work-coaches-without-meeting-a-single-one

https://dwpjobs-workcoach-microsite.co.uk/role

I asked my work roach what the assistant work coach job was and she said she had never heard of it and could not find any info on it.

Pintel wrote:I got an email from the JCP today. And I noticed the    person's job title was ' Assistant Work Coach I wasn't sure that this role existed.

So my question is are these Assistant Work Roach's  a trainee or on a probationary period? Furthermore, do they have the authority to 'Sanction' or ' Mandate' etc claimant's to activities?

Any advice is welcomed. Also do they display on their JCP badge (Happy to Help) that they are a trainee roach .

Is this of any use Pintel?

https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Department-For-Work-and-Pensions-(dwp)/reviews?fcountry=ALL&fjobtitle=Assistant+Coach

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/grade-structures-civil-service

There is no such title "Assistant Work Coach" where pay is concerned. It's an internal title used in that particular office, likely to obscure that you are being dealt with by an Administrative Officer (AO) or Administrative Assistant (AA) rather than an EO (Executive Officer), which is what most job coaches are.

Thanks for the replys..
Sounds like the usual 'De-skilling' (Dumbing down ) of the role of Work Roach . So they can drop down the pay scale?

Absolut wrote:https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/grade-structures-civil-service

There is no such title "Assistant Work Coach" where pay is concerned. It's an internal title used in that particular office, likely to obscure that you are being dealt with by an Administrative Officer (AO) or Administrative Assistant (AA) rather than an EO (Executive Officer), which is what most job coaches are.

The Assistant Work Coach are paid £9000 less than the work coach job @ approx £28,117 per year.

"Our Job Coach Assistants play a pivotal role in supporting the Job Coaches with the management of caseloads for job seekers, contributing towards meeting the long-term outcomes and aspirations of unemployed people with disabilities.

As a successful candidate you will have:

• Experience of supporting people in their local education, care/community, voluntary or employment setting
• The ability to communicate effectively with a range of individuals
• Experience of recording and reporting information
• The ability to prioritise and manage your own workload."



"How much does a Assistant Work Coach at Jobcentre Plus make?
Assistant Work Coach salaries at Jobcentre Plus can range from £19,246-£20,863. This estimate is based upon 1 Jobcentre Plus Assistant Work Coach salary report(s) provided by employees or estimated based upon statistical methods. See all Assistant Work Coach salaries to learn how this stacks up in the market."

Your question Pintel was

do they have the authority to 'Sanction' or ' Mandate' etc claimant's to activities

The DWP is a top down hierarchy and the assistant work coach is at the bottom of the pile where you are viewed as being even lower than that. Where Sanctions are concerned I think they changed it to a work coach having to go through their manager first before it's implemented. As for "mandate" there may be "authority", such as the sort they gave to Work Programme Providers, but the assistant is not likely to have autonomous power to do anything at all without the work coach approving it.

I have to agree. I can't imagine ever getting into a position or appointment where an assistant is in charge.

oneman wrote:I have to agree. I can't imagine ever getting into a position or appointment where an assistant is in charge.

I can't imagine any court accepting the power of the Secretary of State being even further devolved down onto the head of the person assisting the work coach either. Even the WPP had to refer a sanction to the DWP. The same would be true of an assistant work coach as they are effectively in the same position as the WPP was? It has to go up the chain of command.

Imposing a sanction - referrals and decisions
The quality of decision-making

99.Work coaches decide whether to refer someone for a sanction, then an independent decision-maker considers whether to impose one. The Minister told us “there is a very clear process of quality assurance to make sure that we are getting these decisions right”, which were explained further in his letter of 4 September.218 But throughout our inquiry we heard examples of many decisions that were at best ill-informed, and, at worst, wholly inappropriate. This included personal testimonies from Jen Fidai and Luke O’Donnell, as well as anecdotal evidence from third party stakeholders such as Gingerbread, Crisis and CPAG

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/955/95509.htm

Relevant, private programme staff are at a similar pay grade as a DWP executive officer.  

I think a 'work coach assistant' is an admin officer pay grade.  The old signing clerk/current work search checker?

DWP Response

"Following a search of our paper and electronic records, we have established that there is no
recorded information that includes Assistant work coaches allocating Jobseeker’s Directions
to claimants or imposing any sanction penalties upon them. "




So I gather that this is a 'No' of Assistant Work Roach's , being able to apply sanctions. Even thou they may have the opportunity to apply these . Still nice to hear it from the hrses mouth.

Our Ref: FOI2022/10867




https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/831726/response/1987188/attach/html/3/Response%2010867%202.pdf.html

Hi Pintel

Not sure!?. Really not sure???
Took the second work roach to court for nonfeasance to act on my first work roaches, ignorance and failure to follow legistration.
He got sacked for telling me that he had it on good authority that the covid jab. did not deteriorate over time/ months and I did not need a booster jab. So had to come into JCP for intervieve. Also that I needed to complete and 're engage my work programme Appointment that they had cancled/ sacked me from.That was a bit embarrassing for them in court
Real time transcript recordings are great in court!!!
I have had no contact from the work programme since October  or the job centre for nearly 3 months now.
Just how I like it.
Somebody shouted out "hot potato'" last time I walked into the job centre and nobody wants to deal with me since I got that dick head sacked as well. Recordings are fantastic! !!!
One mention of I'm recording and your straight out of the door.
Please do remember to make a point of showing them your job search evidence on the way out.
Mine is stencils on my arse but still valid.

Not sure why I get so much lack of attention from them? I'm a pussy cat really. ( shit every where and don't give a fuck)

Kind regards.

Pintel wrote:
DWP Response

"Following a search of our paper and electronic records, we have established that there is no
recorded information that includes Assistant work coaches allocating Jobseeker’s Directions
to claimants or imposing any sanction penalties upon them. "



So I gather that this is a 'No' of Assistant Work Roach's , being able to apply sanctions. Even thou they may have the opportunity to apply these . Still nice to hear it from the hrses mouth.

Our Ref: FOI2022/10867

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/831726/response/1987188/attach/html/3/Response%2010867%202.pdf.html

Further clarification:

Work coaches decide whether to refer someone for a sanction, then an independent decision-maker considers whether to impose one.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/955/95509.htm

Here's a FOI about Assistant Work Roach's .
Here's an interesting point:

Assistant work Roach's = 10x days training.

Work Roach = 20x day's training/facilitated learning 🤨. plus a minimum of 10 days’ workplace consolidation. (30x days total)

You have to wonder how much of this 'facilitated' learning is ', and ' parties at the JCP .🤨






3.  How much training AWC's are required to undertake, particularly in contrast with a
'full' Work Coach.

The training provided for a new entrant UC Assisted Service Coach is 10 days of facilitated
learning. For comparison, the training provided for a full new entrant Work Coach is 20 days
of facilitated learning, plus a minimum of 10 days’ workplace consolidation.


https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/842347/response/2000235/attach/html/3/DG%20Response%2018335.pdf.html

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/842347/response/2000235/attach/html/4/Annex%20WC%2018335.pdf.html

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/assistant_work_coach_role_and_re#incoming-2000235

Does assistant work coach mean min wage and zero hour contract. Good grief hardly have to have a degree to do the work coach job.
All they do is pretend to be interested in your circumstances and sign post you to someone nearly as useless or sanction you.
Prove me wrong ?

Don't forget they come fully equipped with nice shiny security pass and large coffee cup permanently stuck to them. Oh wait, my apologies, I'm thinking of the other specialist crowd, aka. Provider companies. The ones who know the secret economic answer to force any employers to hire people from the roach shop and once done. Will remain with them working for longer.

Their only interest is to farm everyone out to any of their subcontractor cat sat on the mat specific tailored help agencies. Next stop....warehouse city and back to roach ville.

Pintel wrote:Here's a FOI about Assistant Work Roach's .
Here's an interesting point:

Assistant work Roach's = 10x days training.

Work Roach = 20x day's training/facilitated learning 🤨. plus a minimum of 10 days’ workplace consolidation. (30x days total)

You have to wonder how much of this 'facilitated' learning is ', and ' parties at the JCP .🤨






3.  How much training AWC's are required to undertake, particularly in contrast with a
'full' Work Coach.

The training provided for a new entrant UC Assisted Service Coach is 10 days of facilitated
learning. For comparison, the training provided for a full new entrant Work Coach is 20 days
of facilitated learning, plus a minimum of 10 days’ workplace consolidation.


https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/842347/response/2000235/attach/html/3/DG%20Response%2018335.pdf.html

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/842347/response/2000235/attach/html/4/Annex%20WC%2018335.pdf.html

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/assistant_work_coach_role_and_re#incoming-2000235

"That should confirm to most what a P taking scam this all is. So glad my tax and Ni is no longer funding this circus. It's a disgrace."