Know Your Enemy

When I was slaving away doing jobsearch the other day, up popped a vacancy for a Restart advisor. No, I didn't go turncoat and apply. Instead, I had a bit of a search on Indeed for other Restart Advisor jobs.

The desirable qualities/background for wannabes all emphasise the ability to achieve targets. They like people experienced in "coaching". They also have a preference for people with customer/sales experience. We all know why. People who are experienced in bending people to their will and don't care how it's done, as long as the all important targets are met make natural born Restart advisors.

So just in case anyone has had a bang to the head and is tempted to think they can reason with an advisor, remember they weren't recruited to be reasonable. They were recruited because they know how to get their way and close a deal.

This is what must really lift the spirits of the many unfortunate souls curently working for zero £. Its so bloody patronising its off the scale.


You can imagine a Chrismas add campaign something like in the link below being shown in roach shops, just as you enter the door.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK9wrfMoP-Y&ab_channel=reed.co.uk
On the way out, here's a leaflet for some partime zero hour xmas shelf stacking.

''They were recruited because they know how to get their way and close a deal.''
I know what you mean, but that's not always worked out too well for

I think I said this before, but I'm not sure. But some of the advisors I saw seemed to fit in will with mobile phone shops and I don't mean repair shops - but the likes of 3, Vodafone, etc.

I'd have been half tempted to waste their time and submit multiple applications with made up details.

People who are experienced in bending people to their will and don't care how it's done

Bit of an odd way to run to run an employment agency.

It certainly is, Absolut.

I'm still struggling to fathom how people with backgrounds in travel and hospitality type sectors make good advisors, brimming with empathy for their unemployed charges.

A lot of mental health trusts now employ employment support workers to get people with serious mental illnesses back into work. The job adverts for these roles were a bit better, requiring candidates to have a higher level of training and experience in support work. How long before our provider friends get their fingers in this pie?

Its always interesting to see the types of people that hr, select to work as Restart-Advisor's? 🤪.
You'd think they would be 'head hunting' from the Used car sector, or Livestock Farmer's . While there's plenty of other occupations. That require flexible morality and a lack of human compassion, but let's not go there.

Nevertheless, there is a high turnover rate of staff. From what I have read, due to Stress from unrealistic expectations/targets to achieve. How long before these providers, lower the entry level bar. When they have staffing level shortages?

Also #Jobberpw, let's not for get Reed/Reed in Partnership. Is also one of the major player' in Restart scheme , so more fingers in the pie.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OK9wrfMoP-Y&ab_channel=reed.co.uk

Given the state of our world beating economy and the problems firms are having recruiting staff, I can't help but wonder if providers have been forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel for staff.

Now more than ever the old chestnut .
"You can't get the Staff" adaje comes to my mind ....

You have to wonder if they will try to fill inn the gaps with ️computers/AI? It shouldn't be too hard. Just record "a person moaning about you not trying hard enough" . And a spam bot program that sends your CV off to all and sundry. And hey presto, solved your staffing  shortage & save money on wages. Just need a way for computers to pay income tax????

Let's be fair. I wouldn't employ any of these advisors for a mobile phone shop; they are more suited for door-to-door sales where the door gets slammed across their ugly faces.
The attitude of these advisors stinks they come across they condescending assholes.

They are turn-over bullies. Even when your working 12 hours a week, they will still pressure you into a full-time role by taking complete nonsense trash talk.
My last advisor, when far beyond, said you need to think ahead. Do 40 to 50 hours to save up for a house. Car told him, Listen shit, ain't working my fat ass off till I hit the 4k and ain't paying NI insurance, council tax, pension pot, and travel cost, why would I quit my local job earning £130 a week and take on a full-time 35 hours, £360 a week in wage minus £60 train fares, £30 food, £20 a week in council tax, and NI insurance £10 left with about £220-£230 for some shitty working conditions job in Amazon, miles away only £100 better off they proceed to say no taxes to pay for full-time roles £360 full wages, we provide you with travel and food trying to bride me accepting it must be desperate times for this advisor wanting his job outcome payout he proceed to threaten me.
I will be sanctioned for 12 months once your in employment you cannot be sanctioned advisor talking nonse yet again. Told him no, my job can lead to full-time employment.

The next appointment, the advisor asked where are you studying, not providing anything to you until I finished my studies in the next 4 weeks. The advisor proceeded to give me a nasty look.
When are you doing overtime? I cannot provide this; I'm not the manager.
Any overtime confirmed? once again I'm not the manager.
Last question: what days and hours do you work? My response is random. OK. On your way bye bye whole conversation lasted barely 2 minutes. 

Anyone done this, being serious, anyone knows what happens now.
I used GDPR to delete all my personal information from their stupid portal, and they cancelled all my future appointments, probably because I was the most difficult participant they ever had.
I think they had completely enough; they are not getting a sale out of me; they must have tried and tried for months and months, and I never backed down. Even obtaining a single piece of information out of me is like fighting a stone.


I noticed I had three appointments scheduled for November and December, all completely gone without a trace. My last appointment in January, that remained on the portal after the new year's exit review. I took a screenshot before I deleted everything. I hope these parasites aren't playing the appointment card to get me sanctioned; that is their only way to get me.

I will be changing my mobile number and email address after the programme not having some parasite advisor call or email me after the programme. 

Ignatius wrote:It certainly is, Absolut.

I'm still struggling to fathom how people with backgrounds in travel and hospitality type sectors make good advisors, brimming with empathy for their unemployed charges.

A lot of mental health trusts now employ employment support workers to get people with serious mental illnesses back into  work. The job adverts for these roles were a bit better, requiring candidates to have a higher level of training and experience in support work. How long before our provider friends get their fingers in this pie?

Ignatius,

Shockingly, the unemployed people make better advisors than half of the dimwits at my restart office.
I had to teach the manager and five advisors about the whole benefits system, transport system, and HMRC systems; each one was so clueless.

They are clearly clueless; they never claimed any benefits before, yet they tell the unemployed what to do and how the systems all work; they need to keep their mouth shut.

For example, a couple months ago, I had a serious heated debate about the signing-off hours: 18 for universal credit and 16 for JSA, and JSA wages had to be provided to your work coach. The JSA system is so old that nothing is linked to HMRC. Only universal credit has a direct link to the real-time RTI HMRC systems where your employer uploads your wages. The system checks this four times a day.


Also, two advisors were so thick that they wanted me to get a job at 4 a.m. and didn't use Google Maps with my postcode to check public transport times. I told them that DWP requires 90 minutes of travel to work, which is the law, and it was not obvious for me to take a job without public transport. They threatened me with sanctions, and the advisor says I have 2-3 hours to travel to work.
Also, each advisor was saying 35 hours to sign off on JSA only to benefit them by earning the job outcome, even saying to them that a job is part-time or zero hours.

The dimwit advisor reported this back to his manager, had a compliance meeting with the job centre, came back, and said I was correct. Thank fuck, I know the system. Someone else would have been sanctioned over this.
Anyone who has been signed on for years will know the benefits system's ins and outs very well.

They do hire their friends and family. In a deep search of my restart provider's LinkedIn profile page, three dimwits worked in sales marketing, selling goods for the large fashion brand "New Look" on LinkedIn. When the COVID pandemic struck, the three friends got laid off, all now working in the same restart office. All three friends showed up on the restart company LinkedIn page and went from selling marketing goods to threatening people with sanctions. They only got hired in COVID desperate times for staff. These parasites will never become experienced work roaches; they don't have the mental intelligence to.

Only two advisors at the office have tonnes of experience working in previous programmes like New Deal, Reeds, and Ingeus dealing with mental health, and all sorts of shocks to the core: how are these untrained, unprofessional dimwits dealing with the mental health of vulnerable people in society destroying and playing with people lives? They should be trained just like the job centre work coach. One thing about my work roach: she bloody knows everything.

My provider learns so much from me that it's embarrassing; even turning up to my appointments puts them all to shame getting told by an unemployed.

Hello, I found this forum on a Google search. This evening, wellcome, everyone. My work coach put me forward to restart. I knew I didn't have to sign any forms for a horrible third party after reading the Reddit page for the last 7 days. The company they me forward to is Maximus in Leeds. At my first appointment, they tried to bully me into doing the paperwork. I mentioned to them that I would bring in my boyfriend to sort your horrible attitude out. They did back down after this, but it didn't end. 
They continued on for a few more appointments, complained twice, and there was no joy, so I decided to contact my local MP by email and also contact the police non-emergency number to get both parties involved and complain about advisors being abusive towards vulnerable people; they are harassing, causing a mental breakdown, and causing alarm and distress towards me. also give out the restart advisor name of the advisor. The police staff will advise you and can file an incident with a case number, and then they will contact the restart provider in a few days later. The police will speak to the restart manager. To be honest, my next appointment has been cancelled after this serious incident. This could be a way out. Don't take my word. I might get a sanction. My work coach didn't ask about it this was 3 weeks ago.

Anyone got removed decided to take me off the scheme two months early and said every four weeks you will get a phone call all face-to-face cancelled with you.
Literally, I think they had enough, probably due to the last incident and the crazy games.
Fuck knows I never saw a provider kick me off the scheme before they did mention sabotage months ago due to forms withdrawal and not attending job clubs and the number of complaint not taking a job of them and also doing my own studying stopping advisor said you stopped our funding.

I asked for any exit reviews in January, and they said there was no point what happened with the job centre they will be sent a form early exit. I just left the building, hoping they are not playing silly games with me. They did mention after-work support for me in the next 8 weeks, but I told them no thanks; all calls will be diverted to voice mail bloody hope my nighmare is over never know with the restart.

@Coconutxone
I should really post the below in the Restart thread, but it doesn't make sense to link you to another thread when I think it's relevant to you in this thread.

In the Restart thread, I posted in spring about my CV being submitted for a vacancy without my permission or even discussing the vacancy with me beforehand. In summary, the job wasn't suitable for me and the advisor was spoken to by the manager.

At my exit review, they mentioned putting me forward for some vacancies, including the above. On the paperwork they printed off, it was worded somewhat different to how it was read out to me at the exit review - I only discovered this after reading the rather small (possibly 8pt?) text at home. Let's just say they're trying to say that I more or less just dismissed the job despite them securing me an interview.

So far my job centre advisor has yet to ask to see this paperwork after seeing them several times now. I have kept some of the paperwork for Restart, including the initial and exit reviews. If the job centre ever try to refer me to Restart again, I will show them these two bits of paperwork which show that I have taken part and complete the Restart scheme - even if it was a shit show for a failure.

Intincroi, as you probably agree, exit reviews are box ticking exercises. Providers will be mindful about filling them in correctly and making it look like they went the extra mile for a participant because they know the DWP will ask to see a % of paperwork for audit purposes. As for your WC never asking to see Restart exit reviews, they probably never will. A copy will be somewhere in the system, and they either haven't got the time to read it, or they couldn't care less what it says. You served your 365 days sentence and, as far as the jobcentre is concerned, job done.

Ignatius wrote:Intincroi, as you probably agree, exit reviews are box ticking exercises. Providers will be mindful about filling them in correctly and making it look like they went the extra mile for a participant because they know the DWP will ask to see a % of paperwork for audit purposes. As for your WC never asking to see Restart exit reviews, they probably never will. A copy will be somewhere in the system, and they either haven't got the time to read it, or they couldn't care less what it says. You served your 365 days sentence and, as far as the jobcentre is concerned, job done.

Everything you have said is right - it's all a box ticking exercise to keep them in a job and make feel as though they are useful to the society.

#Intincroi, I'd second that .

I thought the new buzz words are 'Economically Active'. As opposed: 'Keeps them in a job".

the work coach that is named on your initial referal to restart is the person that gets sent your full exit report. it contains more information than the one restart hands you on exit.

i imagine it could be obtainable via SAR, no other roach ive asked claimed to have access or seen it
(restart provider had their name as point of contact on their system - witnessed it myself)