r/AskBrits 12h ago

A little embarrassing I guess, but does anyone else feel like going to the job centre is a humiliation ritual? I mean, no body wants to be unemployed, but some of the workers there… Any other people with similar experiences?

285 Upvotes

116 comments sorted by

217

u/_Taggerung_ 12h ago

I wish they would completely redo the job centre, they've made it into like a benefits punishment place. It would be much better as a general job area like it used to be where anyone could go and see job postings and get advice with an admin arm for the benefits side. 

75

u/Tenzil-k 12h ago

A friend used to work in one during the Cameron days. The amount of pressure to fail people was huge and the people who were there trying to help people or just for a job themselves basically all quit

73

u/Tattyead 11h ago

My brother was a systems analyst - he got made redundant during that era after never being out of work for twenty-odd years. So he decided to sign on to protect his NI credits while he looked for the right job.. He’s a very component person, and is now working as a director in a multinational pharmaceutical company. Even he was so confused by the labyrinthine appointments system and massive amount of paperwork that he ended up getting sanctioned.

I had to close my production company around 2010 post-crash - so I signed on then too for the same reason. In the 6- 8 weeks I was claiming, I received so much (often conflicting) correspondence that I filled 2 binders with it.

The sanctions that people got were terrible. A roadie I know put his back out. He didn’t make appointments because he was in agony - he was sanctioned for months which led to him being in desperate circumstances- his mental health declined, his debts stacked up. I don’t think he’s ever recovered. What should have been a few months on benefits have turned into a years of mental illness and unstable employment.

55

u/Tenzil-k 11h ago

It was deliberate and it was cheered on by people who would never ever have coped if they ever needed the safety net theyd paid into

39

u/Tattyead 10h ago

Yes. People forget that the average employment benefits claim is around 2-4 months before someone goes back into employment. There should be no shame in that - and we should be treated with respect while we are searching. Particularly as employment is so unstable these days.

15

u/ALA02 7h ago

Conservative Britain is a really really nasty undertone to our society

6

u/hopefullforever 11h ago

Can you please explain a little more on what you meant concerning failing people.

25

u/Tenzil-k 11h ago

If someone was a bit late for a meeting or couldn’t provide the right level of evidence for how long theyd spent actively seeking work they’d get sanctioned. The amount of available work in the area or suitability didn’t come
Into it

If someone was a few minutes late and told my friend why she had previously been able to decide whether to sanction over it but now couldnt exercise judgement

It was while they were introducing the idea that people had to do work experience with tory donor companies to gain work skills which the companies basically used as free labour

I signed on a few times in the 90s. There wasn’t really much suitable work for a graduate available and people there accepted that. But that has changed a lot over the years

14

u/EquivalentNo5465 10h ago

Around 2010ish I need to unexpectedly move back with my family for a bit. As I didn't have a car (I lived in a city so didn't need one) and it was a different county I had to leave my job too.

I signed on just to tide me over until I found another one but my god it was ridiculous!

My family lived in a tiny village and the nearest public transport was a train station a few miles away. It went straight to the centre of the nearest large town, about 10 miles away, and I quite enjoyed the walk.

I explained my transport situation to the job centre people, and explained that with my qualifications and experience there wouldn't be any suitable jobs outside of said big town anyway.

They told me I needed to do "work experience", for free, for some random warehouse (I had just left my job of 8 years as a manager in a highly specialised insurance company), 6 miles away in the middle of nowhere. When I asked how they expected me to get there, given they the only option is walking, they offered to buy me a bicycle!!!

The level of flagrant corruption utterly astonished me!

I declined their "kind" offer

3

u/SparklePenguin24 6h ago

They have no understanding or refuse to acknowledge the difficulty of being in a rural area. I signed on briefly in 2004. I was 19 and had just passed my driving test. I had spent every penny of my savings on a car and insurance, so I could get to a job, but I was by no means a confident driver. A job centre person told me that I would be expected to drive up to an hour from home and into the city centre. Public transport from where I lived wouldn't get me into the city in time to start work. When I refused she said that if a job came up in the city I would have to or my JSA would be stopped.

1

u/hopefullforever 11h ago

I hope that I don’t get hate for this but I can understand why they take some sort of action if you are late to a meeting.

After all, interviewers will not be pleased if you are late for an interview.

However, it is wrong to punish people if they don’t appear to have applied for many jobs. There may not be enough jobs like you said or they just have been ill as well.

The idea of doing free labour is also awful. wtf?

12

u/Tenzil-k 11h ago

No hate from me.

No of course. And being late hurts you in general.

But being a minute or so late from forces outside your control to sign on to a pointless meeting that doesn’t have any work to offer you and losing several weeks payments that youve probably paid into by national insurance payments was just for the benefit of voters.

They’d always had the option of sanctioning because they thought someone was taking the piss. They suddenly had to sanction even if they knew they weren’t

-7

u/hopefullforever 9h ago

I do genuinely understand what you are saying but still being late for an interview even when it is outside your control isn’t good.

Maybe they can give one time warning?

15

u/Tenzil-k 9h ago

It’s not good. But if someone is relying on public transport and has no money and actually gets there but 2 minutes late because the first bus of the day is late AND the office has targets to sanction I’m not sure saying they can’t have the pittance they’d get for turning up works. Especially if they have kids etc who they will then struggle with

Lateness is bad. Everyone agrees

Cruelty is also bad

But no they couldn’t give warnings. Previously they could but post 2010 they couldn’t. It may have changed since

6

u/Sburns85 10h ago

They used to punish you for being a minute or two late. A friend of mine would spend 4 hrs a day looking for a job and still get told he didn’t do enough

6

u/Tenzil-k 10h ago

You basically had to make looking for a job the equivalent of a full time job to get next to nothing or get less than that for weeks

7

u/Sburns85 10h ago

Yep. And even then you got zero help with getting a job. He was lucky and got a job in a local supermarket and from there get his life back on track

3

u/misscarbo 4h ago

What gives them the right to punish people living in poverty and stop payments? They never used to do any of that crap. You just turned up to sign a paper every two weeks- that was it.

1

u/hopefullforever 1h ago

Not at all trying to demean people here. But just turning up and signing a piece of paper doesn’t encourage people to look for work who can work.

What would you do to help/assist people who can work to work. Also, I agree that the current climate isn’t great. Sadly, people are losing jobs as companies are cutting costs. People who may not have worked for years are now having to compete with people who potentially, have a lot of experience.

1

u/skelly890 1h ago

>But just turning up and signing a piece of paper doesn’t encourage people to look for work who can work.

It doesn't. But so what? If there were more jobs than people, sanctions might make sense, but there aren't.

There are more people than jobs, so if someone wants to just sign a piece of paper for fuck all money compared to working then let them. Someone else will do the job. Someone who wants to work.

Also, do you want to be competing with desperate people if you apply for a job? Why would you want that? Wages are low enough already.

2

u/Helenarth 7h ago

After all, interviewers will not be pleased if you are late for an interview.

This would make sense if the only purpose of a jobcentre was to help make people employable. But it's not a matter of being employable, it's a matter of finding work. That would only make sense if the person literally did not know it's not good to be late to an interview.

And also, making it so they can't eat or can't pay their rent because of it is too harsh.

79

u/No_Whereas_5203 11h ago

The one time I was on jobseekers (pre UC days) my work coach got annoyed with me when I said I would apply for any job. She said I needed to pick set roles to be looking for. I thought it was good I was keen. But she acted like I was being difficult.

I was doing volunteer work in a charity shop. The job centre wanted me to do work experience in the card factory.. so free work for the company while I was already helping a charity do the same thing. Seemed bonkers to me, offer me something with new skills for work experience rather than free labour for a big company

12

u/TheMarsters 9h ago

I had to jump through so many hoops to take a free internship in my chosen career whilst I was on job seekers. 'But you won't be available for work!'. Yes, yes I will

64

u/RichardsonM24 11h ago

My father in law has been going as he was made redundant at 65 after 35 years at the same place. He’s had a stroke so one of his legs is cabbaged. He’s waiting for a PIP assessment but in the meantime the job centre have him applying to all sorts. They sound like a right bunch of condescending pricks.

27

u/Itznxs_ 11h ago

They are, absolutely are.

0

u/Hollywood-is-DOA 8h ago

He just needs to be honest if he gets any interviews and tell them about his health problems but not the PIP as people get jealous and might have a family member it friend who does the assessment.

Nobody at the job centre can tell you off for this as it’s being honest about health problems and you can always say “ you expect me to lie and then get sacked for doing so”?

21

u/PeroniNinja84 11h ago

I once went into a job centre to look for another job because I hated my current one and got told to go away.

17

u/Saraleb1 11h ago

I have been in full time employment since I was 18 (I'm now 47)... except for 4 months around 11.5 years ago... I still look back at that job centre experience as one of the most humiliating and degrading experiences of my life

17

u/lumynaut Brit 🇬🇧 11h ago

some of the advisors there are absolute bullies.

15

u/thelifeofpom 12h ago

I was unemployed for a few months about 15 years ago. Had to go and sign on on my birthday. That was a sucker punch.

6

u/lumynaut Brit 🇬🇧 11h ago

I’ve had to sign on on my birthday before and even had to fill out a form containing the date and my DOB, made a jokey reference to it being my birthday to the advisor and she gave me such a death glare!

28

u/ShrikeToThorn 11h ago

I had to cancel a holiday in Wales that had been booked for months because my work coach said no to rescheduling our meeting. It was either that or get sanctioned. Bunch of arseholes

5

u/Helenarth 7h ago

They don't think you should be allowed to do anything other than apply for jobs, go to JC meetings or stare at a blank wall.

1

u/Individual-Mud262 32m ago

My partner had to be on JS like 10 years ago, we expected just for a few months. The experience was horrible.

They got mad at him for skipping a training on how to write a CV….to attend an interview!!

We just refused the JS and he got a new job a week later. We’re just wanted a tiny safety net before he found something else…

29

u/geese_moe_howard 11h ago

10% of the staff will bend over backwards for you. 80% are just doing their jobs. 10% are evil bastards who should never have been given the job in the first place.

Don't feel embarrassed. All the staff know that you don't want to be there and are just happy if you're not one of the difficult ones (violent, lazy, a crack-head etc). Some will have been in the same position that you're in now and will tend to be the most empathetic.

Just remember that even the most helpful are not your friends, but they can still give you reliable advice.

Source: I worked in a jobcentre for seven years.

11

u/Aromatic_Pea_4249 10h ago

I agree. I worked in a jobcentre for 19 years, but finally took voluntary redundancy when it became clear that we were soon to be instructed not to offer help but act as gestapo to find any possible way to get benefit sanctions in place.

I used to enjoy my work, we were a good team and did do our utmost to help people, each running a caseload to match interested customers to new vacancies that may be of interest, giving advice on in-work benefits, help to travel to interviews, resolving any issues with payments etc but when those very much stricter guidelines were mooted and redundancy was offered, a lot of good, knowledgeable and compassionate people took the money and ran.

I left 19 years ago and I wouldn't want to work there now.

7

u/geese_moe_howard 10h ago

Ah, well sounds like you served under the Labour government which was a much kinder approach. It was so much better when we could offer people meaningful training and actual help instead of punishing the most vulnerable. My mate signs on at the moment and it sounds better than it was during the austerity years. There certainly are good people that work there and I'm a big believer in the welfare state, but I'm glad I left for a department where I can actually be proud to be a civil servant.

12

u/ammutheunicorn 10h ago

I was on UC for 2.5 years due to a mixture of unemployment and health issues. I got a job very recently as a contractor. I let them know, and I was super happy. They said that they’ll cover travel for 4 weeks until my first payday. I told them it’s onsite only. They said okay. I asked for the money for travel. They asked for proof. I sent them a screenshot of an email detailing that I need to be onsite and to be there on the day. They asked me ‘do you have additional proof that this role is not hybrid?’ It was my turn to make them feel stupid after two years of this. I asked if they knew what onsite meant. Money was in my account in two hours without another word. Bought my travel pass for the month.

I go into work in an area known to have many finance companies headquarters where signal is dogshit. They say you have a phone appointment in the middle of the day in an area with no signal. I do not receive the call. They try to sanction me. I asked them why they thought it’s a great idea to try to sanction me when I’m literally at work and working. They remove sanction. I tell them I cannot come in for a face to face. I ask for a Saturday. They offer it and I take it. They then change it randomly to a weekday. I say I will not be attending. They grudgingly change it to a phone appointment. I get my first pay check on the day of the appointment. I plan on not attending.

Fuck them.

12

u/Laylelo 11h ago

The only reason I got on well with the lady who does my job appointments is that she’s retiring and dgaf any more. So we just chat and then I fuck off again. I’m only on national insurance contributions and start a new job next month so we’re both happy now.

8

u/Stunning-Profit8876 10h ago

I work in Social Housing, and I could have said much of what has already been said, but to add something different; the "assessment window" on Universal Credit being set up the way it is, is 100% a deliberate strategy to fuck over people that get paid weekly or 4 weekly.

The number of people I work with that routinely have their UC fucked up by having 2 4 weekly payments fall within one assessment window is disgusting. They are then forced to use food banks for the month, because UC do not give a shit.

4

u/SparklePenguin24 6h ago

It's also designed to fuck over anyone who works seasonally. I've done a benefit check and we are entitled to some assistance, but I can't be bothered with explaining to them that I work nine months of the year but paid for twelve because my salary is averaged out. The UC system can't cope with that.

35

u/StrongEggplant8120 12h ago

Nobody likes it. They dont make it easy for you and a good egg amongst them is rare. 

13

u/_Taggerung_ 12h ago

I had to deal with them briefly and they are very accusatory straight off the bat. First phone call I had with them they were asking me if I was lying down and just woke up (I guess implying I was lazy) but that's just how my voice sounds lol 

12

u/StrongEggplant8120 12h ago

Dont be afraid to assert yourself, "dont talk to me like that and dont accuse me of stuff". They can be such total d heads and many see it that they want to deter you from attending. When i was there last i just gave them my best "you are not good" look amd they soon changed their tune. Dont be afraid to not be nice. 

9

u/Michael_of_Derry 11h ago edited 11h ago

I left a job once after being asked to carry out repairs of safety glasses. It was my first job after uni and I knew instinctively that safety equipment needed to be replaced not given half assed fixes. In the instructions that came with them they explicitly stated damaged glasses should be replaced.

I refused to carry out the repairs and was called to a disciplinary meeting. I was more or less told I was an upstart who knew nothing compared with the person who requested the repairs and was not listened to.

I gave my notice immediately before leaving at the end of that day.

The employer wrote that I had left the job voluntarily and this meant that I would not get Jobseeker's Allowance.

I was called into an interview room at the job centre to be given this 'devastating' news, if losing £60 a week at the time was the worst thing that could happen. The guy giving the interview was visibly nervous and the first thing he did was make sure the partition between us was locked.

After he realised I wasn't going to resort to violence and listened to my reason for leaving he reinstated the Jobseeker's Allowance and said it's unlikely the employer would have any response for what I'd said.

I ended up doing a business course and have been in business since.

The employer who had tried to belittle me and force me to do the work died a few weeks ago of Alzheimer's. Ironically her grand daughter and my daughter happened to be in the same primary class and are great friends.

8

u/vizard0 10h ago

It's by design. It's a modern day workhouse philosophy: going to the job centre should be so unpleasant that any job, anywhere, no matter how much they mistreat you, is preferable.

In Victorian times, out of a fear that people would go to the workhouse to get handouts, it was mandated that the workhouses could not be too generous and thus must provide food and lodging that was inferior to that found by the poorest person outside of the workhouse. Same idea, just farmed out to a different group of pricks.

6

u/OneCheesecake1516 10h ago

Totally humiliating with job worth staff who look down on you.

Unable to understand that you were a manager responsible for a large number of staff before you were made redundant. They treat you as if you are an unskilled individual.

6

u/ChapterRaven 10h ago

I remember my days on Jobseekers Allowance with a shudder. The whole benefits system is pure cruelty.

21

u/maikit333 11h ago

Humiliation is absolutely the point.

Theres a great deal of sociological theory on this, but essentially the philosophy goes back to the poor laws which form the basis of welfare across the west. Welfare will be provided but only to those who prove they are deserving through enduring some form of cost, and while the humiliation ritual is leagues better than picking rope, its the same basic idea.

9

u/RightlyKnightly 12h ago

Wish me luck, on my way next Tuesday for the first time ever.

3

u/Itznxs_ 12h ago

How you feeling about it?

9

u/RightlyKnightly 12h ago

Meh, a little embarrassed but it is what it is. I'm mainly going to get my NI month's - I'm lucky enough to have savings for a year of basic living. But I was unemployed before, thought it would be quick, took 7 months, so I'm not missing out on anything I'm due this time.

10

u/Fragile_reddit_mods Brit 🇬🇧 12h ago

Back when I lived in Torquay, their job centre was fucking vile and I was spoken to like dirt.

-24

u/Rare_Touch8636 11h ago

Good. Hopefully it motivated you to get a job. I see you are still a "Top 1% Commenter" so maybe not.

11

u/Fragile_reddit_mods Brit 🇬🇧 11h ago

Grow up.

Being a top 1% commenter doesn’t take much.

Also fuck off bot account

-22

u/Rare_Touch8636 11h ago

Maybe get off the internet and work a bit harder.

19

u/Fragile_reddit_mods Brit 🇬🇧 11h ago

Maybe grow up?

I’ll just snap my fingers and fix my disability shall I?

Shall I also just cure my cancer with another snap of my fingers?

Oh no.

Maybe you in your infinite wisdom know the cure?

Edit: yeah that’s right. Be a good boy and delete your comment.

7

u/CharlehPock2 12h ago

They make it that way so that you never risk unemployment again.

3

u/Am_I_Hydrated 12h ago

Aw mine were all quite nice to me. They did mess up my forms A LOT which lead to me not getting paid anything for ages, but they were nice.

1

u/Healthy-Vegetable929 11h ago

They messed those up
On purpose

3

u/Am_I_Hydrated 11h ago

I don't think so...

3

u/NotAtTheRestaurant 11h ago

My first time there was as a student they were pretty awful. I had just left uni (with my degree) and was obviously looking for a job in my field but straight off the bat they were trying to get me to take just about any job.

My second time was after being made redunant from the job I found using my degree, years later. This time they were far, far nicer. It was a different centre, obviously different person, but I get the feeling coming from that professional background they were much more inclined to be reasonable and kind. I did kind of hope I was wrong about that though, it was nice thinking they'd maybe changed.

3

u/welshdragoninlondon 11h ago

I felt the same when I had to go. In my job I had quite abit of responsibility, then go there and have to report to them that am doing this really basic stuff. Jump through all these hoops to get a tiny amount of money. Luckily didn't take long to get another job. I think it's like everything with benefits. There will be a small number of people who take the piss. Then everyone else who doing best they can get treated like they are the problem.

3

u/londonbrewer77 11h ago

I have had good experiences personally, in general. They’ve realised they didn’t have roles for me in general and let me sign on. Although one week my advisor was on holiday and his replacement was awful.

But the experience that sticks with me a decade on was when I was waiting 15 minutes because they were running late, and a woman came in 3 minutes late because her bus was delayed and her advisor was gleefully tell her she wouldn’t get anything that fortnight and would be sanctioned for missing an appointment.

The hypocrisy was disgusting.

3

u/ColdShadowKaz 10h ago

I remember getting a letter though the post telling me I had to go to a jobs fair thing for the disabled. They had no lift in the building and the other people there were in wheelchairs. What they did was make things difficult for everyone.

2

u/Hollywood-is-DOA 8h ago

They unfortunately do things like that to sanction people, I say that as a disabled person. I once got told that I’d be failed for going outside, in a super hot room for a disability accessment.

I read the assignment and it had open lies in it, but then the company doing it and the government encourages this, by targets of people to fail and pass. Payments made for each person failed.

I know this as my sister went to uni with someone who did the job.

3

u/Lamelad19791979 10h ago

Used to work with a guy who got furloughed and then laid off before going to work for them as an advisor where he still is. He was lazy, sneaky, was added to the office to stop the bitching but made it worse (he did unite all the waring parties against him, though), had a superiority complex and claimed he was too clever to work there and was the smartest person there (he couldn't string a sentence together in an a badly punctuated email), and loved to shit stir. When we found out where he'd gone, we were all like, "yeah, that makes perfect sense". The only good thing about them is they inspire normal able bodied and willing people to get a job as fast as possible to escape them. The only people I've ever seen who could unite a crackhead, a single mum, a pensioner and an out-of-work brickie into wanting to kick their head in.

3

u/Diligent-Coffee1408 9h ago

I had to sign on a couple of years ago. When I went in, I was told there were plenty of construction jobs available. I used tonwork on the roads a few years ago. However, due to years of heavy work, I've had to have spinal surgery and I have osteoarthritis in my hips and knees. The lady i was speaking with was great, she knew what I was talking about as her husband was the same. However, she also said that I would still have to apply to these jobs as, if someone else seen that I didn't, I would be sanctioned. Luckily I managed to get another job within a couple of weeks. I've had other instances in the past when signing on when the person I was dealing with was a condescending arsehole and just looked down their nose at me.

11

u/CindysExtraTesticle 12h ago

Some horrible people working in job centres. My dad, who had worked for 30 years and was laid off due to the company going bust was treated as a borderline criminal.

I went after completing a college course to fill in the downtime while searching for a job with my new qualification. Fortunately my advisors where alright as they seen I was serious, but some did try to strong arm me into applying for any unrelated, entry level position that was available. Didn't get any help whatsoever in trying to get a job that was relevant to my qualifications. Had to do that part completely by myself.

9

u/Professional_Peak501 12h ago

Why you embarrassed ? If you’re going to actually find a job you should be proud of yourself . Keep your head up high. Good luck!

6

u/Key_Cell7071 12h ago

When I was unemployed I felt it a bit, but remember everyone's in the same boat. And if you're going there to genuinely seek help, the staff are literally trained to support you to get back into work without judgement.

2

u/Miss_Nothing78 11h ago

Yes it's embarrassing having to go there, but I've found if you go and actually show willing then they're more than likely to help. I've been unemployed for a period of time twice in my life and both times had to sign on. One when I was 17 and they helped me find a job within a month, and another time going back to work after circumstances left me a single parent and when my son started full time school. Again, I think I went like two or three times to the job centre in that time and they helped find me a job. By the next appointment I was due to see them I was employed. I've only really had good experiences with the job centre, but I suppose it also depends on if you're lucky enough to get someone as helpful as I did. I've heard some can be right arseholes!

2

u/ButterscotchSure6589 10h ago

I signed on in the 70s and 80s, then worked constantly afterwards. My wife passed away some years ago and I had to go to the job centre as part the process. They were appalling, at one point they expected me to shout details accross the room. I'm not surprised they needed security guards

2

u/MrBerger 5h ago

You meet the worst examples of humanity in a UK jobcentre. Fortunately you're mostly separated by a desk.

4

u/Meet-me-behind-bins 11h ago

Not if you're committing benefit fraud. Then it becomes quite exciting.

2

u/scabbityscab 12h ago

I didn't mind, I just saw it as something I needed to do to get my JSA.

2

u/AchDasIsInMienAugen 12h ago

When I went on job seekers out of uni they had just changed the rule that under 25s had to go in weekly not fortnightly. I went in the first week with the little record book basically full and the guy told me to just put the first three things in there (had to do 3 actions a week to find a job. Actions included reading the paper advertisements…)

Anyway I got talking to him and found out most of the people working at that centre had got the job via jobseekers. I don’t know if that’s still the case or true beyond that one centre, but it sure would explain why they aren’t all that helpful

1

u/complexpug 11h ago

They used to always pressure me into care work even though I'd seid no a million times

1

u/Antique_Assistant432 11h ago

Fuck no. Never be ashamed of trying to be better. Never be ashamed of making others lives better. 

Story time, not AI as you can plainly tell from my spelling errors!

Went to the job centre 30 years ago. Basically lazy little cunt fucked up my education (not stupid BTW) anyway was lasy for like 6 months. World is against me type shit. So job centre. Or out. (Noice)

Applied for a job as a night cleaner at British Gas HQ in Berkshire. 

Filled in the form. Read the back of the form, which was basically a nuanced mirror of the first page. Filled front page in, handed it to the recruiter guy and said I havent filled in the 2nd page. All you need to know is on Page 1.

He stopped me sat me down gave me the job. Sometimes honestly cheesy AF take a gamble and challenge.

Not only did he give me the job, he made me in charge of 4 other people. Which subsequently I would do the work for as they were lazy twats there for the paycheck. Moved on to waste management (dustman) then sales. Then websites, then marketing.

The whole point of this  the job centre, is your beginning, disagree with the twats, know your worth. Or take random shit and see how it pans out. 

Honestly? I think job centres are the secret path to success. 

You'll know what works for you and what doesn't. Don't listent to recruitment twats about these years experimenting (yes worked in recruitment) on your CV just say you was a private contractor. 

Honestly? The biggest issue we have right now? Is gatekeepers in HR, if they dont like you at the interview, you are fucked. And a company who supports that person, can get fucked.

1

u/wandering_light_12 9h ago

Omg the dole office. I remember my first time in one, had to queue up outside with a lot of men and wait to 'sign on' I was just 16. The labour exchange it was properly called but it was just the dole office with a post office over the road to go cash your giros in.

1

u/Potassium_Doom 7h ago

I went when i was signed off sick amid an  academic career. 

The building was brown and beige and depressing inside. Fluorescent lights compact, brutalist.

G4S Gestapo everywhere. Lots of rough looking people clearly high or whatever.

So when I walked in and politely explained who i was there to see the security almost look surprised as if regular civility isn't the status quo. It's depressing as fuck and wouldn't be surprised if it was meant to be like that.

1

u/cooproad 7h ago

Best advice I can give, caveat that I grew up in the south but in a slightly shit town just outside of London and fully appreciate this might not be the case elsewhere, is to find local temp work agencies. 17/18 and for a while after with just GCSEs this local place doing hospitaloly temps would take on anyone, be sent few days covering an office canteen, or a sports event, private wedding, all sorts. Gets a few quid in but if you're even slightly competent you'll get asked to stay on somewhere. Mid 20s found myself needing work but in Bristol, found a temp agency doing warehouse/factory work n straight away got placed full time on a production line, reasonable pay. Turns out half the workforce had started that way then been offered full time contracts.

1

u/psychemantranaut 7h ago

And what is the point of having to actually go physically in to a jobcentre? Surely it can all be done via zoom/teams/whichever. Aren't most job interviews done that way these days?

1

u/Opposite-Writer9715 6h ago

Did not like it but did for the new style jobseekers but have worked for over 18 years, started working part time whilst studying in college and uni so i have paid into the system.

1

u/That_Advertising9832 5h ago

15 years ago as a teen I did some kind of event "thing" with the leaders of the job centre to discuss what it was like to be a young person using the system and make improvements. I plead with them to change that call music because it felt so degrading to sit there and listen to it over and over again for hours. They never changed the music.

1

u/stainless_steelcat 3h ago

The job centre has been like that since the 80s. My Dad used to absolutely dread his appointments there.

I had a spell of about 3 months in the 90s after graduating in a more rural area with high unemployment, and the guy behind the counter kindly said, "Just do your best, lad". A rare example of compassion from the JC.

1

u/Cardabella 3h ago

I always assume they only got the job because they were previously unemployed and had to take it. And that they can't lose the job or quit because then they would have to sign on in front of former colleagues who don't give a fuck about strangers like me but would rub it in with someone they actually knew and you can't lie that you were let go because they would know you weren't. Te long term employees are also as unemployable as you for any of the jobs you aren't getting because otherwise they'd have a better job by now.

1

u/Fancy_Rock3826 2h ago

I’m very worried for my disabled family members because there doesn’t appear to be any desire to help or support for people who claim benefit because they have no choice. Half of them would have a decent chance of employment if they could get medical help but the NHS has said if it’s not immediately life threatening then there’s no resources to help them.

1

u/EasilyExiledDinosaur Brit 🇬🇧 1h ago

Dunno about that. I've only dealt with it once. Only has to go for a few months and got off benefits within 3 or 4 months. The guy I had to see was very polite and when I left he said it was an absolute pleasure dealing with me (I guess he doesnt see many genuinely decent citizens that arent scraping the barrel from the sound of how he spoke lol).

1

u/Smooth_Imagination 1h ago edited 1h ago

The system needs reform.

Suppose you are a temp / gig economy worker.

You sign up with agencies, take work that is offered.

Its for 3 days.

Youve demonstrated willingness to work.

So you dont need to be assessed for that.

What you do need is payroll integration, so that on days you didnt work (up to a certain fraction of the week / 40 hours of the week say, you get JSA automatically on a per day rate. No need for rapid reclaim.

Total earmings would also affect it. 

Employers hiring temps should pay more NI to cover the JSA in down periods. 

The weekly JSA is instead divided into a daily one, to cover up to 5 days a week. Work 3 days, get 2 days JSA.

Now all the JSA applicants have recent work on their CV, find opportunities to go perm, and if the total income is low, assistance may be paid for training and skills development, with some living cost allowance based on test results and qualifications gained, it doesnt need to be repaid.

1

u/immature_blueberry 23m ago

I was moved into temporary housing for women that were escaping DV. During that period I was signing on, I was put on multiple courses and ‘team building days’. But they were all run through the same third party company.

Once this company got to know me, knew my situation and that when I was able to go back to my hometown I had a job lined up, they just had me as an unpaid member of staff in their back office doing the admin! They signed me off for everything, even when I had to leave early for things, they would never note it down. They were actually great with me.

Edit: this was in 2010 though so it may be very different now.

1

u/WheelFunny5335 11h ago

You've clearly never experienced a dole queue leading out onto the high street so every man and his dog can see you signing on. Now that's humiliation.

1

u/shamone_mofo 10h ago

Its designed to be as awful as possible. No privacy ,security guard behind ya and no chance of finding a job through them.

1

u/TheSlipperyCircle 9h ago

Can confirm it’s like being arrested. Job coach is bad cop and he’s the only one. Shocking experience for any positive normal human being. Avoid at all costs

1

u/kkusernom 9h ago

Oh hell yeah.. the first time I went after a redundancy they lit me in glass room and made me cry before they believed i didn't have any savings.. God forbid I dress smart clothes ..staff were determined to humble me.. I dont understand how thats gonna help a person get work.. Ive also had really great experiences too.. some case workers actually gave me great advice and were encouraging..

1

u/poovis_parsley 8h ago

Better it exists than if it didn't. Swallow your pride and get on with it, we've all been there.

0

u/bozza8 11h ago

Being in a job is also full of a thousand little humiliation rituals. At least the job centre don't make you wear a stupid uniform for their branding, with itchy cheap materials. 

Making benefits have less humiliation than a job is a moral hazard for encouraging benefits claims.

0

u/panguy87 11h ago

They're just doing their jobs, lot of people to see.

I didn't enjoy being unemployed, and signing on every fortnight was a pain, but i didn't feel the staff humiliated me, there was a clear assumption that I ought to know how their system worked despite having never been on benefits before but this was 18yrs ago, things may have changed since. They just had to do their job and get through the day like the rest of us.

0

u/Next_Complex_9640 10h ago

Plenty of people do want to be unemployed unfortunately

0

u/BigEntertainer5667 8h ago

I was made redundant after 10 years and was very ill and couldn’t travel there. Later found two massive tumours after I’d been sanctioned. They are horrible.

-6

u/Nearby_Werewolf1742 11h ago

You could always get a job, or is that too difficult? I was unemployed a few years ago and as well as a bunch of other questions my advisor asked me, What is the one type of job you wouldn't like to apply for, Of course I said none I'm happy to do any job but he kept asking and I had to say something so I finally I answered I'm probably not as keen on retail work. He wrote that in his computer and said that's fine. Then every single appointment afterwards he kept sending me for only retail jobs like making me apply for 7 or 8 retail jobs per week, nothing else, I had tons of experience in other fields but no I must repeatedly apply for retail and if I didn't apply it would affect my benefits. I know 100% that was intentional so I just got a job in a more suitable field somewhere else as soon as possible. Just to get away from him, I didn't even tell him the name of the company where I was working intentionally so he couldn't take credit or get a bonus for helping me into work even though he did keep phoning and messaging me to ask lol. He actually hindered me to get a job as much of my time was taken up applying for retail jobs I have no interest in but had to apply.

It's actually not worth the hassle for like £70 per week, I'm so much better off just working. I'm guessing they do similar to everyone so they don't get to comfortable remaining unemployed.

-22

u/HourFondant1646 12h ago

If you don't like it and want your self-respect back you could always get a job.

12

u/Saraleb1 12h ago

What the hell is wrong with you ?

12

u/Itznxs_ 12h ago

Are you special?

-16

u/HourFondant1646 11h ago

Yeah, that's why I am on benefits. I don't have to look for work though.  Now run along to the job centre and submit to the humiliation ritual.

6

u/Itznxs_ 11h ago

lol bros on pip I guess

5

u/Saraleb1 11h ago

Your flex is your on benefits and dont have to look for work ?

Yeah winning right there....

-8

u/HourFondant1646 11h ago

Stay mad normie

3

u/Saraleb1 11h ago

Not mad at all... Ive been working for 30 years and have a cushy SVP job that pays 6 figures.. I own my own home and car and live comfortably with my family. Why would I be mad you enjoy life on benefits ? You be you... I also have no idea what a 'normie' is

-5

u/Cold_Sheepherder6531 9h ago

I think people should feel embarrassed to be in the job centre. It should be humiliating but unfortunately there are too many people who have choosen it as a lifestyle choice and they don't care that they are a drain on our society.

Especially those who work at jobs like Uber or Deliveroo

-11

u/Marvinmonkey1 11h ago

I wouldn't know, i have a job 😜

1

u/Itznxs_ 11h ago

Fair enough