Job Centre! Are Crap!

[RobDimmock]

Official! Been working full time for the past year and part time for a year as well and im not eligible for any job seekers allowance! Can't even get income based because my wife earns to much even though she's only doing 20 hours a week. Great! Living with parents so can't get any other benefits.

Absolutely livid!

Any similar expriences?

[Number45]

Is the Job Centre responsible for whether or not you get any allowance?

I had much the same thing when I was younger. Had been working part-time since before I left school, all through college and then straight into a full-time job when I left. Lost that job, and somehow I wasn't entitled to anything - could never quite get my head around why.

So I just did temp work while looking for a new job and was lucky enough for one of those temp jobs to turn into the career I'm in now.

[RobDimmock]

Ah. I don't know to tell you the truth, im just livid I can't get the jobseekers you know. Seems like those 2 years of working are for nothing. Been looking into home jobs where this compoany sends you documents to type up and they pay you cash in hand for it, could be quite good.

[Dirty Sanchez]

You'll be pleased to know that as you are not getting any benefits they will be next to useless in helping you find a job.

[toythatkills]

Cash in Hand isn't gonna help your NI contributions...

[Family Fry]

Suppose job centre look at how much you require to live.
Since your wife is earning and you live with family that would most likely be the no no, possibly more down if your wife earns over a specific amount, since she is your partner it's her responsibility to look after you both on her income, they must have thought you were ok. They can turn around and say household, bills, rent or mortgage are not you responsibility they are your families, so they don't have to give you anything to cover this.
Did they tell you about contribution based JSA? Think that is different from Income based JSA and contribution looks at how much you have paid over 2 tax year.
Must say JSA is a rule unto itself, never understood what was right and wrong

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

Contribution based is a total joke as you'll never get anything.

My latest encounter with them was a piss take too.

I got laid off temporarily from work and instead of income based they put me on contribution based despite telling them I wanted income based.

They also got the start date wrong and when I rang was told that they'd get a formout for me, which never turned up. That was on the 18th. I rang up again the week after and the form only arrived today.

Apparently they have had a lot of issues with people getting noted down for the wrong type of jsa lately.

Best part is when I made the original claim, they told me to ring back the next day due to being short staffed as the bad weather prevented people from getting in and as a result they were understaffed.

Piss take for sure.

[RobDimmock]

It is! I went for the contribution based one as well, and I've paid enough over 07/08 but not enough over 06/07 why do they have to have 2 tax years? Really annoying. Anyway I've just applied for any job going at the moment. I'm certainly not going to the Job Centre to sign on any more, they don't actually help you find a job! The whole thing is a shambles!

[BeyondJumpFish]

Can't even get income based because my wife earns to much

Yep, your actually better off if you got a divorce! The system is so geared up to broken families its unreal.

[abigsmurf]

The job centre should act more like a job agency and actively try to get people jobs.

I'd go to the job centre and all they'd do is run a search on the website. Then the woman would moan at me and practically accuse me of avoiding work because I'd specified a web job and all the jobs she was giving me were C++ and other compiled languages.

Don't get me started on the 'New Deal' (which thankfully I no longer have to worry about). It's a waste of two weeks that's pretty much designed to get people to stop signing on.

[RobDimmock]

It's rubbish! When I used to go sign on all they asked was what I had done, I thought they were supposed to find you jobs! Obviously not.

[Friction]

My first experience with the job centre when out of work was a joke too. I got told that it was 'unrealistic' to want to work 'regular' working hours - ie - something in the Monday-Friday, 9-5pm window. Firstly this was coming from a woman, who, in working for the job centre worked, you guessed it - Monday-Friday, 9-5. And there was me thinking that most people worked in that time frame too. (Basically I didn't want to work weekends - who does!)

Then she told me that because most of work experience was retail based, I'd HAVE to do another retail job, because 'that's all you can do'.... Not impressed...

Don't even ask me about the second time I had to go there for an interview - this time because I've been signed off long term sick following an accident and numerous health problems....

They make you feel like a criminal, they make you feel like you are sub human for not working - for whatever reason or needed help. It's really quite disgusting (at least in the one I've been to it is). I wouldn't mind but I worked for YEARS before needing the help!

[toythatkills]

Yep, your actually better off if you got a divorce! The system is so geared up to broken families its unreal.

That's a bad thing? Surely it's helping the people that need help most?

[BeyondJumpFish]

That's a bad thing? Surely it's helping the people that need help most?

Totally. Dont have a problem with that, but its kind of giving the impression that your better off in a broken family (which you are in our benefit system).

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

That's a bad thing? Surely it's helping the people that need help most?

Like illegal immigrants and 16 year old girls who's life ambition is to get as much cock and have as many kids as possible so that they don't have to work. EVER.