Beverly W

Following on from tonight's big ideas meeting I would sincerely love to see sanctions dropped. Tonight's discussion prompted me to think about past experiences as a job seeker.

Whatever happened to lead by example? Job centre staff take annual leave sick days & public holidays off do they not? So when I dared question being expected to job search for 37 hours per week, week in week out as an unemployed person, I was categorically put in my place.

Obviously I was told it was a condition as a claimant, in exchange for benefit payments. I couldn't risk loosing out financially so I became very skilful at applying for any old job purely for the purpose of ticking boxes in my journal. These were jobs I had no interest in or intention of following through with, in fact sometimes I would lie about jobs I'd have interviews for but withdrawn my application for. But least I had done what I was expected to do. How does wasting an employer's time foster better relationships between the claimant the job centre & employers.

At the time, I was only obliged to take a part time job due to childcare commitments. Now I wonder whether or not I could have been expected to job hunt for those hours each week. Surely applying online for jobs on a bank holiday wasn't going to get a personal response. The quality of what I was applying for didn't matter, because it was quantity that the DWP were more interested in. Since when has that model been best practice in any industry?

It's a shame claimants don't get treated more like employees in waiting & able to sign up for job seekers perks, a uniform allowance, trips out, Christmas parties & other festivities etc holiday entitlement, flexible working etc just as a "real" employee would do. I imagine that would go down like a lead balloon with the government.