So I am imploring anyone who might be able to give some advice. My son in law works for a company where he has been for over two years, almost three. His responsibilities include traveling around the facility to do his job and recently the company has hired a consultant to make the place more efficient. People are being timed for bathroom breaks, the time it takes to walk the facility and time it takes to complete tasks. They are making the job very hostile by keeping incredibly unrealistic standards (time keeping and reporting if they believe that it's taking too long) and making it impossible to actually do the job with the expectations they have. They are hostile, aggressive and my feeling is that they are attempting to make the workplace so stressful and difficult that their goal is to make employees quit. That has been happening.

My son-in-law belongs to a union. They have not been very helpful. He also has a disability that has been well documented and I am wondering if there are any other avenues he could pursue to report his workplace for their hostile behavior and stress that the situation is causing. This aggravates his disability and is causing health problems. I believe they are working overtime to get him to quit, super hostile and unpleasant.

If anyone has any advice I would truly appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

So, I am an international student in UK, completing my post graduation in coming September, so after getting my PSW visa, Can I do apprenticeship programs here? Since I don’t have any previous work experience, I believe doing apprenticeship will be a good start for my career. Can any one help me with this doubt? Thank you.

Hi I was just needing some advice as I am 16 and looking for an apprenticeship. I've tried to get a level 3 IT support apprenticeship but all interviews I have done have rejected me as I don't have enough experience. I was wondering if I were to do a level 2 apprenticeship in customer service it would get me enough experience to do a level 3 IT apprenticeship next year would that be a good decision?

Hi guys, my name is John. I’m aware a lot of people here are without jobs and I happen to be in desperate need of extra manpower(digital, manual, etc). I also have a position open for a sales assistant if anyone is interested. Pay isn’t A-class but it’s quite good. Hit me up if interested or you can text or call this number (929) 480-1473. Thank you

Existential horror arrrgh join my meetup.com group Bournemouth Existential crackheads united if you're unemployed and bored

I studied my architecture degree in UK and graduated from my Master of Architecture in summer of 2019. Currently I am unemployed. I am looking for some career advice on what to do during this corona virus pandemic and how to develop my career further.

I did my undergraduate (RIBA part 1) in a top 5 UK university and graduated with 2.2 mark. After my graduation, I worked 3 years as a part 1 architectural assistant (2-years in UK and 1-year EU). Then I started my postgraduate (RIBA part 2) in September 2016 in a different UK university and graduated with 2.2 mark in June 2019. My postgraduate was a 2 years degree course, but I failed 1 year and finished my degree in 3 years. After my graduation I was unable to find any employment. During some job interviews they suggested that beginning of my design portfolio was good, but they were unable to find quality on the later stages. I am unemployed for a year since my graduation. During these last months I developed my design portfolio and learnt new software skills such as Revit BIM and Rhino 3D. Now I am unable to find employment as a part 2 architectural assistant. Recently I sent emails to local practices to work with them as unpaid internship just to learn and develop my skills, but their responses were negative. When I check online for freelance architectural design jobs, I do not feel confident enough to do layouts or even extension projects because I do not have any work experience that way.

This week I applied for a café job and got accepted to work as part-time. I am thinking that I could work in that café job as part-time till economy recovers and then find a job as part 2 architectural assistant. I am lost I do not know what to do.

Your advice would be very appreciated.

Thank you.

I have been living in UK (England) since 2008 never claimed benefits because I know I can find work. somehow I started working in care sector and got experience in it and was working in well paid easy job working in private mental health sector, but after many years I realised it's not for me it made me quite depressed, not because of the specifics of the job, but because I id not really realise what I actually like to do. I switched to working in maintenance for a school for autistic kids, I think the only reason I got this job is because of my mental health background as I had no experience in maintenance on paper even tough I have been doing DIY since childhood and only in my early 30's I realised I love to work with my hands and it gives me great satisfaction to fix things. The money was a lot less and the work was often a lot harder (than sitting on sofa watching YouTube videos all day in Mental health field that I did) but I loved it, truly did, for the first time in 15 years I felt "happy" normal, if things where bad at home or what ever, I always knew at least I will go to work and enjoy what I am doing.

A week ago they fired me because apparently I did not declare during the initial interview that I had train fare fines that had gone on my DBS. It was in 2013 and since then obviously I had worked in mental health where I needed to do DBS as well and it never had been an issue. So they said because I had not disclose this information at the interview stage they fired me, I did not even tough about it worth to be mentioned at the interview as at the other job it was no issue. They also said that it was not the only issue, that there where concerns of me being late, but for fuke sake I had to wake up at 5 AM to get at work at 6AM and I had never been in that sorta sleep cycle before, after they warned me about the lateness I was on point for most of the time, except once ( I went to Morison's to buy lunch for work and the queues where long) and I was 4 minutes late, the actual manager said on my last day it's not just DBS issues but the concerns of my lateness, yes I agree first month I was some 15 minutes late every now and then, but ever since they had a "talk" I had been on time and it was just that one day 4 minutes late. The colleges at the place where really nice but they all had a resentment to management witch seemed to be disconnected to the real situation on the ground.

So that's me, I don't even know what is this post all about, just felt like typing this all up.

What the ACTUAL Hell do they think they are playing at!

Please Respond!

https://mobile.twitter.com/RAT_LOMBOT/status/956824065892904960

I've been lucky so far in that I've not had anyone from JCP telling me I have to do an unsustainable amount of jobsearch, but that luck couldn't hold out forever; in an email exchange between my work coach and me, she finally told me that my jobsearch has to add up to 35 hours a week "in order to prevent a benefit doubt". Fortunately I'm aware that the 35-hour-a-week isn't mandated anywhere, especially not in my claimant commitment, (good thing too, because how the Christ do you even fill that much time every week?) but I'm still not entirely sure how to respond. This work coach I have now isn't a bitch, just a jobsworth, so I don't want to go full-on hellbeast on her.

So I turn to reddit for advice. How do I respond to this without indulging my inner hellbeast? And how do I respond if she DOES try to make this a requirement for me?

Recently I was given a 13-week sanction from the DWP for failing to apply for a vacancy given to me by my advisor. So far, I admit fault; I was given five working days and, while I only missed it by hours at most, I DID miss it, at which point the vacancy was closed. This wasn't malicious or lazy on my part; for one thing I have a horrible memory and for another I hate Universal Jobmatch, so I tend to sign on as little as I can. Put together, I think it's fair to say that this falls into the category of "human error", not "refusing work". However, I've been meeting all other requirements of my JSA agreement, applying for something like 30 jobs a week, attending Sefton@work to try and figure out what I can change to improve my prospects...

Considering I've not received any sanctions in six years, I don't consider 13 weeks even remotely fair as a punishment for faulty memory. Additionally, my last sanction in 2010 was for a pretty much identical mistake. However, a) that was for 12 weeks, b) it was a SECOND offence, not first, and c) it was reduced by a tribunal judge to 2 weeks on appeal. If 12 weeks was inappropriate THEN, why is 13 weeks appropriate NOW?

Well, according to the person I spoke to on the phone, my mistake is classed as "refusing work", and it carries a legally-mandated minimum of 13 weeks, which a tribunal can't reduce. Additionally, he told me that if I HAD tried to apply for the vacancy within the 5 working days I was given, but the vacancy was closed when I checked, this would STILL be "refusing work" subject to et cetera. The exact word he used was "legislation"; but I've not been able to find any relevant laws that have been introduced or changed since 2010.

Oh, and this sanction means I receive no money at all until November. Three months without any money for food or bills.

I intend to appeal anyway, but can anyone give me some pointers? Point me to any legal changes, any cases I can use as precedent, anything?

tl:dr; Six years ago a 12-week sanction I received for failure to apply was reduced to 2 weeks on appeal. I just got a 13-week sanction for the same thing, and got told that 13 weeks was a legal minimum. Was he full of shit? Where can I go from here?

Edit: forgot to mention, although not sure if it's relevant: the benefit I'm claiming is JSA.

Second edit: I'm considering contacting my local Citizen's Advice about this; I looked on the website, but it didn't have anything related to my immediate circumstances. (what's there is good, it just doesn't cover what I need) Is it worth trying to get someone from the CAB as a representative in my appeal?

UPDATE 22nd October: P'rhaps I should've updated this earlier. Either way. The appeal hearing was on Thursday the 20th, and I just got the decision from that. The sanction has been reduced... to six weeks. That still seems unfair to me, but I'm not so sure I've got much realistic options going forward except sitting here and seething.

UPDATE 27th October: Got a letter today:

"I am writing to tell you that we cannot pay you any Jobseeker's Allowance. This is because we are applying for a statement of reasons from the Courts and Tribunals Service for the decision made on 20.10.2016 and may appeal against the Tribunal's decision.

You have no right of appeal against this decision."

Why, DWP? Are you that fucking allergic to being fucking reasonable?

UPDATE November 7th: Just got back from an appointment with the CAB, with a guy who apparently is the go-to guy for complaints with the DWP. We came to two conclusions:

One, the CAB guy reckoned there was very little chance that the judge actually made an error of law, and the DWP knows the same thing. They can't appeal the decision unless the judge did, in fact, make an error of law. Either the law doesn't work the way he claims it does, or his decision is inconsistent with the facts. If neither of those applies, then there is no further appeal. They COULD try anyway, but the cost of doing so would be far, far more than they could ever hope to keep out of my hands. However, as a delaying tactic to fuck me over, it works very well; the DWP has a month from receiving the statement of reasons - let me reiterate, that month-long time limit begins when they RECEIVE the statement of reasons - to take it to the Upper Tribunal, and until that month has expired, they don't have to pay me a penny. TL;DR: version, this is the DWP exercising their legal right to be shitheads and turn the screws on me a little more.

Two - that it is definitely NOT worth me trying to take this to the Upper Tribunal, unless I want to be a dick and cost the DWP thousands. (which I haven't COMPLETELY ruled out, mind. I can be a vindictive cunt like the best of them.) The primary reason for this is that it could be a year before the Upper Tribunal makes a decision, and until that point the DWP doesn't have to pay me a penny.

UPDATE December 24th: Seems the DWP are doubling-down on their fuckery. They want to take this to the Upper Tribunal themselves. Just got a letter from the Courts and Tribunals Service with the DWP's reasoning:

"With the introduction of the revised sanctions regime on 22/10/2012 (as implemented by the Jobseeker's Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2012) there are now no longer any sanctions of a discretionary nature within the JSA Regs; all sanctions fall into three different levels and are of a fixed duration. [...] In this case the First Tier Tribunal found that a sanction was appropriate. If that is the case then I submit that there is no alternative to the length of sanction imposed. The fixed period as prescribed in law is 13 weeks duration."

The document's been sent to me for comment, and I apparently have 14 days to do so.

One thing I'd like to know, (well two things actually, the first being "Did the DWP intentionally time this request for a time when there'd be a weekend and then two bank holidays back-to-back to waste a good portion of that 14 days?") if this 2012 regulation was so important; Why did the DWP make NO effort to bring it up before now? They had the chance when I requested a mandatory reconsideration, and they had ANOTHER chance before the First Tier Tribunal itself. They could have saved us all a lot of time, and could've saved themselves a lot of money. (In fact, according to the guy I've been speaking to at the CAB, it will cost them thousands of pounds MORE to take this to an Upper Tribunal than they could hope to deny me) So why are they only bringing this up NOW?

UPDATE February 24th: Apparently my last edit didn't get through because reasons! I do so love technology.

Even that was belated though. Story so far; The appeal was sent back to a first-tier tribunal rather than an Upper Tribunal, and that hearing was on the 21st. 23rd, I got the judge's decision; the appeal has been rejected.

Obvious next stage is to apply for a statement of reasons, and fingers crossed from there I can find grounds to go to an Upper Tribunal. Because hey! The DWP might have had nothing to gain from an Upper Tribunal but I sure as fuck have nothing to lose.

I'm putting together a business which will start soon (hopefully) as a welfare to work subcontractor.

I've worked in the sector before and I've also experienced it a few times as an unemployed claimant.

I'd like advice from people who are out of work what sort of Work Programme you would actually want to serve you.

Here's some initial ideas:

• we don't have an office. We don't require you to travel or to hang around for half an hour waiting for us to reluctantly give you your travel expenses.

• it's all online or by phone. We call you, or call you straight back to keep your costs down.

• the core activity is working together on one really good application rather than telling you to spam out dozens that never get past the automated cv screening software. So the only mandatory component is to work with us to produce one application per week. This would be done by email, you pick a job and do a draft cv + cover letter, we review it and email you feedback, you decide whether you'd like to send it or rewrite it and ask for more feedback.

• you have the option of website advice. So for instance if you asked us for help looking for library jobs we could give you a list including cilip (formerly the Library Assocation), civil service website, jobsgopublic, as well as the more conventional jobsgopublic, universal jobmatch, monster etc.

• no site is mandatory for your dealings with us. You just need to find a job you want to apply to once a week, we don't care where you find it.

• we offer advice on getting the most out of the system. Things like tax credits when you go back to work, one off benefits like funeral grant, maximising your money by earning up to your earned income disregard. (This is because poverty can be a major barrier to finding work).

• we also offer advice on planning for the future. We think (rather pessimistically) most of our clients who have had difficulty finding work are likely to go into precarious work and we want to help people develop long term strategies and goals that will allow them to build a better future. (For example if someone takes a low paid job, advice on jobhunting while at work, investing in skills like driving lessons etc).

• we have a number of other feature ideas including a casual skype drop in on Friday afternoons, jabber instant messaging, twitter and a forum community, maybe even a wiki.

There's a lot to think about but I don't want to start a business that will repeat the disappointments of some Work Programme provision in the past. I want to be part of turning it around.

I also fully accept that the Work Programme itself isn't a solution to macro issues like more unemployed than vacancies and structural issues but that doesn't mean we shouldn't make it good.

Feedback will be really appreciated.

The first order of business, the one which will add most value to this sub in the short term, would be to build an information portal, which the subscribers of the sub can link to all in one wiki page, if and when someone comes to us for support and advice. Appeals are becoming a fact of life for some claimants, resources to legal advice regarding welfare law and DWP rules and regulations are needed.

The resources needed are both JSA and ESA related. Theres a lot of suffering due to changes to ESA entitlement assessment, and i would love an in depth focus on empowering ESA claimants.

There has already been some good advice on how to keep the UJM side of things happy, while we can recommend some good (and the bad) online recruitment agencies, and some general tips for finding direct applications.

From there it makes sense to declare the sub open for business so to speak, and promote the sub.

Going forwards the front page will probably be a mix of discussion and informative news (hopefully not too dramatic or sensational news, which if that becomes a problem some domains might have to get pruned by automoderator, the sub should keep an informal tone, empowering people, not making them angry is the intention here, national newspapers, ideally not tabloids, are the best sources of news).

Also, self.posts and discussions will be very welcome. I'd really like the sub to be dominated by people coming to us for help and good advice being streamlined and friendly. We can do it!