Claimant turned away from Job Centre because he was two minutes early
2016 has been a year of hate, from the Conservative Government to benefit claimants.
This is the latest story of the humiliation dealt out to claimants by people posing as public servants when their real purpose is far more sinister.
Christmas is not a joyful time for many so seeing a friendly face really makes a big difference.We spoke to a man, whom we had noticed had been walking in and out of the building. A member of the team asked him what was wrong? Why all the visits? He stated that they had turned him away because he was two minutes early. Yes two minutes.
Come on Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre, this is just petty. I feel this was done to humiliate the poor man, to remind him of where his place where they are regarded truly is.
Some people reading this might think that this is nothing, not a big deal, but it is a big deal. It humiliates the person concerned and strips a person of any self worth that they might have had left. Indeed, I see it as a kind of mental abuse, although some might think I am extreme saying this but I don’t think so. As a survivor of domestic violence it reminds me of something my ex partner used to do to me. Things like this still need to be tackled, because they are part of the much bigger issue and they always lead to more unfair treatment by the DWP.
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Sorry Mike! I just find it almost impossible to believe this and I would want it proven.
I am no lover of the DWP; at least those who are (ir)responsible) enough to mal-administer it but, if it really did happen then we should all be seeking for the appropriate action to be taken by sending our individual complaints to the office concerned.
I also find it difficult to understand why anyone would want to work for such an organization where those for whom they should be serving are insulted.
The blog quoted in the article is highly-respected and the account is first-hand. Have you contacted The Poor Side of Life with your concerns?
Sorry Rupert! I just found it impossible to believe that you wouldn’t have taken up Mike’s advice and go post your grubby suspicions somewhere else.
Keep it cordial, please.
If you have ever had to visit a JobCentre, you will have answered your own question; it is the place where self-esteem goes to die. Humiliation is the order of the day. There is a power struggle at work; those who have it and those who need it but have it robbed from them, constantly. Petty rules are used to demoralise, belittle and disempower people. I only ever visit a JobCentre when I have no other choice. I feel that it is far better if I can find my own work and can afford (overdraught) not be earning for a while rather than to jump through so many hoops as to seem a joke, only to be told, at the end, that I am entitled to nothing. Having to walk for miles, because I can’t afford the bus fare yet there is a place just up the hill. The system is designed to discourage claimants.
Rupert.its quite normal for jobcentre staff to behave in such an outrageous, degrading, bullying and punitive manner that people who haven’t experienced it are unlikely to believe it. They break the law, they commit fraud and they are morally bankrupt but if you complain they ignore it and then laugh at you because there’s nothing you can do about it
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev’rywhere you go;
Take a look at the foodbank queue, people soaked right through,
With the homeless dying in the snow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Strikes in every town,
NHS fit to burst, as the Tories do their very worst,
To bring the Country down.
Shoes that aren’t in bits, and a jacket that fits,
Is the wish of Barney and Ben,
Feeling warm in bed and getting well fed
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mum and Dad can hardly wait, to eat themselves again.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev’rywhere you go;
Down at the DWP, there’s a sanction for you and me,
As more people to the streets they throw.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Our MPs looking well fed
While making light, of our poverty plight,
And turning a blind eye to the dead.
its looking alot like chrismas
our governments chasing their
troops to court stand and deliver
was the message from ministers
inline for their payrise
its looking alot like chrismas
Surely, to be early for an appointment is something positive. This can only have been done for pure vindictiveness.
To anyone who thinks that JCP staff can`t be this petty/vindictive…
on one occasion in 2014 I was among 9 people waiting to sign on in a waiting area with 6 seats, a member of staff (one of 2 on jobsearch review/signing duties at that time & who absolutely despised me as she`d tried – unsuccessfully – to verbally manoeuvre me into a sanction at every opportunity for over a year) came out from behind her desk & asked us all what time our appointments were; 3 of us had the same time – approx. 12 mins hence – & yet only I was ‘instructed’ to go & browse the TouchScreen JobPoints (about 5 yds away but out of sight of the waiting area) despite me politely pointing out that I`d already completed my jobsearching for the day & had made 2 applications as a result.
When I returned to the waiting area 8-9 mins later, the same staff member was now the only 1 doing signings, & she pointedly called every other person in the waiting area to her desk, then began calling out claimants who`d arrived AFTER I`d sat down until I was the only 1 left waiting – at which point she wandered off to a colleague`s desk for a 10 min chat.
I was seated directly in front of her not 3 yards away, & after waiting 15 mins (with no other claimants arriving to sign) I pulled out a book & began to read it.
After only a few minutes ANOTHER member of staff (the deputy manageress…) came past & enquired re: whom I was waiting to see; almost immediately, the aforementioned advisor called me up to sign – a process that took less than 3 mins, inc. booking my next appointment 2 weeks hence.
Total time wasted from the point I`d sat down to the point I actually signed = 53 mins; that`s 52 mins after my appointment time & 23 mins after the last/previous claimant had been called up to the desk.