Out of work benefits

[Marvin]

Hi guys. Just to say if you find yourself on out of work benefits such as ESA etc and a decision on your claim goes against you, when you phone the enquiry line, please don't shout at the poor bloke (me) when the phone connects to an advisor. You will find most are (generally speaking) on your side.

 

Rant over.

[sadj]

9 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Hi guys. Just to say if you find yourself on out of work benefits such as ESA etc and a decision on your claim goes against you, when you phone the enquiry line, please don't shout at the poor bloke (me) when the phone connects to an advisor. You will find most are (generally speaking) on your side.

 

Rant over.

🤨

[sadj]

9 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Hi guys. Just to say if you find yourself on out of work benefits such as ESA etc and a decision on your claim goes against you, when you phone the enquiry line, please don't shout at the poor bloke (me) when the phone connects to an advisor. You will find most are (generally speaking) on your side.

 

Rant over.

Just joking....Iv had an absolute dick of a time with UC however Iv never got angry at the person on the phone. I always tell them at the start of the call if i get wound up or out of order tell me to shut it and give me a sec i’ll calm down. I understand its not them its the system. Never needed that yet though. They all seem to understand how ridiculously the system squeezes you and its peoples lives its damaging even if they can’t comment directly.

[been here before]

I though this was about lying in bed all morning, watching re-runs of The Sweeney on ITV4, buying your messages from Farmfoods and being able to get concession tickets for the fitba'.

 

Misleading thread title imo.

[Thommo414]

Think this can go for literally anyone who has to deal with the general public, and more specifically those who deal in complaints. As you say, it's often folk who don't agree with the policies of the company they work for, just people doing a job

[Marvin]

3 hours ago, sadj said:

Just joking....Iv had an absolute dick of a time with UC however Iv never got angry at the person on the phone. I always tell them at the start of the call if i get wound up or out of order tell me to shut it and give me a sec i’ll calm down. I understand its not them its the system. Never needed that yet though. They all seem to understand how ridiculously the system squeezes you and its peoples lives its damaging even if they can’t comment directly.

 

Don't mention UC to me. Tbh a lot of processors within the processing sites don't agree with it. I am trying my best not to go to that benefit. I know lots of couples who have been punished by UC. My mate got sanctioned even though he found work

 

[Marvin]

In my current role I have become very disillusioned with the benefit (ESA). It's always the honest claimant who gets punished. God forbid if you miss a small fact on your application. And with the Tories robbing the poor to give to the rich. As well as fecking up negotiations with the EU all I can see is bleak times ahead for us all.

[sadj]

1 hour ago, Marvin said:

 

Don't mention UC to me. Tbh a lot of processors within the processing sites don't agree with it. I am trying my best not to go to that benefit. I know lots of couples who have been punished by UC. My mate got sanctioned even though he found work

 

I did some adhoc work outside what I normally do for one of our festivals and ended up financially worse off and unable to pay my bills for the month because I had worked. Its a good idea badly implemented 

[Marvin]

32 minutes ago, sadj said:

I did some adhoc work outside what I normally do for one of our festivals and ended up financially worse off and unable to pay my bills for the month because I had worked. Its a good idea badly implemented 

 

The way I see ESA, it was a good replacement from Incapacity Benefit  However there were some elements that could have been changed  imo. However Labour rushed it through Parliament and into legislation before any possible amendments could have been implemented. 

[Lemongrab]

6 hours ago, Marvin said:

Hi guys. Just to say if you find yourself on out of work benefits such as ESA etc and a decision on your claim goes against you, when you phone the enquiry line, please don't shout at the poor bloke (me) when the phone connects to an advisor. You will find most are (generally speaking) on your side.

 

Rant over.

Was that you?  Sorry bud.

 

Now that that's out of the way, where's ma f'in giro ya bass?

 

 

 

I'm usually quite civil when I call you. I'd probably get the sack otherwise. But hey, how about changing that soddin music.

 

[Marvin]

11 hours ago, Lemongrab said:

 

 

 

I'm usually quite civil when I call you. I'd probably get the sack otherwise. But hey, how about changing that soddin music.

 

 

It's a computer version of a classic,  can't remember who. The best music I've heard whilst on hold was The Mac during an inquiry call to Somerset County Council.

[Lemongrab]

25 minutes ago, Marvin said:

 

It's a computer version of a classic,  can't remember who. The best music I've heard whilst on hold was The Mac during an inquiry call to Somerset County Council.

Vivaldi-Four seasons.

[Marvin]

46 minutes ago, Lemongrab said:

Vivaldi-Four seasons.

 

 

That's the one. If you're on hold listening to that for 45 minutes, I suppose tbf I'm not that surprised the customer is pissed off especially the version the DWP plays.

[Der Kaiser]

20 hours ago, Marvin said:

Hi guys. Just to say if you find yourself on out of work benefits such as ESA etc and a decision on your claim goes against you, when you phone the enquiry line, please don't shout at the poor bloke (me) when the phone connects to an advisor. You will find most are (generally speaking) on your side.

 

Rant over.

 

My favourite Jobseekers conversation while in between teachers jobs....

 

Shellsuit wearing pr1ck "It's awways fookin busy in ere"

Me "......aye"

SWP "Sowit you do"

Me "....teacher"

SWP "Can ye no just goan get a job in a skool instead of coming ere"

Me "That's genius mate....problem solved"

SWP "....eh?"

Me "Just saying....should have thought of that myself"

[G.Wright]

Years ago I worked for one of the companies that were to provide additional assistance to those that had been with the job centre for a minimum of 12 months. It amazed me how difficult the system is for those genuinely trying to get back into work but apparently easy to manipulate for those that were 'lifers'. 

[Normthebarman]

Saw something a few days ago that goes towards this. Mental health is a huge thing nowadays. Thousands are affected by it. Anxiety, depression, the works. And these people have to go to work and, inevitably, some will work in customer facing jobs. Next time you want to go mental at someone who is just doing the job they're paid to, think about that. That person could be on the brink and you going mental because someone 3 pay grades higher has made a stupid decision could tip them over. 

 

Be nice to people, folks. Who knows what shit that person you're shouting at is going through. 

[Captain Sausage]

4 hours ago, Normthebarman said:

Be nice to people, folks. Who knows what shit that person you're shouting at is going through. 

 

 

 

If we all did a bit more of this, the world would be a much better place. 

[JackLadd]

UC is a total joke. You can't claim it for a whole month after your last day of work and if you have over 6k in cash they heavily reduce payment. 

[graygo]

1 hour ago, JackLadd said:

UC is a total joke. You can't claim it for a whole month after your last day of work and if you have over 6k in cash they heavily reduce payment. 

 

£17 for every £1,000 over £6,000 is not heavily reducing it.

 

Having said that, UC stinks and I've been on the receiving end of some of it's crazy rules.

[Helzibob]

5 hours ago, JackLadd said:

UC is a total joke. You can't claim it for a whole month after your last day of work and if you have over 6k in cash they heavily reduce payment. 

 

You claim it as soon as your job ends. You won’t however get your first payment for a month and a week unless you take out an advance (which you have to pay back at a pretty high rate, meaning your monthly payments and then much reduced).

 

I work in benefits and think UC sucks. Also for anyone claiming UC there is a special fund (which the DWP and nobody else advertises) which can help with money for travel to interviews, interview clothing etc and does not need to be paid back. Ask your job coach for more info. I think it’s called the flexible support fund or something like that. 

[Marvin]

20 hours ago, JackLadd said:

UC is a total joke. You can't claim it for a whole month after your last day of work and if you have over 6k in cash they heavily reduce payment. 

 

My mate got sanctioned after he found a job. The job starts in 4 weeks time but he was told he still had to look for work 35 hours a week. Just in case.... 

[Marvin]

14 hours ago, Helzibob said:

 

You claim it as soon as your job ends. You won’t however get your first payment for a month and a week unless you take out an advance (which you have to pay back at a pretty high rate, meaning your monthly payments and then much reduced).

 

I work in benefits and think UC sucks. Also for anyone claiming UC there is a special fund (which the DWP and nobody else advertises) which can help with money for travel to interviews, interview clothing etc and does not need to be paid back. Ask your job coach for more info. I think it’s called the flexible support fund or something like that. 

 

Whats your role? I work for Employment and Support Allowance. Its not perfect but better than the old Incapacity Benefit which was flawed.

 

I didn't know about that extra fund and my office UC spoc has never mentioned it.

Edited March 16 by Marvin

[Helzibob]

15 hours ago, Marvin said:

 

Whats your role? I work for Employment and Support Allowance. Its not perfect but better than the old Incapacity Benefit which was flawed.

 

I didn't know about that extra fund and my office UC spoc has never mentioned it.

 

I work for the council so housing benefit and council tax reduction. When the DWP did our training they mentioned the flexible support fund but it appears to be like fight club, nobody talks about it. I think it needs to be publicised far more. A quick google search brought this up.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_Support_Fund

 

I’m pretty sure it’s available on all bens, even the legacy ones.

[Matthew Le Tissier]

On 14/03/2019 at 16:19, Thommo414 said:

Think this can go for literally anyone who has to deal with the general public, and more specifically those who deal in complaints. As you say, it's often folk who don't agree with the policies of the company they work for, just people doing a job

Asda customer service desk can be a barrel of laughs

[Jambos1983]

When I worked in a customer care role I would try and go the extra mile if we'd made a mistake and the person was being nice. As soon as it got borderline personal I had no inclination to help them

Edited March 17 by Jambos1983

[graygo]

On 15/03/2019 at 22:11, Helzibob said:

 

You claim it as soon as your job ends. You won’t however get your first payment for a month and a week unless you take out an advance (which you have to pay back at a pretty high rate, meaning your monthly payments and then much reduced).

 

I work in benefits and think UC sucks. Also for anyone claiming UC there is a special fund (which the DWP and nobody else advertises) which can help with money for travel to interviews, interview clothing etc and does not need to be paid back. Ask your job coach for more info. I think it’s called the flexible support fund or something like that. 

 

 

You don't.

 

Wait until you have had your final wage or it will count as income in your first month on UC. In fact wait until the day after.

 

I started my claim on the same day I got my final wage and this was counted in as income and after the 5 weeks I received nothing from UC.

[Helzibob]

14 hours ago, graygo said:

 

 

You don't.

 

Wait until you have had your final wage or it will count as income in your first month on UC. In fact wait until the day after.

 

I started my claim on the same day I got my final wage and this was counted in as income and after the 5 weeks I received nothing from UC.

 

It really depends on how much your final wage will be and how much you were earning before. For a lot of people it will be worth claiming straight away as their final wage may only be for a week or so and they will still be entitled to UC from the date they claimed. Everyone’s circumstances are different though. 

[Ribble]

I just feel lucky that it's nearly 20 years since I made my one and only visit to go and sign on the dole,  the dole office in Dalkeith at the time had just had someone signed off sick for a month so they offered me a temp role almost there and then. Lasted 2 days before something else came up with a guaranteed 3 months. It was the longest 2 days of my working life but also bizarrely 2 of my best paid as they paid me for the full month!