South East – KeLLY TOMLiNSON [email protected]07941 342835 South West – BReTT SPaRKeS [email protected]07718 666593 London – PiLGRiM TUCKeR [email protected]07970 126249 Eastern – JaNeT MCLOeD [email protected]07718 668498 East Midlands – DaViD CONDLiFFe David.condliff[email protected]07791 113806 West Midlands – ShaUN PeNDeR [email protected]07885 803449 North West – SheiLa COLeMaN [email protected]07711 375538 North East Yorkshire and Humber – JOhN COaN [email protected]7711 375536 Scotland – JaMie CaLDWeLL [email protected]07980 721417 Ireland – aLBeRT heWiTT [email protected]07711 375537 Unite Community Compulsory and Voluntary Work KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Benefit claimants – Unite and PCS are working to expose the Government lies on targets and working with other organisations to help claimants and to abolish workfare and sanctions. Join Unite Community Come and be part of the largest union in the UK, Unite. If you’re unemployed, a carer, a volunteer, student or retired, Unite Community membership is for you. Unite Community membership costs just 50p per week. Up and down the country Community members come together in groups and meet up to take action together on issues they feel passionately about. Join us and get involved. To find out more or to join on-line www.unitetheunion.org/community or email us on: [email protected]This leaflet was produced with the support of London Unemployed Strategies. contact Nick Phillips on 020 7467 1283/ [email protected]Contact your local community coordinator 7138/FS3/DP/9-15 A voice for London’s unemployed
Unite and PCS are working to expose theGovernment lies on targets and working withother organisations to help claimants and toabolish workfare and sanctions.
Join Unite CommunityCome and be part of the largest union in theUK, Unite. If you’re unemployed, a carer, avolunteer, student or retired, UniteCommunity membership is for you.Unite Community membership costs just50p per week. Up and down the country
Community members come together ingroups and meet up to take action togetheron issues they feel passionately about. Joinus and get involved. To find out more or tojoin on-linewww.unitetheunion.org/community oremail us on: [email protected]
This leaflet was produced with the supportof London Unemployed Strategies. contact Nick Phillips on 020 7467 1283/[email protected]
Contact your local community coordinator
7138/FS3/DP/9-15
A voice for London’s unemployed
Myth: I have to go on any work or trainingprogramme the jobcentre tells me
Fact: Only under specific circumstances –even then you may still have a choice!
work for your benefit or ‘workfare’
The main compulsory schemes are:
1) The Work Programme (lasts 1-2years) you will have to take part in the workProgramme if you belong to any of thefollowing groups:
aged 18-24 and have claimed jobseeker'sallowance for 9 months
aged 25 or over and have claimedjobseeker's allowance for 12 months
‘Seriously disadvantaged’ in the labourmarket, for example because a disabilityhas made it hard to find work. when youqualify and whether you can choose totake part will depend on which area youlive in and your circumstances.
if you have just left prison then you arereferred from day one of your new claim.
2) The Help to Work Scheme if you finish on the work programme butyou're still unemployed and claimingjobseeker’s allowance, you move on to thehelp to work Scheme where you have todo one of the following three activities:
Go to the jobcentre every day. Thisinvolves discussing your progress lookingfor work, or new activities to improveyour skills
Take up a community work placement (upto 6 months for 30 hours per week)
accept intensive support from JobcentrePlus. This means Jobcentre Plus willspend more time with you looking at howyou can get back into work. it may involvegoing on training schemes, funding toovercome barriers to work such as travelcosts or clothes for a job interview, orlocal work experience.
Jobcentre Plus will decide which of theseactivities are appropriate, after discussingyour barriers to work, and taking intoaccount a report from your workprogramme provider.
3) Mandatory Work ActivityScheme
The mandatory work activity Scheme is aworkfare scheme for people claimingjobseeker's allowance aged 18 or over. it'saimed at people who need extra supportlooking for jobs and to gain work-related skills.Jobcentre Plus can decide whether you musttake part. The scheme is intended to providework or work-related activity for up to 30hours a week over a four-week period, to helpyou improve your chances of getting work. Tobe on the scheme, you have to be available forand actively seeking work and you have toenter into a jobseeker's agreement.
It is hard to refuse to go on one of theseschemes if you come within one of thesecategories, without the risk of beingsanctioned. in the meantime, for all suchschemes, you should ask for the help which isgoing to be best for you in your future career.For example, with the community workplacement, you should request firmly forsomething that is suitable for you and not justany place that happens to be available.
A possible alternative – ‘EthicalVolunteering’
Myth: I can only do 16 hours voluntarywork a week before I lose my benefit
Fact: You can do as much as you want –but don’t overdo it!
The government, DwP and Jobcentre Plus areall now very keen on what they call’promoting volunteering to improveemployment prospects’.
The official DwP line is: Universal credit advisers (and JSA ‘coaches’)will be able to reduce a claimant’s expectedhours (of work search) to up to 50% toaccommodate voluntary work. However, theclaimant is not restricted to the number ofhours they wish to do.
‘expected hours’ of work search is normally35 which means you can do up to 17.5 hoursof voluntary work without your benefit beingaffected, and anything over that, you do inyour own time. Remember – you can do your
work search at any time – it doesn’t have tobe between 9 and 5!
There is an organisation called Keepvolunteering voluntary: http://www.keepvolunteeringvoluntary.net/
Unite and most of the other big unions aresigned up to it, as well as campaigninggroups like Disabled People against Cutsand major charities like Shelter. all itsmembers are opposed to compulsoryworkfare schemes and take on volunteersonly because they want to be there.
if you go on their website, or contact yourlocal voluntary action or volunteer centreyou should be able to find a not-for-profitorganisation that works on issues that yousympathise with, and that you can dovoluntary work for. it should also providetraining for you. Together you can tell theJCP coach that this is going to produce, intheir terms,‘the best prospects of obtainingwork’, more than any compulsory schemethey try to put you on.
We want real jobs and a real living wage –not Workfare and sanctions
PCS is the union that represents job centreworkers. it is not staff working in jobcentresthat set Government policy. They want to be able to provide help tothose who need it rather than focus onconditionality or mandatory unpaid work.The staff are often put under extremepressure to refer claimants to programmes orto sanctioning in order to hit secret targets.
