Jobseekers Work Experience advice...

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ono

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Long story short, i relocated to Middlesbrough towards the back end of last year to help look after my Dad who was diagnosed as terminally ill (he sadly passed on in January). Unfortunately this meant i basically had to give up my job to relocate, which i did so in the hope that i would be able to find something up here relatively quickly. Given my Dad's situation, my career kind of took a back seat at that point anyway.

As it transpires, it is really difficult to find employment in Middlesbrough, which has unfortunately lead to me having to 'sign on' for the first time in my life. I have currently been signing on for the last 4 months, in which time i have applied for well over 200 jobs.

Because one of the jobs i applied for was 'Work Coach' with the DWP, my actual work coach has decided to send me on a work experience programme which is centered around helping almost 'unemployable' youths to find a way into paid labour. So today was my first day on the work experience and this particular job is just not suitable for me. Basically the job entails having around 15-20 meetings/meet-ups (per week) with troubled youths who are drug abusers, or re-offenders, which i would be ok with in a controlled environment. However this doesn't seem to be a controlled environment (some are quite isolated), and according to the guys i am 'shadowing' roughly half of the people they meet with carry weapons (knifes, knuckledusters etc) on them, and have them on them during these kind of meetings (without going into specifics, stories were told)

There isn't any amount of money you could pay me that would make me feel ok working with unpredictable weapon carrying people. Unfortunately the terms of my Jobseekers Allowance stipulates that i have to complete the full experience before attending the mandatory interview, after which i have to accept the job (if i got it). On top of that, i would also have to undertake a year long qualification in my own time to support my role.

Does anybody know what my rights are in relation to attempting to deter myself from this particular job without it affecting my benefit? The letter given to me by my Work Coach contained a lot of thinly veiled threats about what would happen to me if i refused to attend either the experience or the interview, so i'm a bit concerned that i am basically being forced down an avenue that frankly terrifies me, and appears to be quite a distance away from what i actually want to end up achieving.

I understand that this thread might annoy some people and i know beggars can't be choosers in certain situations, but surely there is a limit to what is reasonable and what isn't, and this falls into the unreasonable category? Or am i being a wet fart? I'd just like to canvass some opinion before i get in touch with my job coach.

Cheers.
 
I would not want to do that job either, it would give me untold stress and not the day to day crap we have to deal with.
Many jobs require a specific mindset and outlook on life in general and this is one that requires more than you can give if you tried.
You can't do the job properly because (in my mind at least ) half of you is thinking about personal security (and i fully understand that, i would to).

There are less risky jobs which come with hefty amounts of "danger pay" and tbh this sounds a bit shady with how they seem to be strong arming you.
It is not like you don't want to work, you just fancy a job with less risk of injury and/or death.

I am sorry i do not know the legal route to take here bud but i would like to note i agree with your pov on this and i support you for whatever it is worth.
 
Ban-jani said:
What did you previously do / what are you qualified for?
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Administration/office manager. A million miles away from this. The reason i have been sent on it is because my job coach thinks the job links closely to the Work Coach role previously applied for by myself. She is half right in a sense, although there's a danger element that exists with this role, that isn't there with the Work Coach role.
 
ono said:
Administration/office manager. A million miles away from this. The reason i have been sent on it is because my job coach thinks the job links closely to the Work Coach role previously applied for by myself. She is half right in a sense, although there's a danger element that exists with this role, that isn't there with the Work Coach role.
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Yeah I remembered you being London based. How far can you feasible travel on a day to day basis? For example would you go as far as Leeds?

I work in recruitment you see and whilst it's mostly IT, I do often get more generic office roles as well such as Administration and Manager positions in the north.

I'll keep an eye out anyway for you.
 
One way to avoid work placements you don't want is to politely ask your placement interviewee or boss if they have a criminal record, or if anyone you will work with has one.

I've advised a few people to do this and it has a reasonably good record of success.

The question is entirely reasonable, especially as most employers ask potential staff this question.

Another ruse is to tell them you won't voluntarily opt out of the rules limiting you to a maximum number of hours per week. Even this is irrelevant to the placement it marks you out as potential troublemaker and the employer might just take someone else instead.

In the end though you have to do what the DWP says.
 
There is a good chance a high percentage of the young people you are working with now will be going to see a Work Coach in a few years time through the DWP to claim their benefits. They are the long term unemployed benefit claimants of the future.
Had you secured the job you applied for to be a Work Coach, you would have had a caseload of about 200 people to see on a fortnightly basis, with 10-15 appointments per day as opposed to the 10-15 appointments per week, you are currently doing, also a high percentage of your 200+ caseload as a Work Coach would have been through similar experiences with crime, drugs, history of violence in their earlier years - just like the guys who you are supporting now.
There are always staff safeguarding issues surrounding any sort of frontline services to people with complex problems but you would expect to have certain safeguards in place via the company you are on placement with and DWP (they're also responsible for your safety whilst on any work experience through the Job Centre). Can you imagine how volatile a person could be if you as their Work Coach has sanctioned their JSA because they missed an appointment or didn't apply for a certain job?
If you are seriously thinking of pursuing a career with DWP/their partners as a Work Coach, I would agree with your current Work Coach..... Something similar to the work you are doing now would be a good grounding for someone wanting to pursue a career as a Work Coach.
If you are worrying about your own safety, I don't think this is the correct career choice for you - no offence :-)
At least you've given it a try.
My Mrs worked in this area for over 15 years with some really problematic individuals and she was never physically attacked, but having said that, she tamed me so she obviously has a knack for it.
Good luck with the job hunting.
 
Machiavelli said:
There is a good chance a high percentage of the young people you are working with now will be going to see a Work Coach in a few years time through the DWP to claim their benefits. They are the long term unemployed benefit claimants of the future.
Had you secured the job you applied for to be a Work Coach, you would have had a caseload of about 200 people to see on a fortnightly basis, with 10-15 appointments per day as opposed to the 10-15 appointments per week, you are currently doing, also a high percentage of your 200+ caseload as a Work Coach would have been through similar experiences with crime, drugs, history of violence in their earlier years - just like the guys who you are supporting now.
There are always staff safeguarding issues surrounding any sort of frontline services to people with complex problems but you would expect to have certain safeguards in place via the company you are on placement with and DWP (they're also responsible for your safety whilst on any work experience through the Job Centre). Can you imagine how volatile a person could be if you as their Work Coach has sanctioned their JSA because they missed an appointment or didn't apply for a certain job?
If you are seriously thinking of pursuing a career with DWP/their partners as a Work Coach, I would agree with your current Work Coach..... Something similar to the work you are doing now would be a good grounding for someone wanting to pursue a career as a Work Coach.
If you are worrying about your own safety, I don't think this is the correct career choice for you - no offence :-)
At least you've given it a try.
My Mrs worked in this area for over 15 years with some really problematic individuals and she was never physically attacked, but having said that, she tamed me so she obviously has a knack for it.
Good luck with the job hunting.
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Hahaha thanks for the reply.

This particular group are actually people who have been unemployed and been receiving JSA for over 1 year but have been referred due to a lack of skills or other components required to become employable. While I understand that I would also be dealing with similar people as a work coach, I would also be working in a much more secure environment given that the job centre is heavily guarded. With this other type of employment I would be expected to meet with unpredictable people in isolated areas which makes it much riskier.

The type of person generally employed as a work coach seems to be very different from the type of person who is a youth advocate, or at least appears to be from my experience.

Cheers for the reply anyway, I think I am going to have roll with it til the course finishes at least and then see what my options are.
 
ono said:
Hahaha thanks for the reply.

This particular group are actually people who have been unemployed and been receiving JSA for over 1 year but have been referred due to a lack of skills or other components required to become employable. While I understand that I would also be dealing with similar people as a work coach, I would also be working in a much more secure environment given that the job centre is heavily guarded. With this other type of employment I would be expected to meet with unpredictable people in isolated areas which makes it much riskier.

The type of person generally employed as a work coach seems to be very different from the type of person who is a youth advocate, or at least appears to be from my experience.

Cheers for the reply anyway, I think I am going to have roll with it til the course finishes at least and then see what my options are.
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No worries mate. Meant to say earlier, sorry for your loss as well.
 
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