Back to index of Nerve 13 - Winter 2008

Signing On:
How the System Works

By Crafty Clara

We're about to go into another recession, and like in all the previous recessions, it's unemployed working class people who will be hardest hit. They're the ones with the least money to keep them going, and with the fewest skills to sell to a new employer.

At the end of the 80s, the government decided it wanted to know what unemployed benefit claimants were up to. It made it a condition of getting benefits that you kept a record of what you were doing to "actively seek work". And you had to take a minimum number of steps each week. If you didn't, they would cut off your money. The trouble was, at that time, there was almost no work to actively seek. But the authorities wouldn't take that fact on board. If you couldn't find any jobs to apply for, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) assumed you hadn't tried hard enough. It was nothing to do with the state of the economy.

In the 80s, I was lucky enough to be able to join a claimants' union. This enabled unemployed people to share information about how the system works. We learned how to convince the state that we were actually looking for non-existent work, so we didn't lose our benefit, and survived until we got the kind of job we really wanted, and not the first exploitative crap they tried to bully us into.

There are no claimants' unions today and so this kind of information is hard to come by. But there are some tried and tested tips on how to use the rules and play the DWP at its own game.

It's relatively easy to claim Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) by phoning 0800 055 6688. The tricky part is your 'Jobseekers Agreement'. The things you have to agree to, if you want them to pay you any JSA at all, are: you will have to look for full time (not part time) work; you will have to take not less than three steps each week to look for work; and you will have to look at all the jobs you can possibly do, not just the type of jobs you really want. Of course, when you fill the form in you will mean every word. But later things like "life" may get in the way. One of the three "steps" has to include looking in the Jobcentre. Otherwise, put down things you could consistently do every week: websites, The Echo, Jobs Northwest, employment agencies.

The Jobcentre will give you a little booklet, in which they expect you to record what you have done to look for work. To make sure this looks convincing, always fill in your "three steps" every week, throw in a couple of extra steps sometimes, make sure it says you've filled in at least one application form every week, and every once in a while, that you've been offered an interview.

To be safe, keep the job descriptions, replies, and so on for everything you've applied for.

Jobcentre staff are under so much pressure these days. Over the past two years, the government has cut 20,000 Jobcentre staff, and the remaining ones are all overworked. They're not going to spend any more time than they have to checking that you're "obeying" your Jobseekers Agreement.

If you're still unemployed after three months, they give you a special interview to talk about "widening your job search". That means they expect you to start looking for any crappy job that comes along, regardless of pay or suitability. It's best to put down a whole range of jobs you're going to apply for at the start of your claim. This way, you keep the initiative. You can say, "I already widened my job search from the start, I'm looking for everything I'm capable of doing," and challenge the official to come up with anything else you're conceivably qualified for. He, or she, is likely to be so overworked that they will not have time to debate with you.

If you check out this blog, you'll find other handy tips: www.liverpool-jobsearch.blogspot.com

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