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I would love to make that promise sparkling, but I probably won't. Bed to pay for this week too, 
I know... Bed, fair enough, but don't let it turn into housekeeping (easily said).
xx
Hazeleyes, so sorry you're having a tough time. Hope it gets sorted out asap x
Hi hazeleyes, hope you do have your payment today, thinking of you xxx
The good news is that the money is now in account, phew. I didn't go and check, as that involves bus fare, so I rang JSA first. I was told it went out on the 14th (Wednesday), and the first payment takes that long!!!! Next time I sign on which would be a Monday signing day, the money will be in account on the Thursday. Fingers crossed eh.
Heck what a relief, it has been awful!
Thank goodness! Even so, not good.
Glad the money is now in your account hazeleyes, people have NO idea what it is like living on the breadline.
I am glad that you had other money to fall back on, a useful reminder to us all to try and save a little bit each week, even £2 just in case.
You're so right Anna, and yet somehow something else always crops up doesn't it, but shall try harder in the future. I did notice that budgeting loan wasn't taken out, so I cannot afford them to bugger this up, and then take a whopping chunk out in one swoop, so I called them just now, so hopefully that should be sorted by next Thursday. Have given my neighbour some money to hold on too, as I'll be short when it is taken out next week.
I know hazeleyes, there is always something else! I cleared some paperwork at the weekend and came across a letter from income support in 1998 - so my daughter was 4. It says the amount the law says you need to live on is £80.something.
then on the next line it said you owe this amount for budgeting loan and then you also owe another amount for social fund (or something) therefore you will get £62.80 per week.
I remember it well, I was just telling a colleague that I paid all bills except rent and used to spend £20 on food per week (don't know how I managed that!) and be left with nothing, but somehow managed Christmas, birthdays, other peoples birthdays, clothes & toiletries for a couple of years.
Incredible huh! But we get by and what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!!
Blimey Anna, I thought i was bad with paperwork, but 1998???? Don't worry I'll send Louise to you, she loves that job, hehe. 
Don't involve me! 
Yes, I am annoyingly organised with files for everything, but still lose things very frequently.
That's a total irony, Anna, "the law says you need X" and yet after all the deductions you are then officially left with LESS than what the law says you need. Crazy!
It is crazy isn't it Louise!
Anyway - hazeleyes, I, too, am a highly organised person with regards to paperwork at home, I think you have to be when you are on benefits!
I kept all my income support stuff and housing benefit and child tax credit and working tax credits etc etc stuff for a long time, because on 3 occassions, I have have been charged with overpayments, I have always kept on top of filling in these forms, contacted the departments if I thought the money was wrong (usually they giving me too much) but still I am paying back over £4,500 because of their mistakes. £20 a month until I die probably!! ( I did manage to get one overturned!)
SO that is why I keep everything so they can't tell me something and I have to take their word for it!
Hit a nerve, me? No 
Just letting everyone know that I keep on top of my paperwork! I recommend others doing the same! 
OMG!
I do have a box file...
I need a box file......
I have a few...
Hello everyone, I was directed to this thread and really glad I was (thanks).
Hazeleyes I had a similar experience when my IS was stopped and I went onto JSA. The first 2 payments didn't go in my account until a whole month later! I had to borrow money from relatives to buy food and essentials until then, it was awful. And ofcourse despite no money going into my bank account, the usual electricity/tv license/phone bills were still going out. Consequently I went overdrawn and incurred bank charges. Very scary time that was. I wrote a letter to the Benefits Office which pays my JSA telling them of the bank charges due to their mistakes. Thankfully the manager wrote back to me asking for a bank statement as proof the JSA had not gone into my account and where I had gone overdrawn, which I sent back, then they reimbursed me the bank charges thank goodness! It's disgusting things like that are happening to people who are already only just hanging on financially as it is. I too was told that because I attended an appointment 6 weeks before IS was due to switch over to JSA that there would be no delay in receiving payments....what a joke.
Back to the topic of the thread
No one at the job centre (been on JSA for 7 months now) has even mentioned the 'Work Programme' to me...so I have no idea what on earth it even is. Could someone explain? I'll go have a look if I can find it at the jbc website too. I have heard of people having to go to a different building once a month 9-5 to do a job search infront of advisors or spend all day re-doing their CV...I can't imagine a job search taking 8 straight hours, sounds ridiculous to me. Anyone know if that sounds like the Work Program? Is it true about it being one day a month? Can it be during school hours if you are a lone parent with children? There's no way I could do it from 9-5 when school is 9-3.15 and I have no one to help take my son to school or pick him up and look after him until after 5, so do I have the right to request that when they mention the times to me?
And can anyone tell me how long you claim JSA before they put you on the Work Programme? Like I said, I've been claiming for 7 months and not even been told about it yet. I'm sure they will spring it on me at the last minute with no warning and send me into panic mode.
The Work programme is something that the Government have rolled out but local providers have to administer it. You will notice that people mention having interviews with different "providers" and then drawing up agreements. It does seem to vary by area, though, and the original October 2010 guidelines suggested referral to the Programme after 12 months on JSA if you are over 25.
There seem to be various options including a 30 hour a week course. It is not clear what happens when, however, and I am sorry not to be able to give you firm information
Yes we hear of courses being in the school holidays etc, what you must do is to make it very clear at meetings with your advisor and also your provider, once they are on board, that you have caring responsibilities and cannot go to programmes in the holidays. Don't rely on one section telling another this information as we have seen that this does not happen. However, even the Government's offical guidance states that if you have a child under 12 you should be able to restrict your work to school hours
Hello again everyone 
,
To nikita007 and Louise, I have been referred to the Work Programme after just 11 months on jobseekers allowance. I have my first meeting with them this week. I am going to be very assertive and tell them clearly that I won't be attending any "CV writing courses"!!
I have heard some awful stories about the Work Programme, because they only get paid by results so they can push people into totally unsuitable jobs to meet their targets. However, I will go with an open mind and not make any judgements until I have had my meeting with them!
However, being put onto the Work Programme has forced me to reassess my life and I have decided to pursue my career choice (for which I need a degree). I am rather old to be retraining and studying but I have decided to try. I can do the degree at home and college (so won't be attending university). I am going to ask the Work Programme if they can support me with this goal (although I suspect their answer will be no because it is Level 4). Therefore, I am now considering signing off jobseekers allowance and living on my CSA and child tax credit payments. This will be extremely hard financially but it will allow me to concentrate totally on my studies. It is a shame that the current Government policies do not allow lone parents on jobseekers allowance to study for real qualifications rather than a CV writing course!
Hello Good Enough Mum
I totally agree with what you say, you would think that training for a good job and one you would enjoy would be more worthwhile and definitely worthy of support. Yopu could research into grants. Here is some basic information to get you started.
Thank you Louise.
Good Enough Mum, that's really a brave and excellent decision. I'm finally off to the WP induction on the 20th and sorely tempted to do the same if I can find the courage. Good luck x
Thank you J6767. I am going along to my meeting with the Work Programme this week and will make a final decision after that.
I can't stand the pressure of the Jobcentre anymore, and I have read some things in the press this week which suggest that things are only going to get worse for jobseekers (eg. jobseekers are going to be given points for each jobseeking activity. If a jobseeker doesn't get enough points, they don't receive any JSA). Worrying times indeed when the jobs just aren't there.
I am only able to make the choice about whether to sign off or not because I receive CSA payments. I know that single parents who don't receive any maintenance do not have the choice. 
...and I wonder how many families will be plunged into poverty by feeling pressured to come off JSA?
I agree Louise.
According to some press reports, there is going to be an announcement today on more conditionality for jobseekers. I despair. The rules are already quite tough enough. I have certainly never been allowed to write down a haircut as a job seeking activity (which is reported in some newspaper articles as being allowed under the "lax" rules for jobseekers.)
Today is the day when I make my decision about whether to sign off or not.
Thinking of you......
I am too.
I just think the whole situation is appalling.
I think that is the whole point of the excercise. To apply so much pressure with conditionality that people buckle under the strain. I think NONE of us have any trust in the Job Centres or the Work Programme. It seems as though traps are being set in order to trip people up and then JC's can apply sanctions at will. What is reported in the papers is purely Government propaganda to take the spotlight off their appalling policies. Then they can slide through NHS reforms etc as they've averted public attention by heaping blame on the unemployed. I did look at going to Uni last year - but worked out I'd probably end
up at least £25,000 in debt! So although it would be a great option,
it's just not practical for me.
I've found I can't make my WP appt on 20th as my child has a hospital appt at the same time (typical). Ha ha bet that'll go down like a tonne of bricks with the providers. I've already had them be shirty with them for not being able to hear them on the phone properly - even though I've explained I'm hard of hearing. So much for CPG being 'specialist providers for those with disabilities'!
Best of luck Good Enough Mum, fingers crossed and hope it goes well x
Good luck Good Enough Mum. Let us know how it goes.
Hi everyone ,
Thanks for your good wishes.
I went along for my appointment with the Work Programme adviser. I was totally honest and told them what I was thinking of doing (signing off). I was advised to think very carefully about doing that. I asked if there was any help from them with me wanting to retrain and study for a degree and was told no (as I suspected). They only help with getting people into work, and would only give "job specific" training for a guaranteed job.
Also, I wasn't given my travel expenses back because I went in the car and they don't pay mileage! (It said on the letter that they would pay travel expenses but didn't mention not by car). It was a 12-mile round trip so some mileage expenses would have been appreciated.
On a separate issue, I have also discovered that for my situation (studying for a degree at home) there is no funding or grants whatsoever that I could apply for. So, if I do decide to sign off, it really will be CSA and tax credits only to live on.
My dilemma goes on. I don't know what to do. I feel very pressurised though.
Hope everyone has had a good day. x
Could you not revise your study plan, and study at a local Uni? You would only have a few "contact hours" per week for most subjects.
Bad news re travel expenses. What do they mean by 'guaranteed job?', did they explain that at all? Did they take your prevoius experience and skills into account at the induction?
The studying situation sounds exactlty as I found it last year when I was looking for information for a full-time university degree. Very little funding and then only from charities who are already pushed to the limits themselves... not enough to live on and pay the mortgage, bills, food etc. Let alone childcare. I'm lucky enough to have an NHS psychotherapist at the moment who's diagnosis is "impacted due too much responsibility and too little support". I reckon that applies to most lone parents struggling today x
Hi everyone,
J6767, they didn't really explain it, I took it to mean that if someone had a job offer but needed some training to do that job, then they would provide it. Yesterday was mainly an introductory meeting. My next one is a job search. But as jobseekers, we have to do job search every week anyway in order to claim JSA! My booklet gets checked every time I sign on! Maybe all jobcentres are different in what they ask of claimants, the articles I have been reading about how "lax" the rules are do not apply at my Jobcentre! It's early days yet, maybe the WP will be a good thing but I don't know.
I hope you managed to change your WP appointment, and that they were understanding.
Hi all, i dont think the work programme is going to survive. My 3rd appoint got cancelled as the lady was on holiday, i went for my 4th appoint, the place was very busy, i was approach by staff to be told no-one could see me, come back in two weeks. I must admit i walked out feeling relieved... I saw in the sun yesterday, that job seekers are going to be made to search for work for 5 hours a day,5 days a week,ive never heard anything so ludicrous in all my life, my problem remains the same, no childcare for twin 11 year olds in the holidays,and guess what? no-one is listening. There are loads of jobs that need doing in this country, but the country havent got the money to pay wages, we need government run holiday clubs that arnt a million miles away from the needed.Everywhere you go you have to que and wait for ages because of cut-backs in staff,theyve done away with people answering phones and replaced them with annoying answer phones,we need more police as people are getting away with crimes ect ect ect. The country is going down hill fast,if they want to take my benifit away then just take it,im so fed up with it all.Its a complete mess!! xx
Sharbe, I agree with you that no-one is listening. I am more than willing to work, but those hours must fit in with caring for my children. Single parents need to be the judge of whether the job is suitable in their circumstances. The job needs to be local and term-time. The employer needs to be understanding. But those jobs just do not exist. I despair. Bringing up children on our own is already a job in itself.
Just a little experience i had a year ago- my car windscreen was put through by a young man who was harrasing my daughter, it cost me £400 as i was not windscreen covered, he got taken to court and ordered to pay £200 within a year to me. He takes numerous drugs, gets finacial help from everywhere,got a nice flat given to him as his mum threw him out. After a year i enquired where is my compensation? only because i wrote did they take him back to court, told him to pay it again, 6 months later ive not had a penny nor any letter back saying what happened. Theyve got morals all wrong in this country, he by the way sits on his back-side puffing all day,no kids no responsabilities, hes the sort of no-good,lazy person they should be targetting! NOT US!
I dont know why that printed twice,hahaha x
That's what I think too Sharbe. How can they put single parents in the same category as an unemployed person who has no responsibilities? The two categories are entirely different. And I strongly object to being told that I can only restrict my availability for work to school hours until my youngest child is 12. It should be 16.
Yes Good enough mum your right, bringing up children alone is a job . Whilst the kids were at school this week ive had to clear my back garden and shed,alone,it was gruelling work,ive been to the tip 3 times and had a bonfire.It wasnt a terrible mess but weve had a couple of rats sighted in our gardens and that i cannot cope with ,so everything had to be cleared,there was holly bushes,trees,and some very nasty stinging nettles that had to go,i worked blooming hard for three days solid,now the rest of the week will be the house work, washing, ironing, shopping,bed changing ect ect, and when the kids come home it will be dinner,baths,homework ect. I dont know about you but i usually fall into bed exhausted. x
Yes yes yes i have a sixteen year old daughter, who, if i wasnt around for her would not of got through her gcses at all, she, like many teenagers these days, went through a hard couple of years trying to stay on the right route,and only did because i was there pushing her and supporting her. Infact to prove a point i know many a teenager whose parents or parent works too many hours and the teenagers are all going off the rails, i would like to walk into parliment and ask them "do you not realize what is going on in the real world?"
Yes, teenagers need us to be there just as much as younger children do. Just in a different way.
My third signing on day, and I despair with these people. The person that I'm supposed to sign with, I've never seen, as he's never there!! The lady today had my jobsearch in front of her, and told me I hadn't done it. Sitting there in black and white for god sake. I had done 3 for each week, as required. She asked me what job I had done before going onto JSA. Told her I'd recently been switched from IS, as I'm a single Mum. Again, she asked me what job I'd done before signing? (Is it me). I asked her if she was new. She is for this department! Looking at screen, asked me if I still had osteoporosis? (nope, it disappeared like a headache, duh) Looking through jobs, she said I could do a Nannying job, which was miles from here, car needed (I don't drive). By this point I could have laughed. Asked her if it was term time only. No. Why did I need term time only? Asked again about the postal signing, I thought single Mums could request this? She said NO. When I said I could ask for this, she admitted she didn't know anything about it. Cheekily i mentioned the JC having term time jobs, and she told me they used too but not anymore, as it just didn't work out. Term jobs don't work out then???? She also told me I have to put down 20 hours, not 16??? Anyone help with this one please?
I have requested on each visit (3 times) to see my advisor. Always busy, no appointment ever been made, so this time I insisted that I see her. A week on Friday, then my signing day again on the Monday. God help me!!!!
Hazeleyes,
What a frustrating signing on. Good on you for standing up for your rights. I love the idea that Jobcentre Plus nolonger do term time working and yet there are meant to be term time jobs for single parents. What age are you children? If under 13 you can restrict your hours to school hours. We have produced a short guide about the flexibilities for single parents on One Space so it might be worth having a copy of this in hand for your next appointment (although you seem to know your stuff).
All the best
Laura
Hi Hazeleyes
Looking for 16 hours a week si fine. That lady knew much less about it than you did!
I think this is the guide that Laura was referring to
Laura, Hazeleyes' son is 9
I have never been able to put 16 hours down. Mine says 20 hours too.
Thankyou Laura and Louise. I shall print that guide off and have a good luck, then go in armed with information, so they cannot fob me off.
Well done you. xxxxxxxxxxx
That's interesting, Good Enough Mum, the One Space guide says 16 hours if you have a child under 16, maybe Laura can clarify?
Dear all,
The regulations about single parents and work are complicated. Basically some are rights and some are to be negotiated with your adviser. The ability to work during school hours when your child is under 13 is a right. The ability to limit your hours to a minimum of 16 hours when your child is under 16 years of age is a negotiated right (ie between the ages of 13-16). This will depend on your circumstances, but there is no hard and fast rules. It might for instance be reasonable to ask to limit your hours if your child had particular problems at school or where you have only recently been separated from your partner (these are only illustrative examples and the interpretation of the regulations appears to vary on your job centre).
Hope this helps.
Laura
Hazeleyes, promise me you'll pay yourself that birthday money back to you. Please.
xxx