Paid Members bAzTNM#1 Posted March 7, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) Yeah, our Jobcentre has some big 25 stone bruiser as security. You know when you're getting your benefits stopped when they summon that King Kong Bundy-esq guy over to your table to stand beside the advisor. Edited March 7, 2014 by bAzTNM#1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted March 7, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 7, 2014 Did the company give you a letter stating that you were being finished and the reason? If not, get one, it will solve all the "giving up work" issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted March 8, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2014 There's no worries about proving that the job ended rather than it being down to me deciding not to bother with it. It's just the constant shitty attitudes of the staff and the "It must be your fault" mentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Up Chuck Posted March 8, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2014 Yeah, I've heard enough horror stories about that prevailing assumption to be glad the staff at my place are, for the most part, extremely nice. Â So, slight dilemma for me: I've got an interview for a job that matches superbly with my skills, but is a two-hour 3-bus commute and is only 16 hours a week with a pro rata salary that works out at about half what I need to move in with my fianc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philo_Vance Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Not been in this thread before, hello. Â As those of you who've followed my story (presumably none of you) know, I did nine years or so working my way through the ranks at Holland and Barrett, and ended up managing the one of the biggest stores in the south east. Was treated badly by the company in a variety of ways and eventually snapped and walked out about 3 years ago. I've spent the last 3 years trading in books and vinyl and sort of scraping by. To begin with I had plenty of savings- I'd been planning to buy a place with the girl I was seeing, and we broke up around the same time I jacked in the job. So I sort of half arsed it for a long time, making some money through books and records and topping it up with savings. Fast forward three years and the savings are gone and I'm not making enough through the online sales to get by. I've become a bit of a burden on my poor old parents who've had to lend me money, and to be honest I've totally lost motivation lately so I've not been working as hard to find stock to sell as I should have been. Really reached a crisis point to the extent that it's affected my relationship with my girlfriend and things have been pretty shit the last few months, entirely down to me. Â So, decided to sort myself the fuck out and apply for some jobs. Chucked out some CVs yesterday, and to my utter surprise got a call this afternoon asking me to start tonight. Basically a roving shopfitter/merchandising job all over the south east, working nights. It's going to absolutely suck, but at least I'll be ok financially and feeling like I'm on me own two feet again. Got a call later on telling me I can't actually start till later in the week for various paperwork reasons, which was a relief since I didn't go to bed last night and I was on pint five when I took the call this afternoon. A 12 hour shift tonight would have done me in. Â Other bonuses, it's going to be a pretty physical job so I should shed some of the 3 stone I've put on in the last three years. Plus it's one of those jobs where I can pick and choose when I want to work, by the sound of it, so I should be able to keep the books and records on the go as well. Â Feeling fairly positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philo_Vance Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Cheers!! Never done nights before so will be an experience. Starting tonight at ten but annoyingly have to go and meet the boss at 6 to get some paperwork sorted so my plan of sloping off to bed about now for 3 or four hours is screwed. Tonight's in Canterbury, actually within walking distance from my house but I could be all over the south east in the future depending where the work is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members quote the raven Posted March 10, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 10, 2014 Cheers!! Never done nights before so will be an experience. Starting tonight at ten but annoyingly have to go and meet the boss at 6 to get some paperwork sorted so my plan of sloping off to bed about now for 3 or four hours is screwed. Tonight's in Canterbury, actually within walking distance from my house but I could be all over the south east in the future depending where the work is. Â Â Nice one, even better being local to start with. Â I often consider chucking it all in and going to work security on the campus there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Yeah, our Jobcentre has some big 25 stone bruiser as security. You know when you're getting your benefits stopped when they summon that King Kong Bundy-esq guy over to your table to stand beside the advisor. Â Ours has a guy who looks exactly like former WCW head of security Doug Dillinger. He looks as physically well-equipped to deal with physical confrontation with an average-to-strong man as old Doug was, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philo_Vance Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) First week report: Â Only got the two shifts this week in the end, but having the last few days to sort my house out and see the missus before the crazy shifts start has been handy, plus I had a gig last night so needed yesterday free. Â Anyway, Monday and Tuesday nights I was at the local Morrisons. Boring, shit work but both shifts finished early. Were supposed to be 10pm-10am, but on the first one I was home by 7.30, and the second by 5am. And if a shift finishes early, I still get paid for the full 12 hr shift. Nice easy first week then. Â Next three are pretty mad, however. Tomorrow and tuesday I'm on 12 hour day shifts in Eltham, so a bit of a drive to work, then weds and thurs in Whitstable, just up the road about 6 miles. It's at a B and Q, for a company that does stock control and auditing. Not entirely sure what the project is, but after these four days training, there's 2 weeks at 5 nights a week, all in Whitstable again. Â Best bit however, is the expenses. I get 45p a mile for driving, which is FAR more than it'll cost me in my economical little car. Plus there's a 15 quid a day food allowance, which is enough to cover my lunch out plus something to take home for dinner. So the 4 or 5 days a week I work, I'll essentially have zero outgoings, so a hell of a lot of my wages will be able to get put away in my savings account. Gonna be the first time in a few years I've been able to save anything. Very happy. Â Edited due to an accidental DP. Edited March 16, 2014 by Philo_Vance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 i myself am looking into training to become a plumber, i would like to do it through an apprenticeship but as i am 28 its pretty much nigh on impossible (basically due to the government paying the employer a few grand per apprentice they take on between the ages of 16 - 24. i am willing to pay the company this fee if they take me on, but no one has got back to me yet. Â I've been trying this myself and at 30 I'm in the same boat as you. I had an interview with Wrexham council last year that went great but unfortunately I didn't pull it off. My mate who is a council plumber reckons the age thing is not an issue with the authority and they regularly take on old biddies so if you haven't tried with one then maybe you should give um a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted March 17, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2014 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...ud-9196017.html  http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/...ersal-jobsmatch  So, Universal Jobmatch is being ditched, as it's now officially recognised as not being fit for purpose, and (cue Edwardian villain laughing and adjusting his monocle) "bedevilled with fraud".  It'll be interesting to see if usage still becomes mandatory in April now that the DWP have this stance on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have to go on that site for my mam (she's 61 and claiming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted March 17, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2014 I've been fortunate in recent years as I've always called their bluff when they claim using it is mandatory, and they've backed down and not put it on my jobseeker's agreement. Â However last week (along with "accidentally" not logging that I'd turned up), my new cross-eyed advisor issued me with a jobseeker's direction that a) she didn't tell me she was actually issuing, and b) is a bit different to what was actually discussed, so now to avoid grief I've had to use UJ to apply for a job where the description is a copy and paste job of a "two weeks but advertised as 6 months to permanent" position I fell for a couple of years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted March 17, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2014 It's mandatory to have one, but not to use it. I found totaljobs and cvlibrary much better search sites. Gum tree has some good local things on it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted March 17, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2014 I thought it could be mandated as part of your jobseeker's agreement / claim commitment , but wasn't mandatory by default? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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