Jobcentres will no longer force people into ‘any job’ available, minister says
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/29/jobcentres-alison-mcgovern-employment-support-policy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Posted by topotaul
Jobcentres will no longer force people into ‘any job’ available, minister says
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/29/jobcentres-alison-mcgovern-employment-support-policy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Posted by topotaul
33 Comments
Pleased to hear of this humane development.
I hate how harshly we deal with those going through a rough patch in our society.
Wonderful stuff. One step towards becoming a useful service.
Now stop forcing people onto random key skills courses to keep them busy. A friend of mine, who has a degree, was forced to do key English and maths courses. Unsurprisingly it didn’t make him any more employable and he eventually found a job in his industry on his own.
I have no doubt courses like that are useful for people that genuinely need them. But a one size fits all approach will cost more than it saves in the long-term.
Where is the m************ catch. There is always a catch that sounds too good to be true there’s got to be a catch where is the catch?
when i came back from Australia in 2011 I signed on for one week. It was the most pointless exercise ever. Seemed to be just a tick in the box exercise to me. What is the point of these services if they are utterly wank.
The reason this country is going to the dogs is because no body gives a fuck. We should probably try to change that.
Might get downvoted but why not?
When I first started working, I worked as a cleaner and have had quite a few jobs that were hard but it was work. Any work is better than no work.
I have a good job now, but I didn’t expect to get that out of nowhere. If I lost my job now, and couldn’t find another good job I would work again as a cleaner. I’m capable of working, and have bills to pay. People are lazy and entitled.
I was once unemployed, for around 4 months.
I was sanctioned because I never attended an interview at a fashion retail warehouse.
I’ve never worked in fashion or retail and I’d never expressed an interest in doing so, yet the ” work coach ” had allegedly put me forward for it anyway.
The first I knew of it was when I was hauled in for an interview at job centre +
I tried to explain that this was a mistake and someone, somewhere had got things mixed up, that I had no knowledge of this interview and it was clearly outside of my wheelhouse.
They were having none of it and sanction me financially.
Despite my efforts to reason with them I had to go through the motions of asking them to reconsider etc and then appeals.
I won my appeal but only on a technicality.
In my work plan, the agreement was upto 120 mins travel each way on public transport and with the use of timetables for trains and busses and estimated time on foot in between it was over 160 mins.
It was absolutely ridiculous that I had to go to those lengths for a job that I was forced into and without agreement or prior knowledge.
Sounds good on the face of it.
I claimed JSA/UC/whatever it was back then for about 3 months around 10 years ago, and seemingly got lucky with my job coach; she was genuinely helpful, I never felt threatened and I did end up with a job from an open day she pointed me to.
The people this will do nothing for are the genuine dossers, of which there were a fair few. I’d like to think that for qualified people with disabilities or those who are just between roles and don’t have the savings to live off, this would be a real move to stop trapping them in career-limiting, precarious roles for the sake of it. I’d rather they have a little more time out of work and then pay more income tax in the long run.
Surprised they force anyone into any job in the first place since they never helped me at all 10 years ago when I had to go there
This is actually great news. Over a decade ago I got a job straight out of uni on a one year contract in my field. When that came to an end I had to use the job centre. This vile woman who spent her time treating me as scum tried to tell me “It’s easier to get a job when you have a job. You can’t just sit around waiting for the right job.”
So you’re telling me that if I get a job in the meantime that I will have all the flexibility I need to interview and apply for jobs that are my in my area of experience.
You also think that I should waste the money of other companies to hire me and train me just to leave in a few short weeks / months when the right job for my CAREER comes along.
You’re also saying that a future employer will see that I worked at a company for 8 weeks and look at that favourably.
Get real.
I’m not really sure why taking a job that you’re able to do is seen as a hardship.
The benefit system isn’t there to fund people until they find their dream job, it’s a safety net. Taking any job available doesn’t mean someone can’t still look for something else.
We have to get back to the social security system being a fall back and not a choice
I’m not being funny, I’ve worked plenty of jobs I didn’t want to do for the sake of having a job and paying my way. The current system is the one that makes the most sense. Get any job and if you want to look for other opportunities after feel free to do so.
The main thing I hated when I was regularly signing on was the staff. They treat you like rats. Patronising, condescending, unclear advice, uneven policing of job searches… just awful.
I was sanctioned three times, none of which were fair (only managed to get one overturned; they literally tried to claim I had missed an appointment despite previously giving me permission to do so _because I was on a training course_).
Hated it. Horrible system made up of horrible places staffed with horrible, horrible people.
This is ridiculous, this has me tempted to sign on with some obscure job requirement/qualifications and get some easy money…
They had to play ball.
People have caught on to the lies and empty promises. People don’t even know their own jobs (I challenge people to make sure).
You want results? Then get people to “want” to do something. Otherwise we’re just repeating the same mistakes.
If I wasn’t too jaded to believe that the DWP could really be like this I might have cried with joy at this article lol. This is what people need, not to be degraded and made to feel like you should set your sights as low as possible.
Even the part about filling out forms is great news. When I used to have to go to the jobcentre they used to waste the entire appointment reading out bloody forms to me in their patronising, smug, “you’re obviously thick as shit” voice. Obviously not the worst issue I had with them but it’s part of the whole dehumanisation pipeline they put people through.
Yeah the old system was grim.
I was struggling with my degree from mental health around 4 years ago and felt I was likely to fail. I applied for universal credit whilst searching for a job and at my first visit to the jobcentre they made me feel like a criminal. They had security escort me around because I was a lone male in my 20s (until the lady speaking to me saw me and dismissed the guard) and after that they shot down any suggestions of apprenticeships, coding courses, etc that I was looking at to help me get into the sectors I was educated in, because “if you’re not seeking full time work or taking the first available place we offer to you, you’re disqualified for UC”.
Thankfully I soon got part time work doing something I loved, at a games and hobby store, whilst taking some additional courses, and now have a professional engineering job. However I remember several customers at the store around my age who’s experience with the jobcentre and UC was the same… Slight lads who didn’t drive being sent to construction sites and hour’s commute away. Absolutely no care taken to direct people into careers that built on existing skills and knowledge.
This isn’t to shame blue-collar work. The machinists and fabricators I work with now in my engineering role are hugely impressive, skilled, and great people. It’s simply dumb for the dole system to push square pegs into round holes.
So you can now sign on at the expense of the tax payer until you find the perfect job now.
It makes sense to do this in lieu of abolishing long-term sickness benefits- it might remove some of the pressure on job seekers that might otherwise lead them to lean on their “mental health” to simplify their benefits claim.
I remember when I was on job seekers . It started off alright . I was not on it all the time as I did get jobs in between but a lot didn’t materialise (1 was due to redundancy , 1 was due to running out of work , 1 was the kind of contract they put me on then just completely forgot I even worked there ext) after a while though they got a lot stricter .
One of the biggest problems I had was transport . They gave me the job Center which was harder for me to get too (because it was closer but it also had a much worse bus system than another job Center ) and at the time I was learning to drive .
Of all the jobs I got I only got 1 from the job Center which was an agency job . It was alright but either the agency or the company were terrible like it was unreliable and short notice if I was even working or not . I mean the 1st one I stuck it out until the work dried out as it was money and experience and something to put down on the cv also helped with finding the driving lessons and tests but when they offered me a 2nd job under the same agency also not in my town so if they messed me up at least it was walking/cycling distance if they messed up I decided to decline it for those reasons but they would have none of it saying I would have to apply for it and such .
I blocked the agency as I wanted nothing to do with them and was awaiting the worst from the job Center but thankfully a job I had applied for got me a interview and they seemed desperate enough for someone due to the start times and nature of the job (was really early starts and in a airport) . It was close enough for me to cycle so I took it and I stuck with it till I could find something with not so early hours .
So hearing this it does sound like a good move for the government to do . And If anyone is in that same situation my advice is to send emails or ask in person in places if you are desperate for a job . Don’t relie on what the job Center offers
I do substitute teaching as a specialist. Obviously, fir the holidays I’m a bit knackered unless I can get some quick temp work. The Job Centre was constantly trying to get me to interview for full time roles. Even trying to explain to them that even if I got it, I’d be quitting in a few weeks when schools started up again, they still tried to do it.
Although the sentiment is well meaning, I disagree entirely with the statement that at least one employer somewhere will want a disabled employee. Like the ‘plenty of fish in the sea/keep your chin up’ from well-wishers who don’t understand the barriers to employment as well as the disabled themselves.
I say this as someone studying MEDICINE until 2023 and making it as far as the foundation stage of training on placements. I have tourettes and severe anxiety that was really exacerbated by the course and it was impossible to find me a training place because managers were incredibly anxious about having me in case I caused harm to somebody by shouting something out or screaming which tended to upset others. I was a lot worse on training than I was before it; in the end the university said I was unsuitable for most roles working with people as I am unpredictable working under pressure
I haven’t gone back to work since medical school and am going to fight to hang onto my PIP even if the best hopes for me is a cashier job at ASDA. I’ve been traumatised, humiliated by my experience, and I know of two other doctors (one qualified) in the same situation as my own.
They are scrapping the work capability assessment, but there used to be a box you would tick for unpredictable/dangerous behaviour….really we are talking about mental illness, tics, brain injuries, dementia, learning disabilities, autism. There is no box to tick on the PIP form for this. And what’s even worse is that we tend to look ‘alright’ on the outside
Reading that piece just shows me that the government hasn’t done any consulting at all with disabled people on these plans. The disabled perspective is missing, and until that drives the proposals, schemes will have limited impact
I for one hate public systems that prioritise acceptable outcomes over good outcomes. We should want to trade a little target setting for actually taking the time to help educated people place in their industry where they can have a successful career.
Finally an interesting/relatively brave move by Starmer. I wonder if this is the result of Farage’s latest proposals on benefits.
The worst part wasn’t just being forced to apply for any job. But being forced to apply for jobs I had 0.5% of even getting an interview for smh
“I see you applied for the chef position I sent you, but you didn’t apply for the regional marketing manager… Why’s that?”
In the sub headline
“Claimants that do not feel they fit well with jobs listed will be offered exciting opportunities in our new Soylent Green program”
So is this going to be just a repeat of the 2000’s where people turn up get paid then go out on the lash?
Im not being funny .Barring medical reasons if your unemployed and their is a job that will hire you . You should take it.
How about they just give us our brew money and enough of the theatrics.
Personally I found the job centre and the person I dealt with quite reasonable. Over 8 months I was applying to grad schemes and temporary part time work and at no point did they try to push me towards quick and easy employment or anything outside what I was looking for.
I treated jobhunting and practicing for interviews and assessments like a job in itself, logged my hours and never had any issues.
Ended up getting on a 4 year accounting training scheme.
One of my friends had their UC withdrawn because his job interview with a lab (that they had a degree relevant for) clashed with a McDonald’s interview they had set up.
They got the job at the lab. This was around 2017.
I agree with this.
However, there are times when people need any work available. You need to work to the capabilities and needs of the people coming in. That does mean yeah don’t just give everyone that comes in a random interview, but at the same time, you need people to know that they aren’t able to get the job they want and if they need to work in an industry they’re unfamiliar with then they need to work that job.
I know it’s harsh and it’s hard and nobody likes to hear it I imagine, but we can’t just have people sitting on the dole until they find something they really want on their table either. So it depends how exactly this is going to be implemented, cause I don’t want a system that needs to be stepping forward to take a step back either.
It’s just an unpleasant place all round.
I remember 10+ years ago I went on the dole for a few months when I finished university and my parents moved house to a different town. So I was finding my feet trying to find a job. My mum went with me one week, to wait downstairs while I had the meeting.
She was told she was not allowed to sit down and wait. She had to stand up and look on the machine and booklets for a job. Staff were NOT having it that she wasn’t there for her, but for *me*. She was not allowed ti sit down at any cost. She was made to stand up and look for a job.
Granted she’s a lazy person and as a Boomer, has managed not to work since her late 40s, getting by very comfortably just spending my stepdad’s money. But even so.
Maybe we can expect a better standard of employment procedure if people aren’t forced to sit through it.
Maybe workplaces will have to stop treating front line staff as disposable.