Universal Job Match - Do NOT sign!
Lesnar
Posts: 633
Forum Member
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The new Universal Job Match is not compulsory to use if you are a benefit claimant and you CANNOT be sanctioned for not registering with the service.
If you advisor at the Job Centre tells you that it IS mandatory that you sign up to it, they are lying.
If you do not want the JCP staff intruding and snooping on all your job searching activities do NOT sign any consent form and do not allow them to view your Universal Job Match account.
http://consent.me.uk/
http://www.boycottworkfare.org/
Do NOT be bullied into signing, simply clearly explain and print off relevant documents to show your adviser when you go for your signing on appointment. My friend signed on yesterday and was LIED to by his advisor that signing up to the UJM was compulsory, the advisor eventually backed down when they were presented with written documentation that clearly showed he was not telling the truth.
I would encourage everyone to spread the information that the UJM is NOT compulsory to everyone they know, use social media etc.
If you advisor at the Job Centre tells you that it IS mandatory that you sign up to it, they are lying.
If you do not want the JCP staff intruding and snooping on all your job searching activities do NOT sign any consent form and do not allow them to view your Universal Job Match account.
http://consent.me.uk/
http://www.boycottworkfare.org/
Do NOT be bullied into signing, simply clearly explain and print off relevant documents to show your adviser when you go for your signing on appointment. My friend signed on yesterday and was LIED to by his advisor that signing up to the UJM was compulsory, the advisor eventually backed down when they were presented with written documentation that clearly showed he was not telling the truth.
I would encourage everyone to spread the information that the UJM is NOT compulsory to everyone they know, use social media etc.
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Comments
Basically it means that the JCP can see every single thing that you do. You are signing away your right to privacy and giving them consent to snoop and monitor everything job searching activity you do.
If you do not like having privacy then sign, if you want to keep your legal right to privacy then do not sign.
It is entirely voluntarily but you will be lied to by the JCP and they will try and bully you into signing.
You get your "own" account which is visible to the JCP, they can see every job you have applied for and force you to apply for a job on there by flagging it up so you can view it within your account. If they flag a job up and you do not apply for whatever reason they will know and sanction you.
By signing up to it you are increasing the likelihood of being sanctioned.
I've heard of it but don't actually know anything about it. Unfortunately I'm signing on and last time I was there, I was told about how I should register with Monster jobs... is it the same thing??
At the moment im in full time employment, but have some haelth problems, if how ever I lost my job, and had to sign on, I would sign up to the U J M
If the job wants to flag up a job,,which I should apply I would apply, and personally I know that company wont give me an interview,but if the company asked me why I applied, I just tell them, the job centre told me to apply
and the reason i wouldnt get the job, is because of heaert problems, physical work, and longs hours just dont suit me any more
Suppose those people are not big fans of a persons legal rights, it's voluntary, people are entitled to exercise their right not to sign.
And how exactly do they know if I have applied for a job unless they have access to my email account and tap my phone?
You can still use the DirectGov job site WITHOUT registering a UJM account.
If you apply for a job via the DirectGov website with your UJM account they have access to your UJM account and can view your job applying history.
With a UJM account they cannot see if you have applied for jobs on external sites of course. You can also manually add jobs that you have applied for on external sites to your UJM account, in the same way you can currently manually fill out your job searching activity on that sheet of paper provided by the JCP.
But how would they know if I have applied or just ticked a box saying I have?
Basically the DWP have signed a deal with MonsterJobs, who have taken over the DWP' job search site. It is based on the American website, also run by Monster.
You sign up for the new site, and are then asked for permission to allow the DWP to access this information (you can refuse this permission I believe). Each time you sign in and job search, upload your CV, and apply for jobs via the new site, the details of what you have done are stored. These details can then be reviewed by your JC adviser if you have given permission. It is, according to the DWP, entirely voluntary but apparently some JC advisers have been telling clients it is mandatory. They do not have access to your email accounts, they don't need it. The site allows you to click "Apply for this vacancy", and it will send your CV to the potential employer. The fact you have applied will be recorded and available for the JC to review.
There are concerns that it will, at some stage, be mandatory when Universal Credit comes in and the proposed 35 hours a week mandatory job search activity come in to force. So you could end up having to spend 35 hours a week just clicking through the site, and applying for jobs you know you have no hope of getting, just to get your time up to 35 hours a week. It also appears to allow you to list other job search activity, such as using other websites, handing your CV in to potential employers etc.
Monster is also a commercial website, employers are charged for each vacancy they post via it, so I would presume as MonsterJobs is the basis for this new website, employers advertising on it have to pay to do so. I understand (but could be wrong) that the old DWP job search site allowed employers to advertise for free. So the fact they now get charged will undoubtedly lead some potential employers not to bother advertising with them any more. If they have to pay to advertise say via JobSite, or via JobServe, they may not want to pay again to advertise on Monster as well, whereas before they were happy to also advertise via the DWP as it was free.
Ah right.
Cheers for that.
Although I do think something needs to change. At the minute the job centre have no way of knowing if you have applied for work, quite a few people do nothing for 2 weeks then just scribble down a load of rubbish ten minutes before they attend the job centre.
They can't unless you tick the box allowing them access
That was listed in the terms and conditions of use, but a check today and that paragraph now seems to have gone. Why I wonder?.
Given the information is stored in the US, it might not be a good idea to sign up if you have an Arabic sounding name.
I think it is voluntary but made to seem mandatory by the JCP so is that when they are challenged by the media about the high level on sanctions as a result of UJM they will reply "the claimants freely provided their consent and the UJM is voluntary".
UJM is a licence to sanction.
They will stop my jsa?
My adviser arranged the interview for me in restaurant. I didnt attend there.
What should I expect now?
Thank for reply
Welcome to the forum.
Can you provide more details please? What exactly happened? Were you given a written directive by your adviser?
Please explain everything from start to finish with all details.
Thanks
My adviser printed the letter for me, with time and date of interview. I should attend in the same day. The thing is iI had very little time to get to home after Job centre plus. I had to prepare for interview (dress up, make up etc) and I didnt attend because I was late. From jc+ to my home is quite far, and to place of interview as well
I dont know what to do now.
Once the interview has taken place, I would log this with the job centre, pointing out original interview date was unsuitable and give you reasons
The JobCentre have to be “reasonable in the participant’s circumstances". It seems they were being unreasonable.
Explain in writing that you did not intentionally not attend the interview and explain your personal circumstances, explain you are more than willing to attend the interview if it is arranged for you again.
Do not worry about it, explain clearly and if they decide to sanction you they have to go through an "independent" decision maker, write a letter to the decision maker also.
ALWAYS keep a written record of ANY communication you have with the JobCentre.
Also I am not entirely sure that the JCP can tell you that you must attend an interview at such short notice, you have to be available for work in 48 hours.
Also has your advisor made any contact with you since you missed the interview?
When you say your adviser arranged it, do you mean they called up and you were given a date and time to attend?. If yes, and you did not attend, you will have to give a valid reason why you could not attend. If they do not accept it as valid then yes, you could very well be sanctioned and lose your JSA for a period of time. But if you have a valid reason, you should be fine provided you can give them proof and a valid reason why you did not call the restaurant to let them know. Put anything in writing though, as Lesnar says.
http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_work_and_pensions_group/dwp-news.cfm/id/541F146C-1297-4285-A5011259B0E337B9
(PCS are the union covering jobcentre employees)