Job Centre Account Access
Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
Please can you clarify whether or not a person claiming Jobseekers' Allowance is obliged to provide evidence of their job search activity by logging into their Universal Job Match account at their designated Job Centre and letting a member of staff see this online record?
Or, are claimants of JSA they allowed to use their Job Centre paper booklet to record job search activity instead?
And, if the claimant has specified a preferred method, are the Job Centre staff allowed to keep asking the claimant to change this method?
I am being told that if I do not log in to my UJM account at my 'group portal' sign on and show my job search activity recorded on my UJM account then the advisor will not sign my papers and I will not get my JSA as a handwritten record is not sufficient. Yet every time I ask if this means I am not allowed to use the paper booklet to keep records instead, I am told it is ultimately the candidate's preference. I then choose the paper method and then at each appointment I am challenged again and coerced to use the online method.
I understand the long-term goal to get everyone doing this online but what are the facts now, as of October 2015?
Is a handwritten record in the Job Centre booklet of job search activity sufficient for a 'group portal' signing appointment or not? If so, are advisors allowed to keep telling you that you must make records online instead?
Yours faithfully,
G. Moore
This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.
By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct.
If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.
Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.
For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.
[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...
G Moore
Please see copy of your FoI request attached
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now