Mandatory work activity contracts begin
This week will see the start of Mandatory Work Activity contracts in London, the East and Yorkshire & Humberside.
The Mandatory Work Activity programme will allow Jobcentre Plus advisers to refer jobseekers that need additional support to get back to work onto mandatory work activity. If an adviser believes a jobseeker will benefit from experiencing the habits and routines of working life, they have the power to refer them to a four week placement. Placements might include doing maintenance work for housing residents, renovating and recycling old furniture, working in a local sports club or supporting charitable organisations.
The scheme, which will be delivered by a range of organisations from the private, voluntary and third sector will be available throughout the country by the beginning of June.
Every work placement will offer the jobseeker the opportunity to gain fundamental work disciplines and will be of benefit to the local community. Participants will be expected to spend up to 30 hours a week, for four weeks, on their Work Activity placement and will be required to continue to look for work.
Customers who fail to complete a placement without good cause will lose their Jobseeker’s Allowance for a minimum of 3 months.
For further information visit the Department for Work and Pensions website.
Comments
How can this start in Yorks and Humberside when the TUPE chaos has not yet been sorted ? Which organisations will be involved ?
BEST are the Prime. It can go ahead as it's not replacing any provision like-for-like & therefore TUPE doesn't apply.
Good luck to the subbies, the grapevine suggests that they're not getting paid a lot for this, even by the other CPAs' standards.
I think the issue is customer flow. MWA is for those customers that fail to engage with the work programme. I'm not sure of projected numbers but they are expected to be low.
Information I have seen is that a one off payment is made to providers once a customer starts a placement.
This is seen as a different beast to the WP and could be seen as a punishment to make customers engage with the WP.
The concept of a 30 hour work placement is not too different from the Work Experience Routeway of New Deal. Just a fraction of the number of customers
From the information I have received I have been lead to believe that MWA is a replacement for the CTF program and that TUPE does apply? Any one shed any more light on this?? Looking at the comments above it seems that my info is wrong.
Is there any announcement from DWP regarding this issue??
I fully agreewith mwa. Although the flows are anticipated to be low. I can see 6months down the line a contract change due to the flows!!
There were always going to be comparisons made between MWA & CTF, as they're both full time work placements and mandatory. But TUPE can be avoided as:
1. MWA is for all JSA claimants (other than those already on provision), not just 18-24s at the 6 month stage.
2. CTF was always due to be a temporary measure under YPG. Once the coalition cancelled Labour's intended 12 month extension, it was always going to end in March and therefore a new service, to a different customer group, for a different purpose, is not like-for-like.
I have been involved in voluntary work for may years so, to a point, I agree that working for free might be a good idea. However, I do worry that this scheme might be open to exploiting highly skilled unemployed people through no fault of their own. ahem !
Working 30 hours a week and finding a job is stress in itself . Just looking for work in these times is a full time job in itself.
I also don't like this attitude that because a person is unemployed then they don't want to work! RUBBISH! I've worked from the age of 13 years old . No NEETS in my time, no min wage , payed 2quid an hour for a hard days work.
Looks like we are back to Youth employment scheme recycled .
Lottie . . . . Firstly I must be alot older than you as I rememebr working for £8.00 a week haha. Seriously tho . . . The unemployed person that the MWA is aimed at isn't the person that lost there job last week and is looking for help with a CV and some guidance. It is aimed for those people that REFUSE to accept the information, advice and guidance that the Work Programme offers. We need to be clear that the small number of people being put onto Mandatory Work Activity are those that refuse to engage with the Work Programme. In other words if they aren't prepared to look for work with the help of the WP then they WILL do 30 hours voluntary work or lose their benefits. Basically it is kick up the bum for those that need it. (4 weeks = short sharp shock)
By the way I am not saying it is right to do so, but that the MWA is aimed at those that are probably long term unemployed and quite possibly happy to be so. Working on New Deal 25+, I can identify those customers it is aimed at. They are the ones that FTA (fail to attend) on induction day.
It might sound synical but in my area I can probably name the first 3 customers to be put on MWA.
And remember this is NOT just for the youngsters. I suspect the first draft of 'volunteers' will be those that fall into the 25 plus category and they really 'don't want to work'.
MWA isn't for people who fail to engage with the Work Programme - it has no connection at all with WP. MWA is for people who need to be refocused with their approach to work and jobsearch and is for use at any time in any JSA claim. This could be at week 7, 20, 35, 210. Basically whenever a JCP Adviser thinks it will be useful.
DanRegan is 100% correct (TUPE doesn't apply) but this isn't helped by the "must start within 10 days" and "community benefit" aspects of MWA. Very CTF. The Provider Guidance has been released if anyone is interested. Click this link: http://tiny.cc/shna8 and go to the bottom of the screen.
I have to agree with stan.glide on this, i too thought that MWA was a similar beast to CTF, nice little contract get the customers out on placement, happy days!
However from discussions with JCP staff at all levels, this is very much a contract to push customers into who are refusing other things and are not moving forward.
By the sounds of it the sanctions are tough, so there for its the ideal place to push "problem customers"
I have a dilemma - I'm asking for help but, cannot go ahead with it as my name will appear on the providers data base system - I've worked with some of these providers/ people , in the past, who know me , therefore an issues of data protection exsists here . Between a rock and a hard place....
What is the best way forward
stephw2w . . . True its not part of WP. But if you donlt engage with the work programme, what better way to signal to your JCP advisor that you need 'refocusing'. Basically if you say no to WP too often you will do MWA
Surely if a JSA claimant doesn't engage with the Work Programme their benefit would be stopped (for the obligatory escalating periods of the new regime), so why would a JCP Adviser bother referring to MWA? Surely if they aren't receiving benefits (or at least only getting hardship) and aren't engaging there would be no value and an awful lot of hassle for the Adviser. They would just refer back to WP. Once claimants are on the WP merry go round they don't have a choice - WP or no money. Surely MWA won't even be considered at that stage.
From reading the provider guide (thanks for the link stephw2w) it reads more like this is a precursor to the WP for people who need a push before they become eligible. According to guidance the likelihood is 13 weeks + unemployed would be referred to MWA so that's well before WP.
But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Anyone had any referrals yet?!!!
The Impact Assessment proxy measure was those who had a 'doubt' about their compliance with the Jobseeker's Agreement but were not actually sanctioned or disallowed.