Job Centre

[geoffg]

Thinking this morning and I'm pissed off.
You do your 22, then become unemployed, so you go to the Jobcentre and sign on, or do an interview over the phone first.
After you've filled in the rest of the form at the Jobcentre, they tell you that you probably dont qualify for jobseekers allowance.
Then you get a letter saying that because of your Naval pension, you earn enough to live on. This is the pension you've paid into for over 22 years.
Now if you'd been a lazy bastard all your life and not worked or if you was an immigrant, you'd qualify and in some cases get housed etc, etc.
Pisses me off!!!
geoff :evil:

 

[slim]

You have my sympathies Geoff. I am in the same situation at age 61. No benefit entitlement (except my stamp is paid) I have RN pension & company pension, these come to about £10000 a year total. I also have funds in the bank. Luckily I Have no mortgage. I can manage OK and once I am 65 will get my government pension and another company pension.
Unfortunately you live in Fife and I know that jobs are not easily come by.
However in your situation you may have to consider moving to where the work is (I relocated from Wiltshire to Berkshire).
Make sure that your c.v. is up to date, sign on with as many agencies as possible and also use the Internet in your job search.
Job Centres are crap, the people manning them are all p!ssed off because claimants getting paid more than they are.
I detested going to the job centre, found it full of chavs, many not in to sign on but to see if they could blag another payout for some trivial reason.

Best of luck with your job hunting (what trade do you have?)

 

[golden_rivet]

I can sympathise with your predicament. I have been temping for 2 years and sign on between contracts. I actually find that the job centre staff are quite pleasant once you get over the hurdle of the initial paperwork. A couple of the staff whom I now recognise are actually quite nice and supportive especially as I keep a detailed record of every email, phone call or whatever in the search for work. The process of registering is excruciating as it's not easy to give all this personal information to a slightly bored individual and it's completely changed my attitude to the issue of means tested benefits for pensioners.

I find it hard to really enjoy the gaps between jobs because I don't know exactly how long they will last so its the worst of both worlds! Dropping in at Diamond Lil's is a good way to pass a bit of time ... the drinks are so cheap

 

[ET(WE)Sutton]

when you leave the services be it 1 day or 22 years (this is the information you get told as you make the desiscion to leave) they say that you go straight onto the new deal you can do courses for free, and you can gain more accsess to information, help with funding etc.

but i have spoke to a few people after they left all at diffrent times that this is bullshit. you get basic JSA and not even any extra help, even though its proved that when some people leave its harder for them to adjust to civilian life & normal working life.


why do they tell you this?

why cant the govenment do more for ex-serving people?

 

[angrydoc]

Because we're not vote-winners and to be honest noone in this country seems to care.

Sorry - in a crap mood this morning!

 

[Slop_Jockey]

Jobcentres - what a waste of time!
Went in once after leaving when they found out about my pension and medical pension and they did not seem to intrested. The only advice they were going to offer was an interview and an offer of a job in the local Homebase.

Quote from geoffg
"Now if you'd been a lazy bastard all your life and not worked or if you was an immigrant, you'd qualify and in some cases get housed"

Agree with the statement however you got look we are in privlaged position how many jobs in the UK give you pension after 22 years

And as for the government they offer next to nothing once you leave, they love to talk about it, but as we all know talk costs nothing

The best people I cam accross were SSAFA who helped while I was in hospital for a year.
Another way of looking at is what do the armed forces owe us, you don't have an ID card anymore so they owe you nothing - you got a pension what more do you want

There are plenty of great websites out there that will help you get work

I look back on the forces as a great adventure and now sadly I have to work for a living

 

[The_Caretaker]

Don't bother with job centers, go for a job as Head Porter in a block of flats, try out Abbots Agency. will find the number if you want it.

A Head Porter will earn about 20,000 a year plus you get a free flat all found even pay your poll tax. Love ex service.

When I cam out I was Head Porter at St John's Wood and had a 2 bed flat earned lots of tips.

Then was Estate Security Manager in Marylebone.

Now Caretaker in girls school
£18,000 a year free flat all bills paid for, overtime if I want it, Mon to Fri

So why wait.

 

[geoffg]

Sorry if I misled you slim, but I've not just left the navy. I left in '89 and worked in Rosyth Dockyard for 15 years till I was made redundant, then I worked for a firm till early this year. 59 now and not much chance of another job. Still, as you say, my stamp's paid as I'm in my 60th year.
Wish I could re-cat as an illegal immigrant!!
geoff

 

[Maxi_77]

I agree at that young age, I am just a trifle older, the chances of finding some one who wants to take you one for serious work is unlikely unless you can find contracting work, where your likelyhood of wanting to stop in a few years is not seen as a problem.

My wife is in much the same position having been made redundant from a top job for her line of work at the age of 58. No one wants to take her on, and as temp work would mean travel and living away there are not many options.

 

[slim]

Maxi, Geoff and I are all of a similar age and I believe that we are probably all equally p!ssed of with the way the benefit system seems to work for the slackers and loafers with nothing for those who worked most of their lives and saved a little money.
The welfare system is an absolutely brilliant idea but unfortunately seems to have been hijacked by those who know how to milk it. I fully support all those on benefits who are needing a little help while they turn their lives around and also those who are too ill to work. I do not support the growing number who seem to see it as a lifestyle choice.
I believe that if you can show that you are actively looking for work JSA should be paid regardless of financial services, after all many of us have been paying into the scheme for 40 years without claiming

 

[Maxi_77]

The problem is not so much JSA itself which is a pittance, well below the minimum wage it is the means tested add ons that you can get that are the problem both for those of us who have something put by and those who have carefuly ensured they have nothing visible.

Before she died we were helping my mother reduce her cash balance to the point where she could qualify for Pension Benefit, not for that itself but because of all the other benefits that came avaiable even if you only got 1p a week benefit made the process sensible.

Mind you I have no compunctions at all myself using my National (Scotland) bus pass to commute to work, my free prescriptions, my heating allowance (mind you some one has a claim in for my house as well as me so I am having to chase that one up) but as you say I have paid in without claiming a penny since I left school.

 

[Stripey_G]

How true all those previous posts...I know, went through it all myself when i left in '88 and was out of work for a while. Job centers no help at all because i had a Navy pension and that was "enough to live on" as they put it. Pissed me off something rotten because of paying into the system for so long and now just asking for something back which i thought i was entitled to!! Full benefits being paid to all those that had Not paid in of course!! Well now i'm working ok at the moment but pissed off still that i have to pay Tax on two incomes!! But i guess that's by the by....

 

[Backpacker1uk]

Recieved a letter that in 1995 I never paid full taxes and must send thirty six pounds so I can recieve full pension when I reach sixtyfive. How that happened is anybodies guess??

Seen the scum bags down the house of plenty all the designer gear, one shite can of lager in hand shouting to all his mates. Arrive at the window to speak warm spit trickling down the bulletproof glass. Those people who work in there see the scum of society.

 

[Bergen]

Recieved a letter that in 1995 I never paid full taxes and must send thirty six pounds so I can recieve full pension when I reach sixtyfive. How that happened is anybodies guess??

Seen the scum bags down the house of plenty all the designer gear, one shite can of lager in hand shouting to all his mates. Arrive at the window to speak warm spit trickling down the bulletproof glass. Those people who work in there see the scum of society.

How did you know the spit was warm?????

 

[Lingyai]

It never ceases to amaze me that people are in the forces for so many years with every opportunity to better themselves with the added bonus of knowing exactly when their time will be done and have the tools to prepare for it and then sit on their asses for their 22 and blub about it when they come out and aren't qualified for anything but a shitty job that pays less than a killick's wage.
There is no excuse for ex matelots having to work in department stores or ex bootnecks working as security guards. There are massive opportunities in the world for ex services who can apply themselves with a bit of forethought.

 

[Lamri]

I find that the problem is a lack of direction not a lack of planning per se.

You do something for 22 years, do you do the same type of thing outside or go for a new direction with all the problems that brings.

I am approaching my 22 and I haven't got a clue what to do outside.
IT is totally flooded, I find houshold electrics boring and too easy (i'm a POMEM(L)). Do I use my 18 years of watchkeeping experience and go into the merch or RFA (Meaning MORE time away from my family)? I just don't know.

 

[golden_rivet]

Just a thought - in London it is really really hard to get honest people to do any work for you like decorating, or plumbing. I've had my own home in London for coming up to 11 years and I can honestly say that I have never ever been totally satisfied with any workman who has done any jobs apart from the tree-surgeon who was a darling. Tree-hugging hippy type with dreadlocks who works like stink regardless of the weather and does a really good job.

Anyway its just a thought but has anyone considered doing this type of DIY and household work. I'm starting to wonder if I've got into the wrong sort of work. I've got so many qualifications I'm getting less and less employable. Maybe the secret is to branch out into something manual.

When I think back to all the lying rip-off merchants who have taken money off me in the last few years there is obviously a gap for a no-bullshit bit of workmanship. You know the sort of thing I mean - plumber arrives 10 mins late and puts the wrong time on the timesheet, goes off to get a part, its a 5 minute drive to the shop and he comes back an hour later so it all adds to the time involved. You can call someone out to change a washer and get ripped off for over £100 squid in London ... just a thought ...

 

[slim]

I find that the problem is a lack of direction not a lack of planning per se.

You do something for 22 years, do you do the same type of thing outside or go for a new direction with all the problems that brings.

I am approaching my 22 and I haven't got a clue what to do outside.
IT is totally flooded, I find houshold electrics boring and too easy (i'm a POMEM(L)). Do I use my 18 years of watchkeeping experience and go into the merch or RFA (Meaning MORE time away from my family)? I just don't know.

Hello Lamri
22 years ago I was in your situation. As a POAEM(R) my main thoughts were to keep working in the aviation world. However I joined BAe as a field engineer for naval weapons. Worked on Sea Archer, Phalanx, SINs. and Exocet. No problem at all. Remember you have been trained by the RN and their training is good. Your skills are transferable to industry. Following my spell with BAe I then worked as a field engineer in the tobacco industry, mainly on cigarette making machinery. Again no problems.
Think outside the box.
I would recommend that for your EVT (if they still do them) you study and gain some knowledge of PLCs (Programmable logical Controllers) these are used extensively in most industries to control manufacturing machinery. I would recommend Seimens and Alan Bradley courses if you can get them .
Best of luck mate it seems a wrench to leave but prepare for it and you will be OK

 

[Lamri]

I find that the problem is a lack of direction not a lack of planning per se.

You do something for 22 years, do you do the same type of thing outside or go for a new direction with all the problems that brings.

I am approaching my 22 and I haven't got a clue what to do outside.
IT is totally flooded, I find houshold electrics boring and too easy (i'm a POMEM(L)). Do I use my 18 years of watchkeeping experience and go into the merch or RFA (Meaning MORE time away from my family)? I just don't know.

Hello Lamri
22 years ago I was in your situation. As a POAEM(R) my main thoughts were to keep working in the aviation world. However I joined BAe as a field engineer for naval weapons. Worked on Sea Archer, Phalanx, SINs. and Exocet. No problem at all. Remember you have been trained by the RN and their training is good. Your skills are transferable to industry. Following my spell with BAe I then worked as a field engineer in the tobacco industry, mainly on cigarette making machinery. Again no problems.
Think outside the box.
I would recommend that for your EVT (if they still do them) you study and gain some knowledge of PLCs (Programmable logical Controllers) these are used extensively in most industries to control manufacturing machinery. I would recommend Seimens and Alan Bradley courses if you can get them .
Best of luck mate it seems a wrench to leave but prepare for it and you will be OK

Thanks Slim, you've given me some food for thought there, industrial electrics wasn't something i'd thought about.
I do feel kinda "institiutionalised" to be honest at the moment.
I'll look into those courses in the new year mate.
Thanks again

 

[geoffg]

It never ceases to amaze me that people are in the forces for so many years with every opportunity to better themselves with the added bonus of knowing exactly when their time will be done and have the tools to prepare for it and then sit on their asses for their 22 and blub about it when they come out and aren't qualified for anything but a shitty job that pays less than a killick's wage.
There is no excuse for ex matelots having to work in department stores or ex bootnecks working as security guards. There are massive opportunities in the world for ex services who can apply themselves with a bit of forethought.

Does the word "Redundancy" ring any bells??