In the current epidemic of job unemployment, I was reminded of my job search in the past.
Two years ago, signing on for the first time at the job centre, I was astonished by the attitude of the first advisor that I met. It did not bode well for the future of my job search.
Sitting in front of the lady, I told her about my job searches in the previous two weeks – consisting of visits to internet job sites for media companies, along with a search within media publications.
However, the first question she asked me was: “Can you drive?”
I confirmed that I was indeed the proud owner of a driving licence.
Nodding her head in patronising approval of this ‘achievement’, she asked, “Do you know the area of Reading well?”
Whilst I do, I was uncertain about the questions that the advisor was asking. I was embarrassed when she informed me rather sharply that she was searching for van driving jobs.
As I bit my tongue, I was told that there were no van driver vacancies.
“How much can you hear?”
I started to explain that I was unable to hear on the telephone, but had worked in administration before, when she cut me off.
“That’s office work off the books then. What about cleaning experience?”
Bringing her to a stop, I asked her through gritted teeth whether she had looked at my C.V. and my education history.
“Oh! You have a C.V.? How many GCSEs did you get? Four or five?”
Had she looked at my details, she would have seen that I had just graduated from university with a 2:1 degree and had worked in office jobs before.
Upon reading on her computer screen that I did indeed have a solid education under my belt and work experience, she looked at me in astonishment.
“But… you’re deaf?”
Seeing the look on my face (and I imagine, steam spurting from my ears), a manager swiftly intervened and queried if we were okay.
With choice words, I explained to the manager how I was amazed that they were employing people to advise people on job hunting when they, themselves, seemed to be absolutely clueless.
Fortunately for the health of the advisor, he asked her to leave and took over the interview. The visit to the Job Centre then passed more smoothly and I left quite a bit calmer than I’d been ten minutes earlier.
The lady? She lost her job.
Luke Blackburn is a budding film maker who enjoys shouting at the rugby on TV in his spare time. Follow him on Twitter as @lukeblackburn
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Mark
June 12, 2012
Don’t even get me started on Job Centres… Useless, the whole lot of them!
Blonde Avenger
January 10, 2013
At least THEY are tax payers, how about you?
Luke Blackburn
January 10, 2013
Perhaps jobless people WOULD like to be tax payers! But no choice if they’re not assisted or supported fully by the Job Centre?
seenheardatjc
January 14, 2014
Approximately 22% of all benefits paid to the employed returns to the Government through taxation. The notion that unemployed people don’t pay taxes is as untrue as it is absurd. Even Jobseeker’s Allowance is counted as taxable income.
It’s also worth considering the number of part time staff employed by Jobcentres, whose income falls below the tax threshold and also claim benefits to top up their household income.
Step away from the Daily Mail.
deaf888
June 12, 2012
quite rightly so!
Sazzy
June 12, 2012
Nothing new there at all! Deal with this on a daily basis with clients – not Deaf aware won’t book interpreters etc…and it’s gonna get WORSE….it’s all going to become telephone advice – Us Deaffies at the bottom of the pile yet again! Good Luke (geddit?) with your job search…
JJJ
June 12, 2012
A chuckle worthy read. Slightly disappointed the woman who lost her job within the job centre. Some or possibly most hearing have never met a deaf person before and, by the sound of it, never recieved deaf education at school.
This may be 21st Century, but everyone learns something new everyday. This woman clearly is in need of a deaf awareness.
Now, we have another individual out of Job. Such a shame.
Hearing Link
June 12, 2012
Searching for a job is always stressful and it doesn’t help if the person in front of you has already made decisions about you-without reading the paperwork!
Our blogger, Tracey, talks about the challenges of working life and having a hearing loss in this blog http://www.hearinglink.org/blog/working
Hearing Link is currently recruiting Luke! Take a look! http://www.hearinglink.org/jobs
Centurian_oooyabass
June 12, 2012
Beware, when claiming for ESA you can only do that by phone. jobcentre (minus) will not entertain you only to be directed to “you have to phone them, its the only way” … and why I hear you say, because at the other end is n ot only another person, there is also a lie detector machine listening to every lie you tell them
Na_ta
June 12, 2012
Just a general question..do deaf people claim for ESA? (Assuming just hearing loss as their only “disability”?
barakta
June 12, 2012
The jobcentre/DWP have to provide an alternative to phones. They don’t like it, or certainly didn’t when I was signing on in 2005ish but I did get a non-phone “face to face” appointment eventually.
I had to argue with the jobsworth at the desk, which entailed me speaking and signing and repeating myself until he caved in. I found the slightly too loud speaking and signing was drawing attention to us and as I wasn’t aggressive just persistent they couldn’t boot me and it embarrassed him far more than me!
I repeatedly invoked the “disability discrimination act” and pointed out that I was disclosing a disability and requiring them to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ for my disability. I repeatedly had to explain they didn’t get to tell me what was reasonable and that I was NOT using a phone and I was not tolerating less favourable treatment. I now know it’s lawful to favour disabled people especially when to do otherwise might disadvantage us which is an angle I’d use now.
I wasn’t even asking jobsworth to decide about the appointment, simply that he let me speak to a manager to make my request.
Eventually after 20 minutes of this round and round discussion jobsworth asked if I had ever phoned my bank, which at that time I hadn’t so I said “No, I don’t phone my bank, I do online banking or go in in person”. That shocked him – I don’t think he could imagine a world where he did not just pick up the phone to the bank!
He picked up the phone, spoke for a few seconds, scrawled on a piece of paper and told me to go upstairs and give the paper to the desk there. I did this and the desk people told me to take a seat.
I couldn’t have been sat for more than 30 seconds before a manager appeared, she made eye contact, asked me my name and using gesture and clear careful but not patronising speech invited me to a nearby desk. She waited till she had walked round to her side of it and sat down before speaking and asked how she could help.
I explained I needed a face to face appt to apply for Income Support I think it was and that the textphone service wasn’t suitable for me as there were too many errors in it and the service provided was less favourable than that provided to hearing people. She was fine with that and checked the computer for dates and apologised that I’d have to wait a week for an appointment (given the incompetent textphone rude idiots took 2-3 weeks to even respond to a previous phone attempt – a week was fine).
In the meantime she gave me copies of the forms I needed to complete, outlined what I needed to do and said bring them back and the advisers would then assist me with the rest.
The appointment to do the forms was fine, the ladies were really helpful and explained some of the questions to me and the application went 100% smoothly.
Mark
June 12, 2012
Don’t even get me started on Job Centre DEAs…
Larry
June 12, 2012
The Job Centere should have hired you!
barakta
June 12, 2012
Oh the fail it burns! They really do have no excuse as I believe the entire DWP have a training programme about deaf awareness and so on.
When I was dealing with the jobcentre on and off between 2003-7 I got so cross with constantly not hearing my name being called, and then reading about a deaf person online being sanctioned by the jobcentre because their staff failed to do deaf awareness that I made up some graphical things to tape to my signing on book. You can find them half way down this page: http://www.barakta.org.uk/deaf_awareness.shtml
I found these made a significant difference and my argument was that if they had even considered trying to sanction me I could have pointed out that I had disclosed as bluntly as possible and that they were the ones at fault not me. In my experience the jobcentre usually backed down if you were very very assertive without being aggressive at them.
I am very happy to modify those graphics for anyone who wants
copies. I really must make the hospital one I keep saying I’ll make.
I had difficulty getting the jobcentre to understand my “I do not use phones” “no, not even really loud ones” “No I won’t do text relay with you” “Phones are evil!”.
My signing on adviser suggested I worked in a callcentre even though it was all over my file that I did not use phones for voice. I even said sarcastically “I am deaf, do you think that is clever?” and he still didn’t get it, I had to explain in smallwords to him.
My Disability Employment Adviser was less of a git than my usual signing on advisers and he was at least pleasant and provided some laughs in a fail kind of way.
The best one was: I was doing my BSL2 course at the time, the first year. He suggested that I became a sign language interpreter and worked for the jobcentre. Once I’d stopped laughing I explained in very small words why this was inappropriate, unacceptable and downright ridiculous. I’m deaf, I have shoulder and hand impairments which make my sign look funny (although deafies don’t usually have an issue, it’s hearies who can’t follow me) and Level 2 is not good enough for interpretation.
I did not have a phone number on file with the DWP at all after they insisted I accept an incoming call, then failed to call me during the slot and lied that they had tried to call me when I called them up. They hadn’t even tried without 18002 in front of the number (I’d phoned and told them how they had to do it and given them the typetalk website info).
I think telling the DWP manager (cos I insisted on escalating as high as I could go at the time) my phone flashed the lights, buzzed my bed, alerted IRC and was logged to my home server and that I would contact BT to prove no calls were received to my number made them decide that I really wasn’t worth messing with. The manager quickly decided to offer me an appointment where I said I mostly needed 1:1 private room and a bit of extra time so I could ask questions.
Except when they sent me my appointment letter they’d booked a BSL terp without telling me. I don’t have very good BSL so a terp isn’t terribly useful for me under those circumstances. I then had to phone and cancel the terp so they were available for someone who REALLY needed them not me. I at no point had been asked if I wanted a terp or other communication support!
I don’t miss dealing with the jobcentre for signing on, but sadly still probably have to deal with them for Access to Work although I’m off their books for refusing to jump their pointless hoops at the moment.
Luke
June 12, 2012
Thank you for comments! Look out for my next article!
Lana
June 14, 2012
Lewisham JobCentre do not provide minicom
Luke
June 19, 2012
Really? What did they say when you asked them Lana?
Nick Sturley
October 15, 2012
Do check out http://www.facebook.com/innocentsofoppression as there’s a link from there to this.
Lizzie
October 15, 2012
Last week ago, I made a complaint letter to the Job Centre Manager about the way he talk to me if I was a three year old child in baby talk language that was very partonsing and annoying. I said to him that I dont like the way he talk to me and it is discriminating against deaf people by not booking interpreter and I also mentioned that thosestaffs were not well equipped, not deafnessawarnessand not deaf knowledge so how can they work with range of deaf people’s needs and I have informed my legal caseworker.Now he avoided eye contact with me realising how smart I am. I have looked at Job Centre leaflet talking about which has three aims : Right treatment, Righ Result and Easy Access blah blah and it says we are committed to meeting our resposnbilites under disability Discrimination Act, You an also get a BSL interpreter langauge interpreter we will aim to arrange an interpreter with one working day and we will arrange one soon as possible.It is under their responsiblites under the DDA and Equalities Act 2010. We dont needto suffer this bad attitude of our job centre.I will challenge the advisor asking her that I am diabetic, I do get ill on frequent days concern about signing on How I contact the advisor? The signing on card has phone number Im deaf and it is not accessible to me. By the way Evil atos stopped my benefits and it has horrible situation and more discrimination and we dont need it as I am appealing against them. Being deaf and out of work is incredibly tough. Good luck to you and your job hunting to achieve your dreams and dont give up.
ann jones
July 14, 2013
i have to take a relative to hospital on a certain date and told the advisor in the job centre that if they wanted to see me on that date i could not attend i gave them a months notice i was told if they wanted to see me on that date i would have to be there or i would be sanctioned so much for trying to be helpful they are a jojke. they said a months notice was not enough time to give