Work Program pt.3

Thursday morning of last week...

"What do you mean, I still have to go into the Job Centre to sign on?"
"Well, I had to and other people I know have had to..."
"But I was TOLD that I didn't. They took away and binned my little green appointment card!"

I called the J.C. help line and, eventually, got through to someone who told me that I did indeed have an appointment today. Thankfully I hadn't missed it but I had nothing to show for it. I'd been applying for jobs but not writing them down. When I expressed this concern to the person on the other end of the phone line I was told that I should "...just use your usual job sheet." An implication that I hand in the same jobs week after week. People who don't even know my face are now prejudging me for being unemployed.

I scrawled down what few jobs I could remember and made my way down to the J.C. with just enough time to spare. After getting inside and letting them know I had arrived I did a job search for ten minutes...then read a book for another ten minutes. Finally I decided that twenty minutes was late enough and I should inform someone that I was defiantly here and my appointment time had passed. Whilst I was up my name got called out. I would not have known about it had not a man with a similar name to me been confused for me and then sent to the right adviser.

I sit in-front of this new person who will be assessing and regulating my life from now until I am employed. Even though she seemed pleasant and probably a nice person I find it hard to trust J.C. staff anymore. The years of contradictory or restrictive information, lost paper work, confusing and intimidating letters that contradict reality (i.e. "You will not receive payment because of X reason" letters are the scariest letters I've ever received and for MONTHS I received them constantly despite none of them being applicable to me), the slightly snide comments or when they try to tell me about how great their holiday was... I am so tired of this game where I'm always on the back-foot.

In the end she didn't even look at my job sheet that I'd managed to produce, gave me a new green card and sent me on my way. If this is what I am expected to do then I wonder what they think putting anyone on Work Program will achieve apart from W.P. stealing credit for other peoples job searching.