MEET AT the CLOCKTOWER
9.30 am, this Saturday 10th November
We'll be out in town this Saturday 10th November to put pressure on comp[anies and charities that are taking advantage of the free labour provided by workfare. Several companies have already been forced out of the scheme by public pressure. We can increase that number and make the government's workfare scheme more difficult to implement.
Workfare, and You...
Workfare: It means people like you forced to do unpaid work, for up to six
months, for multi‐million pound companies. Politicians wouldn't work for six
months for no pay, so why should you?
Forced unpaid work means taxpayers subsidizing rich companies, and threatens
to lower wage rates. But It will not provide you with a job. Why?
By forcing people to work for no wages, multi‐million pound companies such as
Asda, Pizza Hut and British Heart Foundation use workfare to replace paid
positions. They can now get staff for free, so why pay for them?
But people across the country are finding ways to challenge workfare. Look after
yourself and stay in touch with us! Tell people you know who might be affected
that we exist, that we are working on ways to help. Share information with us. The
more we know, the stronger we all are.
As a result of our campaign 'sanctions' for leaving unpaid work placements on the
Work Programme, Work Experience, and Sector‐based Work Academies have
been temporarily suspended. We aim to make that permanent.
Know your rights!
Fact: The only personal data you need to share with a Work Programme provider (such as A4e) is your referral letter and signing on book
Fact: You don’t need to give them your bank details, passport, driving licence or utility bills
Fact: You don’t have to sign any Work Programme provider documents or forms, apart from the action plan
Fact: You are entitled to a copy of anything you do sign
Fact: Your CV is personal data and you don’t have to give them a copy
Fact: The JobCentre can postpone starting the Work Programme for 90 days if you have a
job interview, or are expecting to work soon
Fact: If you are on another JobCentre scheme, pregnant or a survivor of domestic violence
you do not have to do the Work Programme
Visit the consent.me.uk website
for more info on your rights
If you are on a workfare scheme and have a complaint, first take it up with the provider.
Every organization should have a formal complaints procedure, which you can ask to see. If
you are not satisfied with the response you can then take it up with the JobCentre.
Don't volunteer for “Work experience”! There is a risk that once you volunteer for JobCentre 'work experience' it becomes
mandatory. Although the government appear to have made some concessions on this
scheme, there are still sanctions ‐ direct and indirect ‐ that you may face.
Make sure this doesn't happen to you:
- Do not agree to volunteer for the JobCentre's “work experience”: It can quickly become forced unpaid labour.
- If you want to do work experience, find something that really is voluntary.
- If you are sent on the scheme, you must turn up on the first day - but you should not face sanctions if you leave within the first week (unless due to misconduct).
Avoid Mandatory Work Activity!
We have seen people referred for this just because they have challenged their advisor. But
there are strict DWP guidelines on this, which you can use to challenge referral. You do not
have to go on this scheme if:
- you are currently working (paid or voluntary)
- you are undertaking employment related study or training
- you are taking part in, or recently completed, another “employment measure”
- the only reason given is you have a lack of recent work experience or because your advisor thinks you haven't been meeting your jobseeker's agreement.
www.boycottworkfare.org
Email: info@boycottworkfare.org
Twitter: @boycottworkfare.org
Facebook: Boycott Workfare
