How Picky Can You Be With "WORK" ??

IT Loser

Jobseekers Allowance claim is only given if you have satisfied certain requirements.

One of which is that you "must be looking for WORK"

Apparently, the Deciding Officer may decide you have failed to satisfy this requirement if you are limiting your work search to a very narrow or specific field.

Question: How picky can you be???

The Dept. has also gone on the record as saying that people must be looking for work which is "suitable" for them.

Again, how do you define "suitable"??

Obviously, the State/Govt Depts. want people to be in jobs in which they are productive and happy.

If they are not suited, they will not be productive and thus will not be happy, and will end up back on the register sooner or later.

I told my means-test/inspector that my college degree usually meant I was looking for work in the legal sector, insurance, courts, justice department and civil service.

However, I also have a safepass which allows me to work on building sites.

So what would the State decide is "more suitable" for me???

I generally find office work more rewarding, it opens up more avenues, serves me better on my C.V. and it also does not give me arthritis of the hands!

Question is, if a job came up on a site and I turned it down because I thought it might rob me of a chance to land the big one with a law firm, would the Dept. hold it against me???

Furthermore, once the job ended I would be back on the register, albeit on benefit with my stamps.

Thanks for any input.

tomred1

Well why couldn't you work on a building site and still look for work in the sectors your interested in? The general rule is that if your looking for work in a particluar sector if after 3 months you haven't found any, you must expand your seach to other sectors.If you turn down a job your claim should be disallowed.

IT Loser

tomred1 wrote: »

Well why couldn't you work on a building site and still look for work in the sectors your interested in? The general rule is that if your looking for work in a particluar sector if after 3 months you haven't found any, you must expand your seach to other sectors.If you turn down a job your claim should be disallowed.

As it happens, I have not been offered any work.

I think your response highlights the lack of understanding of how a job on a building site works: you start at 07:30 and you finish at 17:00h or so. By that stage you are filthy and just want to get home.

5 days a week, how are you meant to look for work, if you are on a site all day? And trying to sleep/get home the rest.

Your ability to present yourself for interview is limited. Your ability to interact with people in your preferred sector is limited.

Even worse, you dont get offered a job if the foreman thinks you will be looking to clear off out of there as soon as "something better" comes along. You dont get offered the job if you mention something to the foreman about "time off for interviews". His attitude is you are working for HIM

My current sphere is:

Security work
Services industry
Civil Service/Public Sector Legal
Private Sector Legal
Domestic and Corporate Construction
Insurance
Banking

Now, if I turn down a job with Micky D's or Supermacs, should my claim be disallowed? Because it it is, then everyones claim should be disallowed. Because about 0.00001% of the people in this country want to work there.

Xiney

You are allowed to turn down jobs that are not suitable for you.

For example, if you apply for a job based on the ad in the paper and you go in for an interview and you find the job has been misrepresented or is otherwise not something you would be happy doing or not in an environment you would be happy working in (for example if you think the person interviewing you is a bully) then you are well within your rights to turn down the job should it be offered to you.

Same as if you were in a job that was a terrible fit for you personally and had to leave, you would be allowed to sign on.

dbready

IT Loser wrote: »

Now, if I turn down a job with Micky D's or Supermacs, should my claim be disallowed? Because it it is, then everyones claim should be disallowed. Because about 0.00001% of the people in this country want to work there.

Is it any wonder why the country is in the state it is in?? If people are too important to take a job that is "beneath" them, if the job seekers allowance wasn't so attractive coupled with rent allowance, fuel allowance free medical ....... need I go on. This country has become a bloody charity to all the lazy people who are "too important" to certain jobs while they look for something more appropriate. I would sweep the streets if I had to / but then again why bother an immigrant can do that while I sit on my arse looking for a job which does not exist at the moment.

On a final note nobody under the age of 25 should be allowed to sign on without completing at least 3 years of emploment.

People need to wise up !!!!!!

IT Loser

Xiney wrote: »

You are allowed to turn down jobs that are not suitable for you.

For example, if you apply for a job based on the ad in the paper and you go in for an interview and you find the job has been misrepresented or is otherwise not something you would be happy doing or not in an environment you would be happy working in (for example if you think the person interviewing you is a bully) then you are well within your rights to turn down the job should it be offered to you.

Same as if you were in a job that was a terrible fit for you personally and had to leave, you would be allowed to sign on.

My last job on the building site, my hands developed severe soreness, which tooks weeks to abate, my knees were always sore, I put on weight, was always filthy coming home from work, and basically was in no fit condition to present myself for interview most of the time. You can scrub as well as you like, most of the time what the interviewer sees is a puffy-faced guy with hands like a bears-arse. Its just not conducive to employment prospects in, shall we say, a more formal setting.

I am not making a case against the building sites on grounds of medical incapacity- after 6 weeks or so you return to normal as the repetitive strain ceases. I would make the case that as suited as I am to building {we are all beasts of burden, to varying degrees} ....I am just a bit more suited to the office work.

Xiney

dbready wrote: »

Is it any wonder why the country is in the state it is in?? If people are too important to take a job that is "beneath" them, if the job seekers allowance wasn't so attractive coupled with rent allowance, fuel allowance free medical ....... need I go on. This country has become a bloody charity to all the lazy people who are "too important" to certain jobs while they look for something more appropriate. I would sweep the streets if I had to / but then again why bother an immigrant can do that while I sit on my arse looking for a job which does not exist at the moment.

On a final note nobody under the age of 25 should be allowed to sign on without completing at least 3 years of emploment.

People need to wise up !!!!!!

Please have a read of the forum charter before posting again as this post is in direct contravention to it.

Further posts like this one (and anyone who thanks it following this warning) will earn you a ban from the forum.

Ta.

Xiney

IT Loser

dbready wrote: »

Is it any wonder why the country is in the state it is in?? If people are too important to take a job that is "beneath" them, if the job seekers allowance wasn't so attractive coupled with rent allowance, fuel allowance free medical ....... need I go on. This country has become a bloody charity to all the lazy people who are "too important" to certain jobs while they look for something more appropriate. I would sweep the streets if I had to / but then again why bother an immigrant can do that while I sit on my arse looking for a job which does not exist at the moment.

On a final note nobody under the age of 25 should be allowed to sign on without completing at least 3 years of emploment.

People need to wise up !!!!!!

Did I say it was "beneath" me?? Did I say that?? I said I would not be happy there, and would end up out of the job eventually. And I should have thought that a TINY, INFINITESMALLY SMALL percentage of those working for Dublin City Corpo, or any other Corpo, were foreign nationals.

You have this much understanding of how things work.

Its in the States INTERESTS to help me use MY DEGREE to get into a job that earns MORE and in which I will stay LONGER.

Why? Cos then I pay more PRSI, more TAX, and claim less and less allowances.

Its the economics of it, stoopah.

EDIT: Sorry Xiney missed your response first time, but I felt obliged to respond. It does not suit the State to put people in a merry-go-round of unsuitable job/dole/unsuitable job/dole etc.

Xiney

IT Loser wrote: »

My last job on the building site, my hands developed severe soreness, which tooks weeks to abate, my knees were always sore, I put on weight, was always filthy coming home from work, and basically was in no fit condition to present myself for interview most of the time. You can scrub as well as you like, most of the time what the interviewer sees is a puffy-faced guy with hands like a bears-arse. Its just not conducive to employment prospects in, shall we say, a more formal setting.

I am not making a case against the building sites on grounds of medical incapacity- after 6 weeks or so you return to normal as the repetitive strain ceases. I would make the case that as suited as I am to building {we are all beasts of burden, to varying degrees} ....I am just a bit more suited to the office work.

Then that's fine.

Nobody (apart from keyboard warriors and their ilk) is going to force you to hang up your college degree and work in Supermacs or a building site unless you want to. True, you can't be unreasonably picky but as someone who is qualified in the Legal field, it is not unreasonable for you to expect to be working using the skills you have and have taken a long time to obtain.

IT Loser

Xiney wrote: »

Then that's fine.

Nobody (apart from keyboard warriors and their ilk) is going to force you to hang up your college degree and work in Supermacs or a building site unless you want to. True, you can't be unreasonably picky but as someone who is qualified in the Legal field, it is not unreasonable for you to expect to be working using the skills you have and have taken a long time to obtain.

Thats great. I am glad they use their heads on this one. Then again, if they took my job application forms, they would see I had applied for a wide variety of employment.

People should know that there is a difference between looking for a job in a particular sector, and looking for a job-within-a-job kind of thing. I would never turn down a job because the guy in the office next to me had a slightly better number.

Xiney

Look, they know it's next to impossible to get a job right now. You're not special in this regard. There are 413,500 unemployed people in Ireland right now - it's patently obvious that there aren't 413,500 empty jobs for them to go into.

There are some of those people who are suited to be working in Supermacs and the like. If you're not suited for it, why should you get the job over someone who is? If they didn't get the job, they're miserable, and if you get the job, you're miserable. So who does that help?

Better to let people go for the jobs they want. It's not like any job will go empty for long these days.

tomred1

Of course you can look for other work while working on buildings sites, your just making excuses and your fooling nobody but yourself.
There are loads of reasons people can turn down employment but if you can't find work in your own sector after 2 months, you should look elsewhere and you can't rule out a fast food place because you wouldn't like be happy working there.You shouldn't be happy on the dole.Any experience in any job can be taken to other differnet jobs no matter how different the role is.

dbready

Xiney wrote: »

Please have a read of the forum charter before posting again as this post is in direct contravention to it.

Further posts like this one (and anyone who thanks it following this warning) will earn you a ban from the forum.

Apologies if I upset you about something, but I do not see the problem with my post in forum called "State Benefits" I am entitled to my opinion surely????

Xiney

dbready wrote: »

Apologies if I upset you about something, but I do not see the problem with my post in forum called "State Benefits" I am entitled to my opinion surely????

Like I said, please read the charter.

dbready

Fair enough, I can see your point. I apologise.

IT Loser

tomred1 wrote: »

Of course you can look for other work while working on buildings sites, your just making excuses and your fooling nobody but yourself.
There are loads of reasons people can turn down employment but if you can't find work in your own sector after 2 months, you should look elsewhere and you can't rule out a fast food place because you wouldn't like be happy working there.You shouldn't be happy on the dole.Any experience in any job can be taken to other differnet jobs no matter how different the role is.

Who said I was happy "on the dole"?? I am not even on the dole yet, now that you mention it.
How many Barristers do you think would be even suited to working on a building site?? There would be huge health and safety implications of asking used-to-be paper-pushers to work on a site. They would have no appreciation of requirements involved.

When we did our "Safe-Pass" course, the instructor told us that the purpose of the course was to "foster a culture of health and safety".

Most non-construction folk would be alien to that culture, and would have to learn it. And who is going to trust a lad who could be half-asleep on the job thanks to the fact that he doesn't have that appreciation of the health-and-safety culture?

You sound like some student lad with ZERO appreciation of how things work in the real world.

Xiney has already pointed out that jobs also get handed out first to people who want them more than the other candidates. Try and bear that in mind.

People like McDonalds etc might not want college-educated staff. People like that might give their bosses an argument from time to time.

tomred1

IT Loser wrote: »

Who said I was happy "on the dole"?? I am not even on the dole yet, now that you mention it.
How many Barristers do you think would be even suited to working on a building site?? There would be huge health and safety implications of asking used-to-be paper-pushers to work on a site. They would have no appreciation of requirements involved.

When we did our "Safe-Pass" course, the instructor told us that the purpose of the course was to "foster a culture of health and safety".

Most non-construction folk would be alien to that culture, and would have to learn it. And who is going to trust a lad who could be half-asleep on the job thanks to the fact that he doesn't have that appreciation of the health-and-safety culture?

You sound like some student lad with ZERO appreciation of how things work in the real world.

Xiney has already pointed out that jobs also get handed out first to people who want them more than the other candidates. Try and bear that in mind.

People like McDonalds etc might not want college-educated staff. People like that might give their bosses an argument from time to time.

I never mentioned a barrister working on a building site? All i'm saying is that a person can work in a totally different sector and still look for work in their chosen sector.Its not as hard as your making it out to be.

IT Loser

tomred1 wrote: »

I never mentioned a barrister working on a building site? All i'm saying is that a person can work in a totally different sector and still look for work in their chosen sector.Its not as hard as your making it out to be.

Have you ever poured concrete? Laid slabs? Put up scaffolding? Try doing those jobs and look for another one at the same time.

Even if you get your CV off and people ring you back, they might ask you to come in for an interview. How can you manage that?

I have a law degree- I used to have to ask for permission to leave the site and I did not always get it.

tomred1

IT Loser wrote: »

Have you ever poured concrete? Laid slabs? Put up scaffolding? Try doing those jobs and look for another one at the same time.

Even if you get your CV off and people ring you back, they might ask you to come in for an interview. How can you manage that?

I have a law degree- I used to have to ask for permission to leave the site and I did not always get it.

If these are your excuses then fine, you don't have to explian yourself to me.

IT Loser

tomred1 wrote: »

If these are your excuses then fine, you don't have to explian yourself to me.

I am not making excuses or trying to explain myself to anyone. What I am saying is that taking work, the first work that comes up, is not always the best way to do it.

In this instance, I will give an even better example: night-shift work.

If you take a night-shift job, you can FORGET about being in place to take advantage of any other jobs that might take your fancy.

Waking up with a head on you at 5pm and having to go back out to work is not what I would call "Networking" if you see what I mean.