Letter from the Dole.......

wild_eyed

got a letter from the Dole office with an application form asking how im looking for work etc......

i am able to fill it in and have loads of examples of job applications and lots of rejection letters too and email logs, lots of stuff..

but..

ive never reguistered with Fas, it simply never dawned on me, ive registered with recruiment agencies and check jobs boards daily, and receive daily emails from jobs.ie

how important isit that ive registered with Fas?

or how bad is it that i havent???

i dont have an excuse for it... what should can i say?

Peanut2011

FAS have the jobs board just as well as other job boards. As long as you can prove that you are actively looking for a job (copies of rejection letters, application copies) you should not worry.

Solair

I'm sure that happens a lot.
Their main aim is to make sure you are actually looking for work and you've sent then evidence.

They should probably be a bit more organised themselves too and perhaps written to you about FAS or told you about it when you applied.

However, I would doubt its a problem they're just doing their jobs to ensure they're not paying money to people who aren't there or who aren't making any effort.

It sounds like you're are doing everything you can!

It's worth chatting to FAS tho! There are loads of schemes that can be useful and they're not all training courses either.

Just tons of stuff that isn't immediately obvious as the online information isn't always as good as you'd expect and a face to face chat with someone can sometimes jog minds / brainstorm ideas.

They'll be all enthusiastic to get you employed they're usually actually pretty helpful folks in both the Dept and FAS

hillbloom

You might be automatically registered with FAS when you applied to Social Welfare in the first instance. Ring FAS to check & they will do it then if your not already registered.

wmpdd3

Just do it now.

You could say that FAS only has internships on offer.... its pretty much true.

As long as you have loads of proof of registering with recruitment agencies, you should be covered.

Mrs OBumble

If you have ever, ever registered with FAS in the past, then you're still registered with them.

If you're not sure ... just go down there and register. Then continue to forget about them, as before, they don't have many jobs. anyways.

Ray Palmer

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Just do it now.

You could say that FAS only has internships on offer.... its pretty much true.

As long as you have loads of proof of registering with recruitment agencies, you should be covered.

Except it is no where near true. Fas have a ton of courses and job opportunities. Between contracts I did a few fas courses. After one of them I was able to set-up a few websites for money. It helped fill out my CV too.

They have some excellent long term courses too such as their graphic design course and I believe they now have a testing course which seems pretty comprehensive. There is also the private companies that provide training and get paid when they get you a job. So a big incentive to get you work.


They aren't meant to give you any dole until you register with Fas so you somehow slipped through the system on that.

It seems to me lots of people who bash fas don't know the service or expect it to do everything. I don't work there but I know people who do hence I know a bit more than your average Joe.

Postgrad10

Just write down that continuously check fas.ie for relevant vacancies. Nothing you can do if they don't apply to you . No worrying. You are doing your best

Phantasos

Don't stress. If you can prove you are applying for work then you'll have no problem with those forms. It's basically the department checking in to see if you're looking for work or not.

You'd be surprised how often people say they aren't looking for work on forms like that!

gandalf

You are under no obligation to register with FAS. Typically once you hit six months out they tend to refer you to a Local Employment Service, or FAS with the Social Welfare (if you don't attend they will dock your payments). There they will discuss your options, direct you towards FAS courses etc. and enrole you on courses that you are interested in. I have never been asked by SW to list my jobs applications but I have to send a form off to mortgage insurance every month detailing it so I have records of everything.

From what you are saying you have all these details which will satisfy them, they are looking at catching out the dossers who are not even making an effort. (basically its a box ticking exercise on their behalf).

Ray Palmer

gandalf wrote: »

You are under no obligation to register with FAS. Typically once you hit six months out they tend to refer you to a Local Employment Service, or FAS with the Social Welfare (if you don't attend they will dock your payments). .

You are under obligation to sign up with FAS. It doesn't actually exist anymore so it is actually part of DSP which is what a Local Employment Officer is. They can dock your payments as proof of the obligation and if you don't engage they can cut it off completely.

The system is catching up with a back log but it is now less than 6 months they will pursue this and it will reduce to a month is the goal AFAIK.

sligoface

Just go ahead and register with them and then you can say yes you are registered. That will most likely be end of story. If they did ask why you only just registered just tell the truth, you heard that fas didn't exist any more and that you didn't know you had to register with any one or who you were meant to register to, until you got the letter and then you did it straight away. As far as I know you are only required to be actively seeking and available for work and registering with fas is just seen as part of the actively seeking work bit. Don't worry, they are just looking to tick a box. Just pretend you are interested in fas schemes to make it seem like you are playing ball, but avoid committing to any of them unless you are really convinced that something they have on offer can help you get work, and not just fill time.