Local Employment Services -pig arrogant

Stinicker

I recently came back to Ireland after a spell abroad, I signed back on JSA around two weeks ago and within 3 days of signing on I had a letter from the local welfare office setting me up with a meeting with the L.E.S.

I met the guy today and he wanted me to sign a form about how my failure to co-operate would lead them cutting off my dole, he was also quite intimidating about having my dole cut off. I refused to sign the form and told him where to shove his attitude and a thing or two about the corruption in Ireland, I am not the sort to be intimidated by anyone and have always fought my corner.

I went to the meeting hoping to get some information about starting my own business and maybe (BTWEA) and instead was met immediately with threats of having my welfare reduced or cut off completely. I told this guy a few home truths and he put me in a rage for most of the day. I have already complained him to his head office and notified my local social welfare office of his behavior towards me in an attempt to coerce me into signing a form.

Everyday I am regretting getting on that plane two weeks ago as everything in Ireland is so utterly corrupt it is sickening.

SpaceTime

What exactly was he asking you to cooperate with?

I'm not really seeing what you mean about corruption.

BuffyBot

I'm not sure what you're getting angry about, tbh. They're basically telling you that if you don't co-operate (i.e allow them to do their job: helping you back into employment) then of course your entitlement to allowances can be altered. If you're refusing training/placements/courses offered to you.

It's similar to the DSP telling you than benefits are only available if you're available and seeking work, and that if you're not doing both, your allowances may be affected. Did you get bullish with them too?

Making (and signing) such declarations is part of the process.

Stinicker

However when you are threatened that you will be cut off the dole before you even sign it. I refused to sign and he ended the interview there and then. I had hoped to engage in a meaning and positive way as I don't want to be on the dole no more than they want me on it. However his attitude was appalling and very confrontational so naturally I ripped into him and we left on quite bad terms.

I could not sign the form on principle because he could have said ok instead we will put you on a FAS or a TUS scheme out sweeping the roads and cutting grass. There is no way in hell I'd do that, last year I signed up onto a computer course but was forced to give it up after 3 weeks as FAS were paying me €32/week which wasn't enough to cover fuel costs on the 800kms a week commute, also I have undiagnosed Aspergers which means I could sit in a class room all day and not remember anything and I cannot study as I have a zero concentration span on something I am not 100% interested and committed to.

I only signed up onto the Course last year because I thought it might be interesting and mainly to get this guy off my back for a while and when I tried to do it I discovered it was breaking me financially and the qualification was worthless to get me a job and I'd have to resit the same course every three years after like a month of study.

Obviously he was angry that I had dropped out of last years course but it was totally unsuitable for me and had it not nearly bankrupted me on petrol costs I'd have stuck at it and failed because it was good craic with the lads doing it.

I left school at 13 due to similar circumstances in that I am unable to learn in a traditional learning environment which led to heavy bullying also, I excel best when I am on my own away from other people and even better still when I am away from Irish people in a foreign country. To be threatened in such a manner by this guy was intimidating and humiliating and a very degrading experience. However I am never one to take these things lying down and gave him a mouthful before leaving his office.

SpaceTime

OP, honestly you're doing yourself absolutely no favours going in with a very confrontational attitude like that.

These kinds of situations are often very stressful and I would suggest you just maybe take a deep breath and step back from it for a day or so before communicating further with them. Maybe talk to a friend or family member or something to get some advice on what to do next?

The guy may have been abrasive or rubbed you up the wrong way, but the JSA is intended as a payment to tide you over while you get back into work.

There is a huge heap of supports and services available through FAS and various schemes and you can actually usually decide which options you want to use. I mean, for example, there are loads of FAS and springboard courses that might be suitable.

Would you consider going into FAS and having a chat with them rather than the local employment scheme?

Or, maybe ask if you can meet with a different person rather than the guy you met ?

You probably should dust down your CV, make sure it's totally up-to-date and see what can be given a bit of extra 'umph' in it and head back to one of these services and see what can be done to get you back into the work place?

Job Bridge might be an option too, although I think you need to be 'in the system' for about 3 months before you're eligible to apply. Just browse the ads and see if you can find companies that might be offering something useful. Some of the internships are actually useful it's just a case of browsing and weeding out the good from the bad.

....

You can encounter people having a bad day, or who aren't the most pleasant to deal with in all sorts of environments and it can be very stressful when you're wound up about being unemployed in the first place.
However, at the end of the day, the services are all only interested in getting you back to work. They've no agenda to annoy you or stress you out or be angry with you. They simply want to get you back into a job a.s.a.p.

BuffyBot

However his attitude was appalling and very confrontational so naturally I ripped into him and we left on quite bad terms.

To be frank, if you approached him with the manner and tone you've posted here, then it was never going to be a constructive meeting.

A lot of what you say above is pretty irrelevant, and does nothing to support what you're claiming. You need to take a couple of steps back, examine exactly what went on. You may well end up having to re-approach them, so you need to figure out how to get what you need out of it: and to do that you'll need a clear head.

Sometimes you just have to nod, smile and get on with it.

Stinicker

Thanks for the suggestions SpaceTime but I have been unemployed in Ireland for over 5 years now and I have absolutely no hope of getting a job here especially as where I live is in the backend of nowhere. I have a CV with nothing on it and I can't just conjure up lies to put on it. I have worked for only 6 weeks in my adult life in Ireland and this job was in a hotel and I only got in there at the time as my sister was also employed there and got me in there.

The dole is part of the governments social agreement with the people and unless they are going to do something to help to my locality soon then there will never be nothing here. I left school after about 2-3 months in first year of secondary school and never returned. There is absolutely no hope for me in the near future, my father will sign over the family farm to me in a few years when he is pension age but that is still a longways off. And I am essentially coasting to the day when I get my multi-million euro inheritance, however until this "promised" day I have nothing except what I can eek out for myself and never depend on my parents nor ask them for anything.

I recently met possibly the nicest girl ever and I had to breakup and leave her back in her own country as I was unaffordable of the relationship and the financial contraints it was placing me under. I've come back home to try and establish something here for myself but I have had only obstacles thrown in my path since I came back. I even have a business idea which I could setup here but everything in Ireland seems designed to hammer you down through the ground and we are nothing but a nation of the worst type of begrudgers going.

SpaceTime

What I would say though is that most people on the front lines in these situations can appreciate that someone may just be suffering from serious levels of stress.

So, I think just maybe start again and definitely take a day or two and have a chat with a friend or family member before you head in again.

Have all your support documents with you and have some suggested solutions too like maybe courses you'd be interested in doing, strategies you'd like to look at to get experience and get back into the work place and definitely have two copies of your CV and all that so you can both look at it together.

Sometimes you do just have to put up with gruffness and stuff, they're doing a tough job and you're in a tough situation and it can sometimes just lead to a less than optimal situation.

Think of it from their perspective too. There's an increasingly limited budget and a high level of unemployment. They're busier than ever and they're dealing with lots of very frustrated people who may be very stressed too and all that tends to rub off on the environment.

If you're unemployed and actually seeking work (which you seem to be), then just go in with a positive attitude and make use of the services. They're not always perfect but, they're trying to do something to sort your situation out.

I think just be a man/woman with a mission to get into the work place and they'll appreciate it. At the end of the day, they're state services available for that purpose.

SpaceTime

Stinicker wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions SpaceTime but I have been unemployed in Ireland for over 5 years now and I have absolutely no hope of getting a job here especially as where I live is in the backend of nowhere. I have a CV with nothing on it and I can't just conjure up lies to put on it. I have worked for only 6 weeks in my adult life in Ireland and this job was in a hotel and I only got in there at the time as my sister was also employed there and got me in there.

The dole is part of the governments social agreement with the people and unless they are going to do something to help to my locality soon then there will never be nothing here. I left school after about 2-3 months in first year of secondary school and never returned. There is absolutely no hope for me in the near future, my father will sign over the family farm to me in a few years when he is pension age but that is still a longways off. And I am essentially coasting to the day when I get my multi-million euro inheritance, however until this "promised" day I have nothing except what I can eek out for myself and never depend on my parents nor ask them for anything.

I recently met possibly the nicest girl ever and I had to breakup and leave her back in her own country as I was unaffordable of the relationship and the financial contraints it was placing me under. I've come back home to try and establish something here for myself but I have had only obstacles thrown in my path since I came back. I even have a business idea which I could setup here but everything in Ireland seems designed to hammer you down through the ground and we are nothing but a nation of the worst type of begrudgers going.

I don't really agree that there's no hope for you.
There's *ALWAYS* a possibility I think you really need to look at things from a different perspective.

Just find something you want to do or have an interest in and see how you can pursue that.

If your CV's blank, you could do some voluntary work for example?

You could take on some of the Job Bridge schemes or any of those other options.

You're in an extremely lucky position if you have a multimillion Euro inheritance potentially coming to you!
I'm not saying that in a begrudging way, I'm saying it as fact.

A lot of people are in very much worse positions in terms of having huge mortgages hanging over them and facing nothing but a lifetime of debt. So, they will quite likely not really see the situation you're in as particularly tough even though from your perspective maybe it is.

I would honestly suggest that you go in and make full use of the community employment services and see what they can come up with. Their whole purpose is to deal with situations like you're talking about and look for opportunities to fill-up your CV again.

If you're thinking of starting your own business, you might be best to start looking for experience in the area you're considering starting your business in ? Or, failing that at least try to get some experience with an entrepreneurial type company or indeed, any company at all.

Take *any* sales job for example, and you'll pick up skills that are absolutely fundamental to starting your own business.

You'd also need to bone up on basic accounting, tax, marketing and all that stuff that you would need to run a business.

You obviously have some good language and writing skills as you have been able to post quite well on this forum. So, you are already in a far better position than many people who are long term unemployed.

....

There are loads and loads of possibilities out there, you just need to start thinking outside the box.

The Government's only responsibility in terms of the JSA or dole is to get you back into work. It's not really meant to be a long-term solution to lack of income, although in some cases that does tend to be what happens. That's not how it's intended to be used though and not what it's for.

OP, as others have said, take a deep breath and step back. The man was only doing his job, so please don't criticise him for that. With things as they are at the moment, they know that the chances of anyone getting a job is slim. You say that you want to possibly start your own business. Did you bring your business plan with you? Also, you cannot be just "Put" on a TUS or CE scheme until you've been signing on for at least 12 months. Then you have to go theough the interview process, like for any job. These schemes are not all just stret sweeping either! Many of them contribute hugely in services like Playschools/creches or Day care for the elderly. Others do invaluable work on river maintenance, tidy towns, tourist offices, charity shops, etc. Having been on one, I can reassure you as to their value. You gain experience and some training. Have you considered going back to College? There are a number of options open to you and now may be the best chance you'll ever get.

No Pants

Stinicker wrote: »

I told this guy a few home truths

Such as?

ShaShaBear

If you live at home on a multi-million euro farm you may just forget about Jobseekers now :rolleyes: