Internship at Letchworth JobCentre Plus

07.06.2010 – 02.07.2010
by Jennifer Essilfie
Directory Page

List of abbreviations 3

Introduction 4

Short description “Bundesagentur für Arbeit” 4

Short description “Job Centre Plus” 4

Duties of the Job Centre Plus 5

Employment Service 5
How is the BA different? 5

Benefits 7
How is the BA different? 8

Finances of the Job Centre Plus 8

Organisation of the Job Centre Plus 8

Differences to the BA 9

Write-up 9
Abbreviation List
ASM - Adviser Service Manager
BA - Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)
DASO - Diary Admin Support Office
ESA - Employment and Support Allowance
FJR - Fortnightly Job-Search Review
IS - Income Support
JCM - Job Centre Manager
JCP – Job Centre Plus
JSA Contr. – Job Seekers Allowance Contribution Based
JSA Income - Job Seekers Allowance Income Based
LMRAs - Labour Market Recruitment Advisor
LMS - Labour Market System
LMU - Labour Market Unit
NINO - National Insurance Number
ND - New Deal
NDYP - New Deal for Young People
WCA - Work Capability Assessment
DMA - Decision Making and Appeals
SWIM - Six Weeks Intensiv Monetoring
Introduction
The distance between the “Bundesagentur für Arbeit” at the Kurt-Schumacher Allee in Hamburg
and the “Job Centre Plus” at the Station Road in Letchworth Garden City is approximately 441
miles (710 km). Would one try to take the airway, he would have to cross the Netherlands. So it is
easy to assume that a far away country that is very different in language, traditions, political system
and labour laws should hold an equally different approach of bringing people back into work. If one
takes a closer look, he will discover that the rules and regulations are very close to the German
ones while the execution of the system is vastly different. This report wants to give a short
description of the Job Centre Plus (JCP) in comparison with the German Bundesagentur für Arbeit
(BA) and what each administration could possibly learn from the other.

Additional Note: The process and procedure of the JCP in the UK was understood by interviews
with the staff and by accumulating information by shadowing. Also, the information was gathered
while a new government promised vast changes within the procedure of the benefit system and the
work of the JCP.

Short description of the “Bundesagentur für Arbeit”

After an excessive internal revision of the Bundesanstalt für Arbeit in 2004, the Bundesagentur für
Arbeit was born in 2005. The BA is responsible for clients who are or who will be unemployed,
young people, who are leaving school and are in need of advice regarding their career choice,
people who are in need of benefits and employers who are in search of staff or need financial help
to employ. The BA is a government-based administration under public law and as such working
towards key objectives given by the German government and under the Social Security Code III.
In addition the BA works closely with other public insurance administrations (e.g. the Health
Insurance Department) in regards of finance, client administration and so on.

Short description of the Job Centre Plus

The JCP is part of the Department for Work and Pension (DWP). The DWP is one of the public
service delivery departments in the UK responsible for social welfare, pension and fighting child
poverty. Head of the DWP is the secretary of state for work and pension: Ian Duncan Smith, MP.
The JCP works within the boundaries of the Civil Service Code of 2006, which is applicable for all
people working in civil service. The JCP itself is accountable for moving clients from welfare into
work, paying out benefits and supporting employers in their quest to fill vacancies.
Duties of the JCP

Employment Service
The first responsibility of the JCP is to move customers from welfare into work. Within the JCP
customers are placed into different groups: 18 – 24 and 25plus as well as customers who receive
Employment and Support Allowance and lone parents on Income Support. There are a number of
programmes designed to help customers, including New Deal 25plus, New Deal for Young People,
New Deal for Lone Parents and Parents and Provider Led Pathways. Customers are required to
visit the JCP fortnightly for a Fortnightly Job-Search-Review. In between week six and nine the
customer is also obliged to attend a Back to Work Session. After 13 Weeks of unemployment the
customer is required to visit the JCP for a mandatory interviews with his Personal Adviser. He also
advances to Stage 2. In Stage 2 the customer is part of the “Six Weeks Intensive Monitoring”
Scheme (SWIM). Every fortnight the customer receives a phone call to ask about his Job-Search
(in addition to his FJR-Appointments). After six months the customer moves to Stage 3. Stage 4 is
for customers after a year of unemployment. customers who have been unemployed for 18 months
required to join the New Deal (ND) program which offers more opportunities for training and work
experience. Customers who are between 18 and 24 are treated like regular customers up until the
13th week of their unemployment. If they enter the 2nd Stage they must to visit the JCP once a
week for a JR Appointment (Job-Search Review). After 6 weeks of intensive monitoring they go
back to fortnightly FJR appointments.

Customers on Income Support (IS) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are different
groups. Both customer groups are not able to work full-time, either for health reasons (ESA) or
because they are are lone parents or carers. Customers who are receiving ESA or IS are obliged
to attend work focused interviews with their personal adviser to consider work they can do, either
now or in the future. The interviews are booked by the members of the Diary Admin Support Office
(DASO) which has to meet specific requirements while booking these appointments.

How is the BA different?

First and foremost: The rules of claiming and receiving benefits are seemingly the same in
Germany and England. To claim “Job Seekers Allowance” (JSA) or in Germany „Unemployment
Money“ one must be signed up with the relevant organisation and actively seeking. But otherwise
the way things are done is vastly different.

The most obvious difference is the fortnightly sign-in appointment, which is determined by the
customers National Insurance Number ('NINO). The customer is required to attend his local job
centre to show his job-search diary and explain what they have done to look for work. They must
have taken a minimum of three steps each week, otherwise the customer may be referred to a
decision maker to decide if the customer has been actively seeking employment. If not the benefit
my be affected. If they miss their appointment they are also referred to the decision maker to
decide whether or not they had reasonable ground for not attending at the designated time. Again,
if they don't their benefit may be affected.

But the differences start at the signing on. In Germany the customer has to notify his local job
centre ahead of time of his impending unemployment. The time frame lies within three months of
(within those three months) as soon as he knows. If he fails to notify his benefits will be sanctioned.
Then again on his first day of unemployment he has to visit his job centre in person. While the
notice of impending unemployment can be made over the phone or by mail, the notice of
unemployment has to be made in person. The JCP allows his customer to notify the JCP
themselves whenever the customer chooses, however benefit is only paid from the date the
customer first contacts, which is the “Taken as Made” (TAM) date.

The third most obvious difference lies within the meetings with a personal adviser. Whilst in
Germany a meeting can last up to an hour on their first meeting, the ones in a Job Centre Plus are
only 40 minutes. The personal adviser ensures that the customer knows about his entitlements and
responsibilities, works with the customer to create a Job Seekers Agreement (a contract between
the Job Centre Plus and the customer) updates the Labour Market System (LMS) with previous
employment history and matches the customer to vacancies they have skills for and explains that
benefit may be affected if the customer does not apply.

Afterwards the personal adviser will see the customer only for his Stage Appointments and if the
customer request an appointment

However, noteworthy is the handling of appointments with people who receive ESA and Lone
Parents with IS The Job Centre is required to provide customers who are soon unable to claim
ESA or IS with an appointment, which is dated at least one day before the claim on ESA or IS stop.
The customers are required to attend those appointments to make sure that there is no gap in their
claim. The Job Centre even takes the extra step to remind those customers of their appointments.
If they still fail to attend their appointments their benefits will be sanctioned (all benefits). While
being on benefit the customers are required to attend work-focused interviews at certain stages of
their claim to discuss the possibilities the customer has to go back to employment.

The LMRAs support the employers in search of staff. The procedure is close to the one in
Germany, except that the Employers Advisers in Germany usually visit the Company in search of
staff to find out more about the employer. A technique that is apparently not practiced as much as it
was used to within the JCP as it was used to. Now the LMRAs will place a phone call within 48
hours of the vacancy placement to ensure that the employer has every opportunity available to find
new staff and to get to know the employer better. The LMRA's will only visit an employer if they
have five or more vacancies.

Benefits
There are four different types of benefits a customer of the JCP can receive:

Job Seekers Allowance Contribution Based: customers can receive the contribution-based JSA if
they have paid enough National Insurance Contribution. The current weekly payment of JSA
Conts. Is £ 65,45 (equiv. approx.: € 80,-). Additionally customers on JSA Contr. will receive a
National Insurance credit which may be needed for State Pension. The JSA Conts. Is payable for
182 days.

Job Seekers Allowance Income based: Based on the savings and the income of the customer. If
the customer has more than £ 3.000 (~ € 3.640,-) it will affect the customers benefits. For every £
250,- ( ~€ 300,-) £ 1,- (~ € 1,20) is deducted from any weekly entitlement. Any other income is also
taken into account.

Employment and Support Allowance: ESA replaced the Incapacity benefit and Income Support that
was paid up until the 27th of October 2007 and has within two stages: The assessment stage,
which lasts 13 weeks. In the assessment stage the capability for work is tested by the Work
Capability Assessment (WCA). The main stage starts after the WCA has determined limited ability
to work or an inability to undertake employment. If the customer is completely unable to work
because of his illness or disability he will be placed in a support group. If he has a limited ability to
take on employment he has to attend mandatory work-focused interviews in his local JCP. They
also have to attend work-focused appointments with Seetec and Pathways to Work. Everyone has
to see their personal advisers to help them to overcome barriers and find suitable work. In the first
stage of the assessment a customer under 25 will be paid £ 51,85 (~ € 62,-). A person over 25 £
65,45. After the first 13 weeks the amount of benefit is based on whether the customer is part of a
work-related activity group (£ 91.40 ~ € 110,-) or a support group (£ 96.85 ~ € 116,-)

Income Support: Income support is a means tested benefit and customers are not required to sign
in fortnightly due to their circumstances. The most common customer on IS I encountered in
Letchworth was the Lone Parent. Due to their Child Caring responsibilities single parents with
Children under the age of 10 (will be change to seven by August) are not obliged to sign on.
Henceforth they do not bear the same duties as a customer on JSA. However, once the child
reaches the designated age the lone parent will be asked to go back to work. As soon as they are
not eligible for IS any more they have to sign on to receive JSA. The other customer group on IS is
carers.

Each benefit has conditions of entitlement. If the customer violates those conditions his benefits
can be sanctioned. If the JCP suspects a customer of violating the rules he will be sent a form to
explain his behaviour and has also the chance to see an advisers for a Decision Making
Appointment (DMA). The DMA gives the customer the opportunity to explain his reasons for not
adhering. If he has reasonable grounds for violating the conditions he will be deemed “straight
forward” which means that the adviser will approve the customers explanation. If he does not have
reasonable grounds, he has to fill out an E19-questionnaire, which will be sent to the Decision
Maker. If the Decision Maker decides that the customer does not have reasonable grounds his
benefit will be affected. It is nonetheless noteworthy that the benefit will not be affected
immediately after the customer violated the rule but in the future after the Decision Maker looked
over and decided over the case.

How is the BA different?

The BA itself only deals with one benefit and the possibilities of support which are made possible
for people on benefit: Arbeitslosengeld I (Unemployment Money I ~ UM I). It can be closely related
to JSA Contr. Since only customers who have paid enough National Insurance Contribution are
eligible for UM I. The Job Centres who deal with the JSA Income are based on a completely
different Social Security Code (II) and differ in Finance, internal organisation and more. This benefit
is called Unemployment Money II (UM II) There is no equivalent to ESA or Income support. Even
though UM II can be used to top up a low income, people who are not signed on for job-search are
not eligible to receive it. If a person is not required to sign on with the Job Centres or the BA he has
to sign on with the liable public administration. Also, the administration differ on whether the
customer is expected to be able to go back to work within the next 72 weeks or whether he is
incapable of working for a longer term. To assess this the customer will be required to visit a
physician contracted to the BA who will conduct a medical evaluation and appraise the medical
conditions of the customer.

Finance of the JCP

The DWP and its departments are financed by the Income Tax that is applied in the UK. The DWP
receives government funding. The Income Tax itself is based on the amount of the income like the
German unemployment insurance.
One very prominent information is that the DWP is working fiercely to improve their efforts in
recovering benefits that were overpaid. A report by a public accountant team discovered that the
DWP is still working to recover £ 1.8 Billion.
Organisation of the JCP
The JCP in itself is a executive agency of the DWP and as such answers directly to the Secretary
of State Ian Duncan Smith. The JCPs are organized in Districts. The Letchworth JCP lies in the
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire District (Beds & Herts). Responsible as District Manager is Carolyn
Taylor. Three offices in the Beds and Herts District (Letchworth, Biggleswade and Bedford) are
pooled into the Northern Patch, which is managed by Sarah Dean as Customer Service Operations
Manager (CSOM) Her status is classified as Band E'. Directly answering to her are the Band D's
who hold more local managerial obligations. They are split into Advisor Service Managers (ASMs)
and Job Centre Managers (JCM) as well as National Insurance Number Managers (NINO
Manager). They directly manage the Band C's (Personal Advisers, Floor Walkers, Line Managers)
and the Band B's (Customer Service assistant, DASO team members, Financial Assessors).

How is the BA different?

The financial and organisational system of the UK JCP are not substantially different from its
German equivalent. Both agencies are financed by government spendings and are organized on a
hierarchy system. The biggest differences are possibly that the German BA is a governmentbased
administration under public law which stands for itself while the JCP is part of a higher
organisation which houses also the Pension Service and the Disability and Carer Service. As such
the JCP is stronger and closer connected with both services than its German counterpart. Both
German service fall in the field of responsibilities of two different federal insurance administrations.

Write-Up
The difference between the JCP and the BA seem small at the beginning. But even the smallest
difference can make a huge deviation for the work procedures that execute rules and regulations. It
showed to be a necessity to not only be informed about the JCP related matters, like JSA and
customer responsibilities but also about almost everything else that falls into the obligations of the
DWP. The BA is a lone standing administration that can refer customers to other federal
administration but cannot hand out forms for them or employ staff to answer enquiries about them
it permits its staff to specialize themselves. But the differences are more distinct within the process
of the German employment service.

BA best practice
The fortnightly Sign-In-Appointments. While the customer is required to let the JCP know how his
job-search is going, he is only asked whether he actually searched. But he is not required to
actually prove that he applied. The statement of searching newspapers and internet sites for jobs is
enough. Instead the customers should have a set target of applications he has to fill out per
fortnight. If not set to high it is actually possible. The amount of applications has to differ for the
different job types and regions. Which requires the personal adviser to know certain fields of
employment very well so they can estimate the amount of application that is doable within a
fortnight. It would help putting more pressure on customers who are not actively searching for work
and support those who have been applying but failed. They could be looked at more closely to see
why the applications are failing.

JCP Best Practice

But also the German side can learn from their British reciprocal: The fortnightly sign-in draws the
customer into the JCP, whether they like it or not. While the German job-search diaries tend to be a
lot more detailed than the British ones, nothing beats face-to-face correspondence with somebody.
People who try to work around the system can be spotted easier and those who go constantly the
extra step can be rewarded easier. Also I found it nice that people with disabilities and/ or on ESA/
Income support have the possibility to get a short-noticed appointment with an adviser. The closer
and more appreciated and supported customers feel at an administration, the likelier they will be
open for suggestions and help.
Another concept that the German administration could use is the sign-up process over the phone.
As of now the customer has to be in the office the first day of his unemployment where he sits with
a customer service assistant who will take in his personal details, hand out forms for
Unemployment Money and if available book an appointment with a personal adviser. The process
could be made more efficient if the Notification of unemployment could be made over the phone
like in Britain. A customer telephones a contact centre on the first day of his unemployment. The
contact centre ask numerous questions which completes the application for benefit. The adviser
also establishes the type of work the customer is looking for and submits the customer to
vacancies. The customer is then given an appointment for a face-to-face “New Job Seeker”
interview. Customer Service Representatives would then have time to check job-search diaries
even more thoroughly and have more time for customers with enquiries.