New Deal Complaints
View complaints about New Deal courses

This complaint is probably one of the most serious and shocking I have heard. The complaint is an in depth account of a young woman’s experience at Action 4 Employment - the largest New Deal provision prime contractor and training provider. I can only advise others who are intending to go on a New Deal, Flexible New Deal or other training course with A4e that they take steps for their own safety. A4e have not yet responded to the complaint. A long read - but will be worth it. Complaint:

I have been a client of A4e and was appalled by how I was treated.

I will start by telling you a little of my background. I had hit rock bottom in my life, lost my job and was living in a hostel with a lot of debt and was trying to rebuild everything I’d lost. I was waiting to start university and had already been accepted. Because of the situation I was in at the time I could not afford to take a minimum wage job and was waiting for council housing to become available. I was in a supported hostel for young girls and if you start work while living there the weekly rent is extortionate.

Regardless of my personal circumstances I was forced to go to A4e and told I would lose my benefits if I didn’t attend. I already had low self esteem because I hadn’t been working for the previous 6 months and had tried to get a job that would cover all of my bills. I had even voluntarily taken up typing courses and had got my level 3 qualifications in the hope that I could get a job that paid enough. I was also waiting to start voluntary work at citizen advice but I couldn’t start there because of attending A4e.

My jobcentre advisor was very sympathetic because she could see that I was trying so hard and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere and she even tried to put off A4e as long as possible as she knew I’d been accepted into university and it was only a matter of weeks until I started.

Finally my first day arrived at A4e and I felt pretty confident that these people are here to help me find work and that they would support me into a job. I was so wrong, from the moment I stepped through the door on the Monday I felt trapped.

After the first day induction we moved onto CV writing and cover letter writing, when the tutor told us that we had to write a CV and cover letter I approached her to let her know that I already had a cover letter for every occasion and an up to date well written CV (which everyone whom I have shown it to have commented that it is the best CV they’ve seen), so I asked if I was able to do some job search and was told that I wasn’t allowed to as it was a structured timetable (Even though job search was after all the main reason I was supposed to be there).

So after sitting bored out of my head for the most of the day I was then told that I had to sign a piece of paper saying that they’d helped me produce my well written CV and cover letter, even though they hadn’t which really disgusted me (the tutor wasn’t able to write a CV as well as the CV I had produced but would still take all the credit and tick the boxes that would eventually go towards there statistics). This piece of paper was then sent along with my CV and one of my many cover letters to my jobcentre advisor.

Most days would consist of job search all day; there were only 3 or 4 computers in the room between about 20 people and a couple of newspapers to share. Every now and again they would make you do something like a presentation or play a game and when I asked to not participate but instead continue job searching in a different room where I could have peace and quiet I was told that I had to participate.

Throughout the whole experience I had to put up with other clients of A4e being rude, disruptive and swearing without any reprimand. I explained on more than one occasion my personal situation and that I could only accept a job that was over minimum wage (I wasn’t being unreasonable as I had the qualifications and experience to get a admin job that paid a lot more than minimum wage).

When they kept trying to offer me jobs that I simply could not take I eventually broke down and I told my tutor I couldn’t handle it anymore I was sent to see a guy upstairs that was meant to help with any personal issues I might have. He started off by telling me that not even his own boss would know what we had discussed in that room and that his boss didn’t even know what was discussed with clients.

After discussing my circumstances yet again I was told that I should go into private rented accommodation so I could get a job now. They didn’t take into account that I had been advised by my key worker (at the hostel) that to move into private rented accommodation at this time would have been detrimental to my life and that I would have probably have ended up back in the hostel and that I needed a secure and safe environment because I was feeling very vulnerable at the time.

He also told me that he didn’t think university was a good idea for me as I obviously wasn’t stable (as I kept on getting upset because I was never listened to and was hating my experience at A4e) I was also told that I should really try to find work fast as if I had to come back to the 13 week course I wouldn’t handle it and he then went on to tell me of fully grown men that broke down because they could not handle that course (I really felt I was being bullied into accepting any job).

After he had asked me whether I felt I was vulnerable and I had replied yes, he continued to make jokes saying I could come and live with him and that he could be my sugar daddy and that he had a big house and plenty of room. I felt very vulnerable then, I had stayed late to have this chat and there was only a couple of people still in the building and none were we were sat in his tiny office which was literally a cupboard.

Previous to him being very unprofessional, I had told him that I used to attend a mental health clinic as I had previously had depression through everything going downhill in my life around that time and he continued to tell me that he had worked at the same clinic but had been sacked and that the claims someone had made against him had been false and that he knew he was in the right.

This made me think that he may have been over nice to other vulnerable girls in the past and been sacked because someone had told their story, if this was the case what was A4e doing employing someone to work with vulnerable people again on a one to one basis in a tiny room and why was he given a role in a company where he didn’t have to disclose anything he’d discussed in that room.

I was pretty freaked out when I left and felt that I couldn’t say anything to anyone at A4e as anything I said seemed to come back really badly against me. I really wanted to say something to protect other young vulnerable girls from his passes. He was very unprofessional that day, I couldn’t tell you whether that is just who he is or whether he was some sort of pervert but he really shouldn’t be saying anything like what he did.

After he had shattered my hope for university I went back to see my key worker very upset and told her what had happened, she reassured me once again that I was very bright and I could achieve anything that I wanted to in life and not to listen to other people.

I went back to A4e the next day and yet again got uncontrollably upset as I was dealing with a lot of things happening in my home life, I was sent to some sort of manager in a main office area with loads of other people there and this woman told me that I should go onto anti depressants and that would be the only way that I wouldn’t have to attend A4e anymore – who the hell did she think she was, making me feel so small in front of everyone. After all, all I needed to feel fine again was a stable home environment just like every other human being, to feel safe and secure is the most important thing in anyone’s life.

Apparently you either fit into one box or the other when you’re feeling low because of life events, you either have to have depression or you are fit or well but in an environment like the one they put people in to, a whole lot of people would have low self esteem and not be feeling at their best.

Now I am currently on a social work degree and doing very well for myself but only because of the total support I received in the hostel. A4e obviously aims to get people into work without helping with any obstacles standing in a client’s way. As long as they get their statistics to say that so many people have been introduced back into work then the government will feel that they have achieved what they need to!!!

A4e also offer incentives for people who get a job, if a person manages to gain employment while they are at A4e they put you into a draw to win some money, this once again shows that A4e are just out to get people into work regardless of whether they feel it is the right job for them or whether they think they can even stick at it.

Cutting funding for citizen advice is the worst thing this government has ever done, CAB aren’t just about helping people back into work but breaking down the barriers in clients lives to ensure that they feel able to work and I would put money on it that citizen advice enables more people to keep a job longer and promote people working more than any other employment service.

There are no such thing as lazy people who don’t want to work but there are plenty of people who haven’t been shown that working is a good way of life or that have no way of breaking down the barriers in their lives that stop them from working. Self esteem plays a big part in any person wanting to maintain a job and when people have been out of work for so long without any real support from the jobcentre they may not have any self esteem left. So what the hell do they think they are doing putting people into a stressful situation and trying to force people to accept any work available? They are abusing their power and probably making peoples’ lives a whole lot worse in the long run. I wonder how many people have walked out and lost their money/homes/lives through this abuse of power.

Since leaving A4e I have received numerous letters asking me to fill out a questionnaire about what I thought of the A4e course, the only problem is that this isn’t an anonymous questionnaire; it has all of your personal details printed on the front. Yet again an abuse of their power, I felt that I wasn’t able to answer this truthfully in case one day I ended up back on the course (I am sure a lot of client’s of A4e must feel the same way), as I felt this strongly about how this information would be used I failed to fill it in and eventually they stopped sending me the questionnaire.

Better Understanding:

A4e is the common abbreviation for Action 4 Employment.

New Deal is the UK Government’s initiative of… well we aren’t totally sure, but supposedly to get young people (ironically between 18 and retirement age so I guess you are as young as you feel) back into work using a £5bn windfall tax (because of the poor effects privatisation had for consumers) inspired by the “New Deal” scheme of America (to which it got the name from) into sticking the money directly into private companies to achieve absolutely nothing apart from fiddling with figures and criminalising the unemployed - which numbers of unemployed people have recently rapidly increased due to the Government’s inability to properly regulate the financial markets or implement any proper laws into stamping out discrimination prior to and during applying for jobs to get citizens into employment.

Commentary/New Deal Scandal Feedback:

Action 4 Employment (A4e) is the largest Jobcentre Plus New Deal Programme Provider Prime Contractor Training Provider with the most contracts awarded by Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). A4e began 20 years ago when the steel industry began to rapidly decline with large numbers of Sheffield steelworkers losing their jobs. Now, A4e operates from 21 countries globally, has 3,100 employees and turnover will now be in excess of £145 million. By no means are Action 4 Employment new providers without sufficient substantial resources. A4e are an established international business with decades of experience and significant cash flow and profits. This said their UK training centres are under equipped and breaches the Department of Work and Pensions New Deal contracts.

Moving on to the complaint… (As the complainant provided a little background for your understanding I think it would also be best for a brief background in A4e.)

I will acknowledge that the above complaint has been modified slightly by spell checker but otherwise is the exact quote from the Complainant or should I say nothing has been added or removed and the personal account of events is the same (see unmodified complaint) even if words replaced with the intended words.

There is no date submitted with the complaint however the source of the complaint (see sources below) was published this year so for the benefit of New Deal Complaints, we will presume it happening this year or late last year. There would be no reason for someone to withhold it longer and most details would have been forgotten about so due to the in depth nature it seems to be very recent. This is significant. ##

I have left the background of this woman in as I feel it is important to realise that even though the largest stereotype with unemployed people are that their career in effect is signing on at 18 and dole scrounging for the rest of their lives with no other aspirations and targets – like the majority of unemployed people this woman actually has ambition, enthusiasm, determination and intends to succeed in life.

She had already achieved being accepted to University which is an achievement in itself, got her level 3 qualifications, had taken up typing courses on her own terms and own initiative and instead of sitting around all day unproductively watching TV or playing computer games she wanted to start voluntary work to get out there and gain valuable work experience.

(Just to add that the Jobcentre needs to drop the “unavailable for work” clause for any activity which doesn’t exceed 3 weeks as with 99.9% of jobs (actually the 0.01% is just to cover anyone who disagrees) you have to apply via CV and/or application form and get an interview before any chance of being in employment. No longer can you walk in to a shop ask for a work trial and get a job in the same day. You would have thought that the Jobcentre would be in tune with employer trends for the red tape the Government adds.)

SWEAR ALERT!

Low self-esteem and self-confidence as with a lot of unemployed people means a lot don’t take the initiative to ask for employers to do work trials or voluntary work. It has to be admired that she was going to do voluntary work to boost that confidence and self-esteem.

Oh..wait, she hit rock bottom in her life, got into debt, lost her job, and living in a hostel. These things happen and even though most don’t openly admit it everyone reaches rock bottom at least once in their life and all she needed was some temporary support from a training provider.

What the fuck was Action 4 Employment playing at? I have been on the New Deal course personally and where ever you are you always get a handful of awkward clients. This client would be the perfect client. Jobcentre refers her, you stick her on induction, A4e gets bucket loads of money and they should have just stuck her on placement at Citizens Advice. They wouldn’t have seen her again (apart from one day Job search) and still got paid for it.

Hostels do indeed charge extortionate rent for people who live there while having a job. They are a business after all and hostels seem a good choice as they are rather inexpensive until you get a job, then you make up the difference between the inexpensive amount up and what would have been charged. Basically when you are employed you subsidise everyone else living there without a job. Hostels are generally a bad move as a lot of people find it difficult to move out when they have a job, as you are unable to save up for rent of a private property or council place – or the deposit for one. The phrase digging a hole comes into mind.

It was great to hear that your New Deal Personal Adviser (NDPA) took your case individually and sympathetically – I don’t hear that echoed very often. Seems most NDPA’s are so quick into sticking people on to the New Deal courses and most people get stuck on them earlier then they should have been.

I know the feeling of attending the course first day and feeling trapped. The Jobcentre literature of how the training provider will work for you into supporting you into work and gaining you experience and qualifications sound so wonderful – shame it is so far from the truth.

You are now stuck in a room full of strangers and it is time to begin survival skills. The first two days of induction I noticed most people kept themselves to themselves. No literally, not because everyone is unknown to each other but it was like a room of robots. It was the case of put your head down, shut up and.. It’s only 12 weeks and a few days to go. The first hour of my course was standing around finding where to go (it was a small place just wasn’t organised, no staff around, we had no idea what room) and then waiting another hour for the tutor to even attend!

Told to be there early for 9pm abrupt start and didn’t really start until 11.15am! It doesn’t take long for your gut instinct to kick in and feel unwelcome. It was largely the case where I went that before anyone would even say “hello” to you it was stay in silence and make sure the Jobcentre referral form was filled in.

Now the paperwork was complete and I signed – they will be getting money from the Jobcentre – the tutor now begin to give a long awaited (cold) welcome, introduce the course and himself. You know something is up when you can’t speak as human beings and greet people before paperwork is completed.

Tutor:“Who are you?”
Yourself: (You reply with your name.)
Tutor: “Okay, sign this form”

Sorry, is it just me but this is very shitty? Not a simple “hello”, “how are you?”, “please” or “thank you”.

Is it too much to ask for something along the lines of:

Tutor: “Hello everybody. Thanks for coming. Welcome to (Training Provider). My name is (Tutors name) I will be your tutor for this induction week. Today everything will be a bit boring as we have to get the paperwork done to satisfy the Jobcentre’s criteria. I think it will be a good start to go round the room and introduce everyone and say a little bit about everyone, what are your hobbies, what sort of work you are looking for etc. I expect everyone to be a bit shy so I will start and we can go round clockwise.”

Participants: (all answer in turns telling people a little about themselves)

Tutor: “Great stuff. In a moment I will hand out referral forms from the Jobcentre and would appreciate if you can make sure it is all filled in correct and sign it. I will then take you for a tour of the building showing you the fire exits etc. then you can go for a break and get a tea or coffee, or have a smoke”

What is interesting as the complainant and I have different training providers and in different locations. All courses have a timetable and the staff is not allowed discretion – you have to follow the course as everyone else (even though the new Deal course is supposed to be “tailored” to your needs) and you can be exited for failing to actively participate in activities – regardless of how pointless they are.

I also had an up-to-date CV which they kept a copy of and sent to my New Deal Personal Adviser (even though she already had it before when the same thing happened on Gateway 2 Work) claiming that they helped me produce it. I was also forced to complete such paperwork as the complainant mentioned or be exited – even though was just paperwork it was falling in to the “failing to actively participate in activities” and making a contribution criteria regardless of any cooperation in the CV writing activity.

Similar to my experience of 30 hours job search a week. My course was slightly better equipped though with enough newspapers for about 40 people – even though we all had to share as there were hundreds of people in the same room. There were 3 available telephones for the entire centre (1 in the training room which is inadequate as everyone talking in the room and 2 telephones in separate small rooms which you had to disturb another room to access as they were inside that classroom) and about 6 available computers.

Participants were forced into non-related activities (stupid games, classroom activities with no relevance to helping find a job or be better able to secure a job) with refusal (including continuing Job search activity) leading to dismissal. The complainant describes the “awkward clients” I mentioned earlier.

I understand about the need to resolve outstanding issues to better help you into employment however I do not see how this “guy upstairs” had the right and A4e having the authority under their contractual remit to advise this client into persuading the complainant not to go to university.

Private rented accommodation would be the way to go if you didn’t have debt worries which you do so this advice on that was also bad.

How do you find work “fast”?

If a training provider specialising into getting unemployed people back in to employment doesn’t know how the employment procedure goes (advertise > deadline > short list > interviews > (2^nd interviews) > job) that raises many major concerns. It is impossible to find work fast – you can do quicker job searching, you can search more often, you can apply for more jobs - you can rush applications… but rushing employment applications will only decrease your chances which will make finding work actually “slower”. The average job has 2 weeks from the advert to the deadline to apply for it, a week for short listing and another week for interviews. That’s 4 weeks… most jobs aren’t immediate start so looking at around 5 weeks if successful.

I also think he was sexist with the “fully grown men” that have broken down because of the course phrase. What is it to say that women will cope with their course worse than men? It is comparing a weak vulnerable woman (to which she was at that moment in time) to the biggest strongest securest most mature man that you could possibly imagine.

I think his suggestions of being the complainants “Sugar Daddy” and for her to live with him were well out of order and bordering on Gross Misconduct. Readers will understand the above phrase (if not click it) and remember that the complainant has debt problems. I think this was a request which was very unprofessional and exploiting the vulnerability of the client. This raises the question of who else has this man asked.

I would have thought that training providers did Criminal Record Bureau check on their staff.

She says it well: “There [is] no such thing as lazy people who don’t want to work but there are plenty of people who… have no way of breaking down the barriers in their lives that stop them from working. Self esteem plays a big part in any person wanting to maintain a job and when people have been out of work for so long without any real support from the jobcentre they may not have any self esteem left.”

She continues … “So what the hell do they think they are doing putting people into a stressful situation and trying to force people to accept any work available? They are abusing their power and probably making peoples’ lives a whole lot worse in the long run.”

It is great to hear that without A4e’s support, advice or guidance that the complainant went to University currently doing a social work degree and is doing well for herself. It is genuine success stories like these that I love to hear and I hope there are more people out there who have gone their own way. ”

Action 4 Employment’s Response:

We await A4e’s response to this complaint.

We would love to hear a proper answer that admits responsibility, justifies how they see it as appropriate, what action they took against staff members involved, how they will ensure it doesn’t happen again and what compensation (financial or otherwise) was offered to the victim.

Follow Up:

As of yet, no follow up to A4e’s response can be made simply because we have not heard anything from them. I will follow up with any correspondence from them including any take down requests or legal threats along with a genuine copy of my response back to them and their solicitors.

Sources:

This complaint comes from the following source

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/a4e-more-from-the-poverty-pimps/