What the Jobcentre Plus can do for you (From Salisbury Journal)

What the Jobcentre Plus can do for you

5:56pm Thursday 22nd October 2009 in Jobs

The first contact many people of working age will have with Jobcentre Plus is when they need to make a claim for benefit.

This can be done by ringing 0800 0 55 66 88, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. A textphone service is available for people with speech or hearing impairments on 0800 0 23 48 88.

An operator will guide you through the claims process, which means that your time isn’t taken up by form filling. You’ll need to provide some information during the call including –  Your National Insurance Number  Details of your rent or mortgage  Details of your past or present employment  Details of any other income you may have, and your savings Make sure you’ve got that information to hand when you call, it makes the whole process very much easier. In any case, the whole process will only take about 40 minutes.

You can also now make a claim online at our new service, Jobseekers Allowance Online which can be accessed though the diect.gov website at -www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_178228 Most people are then given an appointment to see an Adviser at their local Jobcentre.

While you are claiming benefit and looking for work, you’ll need to attend the Jobcentre regularly and we will do our best to help you find a job.

We have Britain’s largest database of job vacancies, which can be accessed in a number of ways:

Website

Visit the website by logging on to www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk, or www.direct.gov.uk – it’s the most frequently visited jobs website in the UK and new vacancies are often on the website within 10 minutes of the employer placing them, so it pays to check regularly.

Telephone

Phone our telephone job-matching service, on 0845 60 60 234 and speak to an adviser. They can tell you about job vacancies in your local area and elsewhere. Textphone number is 0845 60 55 255.

Jobpoints

Use the Jobpoints when you’re visiting the Jobcentre. The touch screen technology is easy to use and you don’t need any computer skills.

Support

We can also offer other methods of support, including: Help with travel costs if you are offered a job interview away from home Working out how much better off you would be in a job Specialist advice for people with a health problem or disability Information about training opportunities and much more Our teams of Personal Advisers are also able to tap into a range of additional initiatives and assistance programmes depending on your personal circumstances and individual jobsearch needs.

Links with employers

We also work actively with employers and organisations who are closely linked with local regeneration, to help jobseekers take advantage of future employment opportunities.