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I’m a DWP call handler and have no time to care about your disability claim
yes i read that.
i thought it was ridiculous that the calls are time targeted. i don’t see how that’s a reasonable way of proceeding when people’s circumstances are so different. particularly where, as the person said, it’s impossible….
Every helpline I know has target times for dealing with calls, it’s a pretty standard way of trying to manage call volumes, but it shouldn’t be something that is strictly adhered to as such, precisely because each call requires whatever extent of interaction is necessary to resolve that enquiry. It sounds like soul-destroying work from that article.
Every job within JCP is soul-destroying. I worked in a local Jobcentre for 3 years and it was the most appalling job you could imagine. Targets for everything without any care for the vulnerability of claimants. I also worked in one the DWP’s contact centres and I could see how it affected staff daily. Having call time targets enables the government to keep staffing levels down.
And from the same series of articles, an LA benefits officer whose time is being eaten up by unreasonable landlords:
Every helpline I know has target times for dealing with calls, it’s a pretty standard way of trying to manage call volumes, but it shouldn’t be something that is strictly adhered to as such, precisely because each call requires whatever extent of interaction is necessary to resolve that enquiry. It sounds like soul-destroying work from that article.
i think trying to set a time scale for a welfare rights advice line would be a near impossible task.