35 hours per week worksearch

Just out of curiosity I was just wondering what people’s experience is of how their UC clients are managing to fulfil the 35 hours per week work search requirement?  I am struggling to think of 35 hours per weeks’ worth of things you could actually do week in and week out.  Do they count voluntary work towards it?

Voluntary work can count for up to 50% of the worksearch hours, however the personal advisers seem to have discretion about whether to accept it or not. Activities can include being required to apply for a set number of jobs a week, travelling round visiting employers to ask if they have any jobs, searching websites, creating an online profile, attending jobclubs, attending mandatory work experience etc etc. The personal advisers have a lot of discretion and individual experiences depend a lot on the relationship the claimant has with their worksearch provider. Despite being in the original pathfinder area, the number of UC claimants coming forward for advice is still so small that it’s very difficult to draw any general conclusions. Maybe this is because most claims have been for Jobseekers that find work quickly, but anecdotally I’ve heard of claimants finding the whole process so difficult they just give up their claims.

Interesting, thanks. 

As & when there really is a ‘proper’ UC roll-out I have visions of great gangs of UC claimants pounding the streets, visiting the same potential employers week after week en masse. Presumably with something for the potential employer to stamp, to confirm they’ve called in.