Here’s one you should see: a recent* video which shows a woman with learning and literacy difficulties being told to Get Out of Kilburn jobcentre – even though she needed to drop off an all-important sick note at the jobcentre.

I post this to show you how unpleasant things can be at these places for long-term unemployed people who have support needs. People in these situations really are at the bottom of the pile. They have no power and absolutely no means of challenging the DWP.

I hate that.

The woman, Linda (name changed. I’ve written about her many times) is in her 50s. The day I took the video, Linda, as I say, needed the jobcentre to accept a sick note she had from her doctor. She risked sanctions if the jobcentre did not accept the note.

Nonetheless, the jobcentre adviser we saw refused to take the sick note.

That was because Linda was serving a ban from Kilburn jobcentre for losing her temper through sheer frustration and upset. Aggressive outbursts from people in Linda’s situation are inevitable.

We’ll get to that.

The story:

Linda has signed on at Kilburn jobcentre for years. They know her well there – probably too well, in the sense that familiarity in these places can breed contempt. Linda’s a permanent fixture. She’s a target for the DWP’s institutional contempt because of that. I’ve seen people act as though she’s annoyingly underfoot. Like a lot of older, long-term unemployed people with learning difficulties and deteriorating health (Linda’s had blood clots and deep vein thrombosis, and can’t walk far) Linda is very unlikely to find work. She’s stuck in the benefits system at a time when contempt for people who rely on that system is rife.

She is perfectly aware of that contempt. She responds in kind.

Which leads us to the ban.

Earlier this year, Linda was banned from the jobcentre for losing her temper and and raging at staff. I’ve spoken to an eyewitness. Linda was out of control and screamed the place down. Apparently, this started when a security guard said something to her.

I can imagine that some people will say that Linda deserved this ban. I’m saying that such a view is hopelessly simple. I’m saying that people in Linda’s situation often can’t cope in today’s harsh jobcentre environment and it shows. I realise that jobcentre staff shouldn’t have to put up with abuse and aggression, but there is another side to things that doesn’t get air. Linda gets frustrated and very, very angry. She struggles with the DWP’s demanding and punitive jobsearch regime.

She’s had little support, especially in the past few years as austerity has reduced the service. Jobcentre advisers have admitted as much directly to Linda and I.

Linda is extremely sensitive to comments from authority figures. She often feels patronised and dismissed out of hand. She often IS patronised and dismissed out of hand. I’ve certainly seen that. This video (I took this last year) shows security guards telling a very unwell Linda that she must climb a flight of stairs to get to a first-floor benefits sign-on appointment. She couldn’t climb the stairs, because she couldn’t breathe properly (that was just after her problem with thrombosis began). The guards insisted that she must climb the stairs.

I thought that was sadistic if I’m honest.

I thought the jobcentre’s refusal to take Linda’s sick note as in the video at the start of this post was pretty sadistic as well. The sick note was crucial to keeping Linda’s benefit claim running. It excused her from compulsory jobsearch activities on the grounds of ill health caused by thrombosis. Without that sick note in the DWP system, Linda risked sanctions for failing to complete jobsearch tasks.

Nonetheless, the adviser we saw made us leave when she realised Linda was banned. The adviser would not accept the sick note. She wouldn’t even accept the sick note from me while Linda waited outside. I thought that was a bit much. The jobcentre could have taken the sick note from me. As I say, that sick note was vital. Without it, Linda risked a sanction. The ban was supposed to be her punishment for her behaviour. Putting her in a situation where she risked a sanction was an extra punishment that the jobcentre had no right to impose.

The adviser told Linda that she must post the sick note to the DWP (she went to a desk for a Freepost envelope), or take the sick note to another jobcentre. Problem was: Linda was too ill to make the trip to another jobcentre. She was out of breath and couldn’t walk far. As I say, she’s had those problems for some time.

In the end, I took the sick note to Willesden jobcetnre. We also posted a copy of the sick note to the Freepost address.

So.

I wanted to post this video to show you again the state of this “service” in places. It felt like a final act of a sort. The DWP’s punitive jobsearch demands push people with support needs too hard. They react very aggressively. Jobcentres have neither the time nor the expertise to deal with people with this sort of challenging behaviour. They slap on bans and enforce them.

Worth noting, though, that the situation described above is better than the one Linda will find herself in when she’s moved to Universal Credit. Kilburn jobcentre is earmarked for closure. Linda will be forced to ring the DWP or to look online if she has problems with Universal Credit. Her literacy difficulties are such that she can’t easily use online systems. At least while Kilburn jobcentre is open, Linda is able to visit a familiar place and get instructions about submitting sick notes elsewhere before she is thrown out. It’s not much of a service, but it’s better than nothing, which is what she’ll get on Universal Credit. Mark my words.

*The date on the video is wrong I took the video at Kilburn on Friday 4 August 2017 and forget to set the camera clock.