With rumours that jobseekers who do not sign up to the Government's Universal Jobmatch website face losing their benefits , controversy is rife and the debate rages as to whether this is fair to all those involved.
London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/17/2013 -- As if it is not already complicated enough for jobseekers in the UK to find work and keep the Job Centre happy, there are now rumours going around that yet another hurdle is going to be placed in their way as the government make it mandatory for all those on Jobseekers Allowance to sign up to Universal Jobmatch, the latest attempt to make all jobs available online.
Many argue that forcing jobseekers to sign up to an online system is simply unworkable. For a start, internet access is not guaranteed in every household and especially among those who are unemployed and who do not have a large amount of disposable income.
Some users, particularly those who are slightly older and in the latter stages of their working life, may not be comfortable using the internet and to force them to do so is unfair.
Then comes the fact that there are many more job boards in existence and to force signup on a government one is anti-competitive. There are even job search engines that take jobs not only from Universal Jobmatch but also from a large number of other boards which makes searching for a job even easier.
Furthermore, there have been security fears over the website since its launch with hackers managing to get access to users data and a string of fake job adverts clearly designed to prompt identity theft. This has left many people reluctant to submit their own details to the site for fear of becoming a victim of such crimes.
The UK government wants jobseekers to sign up so that they can monitor how many jobs someone applies for and there are fears that this may result in benefits being removed for those who do not actively engage in enough job hunting activity via the website regardless whether they are searching elsewhere.
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) explained that:
“In the new year we will require Jobseekers Allowance claimants to use the service. It is already a condition of receiving JSA that you actively seek work and Universal Jobmatch is where the majority of new vacancies are being posted.”
The debate is still ongoing as to whether the government has taken the right approach but for now it is recommended that jobseekers do not only use Universal Jobmatch but a wide range of alternatives such as job boards, job search engines and recruitment agencies.
Contact details:
company: Job Search Stop
contact email: info@jobsearchstop.com
location: London, UK
website: http://www.jobsearchstop.com