View Full Version : Signing on!!
Does anyone from outside Wick sign on??
My daughter has just finished college and has to sign on for the holidays, just til she goes back in August and when she asked about travel expenses they said u don't get it!!
I think it is all wrong, she has her own flat and she is expected to buy shopping, put money in the meter for £44 pw and then expected to go through to Wick to sign on and not get money back for the bus or petrol (if i take her)
It can't be right is it??
:confused
Does anyone from outside Wick sign on??
My daughter has just finished college and has to sign on for the holidays,
Not sure I understand what you mean when you say she "has to sign on"..... is it compulsory?
2little2late
28-Jun-05, 19:19
Unfortunately that's the way it is. Years ago if anyone lived a fair distance from a DSS office they could sign by post, but now, because it is on a bus route they have to travel to sign on.
When I lived in Lybster I thought I could sign by post but I was told because I can get a bus into Wick I would have to travel to sign on and NOT be able to claim travel.
BTW Tell your daughter, welcome to the real world.
Does anyone from outside Wick sign on??
My daughter has just finished college and has to sign on for the holidays,
Not sure I understand what you mean when you say she "has to sign on"..... is it compulsory?
U have to go to the job centre and look for a job which is called "signing on" which means u r fit for work and looking for work and until u get a job they will give u money to live on and if u don't sign on u don't get any money
I must admit, I'm confused. When I was studying, students couldn't sign on in the holidays. The student grants/loans were deemed sufficient to see you through the whole year, not just the academic year. Have the rules changed?
When I was a student I "had to find a job" in the holidays if I wanted to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and continuing with such earthly pleasures as courting, beer etc.
Signing on was the last resort - not the first attempt in job hunting.
You reap what you sow as they say. A bit of planning and preparation before coming home may have manifested a job rather than signing on and then waiting for a job to manifest itself.
Welcome to the real world indeed.
This situation is further proof that walking among us today are the "expectation generation", who expect everything to handed to them on a plate.
As Kennedy said, "ask not what your county can do for you, but rather what you can do for your county"
Paid travel for a student signing on indeed! What other examples of our modern infatuation with rewarding mediocrity are out there!!
I'm confused, when my son was a student and lived with me after uni he signed on for a bit but did not get any money as he was living at home. You are expected to support your kids until they are able to support themselves (and quite right too).
If you can't feed em, don't breed em!
Drutt is right, most students can't claim benefits in the holidays. Scroll down to Benefits on the EUSA website (http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/advice/money.html) for a summary. I think you can only sign on if your course has finished and you don't plan to go back into education straight away, or if you have some special circumstances.
Aye hereboy, yer right too. The bad old days of being a student really were the bad old days. They had grants (that they didn't have to pay back!), the poor wee souls could claim supplementary benefit in the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays, and they had to claim housing benefit during term time if they had evil money-grabbing landlords. Musta been awful back then.
Nowadays, students don't have to put up with grants, housing benefit, or social security benefits, and they even get to pay fees so they can demand yet more spoonfeeding. On top of all that, most of them have part-time jobs during term time so the lucky blighters don't even need to study much. It's just as well that standards are falling and the government won't let the Unis & Colleges fail them. Else the poor souls would be out on their ears.
Never mind, at least they can claim benefits when they graduate or if they somehow manage to get booted out of college.
crayola - your post reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where they are all trying to outdo each others miserable upbringing...
handful of cold gravel for breakfast, paid the mine owner for the privelige of working down the pit, lived in a shoebox ...luxury I tell you....
So has this generation never had it so good or never had it so bad? Which is it?
If they can't manage a wee bit of struggle for 3 or 4 years - good luck with the next 30 or 40.... nothing gets handed on plate then either!
crayola - your post reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where they are all trying to outdo each others miserable upbringing...
'ere boy, yer no as daft as ye look, e Pythons were indeed my inspiration.
So has this generation never had it so good or never had it so bad? Which is it?
Discuss (25 marks)
marks may like be deducted for, like, bad grammer, bad spellin, bad punc'tuatin ,n if u rt in txt so no1 ovr 12 cn rd it .
So has this generation never had it so good or never had it so bad? Which is it?
Discuss (25 marks)
marks may like be deducted for, like, bad grammer, bad spellin, bad punc'tuatin ,n if u rt in txt so no1 ovr 12 cn rd it .
Aha- I see you are using the modern marking method,
5 marks for understanding the question,
5 marks for spelling your name right
5 marks for taking part...
10 marks for being either - the victim of a grave social injustice / underpriveliged / living off mummy and daddy
no wonder they dish out modern degrees like Smarties, (sorry - M&M's....)
When I was a student I "had to find a job" in the holidays if I wanted to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and continuing with such earthly pleasures as courting, beer etc.
It's not always that easy to find a job you enjoy.
I have a relative who, after graduating (with a degree) had to apply for over 150 jobs before he got one - whether he liked the job or not.
When I was a student I "had to find a job" in the holidays if I wanted to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and continuing with such earthly pleasures as courting, beer etc.
It's not always that easy to find a job you enjoy.
Make no mistake gwen - I never said I enjoyed my job, just said I had one - the end justified the means.... unfortunately we don't live in a pefect world with a Hollywood ending at every turn - perfect jobs are a bit like intelligent postings on web forums.... they do exist, it just takes a lot of time and effort to find one.
Usually you have to spend years trying to work yourself into the "perfect job" or go out, take the initiative and create it for yourself - or you could look in the "perfect jobs section" of the classifieds when you graduate .....
each to their own....
If someone is between courses then they are not considered a student and allowed to sign on. It is good that they realise how bad the benefit system is early on and can gain a healthy fear of having to sign on again.
I feel sorry for students these days. The amount of debt they have to get into is quite frightening, especially for someone who is just starting out in the real world.
cullbucket
29-Jun-05, 09:40
Yep, with you again hereboy....
Applying for 150 jobs after graduating is quite a lot, but not that uncommon I suppose if you got a degree that is not much in demand i.e. hebrew or samurai studies....
I think the issue is that while these folk are looking for a job utilising their new found qualifications, they should be working doing something (anything) to keep the wolf from the door. Personally I did such jobs as plasterers helper, tree planter, farm worker, landscape gardener's labourer and fisherman both during and after my studies. While none of these jobs were what I would end up doing for the rest of my life, they provided a few pounds to spend on binge drinking, records, tie dye clothes, foppish haircuts, travelling and other studenty bufty stuff.
Ah those were the days.... not a care in the world....
I'm confused, when my son was a student and lived with me after uni he signed on for a bit but did not get any money as he was living at home. You are expected to support your kids until they are able to support themselves (and quite right too).
If you can't feed em, don't breed em!
My daughter doesn't live at home she has her own house and she has had for 2 yrs!!...........she is 20 yrs old and what 20yr old lives at home these days.................she is doing alright for herself and is at the college doing courses to be a primary school teacher after i think 4 yrs trainning, most kids nowadays her age has kids of their own, she is a sensible 1
She was at the dole office and they said she could claim while she is on holiday, so it must be right or she wouldn't be getting any money
She is looking for a job but it is not easy with all the shops shutting etc and who wants to employ someone for 6 weeks eh??
Well
Your daughter shouldnt be allowed to claim if she is going back to the same course she was doing prior to the holidays - unless she is a single parent in which case she maybe entitled to something.
If she has finished one course and is starting another one then she should be able to claim.
Simple really!
Naefearjustbeer
29-Jun-05, 11:22
try the local pubs and hotels they are bound to employ students for the summer
try the local pubs and hotels they are bound to employ students for the summer
They all do. they are busier in the summer so need extra staff. a lot of students seem to get jobs in the supermarkets too.
I find it very strange that students (was one myself) should look to the state for support, heh have you no pride. I found work (during holidays and when at uni) no matter how menial cause I wanted to be me and look after myself. I never wanted my neighbours income to be spent on me, that was the way I was brought up.
champagnebaby
30-Jun-05, 07:07
The lassie still needs money to live on while she's looking for a job. She has a house - have you's missed that point?!?!?!?! How do you expect her to manage to pay her bills?!?!
Some people on here just can't wait to take the moral high ground and slate others without considering their circumstances. You lot are making this girl out to be a sponger! [mad] When all she's after is a bit of help to tide her over.
I'm looking for work just now and am just in the process of filling out my claims form. Luckily i have a boyfriend who can support me(to a certain extent) but i still want my own money to buy personal things and not have to ask him for money all the time. I'd love it if i could just walk in to a job but until i can i want that little bit of extra help!
When I was a student I "had to find a job" in the holidays if I wanted to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and continuing with such earthly pleasures as courting, beer etc.
It's not always that easy to find a job you enjoy.
I have a relative who, after graduating (with a degree) had to apply for over 150 jobs before he got one - whether he liked the job or not.
For years, the demand of university students was: "Education for all!"
Now they are complaining about competing with everyone else for jobs when they finish university!
Well done! That was really well thought out!
And there is a definate shortage of skilled tradesmen. We need workers on every rung of the ladder!
The lassie still needs money to live on while she's looking for a job. She has a house - have you's missed that point?!?!?!?! How do you expect her to manage to pay her bills?!?!
I have no idea how linzy222's daughter is supposed to live and run her house without money. The assumption must be that she either gets a job, begs mum for money, goes running home and begs mum to take her in, or simply starves and gets into rent arrears -- in that order of preference, presumably.
I always managed to find a summer a job when I was a student, but some folk didn't, and they got by on social security. The latter option is no longer available. It appears that everyone else is entitled to claim benefits during the summer, so why not students? It's not as if they are receiving education during that time. It seems to be a case of different rules for different people and that doesn't seem right. Or am I missing something?
It is indeed frightening how much debt students run up these days. But most of them have known no other way and they simply accept it. Setanta's attitude is by no means an exception.
cullbucket
30-Jun-05, 13:00
I would have loved to be able to afford a house when I was a student - or anything other than public transport and beans on toast.
Exactly- I always thought if you wanted to own nice things (house for example) you had better have a plan as to how you intend to pay for them (job for example)
- being on the brew does not seem like a good plan...
I used to make porridge in the bottom drawer of the dresser and eat a slice every morning, would last me a term it would.....
The lassie still needs money to live on while she's looking for a job. She has a house - have you's missed that point?!?!?!?! How do you expect her to manage to pay her bills?!?!
Some people on here just can't wait to take the moral high ground and slate others without considering their circumstances. You lot are making this girl out to be a sponger! [mad] When all she's after is a bit of help to tide her over.
I'm looking for work just now and am just in the process of filling out my claims form. Luckily i have a boyfriend who can support me(to a certain extent) but i still want my own money to buy personal things and not have to ask him for money all the time. I'd love it if i could just walk in to a job but until i can i want that little bit of extra help!
Thank you very much at least u r on my daughters side :D
It is hard getting a job up here at anytime of year never mind just for the summer!!
All i wanted to know is about travel expenses, i didn't want all this rubbish
Thank u DrSzin aswell and i asked my daughter about the course she was doing and it is now finished she has to do a different course next year if she wants to go back, which i think she does!!
Well linzy222 i think that having to travel thro Wick and sign on and not getting re-embursed for your travel is terrible, Why dont the goverment issue travel cards for people that have to travel X- amount ofmiles to sign on instead of putting them out of pocket.
Please don't think i'm unsympathetic when I say this - I'm really not. I think your daughter is one of the good ones and doing very well to have a house of her own and a good career ahead of her. I just wanted to ask a question. Undoubtedly things have changed since my day, but I thought to be a teacher you did four years at uni, then a year as a trainee teacher. I guess your daughter has done her four years at uni and is now doing a courses at the tech in lui of teacher training.
However, you say she's had her own house for two years - I'm a wee bit confused how she could manage that on a student grant. Also did she work the holidays previously?
I hope this doesn't sound like I'm getting at you, far from it, I think she's to be commended and students should have bus passes like old age pensioners, especially for signing on.
Thank you very much at least u r on my daughters side :D
I never said I was not on your daughters side, just that to meet her financial obligations she needs to take some initiative and not rely on signing on and getting bus fares paid by the state...
If you want a certain standard of living - use some initiative to fund it...
What about ebay? - clear the loft out - that'll bring in some money...
I know my loft is full of trock that other people would pay good money for to store in their lofts...
Please don't think i'm unsympathetic when I say this - I'm really not. I think your daughter is one of the good ones and doing very well to have a house of her own and a good career ahead of her. I just wanted to ask a question. Undoubtedly things have changed since my day, but I thought to be a teacher you did four years at uni, then a year as a trainee teacher. I guess your daughter has done her four years at uni and is now doing a courses at the tech in lui of teacher training.
However, you say she's had her own house for two years - I'm a wee bit confused how she could manage that on a student grant. Also did she work the holidays previously?
I hope this doesn't sound like I'm getting at you, far from it, I think she's to be commended and students should have bus passes like old age pensioners, especially for signing on.
This is her 1st year at college she did have jobs before college like sandra'a snack bar and the royal hotel but thats not a career, it was just a get by really
She hasn't been to uni and i'm not sure if she has to but i will ask her
The college paid her rent and she got money every fornight off them for living, it would be the same for anyone who has their own house i suppose or is older and has their own kids and wants to do some trainning to get a career now the kids r grown up or at school etc
I wish her all the best and hope she does well at what she has chosen to do. you must be very proud of her.
I always managed to find a summer a job when I was a student, but some folk didn't, and they got by on social security. The latter option is no longer available. It appears that everyone else is entitled to claim benefits during the summer, so why not students? It's not as if they are receiving education during that time. It seems to be a case of different rules for different people and that doesn't seem right. Or am I missing something?
No it's different rules for different people.
Members of parliament don't have to sign on in their three month summer holiday, the tax payers keep on paying them..
luskentyre
01-Jul-05, 00:52
Does anyone from outside Wick sign on??
My daughter has just finished college and has to sign on for the holidays, just til she goes back in August and when she asked about travel expenses they said u don't get it!!
I think it is all wrong, she has her own flat and she is expected to buy shopping, put money in the meter for £44 pw and then expected to go through to Wick to sign on and not get money back for the bus or petrol (if i take her)
It can't be right is it??
:confused
Let me get this right... You think the state should pay for her rent (council tax as well?), food, electricity AND travelling expenses?
Naefearjustbeer
01-Jul-05, 08:54
Yes they should for the very reason she will become a teacher employed by the state. All students should be funded by the employer/industry that will end up working for. That way they will only take studnets on that are interested in getting on in the world. Not the ones that are wasting another 4 years before they become over qualified burger flippers in MacDonalds. Would you rather fund these students with your hard paid taxes or one that will become a teacher and improve things for future generations.
:confused[/quote]
Let me get this right... You think the state should pay for her rent (council tax as well?), food, electricity AND travelling expenses?[/quote]
Could u live off of £44 a week and run a house??
She has to pay £5 a week for council tax
The point is when the job centre was in Thurso they still got the same amount so they were what, about £5 better off coz they didn't have bus fares etc, so i think the money should go up aswell, they have to be worse off just to travel to Wick, which isn't their fault!!
She really should be able to sign on by post! How much do the fairs amount to over a week?
U sign on every fornight............Don't know how much the bus is coz i take her through in the car, she has no money left on her signing on day
I know u r all thinking she should keep money aside for the bus but she can't afford to
So out of the goodness of my heart i take her
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