Hi there, Readers! It is great to see you as always! I am glad to see that you are hanging in there! I am glad that there is no more silly talk of suicide! You should never feel that way and should never be made to feel that way! THE DAWNING When speaking with my new work coach it dawned on me that a majority of these DWP/JCP workers must really believe in what they are doing to people by giving cause to implement a sanction. Look, let's say that you accidentally missed an appointment with your work coach. The reasons could be thusly:- 01. Got mixed up with another appointment. 02: You lost your blue card with the appointment time and date. 03: You turned up on the right date but at the wrong time and your work coach couldn't see you at the time you turned up. As far as the intelligent population is concerned there has to be a reason why you should be sanctioned. Did missing that appointment mean the following? 01. You lost out on a job opportunity? 02: An employer was booked to see both you and your work coach to discuss a position or an apprenticeship? 03: There was a once in a lifetime opportunity college or similar educational institution course that would have lead to a job afterwards? If the answer to the above is "no" and a resounding one at that, "NO!" The DWP/JCP have no right in taking away your money in the form of a sanction. As much as my lovely looking new work coach extols the ethos of the DWP that clients on Universal Credit/Job Seeker Allowance and any other benefits should "consider that they have a job with the JCP and therefore must remember to turn up to appointments otherwise your payments will be docked like a real job." Oh really? She's forgetting one salient point... The JCP hasn't employed you. You are a client. These people are there to help get you a job; they've got no business in finding ways to impose a sanction upon your welfare assistance. NONE! So, whoever drew up those clauses must have been smoking or drinking something too strong! If you can't handle your drink or other tobacco-like substances then one ought to abstain let alone churn out idiotic legislation. For those working at the JCP who are genuinely oblivious to the foolishness of clientele "employed by the JCP" ethos, it makes an idiot out of them. I would feel like an ass repeating such an idea for the reasons that I have pointed out above. It is the dumbest thing I have ever heard; yes, I see some logic in the idea but, as I have pointed out, the logic - if you can call it that - is very flawed. Am I working overtime on the weekends when I look for work? That's right, I am working overtime! What I used to do - before the consecutive sanctions - is to visit Central London in search of Vegan outlets that I want to apply to in my own way. Again, I know how to present myself and therefore I do not think it will be long before I am in a job working as a Vegan cook in some capacity. I have given myself until March 2017 to be in a job in the capacity of a Vegan cook! WORK DISPUTE Okay, if you follow the idea that I am employed by the JCP to turn up to appointments because I am effectively on the payroll (I am not) then it has to be said that there was a breach of contract by my former work coach, Tricky Vicky (don't worry, I will go into details with my unique terminology or terminologies for these types of work coach - you will see that it is not childish as it might appear) with regards to the Age Discrimination law and the law on bullying in the workplace. Well, I have a new work coach now so therefore I have credence to the fact that I was deliberately sabotaged by my former Tricky Vicky! By the DWP/JCP logic, I should also have the right to compensation. Where is a good lawyer when you need one? Should these consecutive sanctions lead to a tribunal I reckon I have won already on the basis of my logic. We shall see... But even in victory and I get the money that was stolen from me back, there is no compensation for the enormous stress that I have gone through! No compensation for the bank fees from direct debits bouncing. These people either have no idea and that they are genuinely super-stupid or they know exactly what they are doing. Either way, it does not bode well for the DWP/JCP and the Conservative party idea that they are for the people. Nothing about these idiotic sanctions is for the people. Their rhetoric is hot air... Hot and extremely pungent air! A KISS FOR A ROSE? I could have kissed my new work coach when she brought up the idea that I should try working for myself, "Have you considered being self-employed?" I could see her line manager wincing behind a stoic death mask of a face. I know that for some reason unknown to me that I am being prevented from taking any self-employed initiative. I am intrigued. I would like to know why this is; why are my attempts to be self-employed thwarted by the very same people said to be in support of self-employment? It looks like my new work coach has yet to be briefed about me. I would love to see what's on my file in that place. 'DO NOT WASTE ANY MONEY ON BLUE GENE IN SELF-EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES AS THIS IS HIS WAY OF AVOIDING WORK.' I think that is what's on my file or words to that effect. In one way I can't say that I blame them as I have, at various times of unemployment, tried self-employment. But I can also say that I have also tried employment and that hasn't quite worked out to where I could be considering retiring after ex-amount of decades in any capacity. Trust me, I have tried to get such a job with longevity. I can also say that I have been unwittingly part of self-employment scams in that various agencies stole money from various governments in the pretence that they could get the entrepreneur minded running successful businesses. And lately, I have been sabotaged. Yeah??? You think I am just a whining loser? I have the paperwork to prove what I am stating here! I do not tell lies and nor do I embellish. The only thing that I am probably guilty of is not remembering everything that went down with regards to these scams and the sabotages. As I am typing my new work coach is most likely being briefed on tactics to be used on me, one of which is, not to encourage me on self-employment. If I am good at reading people like I think I am - and I always leave space to be proven wrong - my new work coach genuinely wants to help me but she will have her hands tied by the very same institution that has destroyed businesses that I have started. Where there is a will, there is a way! I am not going to give up! Look, the good thing about failing is that you can learn from those failures. Yes, I know... This is a cheesy cliche but it happens to be true. Through my own research efforts what I have found to be true for me is to not involve anybody from the DWP/JCP or any other so-called self-employment body/institution in any of my business ideas. The less you can involve people - who can potentially turn around and screw up your business - the better. The New Enterprise Allowance Scheme is still a great initiative. If you have an idea for a business venture you should go for it! Self-employment is a very viable way to come off welfare. With me, I am inclined to think that I have been denied and sabotaged for the reasons that I have outlined above. So, if you have never tried the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme before and you have an idea that you think can work, now is a great time to give it a good go! Write a plan and get that plan developed with the help of the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme!