Busyness

Today's signing was at another completely different time. The usual advisor is on holiday so I had to regularly sign on with the proles - no special treatment for me! :D

Really just the usual nonsense. I keep a jobsearch record, as I'm expected to, it gets signed off after being examined each time I sign. So before anything else I had to tell them that I had applied for the jobs on the list the advisor called up. Of course I could have just said yes anyway, she wouldn't know. She then tells me I have to keep a record; which I do and have done. She signs off on the record as usual.
Then we have the usual search on the system. What the point of this is I don't know. I have just shown her the record of jobs I've applied for, I've also just looked on the jobpoint, not to mention this is all stuff I have to do anyway. If you aren't going to believe that I've done my part there is little point having a conversation about it.
Now I have a problem (one of many): my agreed hours have previously been reduced to 20 not 40. This was done because it was felt this would be more beneficial given my problems. Unfortunately because of the way the agreement works, I am now beholden to this. The problem being that I can't afford to work for 20 hours a week because it costs too much to travel anywhere. So I now find myself being 'offered' jobs during the search that I, according to the agreement, should be able to do. Great.
You see these advisers, particularly the one I've just seen (hooray for library pc access), can't see into the reality of the situation. Rules are rules. So if I were to point out that 20 hours + bus fare = not enough to live on, I cause some kind of systemic anomaly, that just creates all sorts of problems in the minds of JC+ staff. This just makes my life even harder. For instance a job in Primark appeared for 20 hours as a sales assistant. Now I don't know about any other branch of Primark but the one in question is a fucking nightmare. It's so busy in that place. The jobcentre already knows that busy places are problematic for me, and in fact it's supposed to have been recorded on the system by my normal advisor (whether it is or not, I have no idea). I point this out and I can see the brow furrowing, confusion is increasing with the potential for indignation and the possibility of 'but this is what you've agreed to'. Fortunately this gets headed off as she agrees to discuss this with my normal advisor (discuss what? that's how i am. What do you suggest? DWP psychotherapy?).
You see it's the system; these people are too often like automatons. The rules are the rules; there in black and white. If it says 20 hours then come what may this is what you must apply for. You've also agreed to retail work (even though i have zero choice because you have to pick 3 categories of 'suitable' work). Therefore 1 +1 = Primark! You can't win! There's no room for dealing with people as individuals, taking the time to deal with their problems in the best way at whatever pace is required. Increasingly I just find I'm again running on that treadmill and increasingly the pace is greater and greater; I'm struggling to keep from falling off.