Government's Universal Jobmatch website 'bedevilled with fraud'

Government's Universal Jobmatch website 'bedevilled with fraud'
Around half of the vacancies on official job search website may be bogus, falsely promoted or against the rules, says Frank Field MP

Frank Field MP says many jobseekers have been robbed of large sums of money by a sham company that advertised fake jobs and actually conducted bogus interviews inside a jobcentre. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

A third of a million job vacancies advertised on the government's official website for jobseekers are suspected of being bogus, falsely promoted or against the rules, documents seen by the Guardian show.

Frank Field, a Labour MP and former minister, has established that officials are concerned about more than 350,000 vacancies promoted on the Universal Jobmatch site, which must be used by unemployed people to apply for jobs in order to claim benefits. This amounts to around half of the jobs currently being advertised on the flagship website that Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said would "revolutionise" the process of looking for work.

Field started asking questions about the website after discovering that some of his constituents had been scammed out of money by false employers, who asked for bank details upfront and cash for criminal record checks before disappearing.

He believes the whole website is "bedevilled with fraud" and "out of control", and is calling on Duncan Smith to "get a grip" on the contract, which is managed independently by a private recruiter called Monster.

In a letter to Field, the Department for Work and Pensions revealed that more than 352,659 job adverts might be in breach of the Universal Jobmatch website's terms and conditions. These rules specify that employers must advertise the position fairly and comply with the law, including advertising an "actual job or work opportunity", not using premium rate phone numbers, paying at least the minimum wage and not costing the applicant any money to start.

In a letter dated 27 February, DWP officials are contacting the employers promoting these opportunities to "seek evidence of compliance" within the next five days or face the termination of their accounts. The DWP said this "exercise" would take around three weeks.

It comes after an investigation by Channel 4 News estimated last month that more than 11,000 positions currently advertised on the government's Universal Jobmatch website may not actually exist, ranging from vacancies for sous chefs to dry-cleaners. In its early days, the website was ridiculed for advertising joke jobs for MI5 hitmen, mafia couriers and even prostitutes.

Field claims that many jobseekers have been robbed of large sums of money by a sham company that advertised fake jobs and actually conducted bogus interviews inside a jobcentre. He said the victims were informed that their new employer was a nonentity and that they had been ripped off on arrival at what they expected to be their first day of work.

"The heart of the government's welfare reform programme is bedevilled with fraud and, in its current state, it is out of control," he said. "Anyone can place an advertisement on the site in the space of five minutes by ticking a few boxes. Ministers need to get a grip before more people fall victim to fraudsters preying on them with the helping hand of a major government department."

Field has now asked the National Audit Office to investigate the scale of job fraud as a "matter of urgency".

A spokesman for the DWP said: "Universal Jobmatch revolutionises the way jobseekers look for work and it has already helped many jobseekers find the jobs they want through the millions of vacancies posted since 2012.

"The truth is that the vast majority of employers post genuine jobs, and we crack down on those who don't play by the rules. We also regularly monitor the site and remove jobs that don't meet our rules, such as duplicate advertisements or jobs for franchises."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/05/government-universal-jobmatch-website-fraud


FGS, and someone will turn round and say that it is not difficult for people to get a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is disgusting.

Come one Drinky, your favourite Frank Field saying this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you saying that the million people who have found work haven't really. This scam is bad most definitely but so are many other scams like Phishing etc. Not sure what you are getting at the govt has nothing to gain people pulling scams like this?

Oh I knew there would be some arsehole who would try and make light of it. A THIRD OF THE JOBS WERE BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just logged in to it and it found two matches: forum troll and psychiatric patient   

Sassy wrote:Oh I knew there would be some arsehole who would try and make light of it.   A THIRD OF THE JOBS WERE BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All part of the sanctions fiasco!     

They are up to their eyes in it, with the ATOS scandal.

This is all part of the IDS ideal.

Twisted fuckers.

I wonder who is behind these fraudulent companies   and whats the betting it will all be quietly hushed up???

I think it is absolutely disgusting. Having the interviews in the job centre and actually turning up for the jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bet the poor buggers had signed off as well. No wonder the jobless numbers went down!

I can't believe that this isn't plastered all over everywhere in ten foot high letters!!!!! This is the way people out of work are supposed to get work now, and they are being CONNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's disgusting and I believe that the same jobs are being advertised by several different recruitment companies. Looking at the one for Edinburgh most of the jobs are by recruitment companies and not by the employers themselves.
The real number of jobs is nowhere near what's being shown.

I wonder how many of those who obviously signed off to start their 'first day at work that didn't exist' and had cost them money because they had to hand over their bank account details to fraudsters, were counted as being employed, and if they had anything to do with the number of 'employed' going up!!!!!!!!!

Sassy wrote:I wonder how many of those who obviously signed off to start their 'first day at work that didn't exist' and had cost them money because they had to hand over their bank account details to fraudsters, were counted as being employed, and if they had anything to do with the number of 'employed' going up!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully the police are looking into this and the government are taking urgent action to stamp this out.

Damn well hope so!

That's a complete disgrace and those responsible brought to book.

This coalition have used smoke and mirrors with job stats before , and now fake jobs and fraud in the unemployment field   

I really think Cameron should be made to bounce around on Eric Pickles lap for ten minutes, disgraceful indeed.

That's not a nice thought JD!

The whole situation is a disgrace. People in the worst position possible being preyed on and conned with the connivance of the Government and the Job Centres!

Sassy wrote:Oh I knew there would be some arsehole who would try and make light of it.   A THIRD OF THE JOBS WERE BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry I offended you it wasn't intended. I merely asked whether you thought al those people who had signed off because they found work were real jobs. Clearly you think not. How on earth are they paying to live though if the government has cheated them with bogus jobs. There must be thousands in this position. Can they not sign back on if they are duped?

This is very sad for those genuinely looking for work. How awful to get your hopes up and then find that a job doesn't exist.

Croissant wrote:I just logged in to it and it found two matches:  forum troll and psychiatric patient   

pmsl

recanter wrote:

Sassy wrote:Oh I knew there would be some arsehole who would try and make light of it.   A THIRD OF THE JOBS WERE BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry I offended you it wasn't intended. I merely asked whether you thought al those people who had signed off because they found work were real jobs. Clearly you think not. How on earth are they paying to live though if the government has cheated them with bogus jobs. There must be thousands in this position. Can they not sign back on if they are duped?

No worries.   Obviously some people who signed off found real jobs.   However, the evidence now shows that thousands of them didn't have real jobs, gave up their bank details, were ripped off, and arrived to find there wasn't a job anyway and the company didn't exist.   That's after having their interview at the job centre!!!!!   350,000 BOGUS jobs!

The DWP should have been aware of this much earlier on. 350,000 is an enormous number. If they signed off they can sign straight back on someone has told me. I think this must be dereliction of duty or incompetence surely not by design. Ho callous would that be. If it were true it would be officials or Government officials colluding in fraud.