My Wife has been made Redundant,can anyone tell us,do you still have to go to West Street to register for unemployment & to sign on.Thanks for any info.

You actually call them for an initial interview on 0800 055 6688. After that you can go to your local centre to sign on.

Similar thing happened to my husband recently, he's in the building trade and has been working solidly for agencies since.

Good luck, I know it's really worrying but a lot of us are in the same boat at the moment.:)

It all depends on what postal district you live in, these days.

Some postal districts use West Street, some Cavendish Court (the old Nightclub building on Bank Street) and I'm not sure if the one on Rockingham St is still up and running.

No you have to phone 0800 0556688. Your details will be taken over the phone and the majority of the claim made in this process. Depending on where you live your first appointment with an advisor will be at either Hillsborough (Barracks), Bailey Court (West Street) or Cavendish Court (Bank Street), Eastern Avenue etc. At this appointment your identity will be verified and a Jobseekers Agreement drawn up. If you prefer to sign at another office i.e. Chambers Court(Chapeltown) or Woodhouse etc., you state your preference at this first interview and the advisor should contact the jobcentre of your choice and arrange a signing time for you there. If they say that the jobcentre in question is closing as in the case of Chapeltown don't believe them because nothing is decided as yet. It's just an ugly rumour. And why not sign the petition to keep local services open? http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Chapeltown/

Its all done over the telephone initially now.Then if entitled you will be made an appointment to see someone like myself, new claim advisor! We'll sort u out & help ur wife find work & hopefully get u some money sorted.Telephone number is 08000556688. Dependant on your postcode you'll be sent to relevant office. Ring asap as ur claim will only run from day u phone not day last worked. Good luck!

Have you signed the petition yet 2fab aunties? Thanx
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Chapeltown/

Samw situation here had to ring to make an appiontment shows how bad it's getting I@m having to wait over a week to see someone & they no longer confirm your appiontmant in writting.

Chris

True Chris! Its all based on self help nowadays. No customer service as such. DIY in fact! This is the way things are going, shut down small local jobcentre's which have a long history of offering a great service with face to face contact and centralize everything to a large office with security guards who won't let you past the laminate flooring. Direct everyone to the phones, but I hasten to add - not the jobcentre phones unless they are actually looking for a job. Most employees of the DWP are unhappy about this and would like to go back to the 'old' ways but the powers that be say this is not the way forward. Therefore the really useful smaller jobcentres who actually care about their 'customers' are under threat of closure. Not trying to hijack this thread but please everyone register your disapproval here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Chapeltown/

Thanks everyone for your help.Saved us a lot of running around.
Keith