351 Jobcentre Plus advertised jobs were in the Adult Entertainment Industry

Posted on November 27th, 2009.

Post Categories: DWP • Labour Market System • jobcentre Plus • uk government
Tags: 0904, 0905, 0906, adult entertainment, adult entertainment presenter, adult model, adult phone chat services, cam girl, DWP, jobcentre Plus, jobseekers allowance, Labour Market System, premium phone lines, prostitution, stripper

351 Jobcentre Plus advertised jobs were in the Adult Entertainment Industry

Between August 2007 and July 2008 Jobcentre Plus advertised 2.26 million job vacancies, 351 vacancies existed in this period as in the Adult Entertainment industry for jobs such as adult model, adult entertainment presenter, stripper, adult phone chat services and cam girl this equates to 0.015% of all jobs in this period.

This is almost 7 Adult Entertainment jobs per week or almost 30 per month.

Jobcentre Plus doesn’t hold any further information than this period of time.

All Adult Entertainment jobs advertised are legal although the moral implications of a Government agency persuading desperately hard up women (in particular) to appear on late night TV nude talking dirty to get old men to ring up just to have a job, goes against the Government’s aim of preventing prostitution and ensuring equality.

We can all argue that:

a) Jobcentre Plus have every right to have advertised the job because it is employment and such employment is legal

and

b) It is up to the person viewing the Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System to whether it is their career goal or whether they are interested as that as a job.

I would argue that it is degrading to women for such vacancies (although a few vacancies possible for men) who are unemployed and active jobseekers (“job hunters”) who desperately struggle from one week to next, might have children or debts etc. and haven’t managed to secure a job to bring in income.

Although it seems easy money for a couple of nights per week this guarantees pretty much that such person will not secure employment in the future.

Who will employ someone with that on their CV? If you leave it off the CV what happens when a colleague, customer or even higher management discovers your past? It will be instant dismissal in majority of cases.

Taking the TV adult presenter role for example who have to appear topless isn’t so much about sexual gratification but the business model is for the company to gain revenue from premium rate phone line services.

Sex sells. It’s a winner! It is far more popular type than (0906, 0905 etc.) premium rate numbers for jokes, betting tips and psychic services etc. The Sun newspaper had its readership largely increased when it started the topless girls on page 3 and is now the largest newspaper in the UK. The problem with TV is it is broadcasted and therefore it is easily recorded via DVD, VHS, HD recorders etc and even by recording it via a mobile phone camera.

There was a programme in 2003 called “The Curse of Page 3″ featuring numerous models from page 3 including Linsey Mckenzie, Jordan and Sam Fox; talking about the abuse some models receiving on the street and probably effecting relationships from there on. Whereas Page 3 would be seen more than the late night adult TV programmes, page 3 is a topless photo whereas the late night show consists of such model having to commit acts and behave in a way indecent in nature for an hour or so.

Jobcentre Plus needs to look beyond unsustainable jobs, to equip and develop people into a position where they can develop full blown careers. They also need to look more morally into what they advertise.

For a third party job site to advertise it isn’t so bad because the different is the Labour Market System is roped into your legal obligations to receiving Jobseekers Allowance.

Jobseeker Agreement’s (JSAg) typically state use the Jobpoints, Jobseeker Direct and the Jobcentre Plus website. Employment Officers also access such system to find jobs although I doubt any had the nerve to suggest one to a “customer”.

Can a person show good cause for turning down such a job?

Out of fairness and balance, although we can understand the obvious implications, all the jobs on the system are legal and approved by Jobcentre Plus; if a “customer” (jobseeker) refuses or fails to apply for a job that s/he is qualified to do (these adult entertainment jobs don’t require any qualifications or experience) this is potentially a “Sanctionable” offence.

In theory, as it’s legally binding under statutory law to use such Jobcentre Plus services the failure to apply or refusal to for any job that makes you Better Off that you have a chance of securing as you are qualified enough can’t have “good cause” for failing or refusing to apply.

My bottom line is these jobs shouldn’t be advertised. Desperate people may feel obligated to apply as of their jobseeker obligations and responsibilities; knowing there might be a sanction if they refuse. I am sure Jobcentre Plus is very lenient with such jobs and will refuse to sanction someone for it under compassionate grounds of understanding.

This however isn’t part of a “fair” society (“fair” as in legally fair not morally fair, which has no basis on authority and law) – if I refuse a job because the company is somehow involved in war, because a company has a bad reputation of how it treats it workers or because of relaxed compliance of Health & Safety law resulted in an employee being killed 6 months ago I will be sanctioned for up to 6 months (although I could appeal claiming “good cause” but doesn’t mean it will be upheld).

So two jobs are both legal, both endorsed by Jobcentre Plus and both are subject to the same legislation in regards to Jobseekers Allowance; how does one person avoid sanction when another doesn’t?

It’s down to individual views – for example some people like to wear as little as possible where others cover their entire body to the extreme – so putting this into practice both refusals and failures should result in sanction under basic law concept.

The only way to prevent such a dispute ongoing is to remove all adult entertainment jobs from the Labour Market System.

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3 Responses to “351 Jobcentre Plus advertised jobs were in the Adult Entertainment Industry”

1. 1

   

   Pieter says:
   

   December 10th 2009 at 10:28 am  

   Wher can i go for a interview in durban sa If sex sells i want in

   Reply to this comment
2. 2

   

   cazG says:
   

   May 27th 2010 at 1:25 pm  

   These jobs will be among those which can be refused with no sanctions – along with working in an abitoir, any job which is against religious convictions, anything that could seriously damage health or has health and safety implications.

   Reply to this comment
   • 3

     

     Kyron says:
     

     May 27th 2010 at 2:49 pm  

     Not strictly true. A visually impaired person. Health and safety implications. Come on fill us in then.

     Reply to this comment

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