techno

DHDZAU9FY62G

Little thing called bureaucracy

Written 12th of September

Not that every day is cloudy here, but there has been quite many lately. Actually I am already getting used to it. Not that Estonia has a sunny and clear climate. No.  But here you feel it with bones.

About my previous post. I do not like to complain much, I better try to do things better next time. Sadly, some moves I made, were not all wrong decisions made by myself.

Statutory Sick Pay - actually I do not know why, but I like the sound of it. What I don't like, is all the mess around it.

After first week of my sick leave I visited my employer's office and I was told that for getting the SSP I need to bring a note from my doctor, GP. Sure - I completely agree with that.

I went to the doctor, he gave me Statement of Fitness for Work with marked note: you are not fit for work. He also put me to cue for additional nose surgery, because first attempt of healing - by nose itself - failed.

Well, I took that note to my employer, where another man told me that they do not pay my SSP. So I walked to JobCentre, explained my little problem. Representative there was quite surprised and finally he gave me SSP1 form for the employer to fill. Adding with grim look, that probably it will work.

I took the SSP1 back to my employer (who supposed to have these forms in their office, but they didn't) and then I was told, that they do not need to fill it because they will pay me SSP and I will get my Sick Pay on Friday (that is tomorrow).

I was quite happy, because no income during past two weeks has a power to make you happy about every amount of income. So I danced - so to say - home.

Today I got some letters by mail and one among those surprised me. It was a filled SSP1 form my employers main office, saying that they will NOT pay my Statutory Sick Pay. Now I have to take these papers to JobCentre and, really, I cannot imagine, what twist may come out from there.

Either way - thanks for that wast of time and 25 mile walk through to solve that issue sooner, I still lost more than a week, because none at my employer really knew what they were supposed or not to do. It makes me both sad and mad. How can you keep up the business if your workers, who has to manage the issues of the employees, do not know the company's policy for usual situations like that?

Anyway - dance around the SSP is just one little part of this big machine of bureaucracy, I have heard about before from the British TV-series "Yes, Minister"

***

Now as the time passed by, it's 26th of September

... and still no Sick Pay or whatever. Not that I long for it, but it is part of the way I could pay up my late rent, not to tell having normal rations of food and so on.

But in a while another interesting topic has come to life. The Housing Benefit.

When I started running though all those institutions to get my Sick Pay, I also heard about the Housing Benefit possibility.

I repeat - I did not came to UK to look for benefits and easy life, but this one had certain reasons I thought, why I should apply for this.

I live in one room in the house that has 5 rooms with different households in every of them. So we share the kitchen and bathrooms and toilets and so on. And I am paying 85 pounds per week for that one room in this "clearly not finished house I mentioned before in my blog, but that is the whole topic for my next post".

We even did the calculations other tenants that our landlord gets about 1850 pounds monthly for this house. Clever businessman, if to think that the same type of apartments in this area cost approximately 270-360 per month.

Well - as I understood that I pay way above the fair price for my housing, I though that it's worth to try the Housing benefit option.

And trying that is.

Two week ago I gave in the application and now I am waiting for the result.

In a while - after I got back the SSP1 form my employer that I took to the JobCentre, I had to apply for the ESA - another thing that took more than 10 pounds of my phone credit. Don't ask why - I already know that I have lousy provider.

And after the two weeks of applying for two things the current situation is - as I understand it - the Housing Benefit decision is not made because they wait for the decision about the ESA that is not made because they wait for the decision about the Housing Benefit.

That is kind of funny to me. Maybe I have misunderstood or misinterpreted something, but it is still funny :) Sad, but hilarious. And stupid...

Everywhere where I have been and told about my family in Estonia, told that I have a loving wife and 1 year, 5 months old son Oskar there waiting for my support, everybody has asked when they will come over here.

They will never come over, that was never the plan.

And even if they would change their mind about it, I would stop them in making decisive steps towards that. I do not want them to come over here just because of the bureaucracy.

There is no way I will ever put my family to risk in a society where papers are more important than people, where one could die out of hunger before any decisions would be made because of the slow moving papers in case of any accident. So - I still like the United Kingdom for it's possibilities, but for sure not for the ways official things are moving here.

The world is in 21st century, you know, maybe UK should join it and use internet for moving information, not the snail-post (that is how we call old postal service back home). I actually have sent more letters by post here in the UK during last few weeks than I did in Estonia during last 15 years.

Too much criticism? Well - one might take the criticism as an offence and reply sharply than if someone like me does not like the way things go around here, someone may go back wherever hell someone came from. True that, I agree.

But smarter one may take criticism how it should be taken and learn from it - maybe there is really time to move on and try to make things faster and more efficiently.

Anyway - I just yesterday started to write and article about the same topic, and I would like to put its first paragraphs here.

*

One might say that papers needed to be done correctly because there are some many of those who want to take advantage of the social security network.

One might say that there are actually people who are living only of social benefits without giving anything back to the society.

One might say that those people are parasites weakening the social security network in its very basic economical levels.

One might be even right in most cases - the common "pot of soup" will be emptied finally when there are less those who put their share in, than those who eat from it without thinking how the "soup" got into the "pot" at first place. Parasites are not tended to think and look outside themselves. That is why they are called parasites.

But - one might go to hell in my case.

It is always so easy to judge people without bothering oneself with the facts, little details or the whole story. It is so easy to make the judgement out of the first glance.

"Hey, there's another damned immigrant moved into our country and there he is demanding the benefits already," cries one out of desperation about the immigration politics that allowed immigrants into the country at all.

Though that is not the topic I am interested in writing today, I still want to make a little remark about it - there weren't be so many in United Kingdom if local people were willing to do the work the immigrants are doing now. It is out of comfort zone for local people to hard work for lousy salary? Well, guess what - it's out of the comfort zone for immigrants, too, but at least they are trying something to make things better not only by crying about the politics.

Back to the main topic. As I said, one might go to hell in my case. By the way, not only in my case, but in more cases. Why?

Because even if there were 8 deceivers for of every 10 benefit applier, who and in what rights is the judge to let down those 2, who really need quick help, and to to it only because there may be someone out there trying to get a advantage of the same system?

I do not say that it is not fair, because fairness actually has no place in any social structure. I say that is not just, and justice is all that every system has to be based on.

*

I will continue writing this article and when it's ready, I will let you know it.

But my next post will be about my housing, my landlord, about trash, crack and about little poisoness mold. keep in touch! 

Deadline - How would you feel?

Today is my deadline day.

Meaning? 28 days ago I pawned my sweet laptop and today is the day I have to buy it out. Like for 332 pounds. Damn it! I do not have the money, I do not have the idea where to get the money for that. So - if to say it nicely - I'm f***ed!

The reason I took my laptop with me to UK was that I could find some personal projects with graphical or web design, to do some writing and so on. I have every program needed in my ASUS. Yes - it's still mine, but after 4,5 hours not anymore.

All kind of s*** has happened. Little good and tons of unpleasant ones.

Few days ago I wrote an essay about my current situation, and today, after I found out that I will not get my Statutory Sick Pay even in this week and all together it makes 3 weeks without any income... Well - after that note I decided to put my essay to my blog.

I will explain later the reasons, but for now - don't enjoy, just read.

/.../

How would YOU feel?

by W. Hocares

How would you feel if you came first time to United Kingdom and everything, literally everything had gone wrong?

After big promises at home you arrive to Manchester, you have precisely calculated amount of money in your pockets and you are ready to rock the world. You have left back home your wife, love of your life, and you only one year and three months old son in a hope of a better future.

After you arrive to your final destination, a little and seemingly friendly town not far from Manchester, where you supposed to have job and housing waiting, things start to go down – little by little.

Training cue is full at the work and you manage to talk yourself in when your freshly renovated house should be ready for moving in.

But it isn’t and you have to move away for some bed and breakfast that is fairly priced for your budget. Still – you didn’t count that expense back at home. And because of the location of that B&B you cannot go to work for training. Sorry – you could, but then your all your money would run out in two days for transport only.

So you’re staying for one week in the B&B and you’re spending your money eating outside because you do not have the kitchen where you could prepare your food yourself – with much cheaper costs.

Finally – after a week of waiting you return to this little town and you move into your clearly not finished house.

You manage to talk yourself into the next cue of job training – job training for the warehouse work while you have years of warehouse experiences from back home.

After the first training night you are told that you passed and all you have to do now is to wait until they put you into the work schedule and give you a call.

In a while you are trying to open a bank account but as you have no utility bills to prove your address and your interview for the National Insurance Number is weeks away, you fail. Even if you have three different identification documents for your person.

You are starting to feel a bit disturbed though you usually are most optimistic person.

And you ask: for who I need that bank account – for myself or for my apartment? My apartment does not go to work and it does not bring money to my bank account. I do that, but in the bank it feels like my accommodation is more important for the bank than I am.

So – after some days without the call from work you visit the office for enquiry and you find out that you haven’t done the second training. What the hell???

After calming yourself down you get the next training day few days ahead.

But still – no income and rent needs to be paid.

With heavy heart you pawn your really high-end laptop that even in used condition is worth more than eight hundred pounds, just for two hundred and fifty. Now you have a month to buy it back.

You pay your rent, you pass the second training and you will be waiting for another call about the schedule.

After a week you finally start working.

First salary you get for two twelve-hour shift is one hundred and twenty pounds. Your rent is eighty-five weekly.

Now worries – it will get better, you tell yourself while knowing that your younger brother had helped your family to pay their rent and food back home.

As there is little work to do at work, you get one hundred for second week.

It WILL get better!

At least you have proven yourself at work and your supervisors came to talk to you about taking you over from the agency to mother company. And even get some promotion because of your earlier skills and experiences. Just after five shifts. Nice!

Your supervisors ask you out for some relaxation the same evening. Yeah – you’re inside the circle already.

You have been in the club just for fifteen minutes when you go to the toilet. There is a security guy telling you something, but as you do not understand local accent well yet, you ask politely:

“Sorry, can you repeat that, please?” Well – you’re not sure about ‘please’, but you definitely were polite.

That damned frelling security should have thought that you were mocking him, because after totally unexpected punch you wake up in the hospital. With totally fractured nose and all you nice clothes covered with blood. Your supervisors had found you wondering unconsciously on the street and took you to Accident & Emergency.

Next day you call the police, you report the incident and day after that officer visits you at home, because you are too weak and too messed up for going constabulary yourself. They open crime case.

First week after assault you are staying home because it’s hard to open your eyes and even harder to concentrate your eyes.

In the beginning of the second week police officer leaves you a note that after checking the surveillance cameras they did not find any clues about the suspect and as the night club’s manager told that there were no incidents reported by the security, police has no leads to move further.

Sure – bathrooms have no cameras, but if there is a blood-covered man coming out from the club and security on the door does not report the incident to management, there has definitely nothing happened there.

If you ask the police about possible cover-up, they do not believe in that. Why would night club’s manager want to cover up something like this?

Really – why?

Maybe because admitting the incident would be bad for the club’s image? Maybe the incident would prove the unprofessional behaviour of their workers? Maybe the incident would even mean some fines for the club? I do not know that. I am new in United Kingdom. Do not ask me. But really – why cover up? It seems so impossible.

On the second week of your leave from work you realize that you have one week left to buy out your computer.

As you didn’t get paid for being sick and injured yet, you are starting to look out for some payday loans., only that you do not think about that as a fresh resident of the country you have no credit history and every credit check made my the loan providers lowers your credit score even more.

Now you have three days left to deadline.

Your landlord wants the rent because you haven’t been able to pay it last two weeks as you haven’t been able to work. And your doctor says you still cannot  work.

Even more – your doctor says that they have to break your nose up again because it has not grown together the way it should.

Your computer, your precious laptop is your essential working equipment as you are quite adequate graphical and web designer and a freelance writer.

And your wife calls that they need money for food and rent and diapers.

And least but not at least – you have only one pound left in your wallet and there is only half pint of milk in your freezer and you have no clue, when or where you get your next money.

Now, tell me – honestly – how would you feel after all that?

09/09/2013

W. Hocares

Back from the dead

Or at least back from dead silence. Much have happened since the last post, but I think I will not try to cover everything. It would take too much time and there are thing I need to clear for myself before I am ready to discuss these topics.

I have been in UK a bit more than a month now. I have moved into my apartment, made here some decorating work and relocated from a little room to a bit bigger one. At least now I have furniture that I chose myself and to be honest - the room looks much better now. Here I have to thank my lovely Katariina, who is professional interior designer. While living by her side I have picked up some basics about interiors and in result my landlord was amazed, what I did with my room with the same budget he used for every other room in the house. Of course - it's not ready yet. I need to do some finishing with paints and I need to find some nice-looking chandelier and floor lamp, but still - I already have stuff I missed most - recliner and desk. When everything will be ready I hope to find a camera to take some photos of my very first decorated-fully-by-me-room.

Little things that make me happy.

And yes - we have a Internet in our house. Quite fast one. But the break in writing was caused by some more prosaic reasons. I am having some problems with my laptop, but hopefully everything will be fixed within next week.

Work... Started my career once again from the bottom. This time as a warehouse operative. Though I have many warehouse experiences from Estonia - I have worked in stock control, been account holder and even the manager - UK have given me chance to do the most basic warehouse work what I haven't done yet. Not that I like it - my goals are a bit different - but it seems, that I have proven myself a little already and I've been told that there is a chance to get away from the recruitment agency and even for some promotion. So - not bad.

Social life... As soon as it seemed to start, I got into the trouble, that still affects my ability to work. More precise description about my nightly adventures comes to my blog later. That is the thing I need to clear out for myself first.

Salary... Really? Sucks. When I went to the meeting in Estonia, the one where I first learned about opportunities here in Burnley, we were told much different stories. Those different stories were the main reasons why I am here at all. I came here to earn some money - not only for myself but even more for my family - but earning money with my current salary is too optimistic use of words. You may call it survival. Maybe the possible promotion will fix that issue, I do not not.

But if to put it down simply - I came here carried by lies I was told back in Estonia and adapting with reality here was hard at first.

Yes - until today UK has given me more negative than positive experiences, but in other way that really bad start seems hopeful. Everywhere else my starts have been successful and endings have sucked. Here the beginning sucks, so there is a good chance that ending goes well.

I like my logic.

See you soon!