What is the difference between New Deal and Flexible New Deal?
To summarise…
New Deal was a scheme Jobcentre Plus based centered around an single point of contact (New Deal Personal Adviser) but you were referred to providers for Gateway 2 Work and the Option period (typically 13 weeks but can be extended to 26 weeks – VSO,ETF,IAP etc).
With Flexible New Deal, DWP tendered contracts out in a similar manner to New Deal but New Deal required (to an extent) action in order to gain job outcomes as it was assumed the provider sticking in fulltime expertise (i.e. job search sessions) and delegating an opportunity to gain work experience for the jobseeker throughout this 13 week period was them working for the participant and therefore getting the bonus for success. Also, in order to get service fees for participants they had to make sure participants turned up to secure such fee for that participant (although they could receive full 13 weeks service fee money even if participants were kicked off).
With Flexible New Deal there is no Jobcentre Plus contact – there is no NDPA. The Advisor throughout stage 3 etc. leaves you. Under New Deal you have the Jobcentre Plus contact throughout – the NDPA approves on any sanctions that the New Deal provider proposes – its the NDPA who instantly ends your claim.
With Flexible New Deal, as soon as the provider is referred your details, the Flexible New Deal provider owns you. Unlike New Deal courses you still have to sign on for Flexible New Deal every 2 weeks. Flexible New Deal lasts for a year (although under law its maximum period is a little longer) and during this time and a catchment period afterwards the provider can claim for short (13 weeks) and sustainable (26 weeks) jobs you gain. When you gain employment Flexible New Deal continues to run and you can expect to be contacted by your provider.
New Deal involved a 2 week fulltime course followed by a 13 week course also fulltime. Flexible New Deal is typically a day of supervised job search (around 3 hours with most providers – I assume 9-12 or 1-4), a review every 2 weeks and you attending every module and methods of “training” they throw at you which varies on type. There is also an initial interview, induction and sometimes initial mandatory modules at the start. There is also a 4 week work-related activity period sometime in the next 12 months.
There is no Jobcentre Plus adviser/point of contact so Flexible New Deal providers are delegated Employment Officer status which means they can directly give a fixed (2 weeks to begin with) and variable (6 months) sanctions. Really (that wasn’t a joke). It is also contractual that they stick you under pressure to see whether you are entitled to jobseekers allowance and to find out if you should become sanctioned.
Techniques will vary depending on provider – but it is suspected that fortnightly reviews will be pressured, that staff will attempt to play the listener and that job search rooms become bugged.
I hope this helps.