Sorry you can't contact the jobs helpline we've all been sacked: Taxpayer funded hotline is unstaffed for hours because advisers have been made redundant

Taxpayer funded Broadcasting Support Services is paid for by the Skills Funding Agency

The firm could face a financial penalty for breaching its contract



Staff were told to lie to callers about why they couldn’t talk to an expert

A taxpayer-funded hotline to help the unemployed get back to work is unstaffed for hours every day – because its own advisers have been made redundant.



Bosses at the National Careers Service reduced the hours that remaining staff were available by more than a quarter after job cuts – but still advertised the helpline as open for longer.



Then other staff were told to lie to callers about why they couldn’t get through to an expert – claiming ‘all our advisers are busy’ when in fact there was nobody there.



No one's here: The helpline's website claims advisers are on hand to take calls from 8am until 10pm (file picture)

The helpline’s website claims advisers are on hand to take calls from 8am until 10pm, seven days a week.



But The Mail on Sunday has discovered that staff are there to field queries only from 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 10am to 6pm on weekends – a total of 71 hours a week instead of 98.



Last night the company that runs the helpline, Broadcasting Support Services (BSS), which is paid by Government quango the Skills Funding Agency, was facing serious questions following this newspaper’s revelations.

BSS could face a financial penalty for breaching its contract over the performance of the service, for which it was paid £8.6 million in public money last year and £10.4 million the year before.



A spokesman for Vince Cable’s Department for Business said: ‘We are very concerned about these allegations and have instructed the Skills Funding Agency to urgently investigate.



‘If there is evidence of wrongdoing, swift action will be taken.’



Accusation: A spokesman for Vince Cable's Department for Business expressed concern about the allegations

Staff at BSS feel they are ‘part of a deception’ leaving taxpayers’ money mis-spent. One insider said:



‘I think the public would be angry and shocked by this. Not only is it a deception, it’s misusing public funds.’



Callers to the free phone line first speak to a ‘frontline adviser’. The call is then transferred to a qualified careers adviser for an in-depth talk. During normal office hours, there could be up to a dozen available.



But a year ago, ten of these advisers, who were paid about £28,000 a year, took voluntary redundancy in an apparent money-saving plan.



BSS bosses then dramatically reduced the hours that the remaining advisers worked – and insisted that no one let callers or Government officials find out.



An internal email from operations co-ordinator Jonathan Morris said: ‘From Monday June 3 [2013] we will be reducing the careers adviser operating hours.’



A separate message from manager Ian Howard explained: ‘This will obviously mean there are occasions when there are no CAs [careers advisers] available. Can I ask that you please don’t make any changes to what you say to customers.



‘The official line is still, “There are no CAs available at the moment.” Please don’t give out the new CA opening times.’



The Skills Funding Agency – which can listen in to calls and visit BSS offices – has also been kept in the dark about the cuts.

