e m e r g e n c y e n t r a n c e: work :) / alfakassan :(

Wednesday, August 12

work :) / alfakassan :(

Seems Posten is going to need me until (at least) the end of the month...signed my third contract with them yesterday, for 11-31 aug. that's the good news...! :)

the bad news is that alfakassan (a type of jobbseekers allowance) has rejected my claim. a claim that I did at the beginning of MARCH this year!!! almost six months ago!!! exactly 23 weeks ago!!!

reason for rejection: I hadn't worked a minimum of one day in sweden between arriving back in sweden and registering myself as unemployed at arbetsförmedlingen (AF).

just for the record, I arrived in sweden at approx 1am tue 3rd march and registered myself as unemployed at arbetsförmedlingen wed 4th march. in order to qualify for alfakassan (to my and AFs knowledge) I had to register at AF as soon as I became unemployed. which I did. I guess you can already see where this is going...!

five+ months, countless forms filled in, certificates/p45s/contracts/leaver letters etc provided and several phonecalls later...this is the result: rejection! they tell me one thing (you QUALIFY for alfakassan as you've worked/paid taxes in another EU country) but the reality is, that is not the case, because none of my work in the UK counts as I hadn't worked a single day in sweden before registering myself as unemployed at AF. and this, they completely and utterly fail to tell me everytime I speak to them on the phone AND it's not in a single letter I've had from them either OR on their website (my aunt has been reading through their website info meticulously and found nothing to support this claim)!!! in fact, one girl I spoke to at alfakassan in mid june told me that as long as I could get someone to employ me for just one day, ANY DAY (yup, that's easy...), everything would be ok and I would qualify. turns out, she was so so SO wrong and I've waisted five+ months where I haven't been able to seek out alternative solutions, study etc.

confused...so am I and I'm so angry I'm not able to articulate myself properly.

here's a breakdown of the past few months:

tue 3rd march 1am: I arrive in sweden.
wed 4th march: I register at AF and receive alfakassan forms to fill in. AF tells me I should qualify for alfakassan as I've worked in another EU country.
week 11 / march: I receive a letter from alfakassan and they ask me to phone them so that they can tell me exactly what other documentation they need from me - I phone them up but there is NO MENTION of this minimum-of-one-day's-employment-in-sweden-since-I-arrived-back-rule.
16th march: I send off copies of EVERYTHING they've asked for to alfakassan.
late april: I ring them up since I there has been no correpsondence since mid march and I'm worried they've lost my papers etc. I find out they've only just sent me a letter and it arrives the same day in the post. it states that they're processing my claim and will be requesting a certificate from HMS customs in the UK.
mid may: I receive another form to fill in, I do this and send it back to them immediately.
mid june: I receive yet another form to fill in. it's a work certificate in swedish so I ring them up explaining that my former ENGLISH boss might find this a tad bit difficult to fill in. they tell me it's not for him, it's for my supposed swedish employer... I explain to them that I have been unemployed since arriving back and that my last job was in the UK. the girl then tells me "can't you just get someone to employ you for just one day, any day...that's all you need to do". the deadline for the work certificate is 10th july.
early july: I find out I might be able to get some work at Posten over the summer and I ring up alfakassan to tell them that I will be able to provide a work certificate from a swedish employer but that I won't be able to make the deadline. they move the deadline back to 20th july and I am able to get the certificate in on time.
monday 10th aug: I get a letter from alfakassan. they've rejected my claim. reason: see above!

it's all just such nonsense...and I'm going to appeal!!! they are NOT going to get off that easy!!!

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words

"I grew up under thatcher. I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless. then gradually over the years it occured to me that this was actually a very convenient myth for the state" - thom yorke

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"kuckilikun den k-(beep)-er" - camilla paulsson

"had a little chuckle at an example of complete essex stupidity (overheard on the bus): "-...yea she lives near that decapitated buildin'. -ar fink you mean derelict innit. -yea well woteva, same fing.....". me: ??!!??!????" - lauren paterson

"it's a waste of time asking me. i don't give a fuck. i'm leaving in a week!" - claire mccarthy

"i don't ever think about it (feminism). i mean, it doesn't cross my mind. i certainly don't think in terms of gender when i'm writing songs, and i never had any problems as the result of being female that i couldn't get over. maybe i'm not thankful for the things that have gone before me, you know. but i don't see there's any need to be aware of being a woman in this business. it just seems a waste of time" - pj harvey

"people say things like 'ooh, he's quite good looking...for a scientist.' but it's a very low bar. there's basically me and patrick moore" - brian cox

(on San Francisco)

"there is a lot i like about it here, but there are a lot of things i like about barcelona, amsterdam... but it's that sort of english gloom, grey depression that makes me say, 'ah, i could live here... but wait, it's too great! i'm having too much fun! i need to go back to england where it's really shit.'" - stanley donwood

"professor farnsworth: ..after all, there is always hope!

fry: really?!

professor farnsworth: no! don't get your hopes up."

- futurama, ser 6, ep 1

"don't panic" - douglas adams

"I think the most important thing about music is the sense of escape" - thom yorke

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on shooting the "seven" scene (where thom's head is in a box) for the 15 step video: "we gave him a little slap and stuffed some packing foam in his mouth to show him who was boss and he was fine after that" - adam buxton

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they have raised since birth

not to turn on them

some trust their lives

in the hands whose fingers

are five silent knives

some will be reminded

of nothing, or perish

by that memory" - jim carroll (fear of dreaming)

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by each let this be heard,

some do it with a bitter look,

some with a flattering word,

the coward does it with a kiss,

the brave man with a sword!" - oscar wilde (the ballad of reading gaol - pt. 1. st. 7)

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