Where you aware of this job seekers perk?

A flagship scheme which entitles job seekers to free railcards in order to get them to their interviews and consequently back into employment, seems to be so secretive that less than 6% of eligible people even know about it.

The free railcard is currently only being used by 4,800 out of 9 million people and there’s very little mention of it on the government’s website and apparently job seekers are often hitting out because they have to ‘convince’ staff that the scheme exists.

The railcard gives job seekers half-price train and bus travel to get to job interviews all over the country.

Labour Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Timms said: “These figures are very disappointing. The Government should do much more to publicise the help which people looking for work can benefit from. It is also vital that JobCentre Plus advisors are doing all they can to ensure that those eligible for the scheme are made aware of it and given the information they need to access this support.”

The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card can be used by anyone over 25 who’s been unemployed for 3 to 12 months, or 18-to-24-year-olds who are out of work for 3 to 9 months. If this applies to you then you may need to be persistent when trying to claim it from the job centre.

It can also be used by sick and disabled people on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who are working with a jobcentre advisor to get back to work.

CLICK HERE to find out how the migrant tax could affect you.