Community Service

Convicted Driver Insurance

firsttimeidiot

Member
I am due to start my community order of 200 hours of unpaid work....almost a year after my sentencing took place. They only have space for me to do 1 saturday a week as i work full time during the week (it will take me 8 months to complete this)

Does anyone here have an experience with what unpaid work is like? I understand I will be working on a church grounds helping clean. How much cleaning can be done in 200 hours?
 
firsttimeidiot said:
I am due to start my community order of 200 hours of unpaid work....almost a year after my sentencing took place. They only have space for me to do 1 saturday a week as i work full time during the week (it will take me 8 months to complete this)

Does anyone here have an experience with what unpaid work is like? I understand I will be working on a church grounds helping clean. How much cleaning can be done in 200 hours?
Click to expand...
I did 3 hours probation first day I had to sign on at probation outside (rest of mine was inside at Salvation Army cooking for old dears) the folk who did outside permanently at the church were mowing lawns, weeding, cutting back stuff, collecting leaves with leaf blower/vacs, other big job they did was mending broken grave stones, in some cases taking the gravestones out of the ground and actually resetting them, proper professional job setting them in cement and all that.

If you want to get through your hours quicker why don't you have a word with them and see if you could do Sunday's in a charity shop or even Saturday and Sundays? I don't mean this to sound snotty but my probabtion in Yorkshire were ok with drink drivers and Salvation Army and charity shops were happy to have us, whereas how can I phrase this I found out that it was more a case of people guilty of more violent crimes or drugs were the ones who would be doing work in groups such as churchyards.

Hope that assists you a bit
 
Thanks for the reply

I did ask for saturday and sunday but I got told I can only have saturday as they want to get as many people back starting hours as possible. It seemed as though this was the only option available, all the other locations were over an hour commute from me, even this is 30 minutes. I got told by my probation officer that she is going to apply for an extension as its supposed to be finished in July but won't get done by then.

I've got a new role starting in May and i'm due to take on 7 days of work a week (trying to make up the salary i've lost due to losing my previous job because of my conviction). I got told if I didn't have the time because of work that I would be back in court due to breach of conditions but I cannot refuse the role as I need the money.
 
I completed my community service hours in a charity shop. They were brilliant and others were there from different walks of life completing their hours as well. Nobody asked questions or judged and it was the perfect placement for me as I also work full-time. Initially I was offered park work during the week but after I explained I worked during the week they found a charity shop placement instead. If you can, ask if you can do this after the 'non essential shops' open as you can up your hours to saturday and sunday if that is better for your or just to the one day a week. I did one day a week for 80 hours so it took a few months but it was an enjoyable experience and I learned from it and met new people.
 
For what it's worth: I ended up cooking for old(er) folks. Agree with what JB said above after having some very interesting chats with the POs in charge, (Some could be fascinatingly indiscreet!) Two people who had been put on maintenance work where told they were working too hard and were then sent to cook for the auldies....... Who does what depends on how many people turn up on the day so you may end up doing something different. Be prompt, do what's requested and don't be a slacker. The in charge PO will assign you a "good" report, which should go in your favour. However - and you will hear this on a never ending loop - it is a court order. You have to do the hours. One person used to work nights and then turn up for their hours to get them done. You may want to look into courses BUT you will have to ask and push. There is a list of courses that will cut your hours. None of interest so I claimed for an IT one instead.
 
Firstly yes they can go back to court to get you longer to,do your hours, that ain't a problem, if you don't co-operate though that is a problem and many I was on probation with should have finished before I started and were still there when I'd done as they just kept getting hours added and added and added.

If I were you I'd use my own initiative, once Boris get some non essential open on 12th April I'd go round charity shops in my town, neighbouring down, explain to them you need to do community service and would like to offer your services, then ring probation if you're successful and say look I've managed to do A B and C is that ok.

I reckon they'll be a few vacancies at charity shops, many are elderly, some may well have died of Covid, some may not want to go back until they've have their 2nd jabs etc.

Worth a shot?
 
I plan I getting as many hours as possible on a saturday and sunday. Thank you for the tip of enquiring about charity shops once non essential shops open everyone! It's much appreciated. Still feel a little annoyed I was not allowed to do midweek work and weekend work at the same time, I was told that I had to choose one or the other.

Here's to hopefully getting 200 hours done asap , as i've got my own wedding and honeymoon approaching in just over 4 months touchwood (probation have already got the dates for this well in advance)
 
If you speak to your PO and explain the hours outside of your employment your are available they should seek to accommodate that. Most charity shops jump at the chance of extra help and most are accommodating of community service. It is probably the most flexible and so you PO should be able to offer that. And when the non essential shops open in April they might be more than welcome of the extra help. From my understanding, they have to take into consideration your contracted employment and can't infringe on those hours without offering you an alternative.
 
I had to do 100 hours of community service which I could only do on Sundays as I worked during the week. The things I mainly did was trim bushes, grass cutting and also painting some community center and school.
 
I've been waiting since September to sort my placement. So far nothing. I have been in constant touch with Interserve (I'm based in Yorkshire) and after a recent telephone conversation with them they now have projects so that you can fulfil your hours ar home. I am going to be knitting smallish squares that will then be used to make blankets for the homeless and refuges. I only found this out because I contacted them. I have also done a self employment course (30 hours).
 
That sounds good news for you but how do probation know it's you do the knitting, you could be paying old Mrs Goggins 10 quid a day for her to knit em LOL 🤣😂
 
I received 200 hours of unpaid work in October. Started with one day a week at a food bank, really enjoyed it but the lock down meant I couldn't continue there. I spoke to my PO and explained I had loads of time on my hands at the moment as I'm starting to wait a new job, and asked if I could work somewhere to finish all my hours in one go, and she placed me in a cemetery.
I've been gardening and mowing, and placed with other unpaid workers. It's really quite nice! So now I will have my hours completed by next week, and a new job in April 😁
 
Hi everyone, just to update.

I have now completed my hours and put this all behind me.

The initial incident happened on feb 17th 2020, my setencing took place in July 2020, I finally started my CP at the end of March 2021 and now Mid May I have finished my 200 hours.

Switching from 1 day a week to 4 days a week was a game changer. Just got my head down and got through it. My supervisor at the canals was top class, got on really well with him. It's been an experience. Always happy to offer any help or advice to anyone.
 
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