Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles Chapter 9 - Section 3
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9.3.0 Notification of offer or refusal
The claimant may be notified of a job vacancy, potential vacancy or opportunity, by someone, or they may discover them on their own initiative. If there is a contention that there was a misunderstanding, or that all the essential information was not given, the Commission must clarify the actual events.
An argument that one was not properly notified of the possibility of employment was not upheld, where a claimant did not bother asking for the particulars, or where a claimant expressed a refusal before being given all the particulars Footnote 1 .
The telephone is a proper and normal means of communication. Where the claimant contends they did not receive a telephone call, were not given the message, or did not understand the message, the question becomes one of credibility.
Provided there is a document supporting its dispatch, any notice by mail is presumed to have been received by the addressee in the ordinary course of the mail delivery Footnote 2 . Further, claimants should reasonably know that, being unemployed and in receipt of benefits, they are likely to receive notifications from the Commission. It is reasonable to expect claimants to take the necessary steps to ensure that they can be contacted without delay.
Thus, for claimants who do not pick up their mail every day or who absent themselves from their residence without telling the Commission, it will be considered that the notice was nevertheless received, although there may be extenuating circumstances present. However, this will not be so where it appears that the notice was mislaid by the post office or was delayed in delivery.
If the notice was sent by registered mail, the presumption that it was received is much stronger. Once a notice of an offer of employment or a referral is received, the claimant must report to the employer as directed and not delay by awaiting further information about the job offer. Where a notice has been sent too late for the claimant to do anything, no refusal of employment will be considered to have occurred, unless the employment is still vacant and the claimant is so informed Footnote 3 .
[ April 2014 ]