Maximus Avis 

I had the most disappointing and awful experience with Maximus, Leeds.
Having said that, my work coach was so lovely and supporting as were a few other people I had interactions with. Unfortunately this was all completely overridden by a phone call I had from Lee. He was intimidating and rude, unprofessional and I’m afraid came across like a bully. At this point i had only been on the scheme for 3 weeks and in those 3 weeks had been so productive in the hope that I would no longer have to go back to the place.
After filing a formal complaint against Lee I had to return to the office for an appointment with Leah, who was also so encouraging and supportive may I add. I’d already stated in my complaint that I didn’t want Lee to be part of my appointment due to his bullying nature. He sat at the far end of the office and while having a my appointment I looked up only to see another of the account managers glaring at me for a considerable amount of time while in conversation with Lee. I was sat with my 6 year old daughter and have never felt so uncomfortable and intimidated. I have previously heard this account manager in conversation with participants and have been appalled at his attitude and tone of voice when dealing with people. Absolutely no one deserves to be spoken to in such a manner and I can only imagine how those people feel when they leave.
I feel like a lot of people that visit Maximus are treated with a real lack of understanding and empathy and with total disregard. When you have those in management roles thinking it’s ok to mistreat and belittle participants that’s only going to feed down to their staff and keep that level of treatment going. Some serious training needs to be done and back to basic customer service skills shown to the management.

I’m still yet to hear back from head office and the branch itself regarding my complaint.

My experience with Maximus was extremely disappointing and had a serious impact on my mental health.

I attended my first appointment expecting to be treated with professionalism, dignity and understanding. Instead, I left feeling intimidated, under pressure and completely unsupported. People referred to these services are often already experiencing difficult circumstances, whether due to physical health, mental health or other personal challenges. They should be met with empathy, patience and respect. Unfortunately, that was not my experience.

Following my appointment, my anxiety became significantly worse. My GP signed me off as unfit for work due to anxiety, and I immediately informed Universal Credit as well as Maximus of my circumstances. Despite this, I received an email stating that I was still required to attend mandatory appointments and warning me that failure to participate could lead to sanctions.

Receiving a warning about possible sanctions after informing them that I had been medically signed off due to anxiety was extremely distressing. Rather than acknowledging my situation with compassion and reassurance, I felt pressured and intimidated at a time when I was already struggling with my mental health. In my opinion, the communication showed very little understanding of the impact that such messages can have on someone who is medically unfit for work.

As a result of this experience, I have not returned to Maximus and have remained signed off for the past three months under my GP’s care. The purpose of organisations like Maximus should be to support people into work when they are able to do so, not leave them feeling overwhelmed, fearful or ignored.

I believe organisations working with vulnerable people have a responsibility to ensure their staff communicate with empathy, sensitivity and professionalism, particularly when someone has disclosed a mental health condition and is following medical advice. Sadly, I did not feel that responsibility was reflected in the way I was treated.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Maximus. I sincerely hope they review their practices and provide better training to staff so that people facing mental health challenges are treated with the dignity, understanding and respect they deserve.

Stay away from Maximus Functional Assessor roles (doctor/nurse/physio)

I have never felt so patronised and scammed in my life. I am an NHS doctor and received an interview to be a functional assessor for Maximus. 72k salary, 9-5. Hybrid working. Functional assessors assess claimants for benefits/limited capability for work etc based on their medical/mental health.

First before the interview you have to pass a clinical assessment which is a virtual platform where you record yourself giving the answers to questions and write mock essays. Unpaid of course but this took a lot of time and preparation.

I passed the interview, which you would have no chance of passing if the recruiter didn’t tell you the exact questions and exact scripted answers you need to give for this strange interview.

Then comes the avalanche of documents and clearing you have to go through to start the 6 weeks of paid training. So I do all of that which takes a lot of my time.

6 weeks training starts. It’s all remote Teams based where a mentor in one part of the country helps you with 8 hours of daily reading and questions and role plays. Despite the fact this is all laptop based you must drive one hour 3 days a week to sit on your laptop and do this. I asked why. They said “to get used to coming to office”. I saw and spoke to no one on these days. They wouldn’t give me a door pass so every time I wanted to come in and out I had to hang around and wait for someone to let me in and out like a schoolchild.

Also before this started I forgot to mention I had to drive 3 hours in total to collect the desktop and laptop with no petrol reimbursement. Also you are constantly reminded that if you fail the training you will be asked to leave.

6 weeks training passed ok. Now for stage 3 of training. You come into office every day and have a mentor watching you speak to claimants and write the assessment. 5 out of 7 must be fit for purpose to move onto stage 4.

My mentor made my assessments not fit for purpose for the tiniest easily fixed errors such as one spelling error. Therefore the entire 3-5 hour case is not fit for purpose. Her teaching was also very contradictory, I haven’t got time to go into detail now but my mentor and the stage 2 mentor constantly contradicted themselves on the guidelines. BTW my mentor was a physiotherapist and I’m a doctor. I watched her correct my assessments and also write her own assessments.
It was laughable, she constantly got medical terminology wrong such as calling AF aortic fibrillation. She also would lie blatantly about what the claimant said. And I had to go along with her booming overbearing voice and pretend oh yes you’re right. Very very odd…

My last assessment is deemed by her as not fit for purpose and I’m told I won’t be progressing to stage 4. I am baffled. Applicants move locations and leave their jobs for this, they treat our lives like a science experiment. Despite being told I am fired she continued to teach me and told me what stage 4 would be like if I had passed. I said I’m sorry why are you doing this if I’m fired? She didn’t have an answer. I said I’m fired so I would like to leave. She said no you need to sit and watch me correct your assessment and then you have an exit meeting in two hours time. I sat and watched her for an hour correct my assessment. She said I’ll give you some space while you have your exit meeting. I wrote the manager an email saying I don’t need another patronising speech off you and left the building.

Also during my time there I received unwanted comments such as “god you look pale” and “are you unwell” . Also when I was working alone in the office (private room sometimes) they would never knock and just burst into the room.

So there you go. After all that intense hard work, I’m fired. Leads me to believe it’s an inside job and they just hire their friends or some kind of inner network. Go read reviews and you will see so many people have had a similar experience.

I am shocked at this system. How can this physiotherapist be hired when her reports are misleading, contradictory, contain blatant lies about what the claimant said and also contain constant medical errors such as wrong medical terminology. But myself as a doctor of almost ten years I’m not good enough?

My experience at the Maximus Stratford office was completely unacceptable.
Maximus is funded by the government to help people find work, yet my experience was the opposite. Instead of receiving support, I was treated with disrespect, looked down on, and made to feel unsafe. I felt that my concerns were dismissed rather than taken seriously.
The managers at the Stratford office showed a lack of understanding, empathy, and professionalism. They need better training to ensure everyone is treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity.
As an organisation that receives public funding to support people, Maximus should be held to a high standard. I believe the government should investigate the treatment of people at the Maximus Stratford office to ensure public money is being used appropriately and that individuals are treated safely, fairly, and with respect.

He was very helpful and supportive even if i did not have an appointment

My advisor Naomi is the best and always provides the support needed! 10/10

Advisor was great at first and helped me with my Cv and tried to support me as best as he could, however once I found a job, the in work financial support for travel and clothing was made extremely difficult so I ended up not getting support and managed until my first pay. Very disappointing, can't have a one size fits all approach!

Have been restart 12 months within that time they have only found about 4 jobs which were unsuitable because of were Thay are also jobs that don't matches my work past work

I have really enjoyed my time at maximus over the last year, very kind and helpful advisors , thank you to James and edita for all your support. My english has massively improved due to the english materials James provided . I am very grateful, I will miss them both

Waste of time twenty something year old who have never work in a proper job.i was told by one of there people fletchers bakery was a warehouse they know notting

I received great assistance from Ulla in looking for a job. Always polite and patient postive and very supportive. She boost my confideance when I was unable to find a job

Very informative and helpful staffing, really pointed me in the right direction and supported me on my journey, 2 very helpful people across my year journey so far was Alisha & Charles

My son is disabled. I work part time but under 30 hours. As my son didn't get PIP, I have been placed on Maximus. I have had two meetings. The advice given at the first meeting? Ring recruitment agencies to ask about work, and putting spaces on my CV. Groundbreaking. Now the advisor is talking about 'my benefits' to try and shame me. (I have had to work part time to care for my disabled son). Job center staff are no help either, and being in Maximus gives them the excuse to do even less.

Maximus were absolutely amazing. They gave me the help I couldn’t get from the job centre and the tools and confidence to find a job within two weeks of joining.
Adam Garrod in particular helped me so much from start to finish and because of this I am now very happy and in full time employment. I could not be more thankful.

Very efficient, stand in agent very pleasant and helpful

My experience with Maximus Nottingham has been excellent. The support and help I have received from my advisor James at Maximus has been exceptional. James has provided me with accurate direction in order for me to obtain a job and has always been there when needed.

I was transferred from the job centre to Maximus’ office in Nottingham city centre and was given Naomi as my work coach.
She has been very supportive and kind towards me finding a job and actually shows emotion in what is happening with my work search. I am now in steady work, albeit I found this work fully on my own, the help I got from Naomi made me want to find work even more and I am happy with my time spent there.

I want to mention it the good one in the Maximum, Naomi she’s the best helper I’ve ever seen it, she will be with you to get every good things, she will work hard with you to get stuffs…

I haven't worked in a long while, and job centre referred me here. Honestly the best thing that's happened in a long time. Kieran at Maximus Nottingham is an absolute legend, made my CV professional and found me work within 10 days. Extremely grateful to him, was treated like a human being and genuinely felt heard. So thank you Kieran and Maximus.

How the UK government have decided these people are the best choice for vulnerable people is beyond me. They're just a bunch of box tickers, the questions are utterly useless in determining anything other than being a paraplegic. Fluctuating illnesses are not even taken into consideration. You can repeat the same thing over and over and they will just ignore it and mark you down. The process feels intentionally long winded for maximum effect on Mental Health. I have worked for over 27 years, paid more into this system than most, now when I need it, I am treated like dirt. Essentially accused of lying at every turn, being made to repeat the same answers time and again in the hope they catch you out. If it wasn't for my stubborn nature, I would have given up a long time ago, which I feel is half the plan. Going from the previous poor reviews, I expect this will either be taken down, or I will receive the usual copy and paste reply that everyone gets.