What i found particularly worrying is that the government now spends more money on "benefits" than it actually raises in income tax!!!

How on earth are we ever going to repay the billions that broon has given away???

mb
p.s. Weren't Poundland offering the, er, girls, a two week unpaid trial? Let's see how many are still there in September

 

My local job centre sent me to a workshop for my CV - the woman had a look at my CV and stated there could be changes made that would be beneficial leave it with her she will alter it and email me it back. Few days later it arrived and the full CV was poorly constructed with a LOT of spelling mistakes and very poor grammar. So I altered it all and then sent it back to her stating that this is how it should be. scary to say she was employed to help people get back to work.
And the only reason I used this service was because the job centre told me I had to attend.

 

I did something similar but off my own back. When I went from incapacity benefit to normal jobseekers (as I'm classified 14.5% disabled ), I asked about extra help or voluntary stuff to keep me occupied. Ended up at Working Links doing said workshops, and although very good with me, I found my own work in the end, not something they found me.

It's going to these workshop things where you do meet some of the real pondlife and scum, who have no intention of turning up unless threatened with their kids' drug money

 

But they a waste of space I was told I wasn't allowed to claim anything from the Government but thats fine because we living off my husbands wages at the minute but I have to sign on every fortnight to get my NI paid for me. I've just spent the last three years in Uni gaining a degree and they want to send me on courses to help me gain employment !!!!

 

Do it then, unless you have other things to concern your time with. No disprespect but the way they could see it is that you are very clever in one field of possible employment but could have no clue as to how to fill in a form or application.

Thats the way I would think it, not suggesting it's the truth

And in answer to your first point, it's eyed up for single parents or the dishonest - I claimed £50.95 a week JSA for 6 months as I had paid into the system for the previous 6 years continuously... but as my Mrs works and lives with me, I got jack after that too. Some could say you should have a job within 6 months and thats their opinion, but then they shouldn't really have given me anything to start with then if you think about it differently.

I do feel for you and others in the same situation, degree's seem to mean **** now re. getting a job, I'm glad to be doing an apprenticeship and get paid doing it.

 

There is no shame in being on benefits COB, if like you, it was a safety net for bad luck, illness and whatever, dont let anyone get at you about that, there are many other ways we can take the p1ss

Sometimes in life you are up, sometimes on the back foot due to the hand dealt you and it is foolish for anyone in a good position to mock those struggling as very quickly tables can turn.

What we can mock is those that choose it as a way of life, the welfare state was a noble and positive thing when introduced but human beings being natrually lazy and greedy (I am no exception) it has been twisted from the welcome safety net to avoid extreme hardship to a way wherby those who contribute pay for those who choose not to along with those who cannot, be it permanently or temporarily.

There should be a system wherby if you are shown to abuse it, i.e. on incapacity benefit whilst working as a builder means you never get another penny, you are struck off, that might focus attention.

 

What I don't understand is why these long term unemployed can't return to work on minimum wage, and the government pay 50% of their housing costs and slowly taper off as the person hopefully moves up the pay ladder. At least then they would be neutral or at the very least less of a burden to the state.

 

it seems the benefit system is very bad at dealing with flexibility/uncertainty -- a particular feature of the UK economy now (not a feature when the benefit system was originally devised in the 50’s/60’s)

lots and lots of low paid "flexible" jobs with very short contracts

so someone who is on benefits has to take a big "gamble" when they get a job -- the wrong choice and they could be left with no benefits for a period of months -- disastrous for many as typically they will have no savings to fall back on etc

the risk culture is heavily weighted to the more well off – bankers highly rewarded when things pay off – bailed out in any case when they don’t

at the bottom the risk of coming off benefits is rewarded by the possibility of very low paid short term work followed by destitution when you have to wait for any benefits to be re-established

I am not justifying a life on the dole and it is my belief that most people do want to do an “honest days work for an honest days pay” – but in any society you will always get slackers and scroungers – nothing you can do about that

It is the states duty to build a society that allows everybody the chance to earn a decent living wage – not provide a society that allows the top 5% to get as rich as possible and allows the bottom 20% to lounge around in the dustbin of society

 

Aye...

I could certainly put a few of the arrogant tossers that frequent here in this catagory. But I won't mention names as they don't deserve my positive energies

Agree 100%, excellent points well made.

I would suggest something like this to be a better more confidence building opportunity than just signing over X amount every week to the folk like last night.

Again agree 100%. If you are in a situation where you are technically entitled to £300 a week in benefits for so many years or a situation where you are on a rolling 6 month contract earning £200 a week - which would a lot of folk take that have no savings etc to fall back on.

Some people, usually the more successful types suggest simply the people go and get a better paid job. It doesn't always work like that. You need balance, some folk are clever, some dense... otherwise the min wage jobs would never get filled.

I'm certainly not sticking up for the benefit types like last night, but when you look at the 2 situations and take into account the rut people get into, it makes financial sense in a twisted way.

 

Agreed. Bin the system as is, as a permanent way of life, and actually help people get back into work, top up wages/ contribute to housing costs as you mentioned. Surely it's still better to have people working and contributing to the pot, even in a small way, than fully supporting them while they don't work a all. We shouldn't be in a situation these days, whereby living on benefits, you are better off than working.

Don't entirely agree here. Yes, minimum wage jobs need to be done by someone, but it's not entirely fair to assume that they are done just because someone is dense. There are various reasons why someone may be in a job like that, sometimes because they're not clever enough to maybe do a more challenging role, but there can be many other reasons too. And don't be under the illusion that just because a job is low paid, it's easy, and not challenging in any way. You can often have a great deal expected of you, just for not alot of money. I agree, they are not always jobs that require massive intelligence, but I just think it's a bit unfair to class people doing these jobs as dense.

 

That wasn't my intention Lisa, but generally lolwer paid jobs require less qualifications and/or schooling to get into. I think I worded it wrong so will apologise if you took it the wrong way.

For the record I'll be on a grand total of £98 a week for 40 hours over the next year

 

Fair play, maybe just me being a bit over sensitive.

Tbh though, you'd be surprised, even some of the lower paid jobs, still look for people either with experience of the role, or a brain cell somewhere. I guess it depends on the type of job/place.

 

This is a pet hate of mine, the lower paid jobs that expect all sorts of qualifications/experience for £5.73 an hour Did you see the example I put down a few months ago? 5 hours a week to clean a council car park for £6.00 p/h. Didn't have the correct experience to use the grabba tool for rubbish

My mum has just changed jobs from being an NVQ 2 qualified care worker for the elderly on min wage, to working in an arcade on a quid more per hour. Fookin' weird and guess which one she enjoys more (clue being the lack of 90 year old ***** to wipe).

 

What I hate, is that even when in these jobs, you are the one on the frontline, putting up with all manner of crap, with all manner of other things to do in addition to your actual job, that people don't appreciate. All to line someone elses pocket and make them look good, for often alot less effort from them and hard slog from them. It's even more frustrating when you know some of them are only in the position they are cos they've kissed enough ****.

Rant over.

 

+1

 

Can you tell I've had a bad day.

 

I always make the effort of conversation when at Asda doing shopping etc, 'cos you can usually guarantee some pondlife specimen has made the assistants life hell and I'm pretty appreciative of the help packing my stuff

 

That's good of you, at least some people have a bit respect.

I think I'd cope better, if it was always pondlife that caused a problem, but it comes from all manner of people.

 

Probably the same idiots that drive around in big 4x4's or Toyota Prius' blocking every f*ckers way.

 

I like to think of it as Subculture rather than Pondlife. I have met Subculture in all walks of human livestock.

 

Exactly, that's why I said if it was only them. There are many people classed in a certain way, come into my work, who are very polite, despite being rough as hell. Even a fair few of the druggies, are polite.

You get rude, nasty people right across the spectrum. It's funny how many of the nasty ones also claim to work in customer service roles. You'd think they especially, would talk to you how they'd expect to be spoken to in their job.