Should people on benefits be forced to do voluntary work?

[indy and lara]

I really don't think this is about looking down on people. Nor are these debates ever about people who lose their job and are, for a short term, dependant on benefits. They are about the people who are long term unemployed, who are able bodied and who choose to not work. These people do exist and in many places we are facing a growth in the number of people who are the 3rd generation in families who are never worked from choice. Something really needs to be done to address this. People are often classed as unemployable due to lack of skills so if these skills can be gained through volunteering surely that is a good thing?

 

[Dragonfly]

Agree just the tarring all with the same brush I hate. By the way I know all to well who them people are my older brother refuses to work for going on 7 years now he has been on this placement once and I cannot understand how he is still on the dole and nothing is ever done about him claiming it for so long. He is a mental case to be honest but admits he wont work. I just dont like seeing people who want jobs where there is non trying and getting treated like he should be treated. (really trying not to rant about my brother it pees me off).

Again I dont like this deal working for pennies, its unfair. A union wouldnt let one worker get less than the other why are the government allowed to do that? fair pay for all.

 

[SKATERBUN]

If you have paid in enough tax and your benefits claimed are minimal then no, but if the benefits matches/exceeds that to what is a reasonable income to someone else then yes, being paid for effectively doing nothing is not healthy.

 

[vaniilla]

I agree with the concept of it that those that are able to work but cannot find it should in the meantime do community work - not for tesco or poundland, if those companies want to hire they should pay wages. I think they should do jobs for the local community they live in so that everyone is getting something good out of it rather then free labour for big companies.


I don't get the whole looking down on certain jobs in this country, a job is a job, my dad is an ex police chief and he's done maintenance work (which did involve dealing with blocked toilets, plumbing etc) and care-taking work at a school while he was doing training in the UK, I really don't get the whole attitude here

 

[Ozzieshunni]

My DH said he would never go on the dole. He would clean toilets if he had to so he could support us. You're right. A job is a job.

 

[Dragonfly]

Way things are cleaning bogs is better than being on the dole, some people on the dole are treated like scum. Its a depressive place to be.

 

[Nibblenic]

You need previous profession cleaning experience to be employed to 'clean bogs'. Or certainly someone with previous experience would be chosen over him. Then there is the 5 people unemployed per job offered. So the cold hard fact is, if you were to lose your job, you'd not even be able to do that

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I love how employers want previous experience yet they aren't willing to hire people to give them that experience

 

[indy and lara]

I have never, and will never understand people looking down on ANY job. It takes all kinds of jobs for our lives to run the way we like. Anyone supporting themselves through work should not be looked down upon.

 

[Dragonfly]

I know you have to start somewhere to get experience I said that in an interview in a nursing home when they threw that at me saying I didnt have experience, I got the job and all. Sadly you need nvqs to get in now I got in to all my jobs basically with nothing to my name and I never lied about it. I am a good communicator apparently. I remember calling for a job for my brother, we had a row and I told him there was jobs. The one I found was miles away and the owner talked to me and had 500 applications to go through! no chance.

 

[TattiesMum]

How is volunteering to gain work experience a bad thing?

If it is a condition on benefits it is a 'bad' thing. You are in fact giving the poor no choice. How can that not be a bad thing. Especially when one is overqualified and the voluntarily work is pretty much worthless as a reference and/or experience.

I have never met a person who knows everything and anything about any profession. I learn something new every day in my volunteer work and I have a bachelor of science in criminology and victimology.

Also, it shows you are willing to keep up your work experience even though you are unemployed.

Lets turn this on it's head a bit .... the UK Gov't has recently introduced 'work fair' which is essentially what is being suggested here - that people on unemployment benefit are forced to work in order for them to receive their benefits.

Now in theory this should be only in the voluntary/charities sector, but in reality it has meant that people are being forced to work - for example - night shifts at Tesco for 5 nights a week and receiving less than £100 a fortnight direct from the Gov't. Tesco don't pay them a penny AND are saved from having to employ paid workers - which both keeps people on unemployment and enables them to increase profits.

Tesco have posted record profits this year - all going directly into the pockets of the shareholders ... which effectively means that I, as a taxpayer, am subsidising large private companies and lining the pockets of the rich by exploiting people who are effectively being used as slave labour

This isn't work experience ... the 'jobs' have no time limit on them and why would Tesco offer permanent jobs to any of these people when they can have them (or someone else like them) work for nothing... it sucks and personally I find it offensive - I would rather pay people unemployment for doing nothing than have the fat cats lining their pockets at my financial expense, and the expense of 'real paying' jobs for people who need them

 

[Dragonfly]

The goverment also pay tesco to take people like that on thats why tesco see it as a win win, person who looses is person on benefits getting a crap wage while everyone else around gets paid right. How is that ever fair? its not to ok to pay foreign nationals low wages why do they do it legally through this scheme? I seen my friend crying once because the £50 a week she was getting ran out and she couldnt live, she coldnt afford to get to work, buy food in work or to take with her and she ended up not eating because if she missed a day she would loose all her money. She lived with her mum to so its just as well she didnt live alone she would be homeless. They had her do all the crap jobs, treated her bad and worked all the hours no one wanted , all the public holidays. Thats slave labor. Clearly theres a job position there if they can take people on and have so much work, she even asked for a permanent job and was turned down. She has a job now this past year or so and wouldnt let it go for the world somewhere else. Like gold dust jobs.

This scheme makes me sick.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

DH works for Tesco, but at home. They've been great to him, but then again, he is an employee of Tesco and not being paid by the gov't. They've been really flexible with him when it comes to appointments for Alex.

 

[Dragonfly]

She didnt work in Tesco it was tkmaxx just to clarify as I didnt say. They do get paid for taking people on from this scheme I am sure. Further more how is that good for a persons mentality to be treated like that?

 

[Lina]

How is volunteering to gain work experience a bad thing?

If it is a condition on benefits it is a 'bad' thing. You are in fact giving the poor no choice. How can that not be a bad thing. Especially when one is overqualified and the voluntarily work is pretty much worthless as a reference and/or experience.

I have never met a person who knows everything and anything about any profession. I learn something new every day in my volunteer work and I have a bachelor of science in criminology and victimology.

Also, it shows you are willing to keep up your work experience even though you are unemployed.

Lets turn this on it's head a bit .... the UK Gov't has recently introduced 'work fair' which is essentially what is being suggested here - that people on unemployment benefit are forced to work in order for them to receive their benefits.

Now in theory this should be only in the voluntary/charities sector, but in reality it has meant that people are being forced to work - for example - night shifts at Tesco for 5 nights a week and receiving less than £100 a fortnight direct from the Gov't. Tesco don't pay them a penny AND are saved from having to employ paid workers - which both keeps people on unemployment and enables them to increase profits.

Tesco have posted record profits this year - all going directly into the pockets of the shareholders ... which effectively means that I, as a taxpayer, am subsidising large private companies and lining the pockets of the rich by exploiting people who are effectively being used as slave labour

This isn't work experience ... the 'jobs' have no time limit on them and why would Tesco offer permanent jobs to any of these people when they can have them (or someone else like them) work for nothing... it sucks and personally I find it offensive - I would rather pay people unemployment for doing nothing than have the fat cats lining their pockets at my financial expense, and the expense of 'real paying' jobs for people who need them

Completely agree with this. Tesco made upwards of 3.8 billion last year (more than 10million a day!) and can certainly afford to pay these people since they clearly have positions need filling. I suspect and would not be surprised if Tesco and other corp were secretly helping to shoulder the benefit bill by taking on these people but off course at 'mates rate'. Win win situation for corp and government, it is the poor who miss out. Slavery is well and truly alive, albeit in a more indirect sophisticated form and the sad thing of it all is they have public support.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I don't know what Tesco does on the corporate level, but I know they created the home worker position so parents would be able to work and be there when their children get off school.

 

[Dragonfly]

I have no idea about tesco I am just talking about in general the scheme the government have in place which has a lot of placements. I have no beef with tesco.

 

[Missy86]

I have not read the whole thread so I am sorry if its been said before

I think they should , its not slave labour like I have seen it being described on the news they are working for their JSA and if they are fit and healthy I see no reason why they shouldnt

 

[Dragonfly]

I have not read the whole thread so I am sorry if its been said before

I think they should , its not slave labour like I have seen it being described on the news they are working for their JSA and if they are fit and healthy I see no reason why they shouldnt

Why not pay them decent wages like every other worker there? thats the problem. They should get fair pay not less pay.

 

[Missy86]

I suppose cos its classed as work experience

Its only teenagers doing it, they dont want them growing up thinking JSA is a life choice and they will have to work