We don’t get too involved in unemployment on Tamebay, our attitude is pretty much that if you don’t have a job then there’s money to be made being self employed. However there’s an interesting case where the courts agreed the regulations behind most of the governments back-to-work schemes were unlawful.
Basically the case was bought by a lady who was forced to work for free in Poundland if she didn’t want to lose her benefits. She has no problem working in Poundland and in fact is currently working in another supermarket. The problem is that she was forced to work for free.
I’m not sure of the law, but I was under the impression that there was a minimum wage in the UK of £6.19 per hour. That’s probably works out more than Job Seekers allowance, but regardless if you’re working why shouldn’t the company benefiting be paying? That’s especially true if you’re to be forced to work unrelated to your normal profession and unlikely to help you return to full time paid employment (and to be frank I don’t think anyone needs much training to stack shelves and mop floors, no reason not to be paid for this type of work from day one).
I have no sympathy for the work shy who simply won’t work. I can’t help feeling though if someone is working, especially for a company out to make profits, that they shouldn’t be receiving unemployment benefit – there benefits should be suspended and the company should be paying the worker a proper wage for the period of the work experience.
What do you think? Should the unemployed be forced to work for free, or if they were getting work experience in your business would you be willing to pay them a wage?
28 Responses
Maybe the scheme should be that poundland (or the chosen company) would have to top up the benefits to make the amount worked minimum wage? or they pay the person the minimum wage and the government pays the company the benefit payment?
Prices on ebay will have to rise then. The business model for the Jabba the Hutt type sellers has just been ionised.
“and to be frank I don’t think anyone needs much training to stack shelves and mop floors”
Having done both the level of training required may come as a bit of a surprise! Think of the health and safety mafia for one. And then you have got trading standards mafia, the food standards agency and so on. All provide hoops for those doing the above jobs. If you thought the hoops that ebay invent are bad then think again! The manual required to do the job requires a degree which is why graduates are employed these days!
GARY you are so Right,
anyone trying to run a high st business never mind employ someone, needs therapy,
no t wonder there are so many unemployed those that employ are hobbled with rules and regulations,
so much so, that most high streets are now only Charity shop retail centres[charity shops bypass and avoid just about every rule regulation and tax]
Hi there, as someone who has had staff in my shop (I am a manager of a national charity shop) from this “New Deal” scheme I can confirm that these “jobs” are a waste of time.
The people sent to us from these third party providers, truthfully learn nothing as they don’t want to be there and they have no interest in working in retail.
In general they fall into two groups, those who are so useless I wouldn’t trust to do anything and those who are more highly skilled and educated than me, just in a totally different area.
Not a single person we have had (over 40 in the last 18 months) has gone on to find work.
I have no idea why my area manager thought it would be a good idea to agree to take these people on, they cause more work than they do!
Every ‘young person’ of British origin I have had in my business has turned up late, not turned up at all, stole stock and equipment from me.
I would rather run the wrong way up the M25 in rush hour than employ these waste of spaces the school system chucks out. They watch TV shows such as X-Factor and think they all all going to be pop stars or celebrities.
People criticise migrants, but the one person I did have (Eastern European) was efficient, trustworthy and turned up on time. He unfortunately had to return home to look after his father….gutted I was.
Also a good trick is check out their facebook pages before interview – always enlightening and gives you info about how they really act. Pissed up on a sat and sun is the norm – then wait for the excuses on mon am!
She was perfectly free to get off the dole and find another paying job if she didnt want to work in Poundland. Noone put a gun to her head and forced her.
Frankly if you accept tax payers money from the government, you should be willing to do what the government tells you. Dont like what they tell you? Dont take their money.
The Duke of Edinburgh has just remarked to a Philippino nurse that “the Philippines must be half empty” because so many of her compatriots work for the NHS.
That just about sums up the state of the UK and its unemployment situation. This is a crazy country right now!
Say what you like but I am fearful going into hospital these days based on the experience of a relative and in my mind any free help that can be offered to nurses can only be a blessing for all. I simply did not like what I witnessed but what can you say? Nurses may know best but they simply have no time. Are you saying that free helpers have no humanity? This is the area where the NHS seems to fail badly. There are a lot of folk out there signing on who could bring their experience of raising a family into any ward.