Work Activity Scheme: show up or loose benefits

[kaya'08]

Ministers have defended their plans to force the long-term unemployed to do manual work or lose benefits.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told the BBC the idea was not to "punish or humiliate" but to get people back into the habit of working.

But the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the changes could drive people "into a downward spiral of uncertainty, even despair".

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith is to unveil the plans this week.

Under the plan, claimants thought to need "experience of the habits and routines of working life" could be put on 30-hour-a-week placements.

Anyone refusing to take part or failing to turn up on time could have their £65 Jobseekers' Allowance stopped for at least three months.

The Work Activity scheme is said to be designed to flush out claimants who have opted for a life on benefits or are doing undeclared jobs on the side.

BBC News - Ministers defend plan to force jobless to do work

My verdict:

I need to see the full plans that the scheme intends to initiate before i can make a valid conclusion - but so far so good. I believe in these times of austerity tough measures are in need of introduction, especially measures that will root out false claimants. It could save the government millions annually and get those who leech off tax payers money searching for a job.

Creating incentives to get off benefits are a positive step in economic recovery and vital for safe guarding fairness within society and i believe this is a positive new force in British politics.

There should be exceptions to the system. Those with disabilities and in search of a job should be exempt from this scheme.

The worries of some of the opposition is the fact that it does not address the root problem of a lack of jobs in society. Of course, this is also something the government will attempt to address as part of its long term economic strategy.

This government cannot afford to provide work-free benefits much longer. I believe even those who are genuinely in search of employment should inherit a responsibility of earning their job-seekers allowance by contributing back to the society that supports them.

 

[Manc Skipper]

We have 5 people willing to work for every job available, and the condems fret about the workshy. If you must work to "earn" benefits are ou not then a govrnment employee? Could the work that you are doing not be done by someone as a proper job? If so, why are you doing it on the cheap? If not who benefits from you doing it at all?

 

[Infinite Chaos]

-- This government cannot afford to provide work-free benefits much longer. I believe even those who are genuinely in search of employment should inherit a responsibility of earning their job-seekers allowance by contributing back to the society that supports them.

No govt should provide work free benefits - whether there's a major recession or not.

 

[kaya'08]

If you must work to "earn" benefits are ou not then a govrnment employee?

Doing a service to the local community isn't necessarily being in its employment. With or without the work the government will pay you. This scheme will make sure that those on benefits can give back to the society that supports them financially.

I don't really see the relevance of your question Skipper. If your suggesting that working for job benefits is a subsidiary to a job you are mistaken, the fee is not significant enough to support an individual or his family.

Could the work that you are doing not be done by someone as a proper job? If so, why are you doing it on the cheap? If not who benefits from you doing it at all?

Because by giving those who are on benefits an incentive to stop being on those benefits, we increase motivation to find a job should the person in question become too comfortable living off tax payer money (not to mention take out the false claimants from the equation).

This is the big question about social welfare in Europe - why should i go back to work?
This scheme will finally answer that "why".

 

[Infinite Chaos]

-- Could the work that you are doing not be done by someone as a proper job? If so, why are you doing it on the cheap? If not who benefits from you doing it at all?

-- Because by giving those who are on benefits an incentive to stop being on those benefits, we increase motivation to find a job should the person in question become too comfortable living off tax payer money --

I think they have to be careful not to make it into an attack on those who genuinely can't get work - but even then, surely there is a simple human dignity in putting some sweat in return for the benefits you earn.

I do think as a society we should move forward together and not leave or condemn those less fortunate but my view on this isn't about people becoming comfortable living on tax-payer money - I don't think many on benefits see it as an easy option (those who don't milk the system really struggle by) but I do see the dignity of working for your living and I also see the importance of keeping a working ethic going for those who are unemployed.

Community service work is not work done on the cheap - but it is work that wouldn't normally attract people to it. There's an undoubted element of work that doesn't even attract minimum wage - but it's still a payment back (as Kaya says) for the society that is supporting you.

 

[kaya'08]

I do think as a society we should move forward together and not leave or condemn those less fortunate but my view on this isn't about people becoming comfortable living on tax-payer money - I don't think many on benefits see it as an easy option (those who don't milk the system really struggle by) but I do see the dignity of working for your living

I agree, it's not just about becoming too comfortable on benefits, but the government encouraging fairness and promoting decency by making job seekers contribute back to society.

Even if you can't do it financially, helping your local borough clean up the graffiti outside of the children's school or removing the beer cans that some thoughtless person threw into the local park pond makes a world of difference; your giving back in an age where we cannot afford to take,take,take.

and I also see the importance of keeping a working ethic going for those who are unemployed.

Definitely!

 

[jamesrage]

The US should have something like this for welfare recipients.

 

[PeteEU]

The US should have something like this for welfare recipients.

Where do you think they got the idea from?

 

[Manc Skipper]

There isn't enough real work for those who want it, so making the unemployed do make-work for less than minimum wage to obtain survival level benefits is going to help them? How do you go around seeking work when you are wasting your time on a "work" programme? Why not just build workhouses and be done with it, that'll sort the wheat from the chaff.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

-- How do you go around seeking work when you are wasting your time on a "work" programme? --

Well, we all know there are far more dignified ways to keep jobseekers gainfully busy.

YouTube - League Of Gentlemen - Job Club 4