NMW to increase again next year to £12.21 ph.

Or stop offering up so much personal information, you don't need to do that.

Nope. I just don’t see what you think gives you the right to ask for details of my income, so that you can judge it and decide if it’s what you feel is right.

Like I said. I work FT and pay tax, there is nothing hiding with me

Hardly.

That’s another thing that’s not right with UC.

You only get housing element if you are renting.

Green is a lovely shade of colour.

Clearly not how the benefits system works. Maybe you should actually read up on it as you never know where life can take you. You might need it one day yourself!

I went to uni, have a degree and student debt
Still on min wage. Circumstances and ill health plus a bad choice of degree
I'm not unqualified or don't have a levels and a degree just because I'm on a lower wage

Then people really need to stop trying to catch me out don’t they?

Waaah poor me, I have to show my bank statements and send an email if I want to go to France for a holiday and still get my wages topped up by the government. Tiny violins come to mind.

Because it's not actually that simple.

Without child care, women (and it is the women) are lost from the workforce and don't have more babies.

We ALREADY have an issue with a falling birth rate and the affordability and availability of child care provision. We ALREADY have an issue with a workforce issue - it's shrinking and we have a higher number of economically inactive people under retirement age which is causing problems, particularly in skilled areas.

None of this will improve the rates of poverty in families and children.

That's presuming they can work.

A friend became disabled suddenly and was expected to live on that whilst they took over a year to do the disabilities assessment. She got no help with her mortgage and lost her home in the end.

We have to accept that too many sectors such as retail, hospitality, leisure and care have been paying shit wages for years to increase their profits while expecting the benefit system to subsidise their workers.

Then they complain that there is a shortage of staff willing to take on their poorly pay jobs.

That can't carry on.

I have some sympathy for really small businesses but beyond that staff need to have wages that they can live on.

Why not?

Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable?

Maybe they are very careful with money and can manage a small amount a month? Maybe they have it paid for them by family members?

You need to stop taking this thread so personally.

It’s a top up. The less you work the more you get.

Don’t even try it. You know exactly what you were asking and why. Don’t try that one with me.

Are you really.suggesting that businesses don't have to show a lot of paperwork? @Grandmasswagbag

Fuck me, what do people learn at school these days.

Fantastic, of course. My children are older now so I am not impacted at all. Some people may struggle to find any nurse space at all or that the increased costs are unsustainable- but I would say go for it.

as a side issues, I am public sector, but I if I had a business, I would not hire an entry level employee on minimum wage. I could get someone more experienced for marginally more. That person would also have references, very useful as it will be hard to let people go if they are unsuitable.

Not directed at me I know but healthy monthly payment????

Could you live on less than £400 a month? It's abject poverty.

The notion that people on UC with a full time job should have to report to some twit in a miserable job centre, report when they take a holiday, are not allowed to be ill, and have to show their bank statements is patently ridiculous

Why? You think UC shouldn't be means tested? Or that noone would try and fraudently claim?

I am amazed that people find showing bank statements onerous!

Exactly and is anybody checking those items that slide though business accounts without paying VAT?

My sister owns a place in France and she invited us. She is not on NMW and is quite well off. Our last holiday of any sort was nearly 7 years ago, so she invited us and financed most of it.

Is that ok? Can I still get the payrise and UC? Have I checked out enough or do you want to continue to try to prove how I’m not poor, I’m rolling in all the “free money” and selfishly closing businesses because I want a fair wage?

Maybe looking at business VAT and tax evasion fraud too.

Don't be daft. Public money is splashed about all over the place, mainly into the pockets of foreign shareholders it seems. The notion that people on UC with a full time job should have to report to some twit in a miserable job centre, report when they take a holiday, are not allowed to be ill, and have to show their bank statements is patently ridiculous. As has been covered, these top ups are to benefit employers. And I don't think it's been mentioned that they also keep the very corrupt housing/rental market afloat. More public money into the pockets of landlords..does anyone check their bank statements? How many times they holiday? Or even if they are doing their basic duty and keeping their extortionately expensive rentals in good order/ free of damp.