to think benefits should be capped at minimum wage

[moogster1a]

A little idea that all benefits should be capped at a weeks worth of minimum wage; so 37 and half hours times whatever minimum wage is now ( £6 pounds odd ).
That way no one gets paid more for sitting at home than they would for going out to work.
Out of this, all rent prescriptions etc. should be paid, the same as most people in low paid jobs have to pay for everything.
it might also provide an incentive to go out to work to up your wages if you progress in a company.
Just think it would be a lot fairer.

Maybe they can wear hi viz benefit scrounger jackets while they clean up other peoples rubbish

come on

I want an answer about paying carers minimum wage instead of the pitiful carers allowance they receive

I'm probably going to lose my job soon after working there for 15 years ,shall I go and paint the local community centre for my benefits?

Northernwreck - the point about Contractors and Employeers is simple.

When the money was good contractors earned a fortune, 3 - 4x what the equivilant permanent person would get.

When the market crashed, contractors lost out and started to apply for perm jobs but as soon as a lucrative job came available they would scarper, leaving the company and Agency in a tuff situation. Hence being very wary about hireing contractors.

I have not missed the point at all.

Jobs like cleaning, rubbish collection etc are done by paid workers.

If they are given to workfare workers they will no longer be seen as paid work and they will no longer be available to those looking for jobs. Lesiure Centres need painting? So what about the firms of painters and decorators struggling and going under? They lose their business but lucky them - once they are on the rocknroll they get to go and do the same job for less than the minimum wage.

It has already begun to happen with volunteers taking over the role of paid workers in the charity sector. People looking for work experience taking over the role of the workers made redundant by the cuts.

Once these jobs are established as 'voluntary' how will they ever be seen as legitmate paid roles ever again?

Big Society?

My arse.

have you got any paint?

sorry to hear about your job :(

Tenderly-the lone parent support people at the job centre have a programme which does just that.
They worked it out for me when I was unemployed-it tally's all the elements, taking into account council tax, travel costs and childcare.

Get yer day glo Scroungers jacket on Usual. Give yourself a bit of much needed confidence.

usual you could paint our local community centre except the council are selling it for demolition for housing ho ho ho

So those guys I saw collecting the rubbish on Tuesday - are they just doing it because there are not enough benefit claiments to do it for them? Once thats all sorted they will go off and do something else will they?

Erm no. They will be displaced by cheap labour and find themselves doing some other 'voluntary' role that they are less qualified for and in the meantime push someone else out of a job.

And so it goes.

But dont worry I doubt it will affect anyone who does anything important. It will only be those too lazy to have got themselves a good job in the first place who will suffer.

yes, and you get more if you are working don't you? Even in a minimum wage job?

So am confused about this idea that people on benefits are getting more money than their working poor counterparts. Just hoped someone could provide an illustration or a breakdown of the figures.

Think lots of people forget or don't realise how horrible and depressing it is to find yourself in a position where you need to claim benefits, how difficult it can be and how many people don't claim what they are entitled to because of various barriers - this seems like a worse problem than whether a minority are getting a pittance that they aren't entitled to.

I had a candidate turn down a job offer of £21k because he would of been better off staying on Benefits. How can you justify that.

You must be blind to not realise this is acutally going on and it is not an issolated incident.

The problem isn't with benefits. The problem begins with a chronic shortage of cheap, quality rental properties in areas where there are more jobs, and the widening gap in wages.

1. Build homes. Real affordable homes, not just affordable for those on the "average" income; affordable for the lowest income.

2. Introduce a law whereby the highest paid workers can only earn 10 times more than the lowest paid workers for each hour worked. Therefore if a CEO earns £200k p/a for 40 hours a week the lowest paid worker must be paid £20k for the same hours. Bonuses would be included and paid to all workers in a company, encouraging a work ethic.

3)All people pay the same rate (%) of income tax.

4)Free childcare for all families.

Pigs might fly, but I can dream

these anecdotes are a waste of time - if nobody can come up with an actual true-to-life scenario of how much better off any given household is on benefits (as compared to min wage) what else can some of us do other than assume some of you are full of shit?

I'd go with assuming some are full of shit

I am wondering how many people would be happy for their elderly relatives to be cared for by workfare candidates forced to work for their JSA in a role they dont want.

Because once all the litter has been picked up and the lesiure centres painted there will be a need for an industry with a high demand for low paid workers to step in an offer its services to the government.

As care workers are already appallingly paid and care work is seen as a low skill, low status job - it is only a small step to make it 'community work'' and get people do it for nothing.

missymarmite liking your thinking

When DH has a chance later, I'll ask him for the figures again.

There are a lot of us who would be better off on benefits than working, financially. But there is a lot more to life than money and stuff. I like working. I like feeling useful, I like having the chance to work towards a better future.

Finally, after 5 years, I have managed to get a promotion at my job. I have had many frustrations and set backs. I have been snubbed by colleagues who I thought I would have had on my side. It isn't much. I will loose as much in Tax credits as I will gain in wages, but I don't care. At least it will be money I HAVE EARNED BY MY OWN EFFORT.

I would hazard a guess that there are many more people out there like me, who take the opportunities life hands them even though initially it won't make us better off, because we believe it is the right thing to do and because we know that in the long run, our experience and work ethic will lead us to better things.

I feel sorry for those who feel that the best they can do is sit around on benefits. They will be endebted for their entire lives, and they will never improve their lot.

Give people a sence that hard work will be rewarded, and they will work hard. The problem is that at the moment, hard work isn't always rewarded very well in our country.

So, yes, benefits for healthy working age people should be less than the lowest working income, to take into account the extra costs of having to work, ie travel. And all extra "benefits"; free prescriptions, free school meals, etc should either come out of people's own money, or be the same for all people under a certain threshold.

I'll let you know how easy it is to sit around on benefits

I earn over £1.50 an hour more than minimum wage, Im single with no kids at home, I get Working Tax Credit, DLA, and Housing Benefit, without which I wouldn't be able to pay my extortionate rent or even work. I work 40 hours a week.

If me and my husband split up I would have to claim benefits as there is no way I can work to support myself as I have a severely disabled dependant. I can't work as it is within a partnership (my husband does work though and pay into the system I and my daughter take out of) I imagine the vast majority of people on benefits are people like me and my daughter who are ill or disabled by no choice of their own, or who have had to take on a caring role. Life isn't really that simple as just signing on and choosing not to work. I would love to work, my daughter will never be capable, but if I worked there would be no-one to look after her and social services do not fulfill their obligation to help carers work under the care act.

sorry that post reads rather contradictory I meant i would have to live solely on benefits if we were to split up. As it is, my daughter claims dla for a child and I claim carers allowance to look after her. But being ill/disabled or a carer isn't the life of riley you know.

If you are part time nmw and your partner is full time nmw you make more money if both of you go off work as you dont have t pay the 30% towards ,childcare for the kids, no prescriptions, dinners, help for trips etc. I know its true as most of my family and friends do it.