To be scared of getting a job in case I'm worse off?

[BenefitScrounger]

NC and prepared for a flaming.

I've been claiming JSA for over two years now and am on the Work Programme. I have no qualifications and all I could get (I think) is a minimum wage job. I have been lying about my attempts to get work because I think I am better off out of work.

At the moment I get full housing benefit plus council tax, free dental care/prescriptions (if I need them) and £71 a week to live on. My bills aren't covered obviously, but they're not huge, and I have lots of free time to indulge hobbies etc.. I don't feel the need to buy stuff very often as I'm not into fashion/beauty and I eat cheaply. I can afford to eat out once a week with a TasteCard. The only thing I miss is holidays abroad but I'm not sure I would be able to afford them if I got a job anyway.

If I got a full time minimum wage job, would I be worse off? Just thinking of travel expenses, student loan repayment and time lost - not sure if I would still get any council tax benefit?

Has anyone had experience of this? By the way, I'm childless and live alone.

Yes, I do plenty of unpaid work.

I have done NMW work and am now on benefits as a Carer.....I was better off in work financially, socially and emotionally.

YABU in thinking you will be financially worse off.

YANBU to worry....we all do that.

If you can find work then you will be better off financially and you make new friends as well.

I don envisage being a Carer forever and will look forward to being abe to work again.

This is a wind up right?

Boo hoo for you.

Student loan repayments don't kick in until you're earning at least £15,795 per year. That's more than you'd earn with a full time minimum wage job.

On minimum wage you wouldn't earn enough to pay student loan. Just sayin'

You don't have to work if you don't want to. But I hope the job centre/government wise up to you soon and stop your benefits (a perfectly reasonable system for those who deserve them).

Get off your fanciful, lazy, morally lacking, scrounging arse and pay your own way.

X-post with lonelycloud

And I wouldn't have time to do what I love.

oh i don't know, you might get a job in an office so you'd still be able to access MN to start more wind up threads

Thank you akaemmafrost and [hmm]@op's reply.

Oh and you don't repay the student loan if you don't earn enough so this is another thing that doesn't add up.

Would I be able to pay my rent on min wage? With travel expenses (assuming work is not within walking distance).

Am worried.

Think longer term.

If you continue as you are you will stay as you are, for the rest of your life. The longer you stay unemployed the less chance you have of a job. No savings, no pension, no nothing for the whole of your life.

Get a job. It is unlikely you would be worse off in cash terms, but in any case a first job is about the future. A job will give you good references for the next job. A c.v. The possibility of promotion and ongoing pay rises. A contributory pension. Training. New friends and contacts. Perks. And it may take a couple of years, but holidays abroad.

Do you want to live your whole life on benefits?

Well, if you do 'plenty of unpaid work', why not try to get a job in a similar sector? The experience from the unpaid work may help you move out of the minimum wage bracket quickly.

And yet paying no attention to the answers you get, thats how worried.

How can anyone tell if you will be able to pay your rent, since we aren't psychic and know how much that is? Here's a thought; WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF YOU LAZY BAGGAGE.

Your bills would be lower - you don't need the heating on if you are out of the house all day.

If you are on NMW, and your rent is hghish these you will still be entitled to some housing benefit. I got some when privately renting while working...and I wasn't on NMW at that point either.

Most people on NMW meet the criteria for some help with living costs etc.

A "friend" of a friend had a similar dilemma a while back. If I recall correctly, my friend told her in no uncertain terms, to fuck off.

My rent is 900 pcm.

I can understand not wanting to be left worse off, but really you're doing yourself no favours.

At the very least can you not look into voluntary work to build up a CV so that you have a hope of getting a job that offers more than minumum wage?

That way everybody benefits in some form.

oh puuurleeeese

Thanks Blu.

Would I really be better off in cash terms? I know I should look at the bigger picture and further ahead, but all I can see is the possiblity of losing my flat :/

I do some voluntary work, but the posts I really want I'm not qualified for, and I don't have the money to become qualified (women's sector).

No, I imagine you wouldn't be able to afford £900 a month rent. So you will probably need to move somewhere cheaper.

Voluntary posts I mean.

The reason you should work is because currently your lifestyle is being funded by other people who do work. The Welfare system is invaluable and I'm happy to work and contribute a portion of my earnings to fund it for people who need it (like me at the moment!) If you worked for wetherspoons you would also pay tax which is the morally right thing to do and benefits others, by funding society. You take the benefits of living here (not just financially) - you had the free education, you get to use the NHS, your rubbish gets picked up etc etc. Therefore, if you can, the morally correct thing to do is to repay, financially, through taxes, when you are able.