to think that there are people who choose to live a life on benefits?

[autumnlights12]

the recent threads about George Osbourne made me wonder..
A high number of posters say that people don't choose to live like that, they stumble into it, hate it, what a miserable existence it is, nobody would ever choose it etc..
but if you have two or three children through choice, whilst at the same time having no job to provide for them, or if you turn down the job at the local factory (as I know someone who did) because it pays £7.50 an hour and a full time job there doesn't give you the same unemployment rights and benefits, isn't that choosing to live a life on benefits? Or being trapped on benefits? I'm not talking about people who can't work, disabled people, ill people, women dumped by feckless ex and left to fend for herself etc.. of course they should be protected.
I was watching 999 What's Your Emergency and I know that area. And I know people like that exist. And it's often a second, third generation who have never worked a day in their life, even during times when work was freely available. In the town I live, we have numerous Eastern European immigrants who all seem to be working, but mostly in low paid work the locals wont do
What say you?

Whatsleep, if they are genuinely living separately then they are claiming what they are entitled to. It's not for us to judge their set up. Fair enough if they are claiming fraudulently, some do, but this couple don't.

I know a couple like that too whatsleep. He officially lives with his Mum and works part time, but spends most of his time at her house with his 6yo and new baby. She says she is going to wait until this baby is five, have one more, then will think about getting a job when the youngest is in school. And the way things are at the moment, there is absolutely nothing to stop her.

A life on benefits really can't be that bad when people do things like this.

I know someone who pretends and claims to have illnesses they do not have.

Age - mid 30's. Haven't worked in 7 years, have a flat that is paid for, earns disability, buys weed, wears designer clothes, goes out for meals etc.

When the disability 'check up' happened this person simply told them that they wanted to kill themselves because of their illness etc - form was ticked and they have carried on receiving benefits for disability etc.

Before you all ask - yes I am 100% sure this person does not have the things wrong with them they claim. Can they work - yes!

No it's not me

tbf I know someone who has done that as well whatsleep and I think it's disgusting

post belly, yes I suppose it is about aspirations but I am pretty sure disability and illness is way up there on the causes of unemployment and poverty and believe me you can't plan for it happening and it can happen to anyone.

wrt tax, the system really needs a shake up when you look at legal tax avoidance and pay in dividends etc

I really cannot see how you can pretend to be mentally ill

Plenty of people play the benefits system to their advantage and i know several.

I work with a 22 year old. He is degree educated but choses to work only 20 hours a week in retail. i know for a fact he turns down extra hours as he doesn't want to earn more because at the moment he gets full housing benefit for his bedsit and doesn't have to start repaying his student loans. With his current employment he works 4 hours a day and still feels hard done by.

OwlLady, my sister is a GP & she signs people off work all the time & signs their benefit forms too. Very often she believes that many of them are perfectly fit to work, but sometimes that is almost impossible to prove!
There are, of course, very, very genuine people who cannot work & I would never want to see their support taken away.
Unfortunately, there will always be those who play the system. I can't remember where the discussion about give everyone £15k got to, but I do sometimes wonder if that wouldn't be cheaper & easier. No departments, no admin, no assessments - just £15k for everyone over 18 & take it from there.

"Right now nearly 40% of all those unemployed are aged under 30. This is not because they are members of a uniquely lazy generation. It is not because they are an ill-educated generation. They are unemployed for want of work"
From The Guardian.

Good luck kids.

this person simply told them that they wanted to kill themselves because of their illness etc - form was ticked and they have carried on receiving benefits for disability

You know, it's very weird to keep reading this kind of thing. I'm currently entering stage 3 of an appeal against the decision not to award me DLA. I've got such revolting symptoms (including suicidal ideation) that I won't reveal them on here. They're extremely debilitating, but not enough to warrant the £90 a month - not ££££, ninety pounds a month - of DLA I wish to claim. Bear in mind I've had to fill in a lengthy & detailed form, go to meetings to tell under-qualified strangers about my symptoms, write long letters, have letters sent by my doctor and hospital, and still don't get the award. I wish it was a matter of somebody coming here, me saying "I want to die" and them going away with a box ticked

I had an ESA review six weeks ago, too. This was the first time I've not been kicked off it, so I must be pretty bad. I get the "work capability" rate, despite not being capable of work, which is £95 a week, so not quite enough for designer clothes and drugs.

I buy things I can't afford on very expensive credit (APR is about 55% in real terms). Either this guy is doing that or your story is false. Or both.

are you sure that's true re. people not wanting work? I work in retail and recruit within our store and we get no people between the ages of 23-40 applying and if they do they don't want to work weekends at all (which is a necessity unfortunately in retail)

Definitely in the minority but my MIL, BIL and SIL are all happy to live on benefits and make the minimum amount of effort to show they are trying, with no intention to actually work.

Fecking despise the lot of them, DH and I work our asses off and they say we 'have it easy' because we earn the amount we do...

The issue with retail is, if you have children you will end up paying for full time childcare monday to friday to enable you to be fully flexible for a 16 hour contract.

Not all of us have family to drop the kids in at different times each week.

I don't know anyone who works in retail who has a full time contract

exactly true

we have a workforce of less than 30 and we have 2 people who are full time, the rest are aprt time and part time contracts are only a minimum of 8 hours

I think i am contradicting myself oh well, i suppose someone has to do it

to be fair, i am a carer and work in retail it can be flexible but it means for me, i have to work full weekends ALL THE TIME

(have wrote my resignation letter today, most probably wrong thread to be on)

You alright Owl?

from one carer to another- hugs X

Not much better usual. 8 hours which you have to be available for 7 days a week.

Honestly, who can be that flexible and afford to work part time?

I know of a person who lives a comfortable life on single parent benefit in a nice detached house owned by her Father. She also has a long term partner in a full time fairly reasonably paid job who lives with her. So yes, some people do play the system.

'And the way things are at the moment, there is absolutely nothing to stop her. ' nope, under universal credit which has started to come in now in the test areas, she will be placed on workfare after her child runs one if she does not work long term.

As with the person who said I want to die, assuming that is correct (and all manner of reasons it might not be) then they must still be on the old dystem, which is running parallel to the new one for a handover period.

But Viv she is a fraudster

As in, criminal.

so report her.

See, I believe that one, Vivienne, as her dad and boyfriend will be buying stuff for her. Most of the other stories on here are absolute crocks of shite though.

... sorry, I assumed the boyfriend living with her was embellishment?
If he does live there, she's cheating.

Peachy, no to be honest i feel dreadful - hence why i am resigning!