I haven't committed any crime like this woman has, so why do I have to do 120 hours of unpaid work?

[DeadWomanWalking]

Woman sentenced to 215 hours of unpaid work for committing benefit fraud. I'm currently having to do 120 hours of unpaid work (30 hours a week for 4 weeks) or I'll lose my benefits. So what's my crime? Being unemployed? Being poor? Completely baffled by this governments policies.

How do you apply for 100 jobs a week?! Was that rhetorical?

Honestly not trying to be arsy, but that works out as about half an hour each, which probably just isn't enough time on average. Plus I am very impressed you can even find 100 suitable new jobs/week to apply for. Roughly what area of the country? Are you sure you're targeting your efforts well?

After 8 months, I would have thought you'd welcome a respite from all the pointless applications for 4 weeks, tbh. Is there any chance of a reference on the back of it? Do JSA-people expect you to keep making 50 applications a week while doing the 30 hours?

And I doubt op will get any paid work from this company - why should they employ someone when there is a ready supply of folk being forced to work for free?

Oh dear op, you are about to get your life pulled apart by the armchair experts.

Wait... OP says she will be paid for this work experience, £1.50/hour?
I've contemplated jobs where that would be my net earnings after transport & childcare.
If it gave me something up to date to put on my cv, I think I'd be pleased at the opportunity.

Clouds in some areas (rural) there really aren't the jobs available. Mind you, there aren't a hundred jobs a week advertised either.

However, I do think the slave labour mentality of this government is wrong.

Homebase supporting slave labour

YANBU.

Also, that x post upthread was awesome.

The £1.50/hr is what her JSA works out to over the hours worked.

It's CRAP that you are being made to work for free. It undermines the lower end of the labour market, by giving employers a steady supply of FREE LABOUR.

Why the hell would they pay for staff if they can get them for free? It would be very bad business sense as an employer.

It's utter CRAP for the Jobseeker though - how can they hope to find a NMW job when those NMW jobs actually only now pay £1.50 / hr PAID FOR BY THE GOVERNMENT?!

Vast difference from £6.19 / hr...

The Tories always opposed NMW, now they are abolishing it by the backdoor, by devaluing this labour to just £1.50 / hr.

ubik - who is pulling anyone's life apart? We are allowed to agree or disagree surely.

I look forward to the time WannaBeANinja loses her job and sees how easy it is to get a new one

And anyone who previously had a skilled job and is put on any sort of a work program after losing that job is NOT going to have 'something useful' to put on their CV - totally the opposite in fact.

Most employers look at the Work Program placements as a bad thing in an employee they are interviewing!

*It's CRAP that you are being made to work for free**

OP is not being made to work for free though is she?? Shed working for the money she receives- her benefits

Couthy, would it be better if OP could put down on her cv some true voluntary work? Or did I read that people on JSA not allowed to do voluntary work?

The £1.50 and hour is what she already gets in benefits and she is expected to pay her transport and any childcare out of that £1.50.

OP if you have applied for that many jobs perhaps your piss poor attitude simply shines through.

Adjust self-important entitlement attitude and perhaps you'll be in with a chance, there is a very good chance that if this placement is your first work experience in a while that it'll help towards a job.

But she shouldn't have to Wanna. It sends out the wrong message to the employers - that they can 'employ' someone, with no union representation, no rights and for nothing. Oh, and the idea of benefits is to tide you over in hard times, not to force you into slave labour. That's why they're called benefits.

I'm going to try and answer all the questions in order. (I guess I asked for it posting in AIBU ).

seesensepeople
I can work the 30 hours as DH is currently doing the childcare whilst I do it. (Although he's next on the jobcentre's list, even though he's been in paid work for the last 10 years ). I'm getting travel expenses back, yes. No I don't have to wear a fluorescent jacket, but I do have to wear a tag around my neck saying "JC Volunteer". (Even though I'm not volunteering ). No chance of a job at the end of it, it's a charity shop. I still have to prove I'm looking for work whilst doing the MWA, I also have to be available for work at all times without it interfering with the MWA. (How that's possible I don't know. ) I just go back to signing on after it's finished (and still have to sign on during it too). I think I have to do another round of MWA at some time in the future if I haven't found work in a certain time period. There are currently 5 of us on MWA working in the shop. A new one starts every week.

ubik thank you

Couthy is correct they are a bad thing on a cv AND most refuse to provide a reference.

And yes she is effectively working for free but at the same time she's reducing employment and allowing companies to exploit workers and costing the tax payer more and she has no choice about it.

If you are genuinely applying for 100's of jobs a week and not getting an interview, then there's something wrong with your CV. If you fancy pm-ing me I can take a look at it for you (obvs take your personal details out if you're not comfortable sharing them). I blardy hate this dressed-up excuse for slave labour. Why in the name of arse should companies employ people for real if they get the labour for free????

I don't think you understand what slave labour actually is Dawndonna.

This is only for a 4 week period and the benefits are still tiding her over. Don't want to do the 4 weeks work then don't get benefits. Pretty simple really.

It is however sad that the bad attitude of a minority of people (e.g. those who see benefits as a way of life -and yes there are some before people jump down my throat) has ended up meaning everyone has to be treated as if they don't want to work.

The whole thing is scandalous. Nobody benefits other than the shareholders of these organisations.

I'd rather my taxes were not being used to subsidise: low paying employers; employers who use workfare instead of employing people properly or private landlords.

It is disgraceful.

But she shouldn't have to Wanna

why shouldn't she???

I need/want money-I go out and work for that money.

I find the 100 job applications a day and no reply slightly hard to believe aswell,

What type of work Are you applying for? If your answering adverts for work that you are not qualified/experienced in then it's understandable that you are not getting replys.

I really don't mean to be unkind and I'm sorry about your circumstances but surely either you or your husband can find a job-any job so that you don't have to claim benefits and then get sent to do unpaid work as you call it

tomuchtoask A portion of them probably aren't up to scratch TBH. I apply for the ones I think I have a hope in hell of getting (and they're mostly MW) I put effort into those ones. Then there are ones that don't require an actual application form just a CV. I try to tailor my CV as much as possible but I've been a SAHM for over 10 years so that's the thing that's going against me atm. My CV was done by the jobcentre after I went on a one day course with them. I also went on a 10 week course earlier this year with the jobcentre to get a recent qualification.

The thing is, I want a job. I would be quite happy to volunteer somewhere that I thought would be useful in gaining some experience and would lead to a job at the end. I was lead to believe by the jobcentre that I wasn't allowed to volunteer as it would effect my jobseeker's agreement (or something). But then just before my advisor put me on MWA she told me I should have been volunteering, even though I was told I couldn't. I'm doing shop work at the moment, I've done shop work before. All the things I'm apparently learning on my placement I can do with my eyes closed. I'm learning nothing new. The same on the course they sent me on, a retail course. For 10 weeks I was told all these wonderful things about retail, things I already know, because I used to work in retail. And at the end of it I didn't even get a qualification.

And as they do not employ you/anyone ,there is no N.I. >Tax ,so no ,it does not benefit this country one bit ,it merely makes the Daily snaill readers ,of which this site has more than its fair share off ,feel smug.

By recent qualification I can basically put on my CV that I went on a retail course, but there's no actual recognised qualification there.

These types of threads annoy me.

The reason they annoy me is because people comment and dont have a clue what they are talking about.

The work program IS slave labour. If it was 'working for your benefits' u would only have to work roughly 10 hours a week for ur 71 pounds jsa at nmw.

For that 71 u have to pay ur childcare as the jobcentre dont pay for childcare, working tax credits do and u dont get them despite working 30 hours a week.

You get NOTHING at the end of it. No job, no thanks and probably no reference either.

I wish people would open their eyes to the work program.