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.

Not when it erodes the employment market.
If there is work to be done then someone should be employed to do it at a fair rate - that considered the minimum wage.

ME:
Op - are you on benefits and fit for work? If so, then I'm afraid I think you should earn them, in the same way the fraudster you linked to should work to pay them back.

A reply
actually she's a Carer

Getting carers allowance? If so, that is deemed a salary and you don't have to 'earn it'

Deadwoman, as I said I am not doubting your eligibility or need to claim. I am just surprised.
My ds2 has ASD, cerebral palsy & learning difficulties so i would certainly enver question your role as a carer. I am just surprised thats all.
I also struggle to find people willing to do the crap jobs, working the crap hours. So like you i am just speaking from experience

YANBU

A fair day's work for a fair day's pay. That is a basic human right.

The problem is that many on here do not know how hard it was to get any form workers rights in this country and how the rich and greedy opposed these rights at every turn.

I'm surprised you haven't had some Muppet on here yet, claiming we need to be like China and have a vast workforce living in factories in order to be "competitive".

Workfare is morally wrong and very bad for the job market, it's a populist punishment for an easy target.

You have my every sympathy OP.

You know OP that you can do voluntary work of your choosing in order not to have to do MWA? If you have a regular gig in a charity shop or a hospital, for example, they don't make you go elsewhere. Surely it is better to choose your own destiny?

Altinkum:

"There is NO jobs as my work, if someone left tomorrow, the workfare lad would get the job in a instance."

The workfare lad is clearly doing some valuable work if he's nailed on for a potential job in the future. Unfortunately for him, the potential job may never materialise because it'd cost £10-15k to create it. You can get an infinite number a lot of people on workfare for that kind of money.

LaGuardia is that true?

Because it wasnt the case for the girl who volunteered in the museum and was made to leave their to work in poundland.

Carer's Allowance deemed as a wage. Fuck me, I earn .46 pence an hour!

Anyone on here who is claiming child benefit, and thinks that people "on benefits" had better work for those benefits should sign themselves up for workfare quicksmart. Or doesn't child benefit count?

God there are some vindictive tossers on MN lately.
OP, you need to start applying for jobs that are on a higher level. The hardest jobs to get right now are NMW ones. There is SO much competition.
Aim a bit higher.
An YANBU. It must feel utterly shit that after years of you and DH paying national insurance (yes folks, that's the insurance that one pays to pay for welfare benefits) you are essentially being treated the same as a criminal.

if she was working 30 hours a week it wouldn't be £71 a week though would it??

lol that is exactly what she would be working for.. she would get £71 for a 30 hour week. That's where the £1.50 p/h comes from.

flipping hell some people

You only have to do 4 weeks of 30 hours a week, then you get the benefits then you can go back to watching daytime tv. Meanwhile, other people around here have to do a 50 hour week for 50 weeks to earn the same amount of money.
Get over yourself! You are not working for FREE. You are being paid very well for your 120 hours. Minimum wage of £25,000 a year divided by 120 hours is £208 pounds an hour. I'd swop with you!

Op he you are applying for 100. Jobs a week and havent had an interview then@ something is going wrong, have you had you cv reviewed, what jobs are you applying for, I am amazed there are so many available

The problem with programs like this is that they actually take away jobs. The places that offer these positions no longer need to hire and pay employees. They are the ones that benefit from programs like this, not the jobseeker.
The concept of having unemployed jobseekers "volunteer" is great, but in reality it doesn't work. I'm all for somebody who has no job skills, qualifications, or experience do volunteer work to get some experience that might lead to a job. But I agree with the OP, how on earth does working unpaid at Poundland help her get a job??
I have done volunteer/charity work for years on the side while working a fulltime job. This has finally lead up to me being offered a position doing that type of work for the company I've been with for years. I think being able to add real volunteer experience to your resume is very valuable.
Can anyone explain to me that since it's the government that pays your benefits why aren't the "volunteer" slave laour jobs government positions

it would have been better had your dh signed on not you.

i think they were wrong to advise you otherwise.

I have friends who are in a similar situation, but as he is more experienced and employable he claims for them as a couple.

I heard of a certain borough offering easter eggs as prizes for hitting sanction targets.

One woman whose dd was sick and she couldn't get to a JSA meeting, lost her bens for a week!

Maybe the sanction maker got a Kinder surprise for that.

Blimey...who would want to watch daytime TV...its shite.

I think workfare is wrong and does very little to benefit the claimant. Far better to find something yourself.

I get Carers Allowance so do not have to work but I still volunteer locally for an education charity. It keeps my brain active and gives me extra skills.

It's about finding the right thing to give experience.

loobloo

Your post is so wrong it is quite scary. I would advice you no longer read the DM.

Altinkum, I did something similar when I left school. It was called an apprenticeship and I was paid by my employer. Not a great wage admittedly, but it was paid for by the company and not the government. The government provided some tax breaks to companies to encourage this kind of long term forward planning. These methods I support, workfare I do not since it's so clearly open to abuse.

If I don't go to work for a week I don't get paid either! I have to draft in grandparents or friends to care for my DC if they are too ill for school. They are never ill for more than 2 days, as I have to go to WORK.

It baffles me that anyone can think it's reasonable that a shop should have unpaid staff training up the next lot of unpaid staff. People hoping they will get taken on for actual wages at the end of their enforced MWA only to be replaced by a new lot of unpaid workers. What reason would these shops have to take anyone on when they have a constant influx of new people to exploit?

Believe it or not, the vast majority on JSA are not lazy work shy layabouts who want to sit around all day doing nothing, they want an actual job that they will get paid fairly for.

Oh its fabulous being on benefits . Free housing, free school meals (I just wish DS would accept them), council tax mostly paid.

Of course the electricity and gas.bills still have to be paid. Ditto water, plus food. Trust me, £71 a week doesn't go far.