thinking that McDonalds announcement of 8000 new jobs is bad news

[twistedsista]

www.ibtimes.co.uk/mcdonalds-hiring-thousands-jobs-boost-uk-youth-1453298

Financial pundits were making out this is great news for the UK.

But really they don't pay well, so many people will be reliant on benefits while working, most people in the country are overweight and the NHS is collapsing due to diabetes and cancer! Yet this is supposedly good news?

Well, I suspect if you don't have a job right now it might be good news.

Your mind must be exploding then.

On the one hand..more people can work. All good right wingers think work is good. On the other people will eat McDs and get fat.

Oh no..which to judge more..I would sit and have a nice cup of tea.

Of course it's bad, don't they do zero hours contracts? That's 8,000 taken off the unemployment figures but with no guaranteed work.

My main concern would be how many of the jobs are zero hour contracts and the working conditions of the potential employees.

The other issues are of no relevance as far as I'm concerned.

If they provide employment to those who need it under acceptable conditions - fine.

They need to sort the zero hours contracts out, as well as companies who employ 'freelancers' who do the same job as the full time staff but with none of the employment protection

Other newpaper's website are reporting that 'most' will be zero-hours contracts.

If it's mostly zero hour contracts it's not good news then.

The OP seems to have missed the most important issue, which doesn't surprise me.

"Other newpaper's website are reporting that 'most' will be zero-hours contracts." The ones not on zero- hours contracts will be the management no doubt.

I can see the OP's point. Do we really need more burger outlets when obesity is rife? There's a couple of issues here to be honest.

Undoubtedly, LadySybil.

Not sure why the op is getting such a bashing here for raising a valid point of discussion

It's got to be better for more people to be on working tax credits than JSA. Not every job in mcD's will be minimum wage, and often people taking the MW jobs will be doing it to supplement a student loan, or will be living with parents, or will be working part time when they have a full time worker in their household as well.

It's not automatic that everyone working there will also be on benefits.

I don't think the link between McDs and obesity is that strong tbh. No one is forced to go there, and if they do, people are in control of what they eat themselves. I use McDs reasonably regularly, but I'm not overweight. Same as most people I know. I'm capable of ordering only a burger instead of a large meal, or just getting a coffee or a milkshake as a treat. People don't suddenly get fat just because a fast food outlet has opened near them.

MacDonald's is only bad for you if you eat too much of it, same as anything else.
Zero hours contract are a disgrace...but Buckingham Palace use them too so where's the incentive for big companies not too.

I'm not concerned primarily about the obesity issue. People can make their own choices about what they eat as far as I am concerned.

I'm passionately against zero hour contracts and exploitation of employees though and fairly predictably the OP hasn't even considered that issue.

"It's got to be better for more people to be on working tax credits than JSA."

To qualify for working tax you have to work a minimum number of hours. With a zero-hour contract, there's no guarantee of any work so technically you're not eligible to claim working tax credit. You also can't claim JSA as you're 'in work'. It's benefit limbo.

Why say 'predictably', she did address the poor pay issue.

Two McDs have just closed in west London and not just for renovation.

Fair point well made LadySybil!

I guess then it depends on how they use the zero hours contracts, if they are going to be using them at all. As long as people do get work, or they are in a position to be ok with having a zero hour contract, (students etc) then it's still got to be better than no jobs.

She mentioned the poor pay in passing and failed to consider the zero hour issue which is the mainly relevant one.

I'm afraid some of my reaction to her is coloured by the thread she started last night about the Asos fire. I apologise for that but she seems to me to have little concern for workers and their conditions.

Actually, McDonald's isn't the worst place to work at as far as fast food. The majority of complains I hear about working there from anyone really is the customers. It's not really job that's meant to be worked as a full time career, and most people don't go in intending to make a career out of it.

I think the obesity epidemic is pointless to bring into this. People really are capable of self control and eating healthy. Water is more free than soda. The cost of a family meal at McDonald's is more expensive than buying healthy food and making a budget meal from scratch for your family. People are only fat because they want to be. If it wasn't McDonald's they'd be gorging on a bag of chips.

Nonsense about not being able to get working tax credit with zero hour contracts, you most certainly can claim TC's you just have to ensure you do more than sixteen hours, which can be difficult and you can end up running yourself ragged or taking shifts you don't want or having signed up for so that you meet you limit.

My current job is a guaranteed 15 hours a week but they know I need 16 and I know that taking one extra 4 hour shift a month will give me the extra I need

This week I am working 14 hours and next week 20, so it evens out, as long as it evens out across the year that is fine.

I still don't get the animosity towards the OP, seems a bit stalkerish and bullying to suggest she has 'predictably' omitted something from her op and is really quite harsh. It would be a shame not to be able to have an adult conversation without that sort of crap.

That's just where you work, ICanHearYou. How do you know that McDonalds or other companies which run a zero-hour policy do the same? Zero-hours means they are not obliged to give people any work, which can last for weeks. There are a lot of people in work who need to use a food bank, why do you think this is? They work well for some people but are a nightmare for others, and you have to tell the Inland Revenue if your hours drop below 16 for longer than a month, which some do (I used to work at the CAB).

Well IMO that's 8000 people less likely to be obese, everyone I know who has worked in the fast food industry has lost weight not gained during the process as it puts them off! As for the zero-hour contracts I agree with WooWooOwl yes zero hours contracts aren't ideal for everyone, but they are brilliant for others as long as they are controlled well, which they tend to be in big organisations. Ok so maybe the jobs won't be ideal for some people, but that's 8000 less teens/students etc. applying for the jobs others would find more 'ideal' i.e. one with a permanent contract.

The rise in the use of food banks is very probably related to people being forced to take on zero hour contracts.

And it's hardly bullying or stalkerish to be aware of and have contributed to the OP's threads three of which are now on the front page, and have formed an opinion on her attitudes through them.

I use zero hours contracts. I can't predict how much work I will have one week to the next. In my case they are ideal but if you are a shop where you have to have it staffed 7 days a week or a cleaner in a hospital then they are plain wrong.
as for the McDonald's issue. We eat there once a month approx. I am certainly lovin it!