to think that people who are well enough to volunteer stewarding at Festivals every single weekend are well enough to work?

[TalkinPeace]

Person has never worked due to MH and back pain - both of which are directly linked to morbid obesity.
Tells the MH people they are agarophobic, but seem OK in a field all weekend every weekend

and are thus getting into festivals for free when other people have to pay

the whole lot being funded by benefits.

The person is nice enough but if I put it on my FB feed they will see and realise I'm being judgy.
But am I being unreasonable to be annoyed?

Its a hell of a lot slower the second time around. The hardest thing is not having ice cream in a heatwave.

I'm starting a full time education course in September, am on full rates PIP and ESA. It's going to be tough, because my physical and mental health have left me pretty much housebound for the last two years.

I know I couldn't work though, I just don't have the consistency to be reliable enough for a job, I might be able to manage a day or two (and now I have to find a way to manage three) of carefully organised activity with support (thank you ALS), knowing I can back out when I can't cope with it.

My physical ability is severely limited too, I can stand and sit for a bit, but I can't lift anything heavy, or hold a pen, or bend to pick anything up, so a lot of jobs available at my qualification level (none) are pretty much not things I could do.

Heck I could probably get a job, it's just consistency again that I'd cope with, my physical health fluctuates a lot, sometimes I'm well enough to push through the pain and fatigue for a bit, but other times, I'll get an infection that would last for a few weeks and leave me bed bound. I'd be letting people down a lot, and right now I don't think that is the right thing to do.

The college is an attempt to begin training to find a way to work alongside my disability, and something to try to counteract my current mental health issues. It's also for fun. I am able to achieve it because of these benefits, life before would basically have been stuck at home, not able to manage pain, poor mental health, and absolutely no quality of life. I am thankful that there is some support to allow me to enjoy life and struggle a lot less.

I know my best friend, who has been disabled for life with cerebral palsy, who has pretty poor mobility as it affects her lower half, and has mental health difficulties due to brain damage, has stewarded events when well enough, she also spends weekends away at LARP events when she is able. She's still disabled and would find working difficult, much to her frustration as she loves to work, but has found it getting harder and harder as she now has arthritis in her spine due to the pressure from spasticity in her legs, because she walks and refused to use a wheelchair.

We have both worked and had to stop because our health has worsened and we are both looking for ways to work again with our disabilities as they are now, whilst also being parents and having a decent quality of life.

What I mean by this is that on the outside it might look like they're doing really well, but the effort put into looking like they are doing well doesn't show, and they know best what they can and can't do, so if they've been assessed and awarded these benefits, unless you know for sure they are faking it (and I have no idea how anyone can) I wouldn't judge them.

They are taking the piss.

my pro bono hours run at about 10 a week.

Does your pro bono work usually involve making ill-conceived judgments about things you know nothing about, such as the health status of acquaintances whose medical records you have never seen?

It was clearly AIBU to expect analytical thought on this particular board.
Actually, you got plenty of analytical thought, which you chose to ignore. It's a shame your own 'analysis' doesn't extend to challenging your own confirmation bias. Oh well.

Yes, according to MN and those who insist on stifling every view but their own, no one, ever has taken the mickey regarding disability payments. Anyone who ever questions some people's disability is downright evil. It's a view I simply don't understand, because surely if the piss-takers were weeded out, then there would be more assistance and understanding for those who were genuine claimants.

I have some family members who well, just don't like working, and I think have been through the medical book looking for ways to avoid it. When I compare them to people I know who are genuinely in need, I feel angry about their scamming.

Well no that's not quite accurate.

Prejudice, bigotry And attacks towards disabled people and their carers are all acceptable on mumsnet. They are rarely deleted, whereas comments in the same vein based on someone's race, religion or sexuality are robustly challenged by nearly all board users. You'll find that those challenging comments about disability are either disabled themselves, caring for someone disabled or part of a minority who realise just how unacceptable it is. Then we're shouted down for not being relevant. For stifling 'views' which are in actual fact prejudice and harm our lives.

So yes you can spout your poison here. But don't expect to see it unchallenged by those living this crap every day.

Not all conditions are debilitating all the time. My DH is on advanced rate DLA and we do some volunteer work 1-2 days a week. If I stayed in all the time I would go insane. I need to feel useful but can't work a "proper job" as DH can't cope with the house/kids/himself (depending on the day) If he is bad it's the type of work where he can just sit in the corner to rest and I do the actual work. He is desperate to work (as am I) but totally unable to right now.

If you think there is fraud going on feel free to report it as is your right. Otherwise butt out. Living on disability benefit is a pretty miserable and depressing existence.

We go out for lunch sometimes as well. We found a place where we can both get a decent meal and a drink for £6 each. Should we stop this because it doesn't fit in with your version of what's acceptable? If it helps we've not had a holiday in 14 years and 3/4 of our house is either unfurnished or furnished with second hand furniture...

op, never criticise people taking the piss on disability benefits or obese people on mn. It isn't allowed

I don't understand this 'need' in others to criticise people in this situation. Do you think people want to be disabled or obese?

I know there are scammers out there. If you find one, report them, as they make it so much harder for the rest of us. Otherwise just please don't judge based on a smattering of random information. People geuninely in need often hide just how shit things really are.

OP, you've had plenty of 'analytical thought': it's just that most people disagree with you!

Maybe this person is colossally taking the piss and maybe not - we don't know, and actually neither do you. If it's the case that they could work, then possibly they are making some bad choices by not doing. But it's still none of your business, really.

Seems to me like quite often when people are unemployed, there are suggestions that they should do some volunteering, just to not be sat on their bums all day! I don't see why the volunteering has to be something they get no enjoyment from!

People do stuff you wouldn't do. You can disapprove and know that you'd do differently, and you can argue with them about it if you want - but this isn't 1984, and I absolutely hate the 'report them' mentality.

Occums razor, when aware of how hard disability benefits are to claim, would back the side that they are deserving and that you just dont know all of the details.

There will always be some fraud on any source of money ever - expenses, disability benefits, VAT refunds, whatever.

The question is, when the govt's own estimate of disability benefit fraud is about 0.5%, how much do you care about this fraud?

How much money do you spend to weed it out?

Who are you prepared to hurt to weed it out?

You can put the cut-off where you like. Is it more important to you that there should be zero fraud, and you're prepared to leave some disabled people stranded in order to achieve that? Or is it more important to you that all disabled people have support, and you're prepared to tolerate a small amount of fraud to achieve that?

You can't achieve 100% support and 0% fraud.

And it isn't true that attempting to reduce fraud (esp when it's vv low) will always increase assistance for genuine claimants, because the weeding out itself sucks up money.

And the process of weeding out can be hugely burdensome on the disabled. The constant underlying threat seriously undermines my quality of life. And dealing with antagonistic bureaucracy sucks up what little life I do get - not to mention the financial costs of diverting carers to bureaucratic tasks instead of what they should be doing.

Personally, i think that if someone has managed to convince their doctors and the DWP that they are ill because they dont want to work, then good luck to them.

I certainly wouldnt have wanted to hire someone who just simply did not want to work when i was working in recruitment

I don't think 'good luck to them' at all. Whilst I wouldn't exactly wish bad luck on them, good luck wouldn't be if either.

Well, no, maybe I wouldnt wish them good luck. But it would defintely be no more negative than 'meh'

Which is weird, because all of the posts by people just concerned "for people like me" (who what, cant think for themselves?) seem to care a whole lot more than i do!

BrendaBlackwood Anyone who ever questions some people's disability is downright evil. It's a view I simply don't understand, because surely if the piss-takers were weeded out, then there would be more assistance and understanding for those who were genuine claimants.

This. Its almost like a form of bullying, if anyone dares to have the temerity to speak about the subject at all, they are jumped upon and called names. In the OP, the claimant seems to have been on disability benefits all their life. This might well be a complicating factor, when they would benefit more from being encouraged into the workplace (the real workplace, not voluntary work).

When I was growing up, my father got disability benefit eventually after extended sick leave. It only encouraged further his unhealthy lifestyle which eventually led to his death. It was almost like a badge of honour amongst some men in that area of the country - their traditional working class, easy jobs for life had gone and they had to go out into the real world, didn't like it and so found a way to cope. It certainly made my mother very ill, as she had to deal with the consequences. My father used to have a little group of chums, who would chat about their conditions, mainly involving late-onset diabetes and heart problems. Depression wasn't so diagnosed then, but I'm sure they would have ticked that box too. So if the changes to disability benefits in the past few years tackle this problem, and the problem of people growing up in families who only claim benefits, then I can see how that would benefit far greater numbers of people than this attitude that questioning it is in some way equivalent to a demon from hell walking upon this earth.

I would be all in favour of 'pisstakers' being weeded out. I just don't think it's the general populace's job to do it: they're not qualified, they are often motivated by less than honourable feelings, and it's not their business.

If I saw a man let his dog take a shit and then walk away, I'd report to the appropriate authorities. But in most cases like this, it's more: 'I saw a man with his dog doing a shit, and I had to leave then but it didn't look to me like he was going to clear it up, and I know this man and he is generally quite a twat, and I fucking hate dog shit, so I'm reporting.'

I don't think it's right for the 'weeding out' to be done by people who pretend to be friends, or are acquaintances of claimants. And I think it's pernicious on a wider scale, turning us into a nation of curtain twitching jealous little judgers.

They're not cutting it because some people might be claiming and volunteering. They're cutting it because they're cunts. This narrative of 'pisstakers' and turning people in because you suspect they might be a bit more able to work that you think they've probably said makes it easier to justify that. Do you really think that if more people report more claimants, this government will stop the cuts?

Hahaha. Did i not predict "oh we dont mean genuine disabled people" yesterday!

Consistency in health is a big issue. I do work part time, but have had lots of time off sick. I don't get paid any sick leave except statutory, and it is tough financially. But I know I will be sacked eventually for lack of capability.

If there were jobs set up disabled people could do when they are well enough, lots more people could work. And in the past, this kind of work did exist. You could do piece work at home, and companies would actually deliver you what you needed to your home. Those jobs don't exist any more. And when my parents were younger, you used to get people in the public sector who were chronically ill, not capable of fully doing their jobs, but would be kept on. Now they just get sacked.

The reality is workplaces expect a lot from people. Most chronically ill people carry on working doing the best they can, until it is not physically possible any more. I don't think many younger people realise how many older people in their workplaces will have serious illnesses they are working with, including MH problems.

Looking the other way and minding your own business would be a mindset to be depressed about if it meant not caring, not helping, crossing over to the other side of the road.

But if you're only looking over and taking an interest and crossing the road like a good Samaritan to shop the traveller to the authorities because you suspect he's not as injured as he is pretending, that's not so admirable.