My 21y old son, along with several of his friends works in a discount store. They are contracted to 8have p/week and have to vie/compete for extra hours. For example, a manager will text them at 7am, on their day off, them having worked the previous 10 days. Some days they will only be in from, say 2-6, but they can't do much else that day, other than wait to go to work for a poxy £20 - ttavel expenses. Alternatively, they might have done an 8 hr shift, say 8-4, and have plans, eg getting to the bank or shops before they close. But the way it works is if they then refuse (or are unable) to stay on for an extra 4 hours, or to come in on their day off, with as little as an hour'so notice, they will be 'punished' by being denied any extra hours the following week.
So, they're working for £5 p/h. For this, they must be available 24/7, cannot make plans, can't risk buying, say, gig tickets, as they would be a waste of precious money if work calls them in.
How the hell are these under 25's supposed to pay their rent?
Move back home? Not an option as I had to flee the area due to DV. There is no longer a 'family home' to move back to. His mate's mum had to downsize due to the 'bedroom tax', so him moving in on her would mean them sharing a bed, as his brother is already on he settee and there's no space for another bed.
Get a better job, with regular hours? They don't exist! Zero hours contracts on min wage is the norm, here.
Go to uni? Get a career? The only guaranteed outcome is a huge debt. This also assumes they'really sufficiently academic. Not all are. Especially after 5 years of constantly changing supply teachers at a failing state comp.
Where are all these shared houses? Do landlords even offer them any more, what with all the hoops they have to jump through, along with the likelihood of frequent partial voids/flits. HMOs are generally more more hassle for landlords.
My DS relies on HB top up. Under UC, he might meet the criteria to be excepted from the HB ban (employed for previous 6 months maybe?) He would, however, have to give up his long term rental flat, as it isnt shared, find one of these rare and probably more expensive privately rented HMO's, from a LL willing and able to accept HB, which would be a Change of Circs, triggering more paperwork/complications/delays. And then move every 6 months or so, each time notifying of a Change of Circs and starving for 10 weeks again, whilst job searching full time.
And then try sleeping during the day, after a run of night shifts, while the day shift worker and his mates, on the other side of the partition shout to each other to be heard above the sound of their music? And the door constantly banging for one of the other residents?
Presumably no right to HB also means no recourse to the LA controlled hardship fund? So no help with 6 monthly fees for re-signing tenancy contracts? Or moving again?
I guess they could always join up. Because they're old enough to fight and die for the country they're not old enough to receive assistance from, aren't they? No recourse to the public funds their taxes bolster? If they return disabled, maybe with PTSDr, will they be able to access health care? Or will that be limited by age, now? Housing, fuel payments (aka winter holiday abroad paymentd), benefits, health care all reserved exclusively for wealthy baby boomers while a generation of young men and women sleep on the streets?
Being young and and working class/poor, right now, right here, is shit. It's unjust and it's miserable and depressing and hopeless.