To ask what/who the dole should be for?

[Lollipop30]

Just been having this discussion with my brothers and Dad and we obviously disagree totally! By dole I mean any government help excludind child benefit.
So I’m interested to know who you think it should be for and why?

I also had to attend the job centre once a week and prove what jobs I had applied for. I have also helped other people by rewriting their CVs. Over the years I have continued to gain qualifications, volunteer, charity work, first aid. Employers want all the added extras ' from their employees now

Being on benefits isnt any sort of lifestyle, it's survival. You're never truly living. You can't afford nice things.
I'm on ESA through severe DV and sexual abuse. I can't work because I can barely leave the house and I suffer psychosomatic pain.
With JSA you're not entitled to it for weeks if you decide to quit your job, it really isn't as easy as some think it is.

You have an appointment where you've to prove you've been looking for work or they'll stop it. Don't get any interviews, they'll stop it. Once you've been on it a while they look at putting you on a course/unpaid work in places like Poundland and taking you off JSA.

It's not a lifestyle that's sustainable and they make damn sure it isn't these days.

I'm NOT including people who are too I'll to work in my comments, I'm happy to support

OP, I agree with you rather than your dad - JSA should be seen as a temporary safety net. I claimed for a few months once when I was between jobs, and that's exactly what its for. Its supposed to keep you fed, not to be a pleasant experience that people live on for the rest of their lives. Most people on JSA are I'm sure looking for work, but I do know one or two who are comfortable on it and don't want a job.
Benefits for the ill and disabled aren't "dole" and shouldn't be seen in the same way.

@T3mpleP3ac3
You are precisely who I personally think it is and should be aimed at. You became unemployed through no choice of your own and have done everything to find employment.

Well there should be better understanding of "the dole". It is not just a means tested benefit you also can claim it if you lose your job and have paid a couple of years or more of NI contributions. In most areas it has already been incorporated into Universal Credit so separating out job seekers allowance from other benefits is not going to be possible in the future.

It is a safety net but it covers a huge range of people. Some may be young and or flexible enough to find any job then just get by until the right job comes along... But many people on benefits have complex needs - caring responsibilities, mental health issues or they spent 35 years in one specific skilled trade and are struggling to adapt to the current job market etc. etc.

Some are desperate to work but are homeless due to relationship breakdown and find it impossible to look presentable, have no address to receive job offers and are struggling generally. It is not straight forward being unemployed, it affects your mental and physical health, your self esteem and confidence. But people want nice clean simple solutions to complex social and economic problems so we end up with fiascos like Universal Credit.

So I think the dole is required to be many things to many people, there is no one simple solution.

It should also be appreciated that people who would be considered "disabled" or who have long term health issues, may not be assessed as incapable of working (nor would they want to be) for the purpose of entitlement to disability benefits, but while the government is happy to assess people with complex needs as suitable for work and give them a similar level of financial support as any job seeker. There is less enthusiasm to spend time and money on support/ legislation/ adaptation to make work viable for people with complex needs/ disabilities. Which leads to short term jobs and part time jobs low pay and more benefits to bump up the pay to something you can scrape by on. Yay.

Choco you do have a say about benefits and the like. You get to vote in general elections for the party you most agree/identify with about issues including what tax payer money should be spent on.

OP, you are not the only person who doesn’t seem to realise that HB, CTC etc is also paid to those in work.

As someone who is “on the dole” in your eyes (carer for my son who has disabilities so between us we claim various benefits as well as DLA and carers allowance) I can assure you that when I had my children young in a relationship with their father, I did not plan to or envisage, being anything other than hardworking and paying my own way in life.

Prolonged DV, a spell in a women’s refuge, poor mental health and the aforementioned child who has disabilities has made my life something I never expected it to be.

Do we even have enough jobs and will it get worse? That's my worry. Technology has moved on so much and replaced real people in businesses that if everyone living on benefits upped and decided to get jobs would the jobs even be there?

This is exactly what our society should be moving toward—one where no-one has to work in a menial job as all that is done by robots.
In such a system every citizen would receive a "citizens basic income" (enough to live on), whether they work or not. This would replace all other benefits. I believe the Green Pary suggested introducing this in the UK at the last election (the cost of administering the current benefits system would more than cover the cost of a citizens basic income for everyone).

Lollipop _ I am glad that someone agrees with me. .... However, some people lack confidence, transferable skills, health, don't want to work different hours, don't want to relocate, don't like change etc I think some of the former steel and coal industry workers struggled to find new employment. What is the UK doing to create new jobs, industries in the UK ?

‘OP, you are not the only person who doesn’t seem to realise that HB, CTC etc is also paid to those in work.’

Have you read beyond my rather badly worded OP? As far as I’m aware JSA aka Job Seekers Allowance is paid to those seeking a job?! Round here UC has not come into play so I’m not sure how much that changes things.

Jsa in london gets you v little 😂 I couldn’t live of it

@T3mpleP3ac3

Precisely. And all those things are where the help should be. A lot of the time people need more help and encouragement as well as education about their choices.

The lack of jobs and experience is an issue, retirement age keeps going up and less n less jobs become available

I work approx 60 hours a week in termtime and receive WTC & CTC - are you saying I am on the dole? What about those claiming disability benefits?
Surely you mean JSA / unemployment benefit? And it should be to tide someone over until their first pay packet (as another poster said) not a permanent solution / form of income.

JSA gets you very little in any part of the country.
At least fares are cheaper in London and food and utlities do not cost any more. Petrol is a few pence cheaper.

IN fact the only thing that is more expensive in London is the rent.

I’ve been made redundant three times first time was given a months leave and got two jobs before this ended so didn’t have to claim. Second time went to claim but then went on a already booked holiday and was refused any money and if I wanted to I could restart my claim. Told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine and went self employed for a year and lived on my redundancy money.
Then the last time found a position which started 9 days after I was mad redundant. So didn’t try to claim.
My thoughts of the dole is its for the lazy layabouts who don’t want to work but know that line to sprin the dole office to get there money.
Sorry if this offends anyone who is currently on “job seakers allowance” but the name gives it away. It’s to help you out while your looking for a new position not a life choice.

@aloneandscared25

You’re absolutely right but it’s not done on area. Where we are you can easily live on it, which is probably why that’s more of an option

If you mean JSA then it is for people who are actively seeking work. Presumably to live on (for food etc etc) but also to allow them to travel to job interviews etc

In theory it should be a tempory safety net for those who are between jobs or who have short term illness so can't work etc.

In reality the government has made it so companies don't have to pay a living wage ma king thousands of working people unable to live with a "benefit" from the government.
The government then sprout out all this crap about people being on benefits when they are the ones doing it.

Nobody wants to claim hb, tc etc.
The endless fuck ups alone are enough to put you off. Never mind the waiting time when you've got your regular bills coming in but don't get any help for 6 weeks plus.

The government introduced these benefits for a reason then are surprised so many people are on them

OP obviously looks down from her lofty "I earn too much to claim child benefit" tower on those who need to claim benefits. Tidy voter are we

could someone tell me , in what area could you 'easily' live on £70 a week exactly?
My electric bill is £30 for a start. Then food the same at a conservative estimate. that would leave £10 for everything else....including water, clothes, toiletries, fares.
Do the maths.

@FuzzyCustard, you may be entitled to income support to top up your carers allowance, see if you can claim it by using the online benefits calculator.

Yes I did. You still don’t seem to know what you’re talking about though. Same as a lot of people. I don’t mean on this thread btw but every time one of these types of threads pop up it’s like a game of bingo with the same phrases chucked about.

Those looking for work. A safety net.
Not as a way of life.

But it should be made easier to work, childcare should be heavily subsidised such that it makes financial sense to work 40 hours in a minimum wage job than staying at home on the dole. Also things like zero hour contracts should be prohibited.