Skint Britain: Friends without Benefits on C4

[amrscot]

Is anybody else watching this?

One of the couples take their dog out to hunt rabbits and squirrels that they can eat.

They've just shown him with a dead rabbit he has caught skinning it in the kitchen

Horrendous..

WeeTinker just hope that one day soon you grow up, stop playing the victim and drop the silly act as it genuinely won’t help you get on in life. Assuming you weren’t making up the fact that you have a DC, that’s not for your benefit, it’s for theirs.

Please copy and paste where I'm playing the victim?

Every choice I've made, I made at that time and I don't regret making it at that time.

My ex he gone into a fab career, before she took I'll. My child is the top of their class in every subject and has more friends than I can count.

My health is perfect, my time is my own to do with as I please, I get to be here for my child every morning and every night and everything in between. Money is tight, but that only buys meaningless bullshit and trinkets anyway.

I may argue against the shitty attitudes of arseholes on behalf of benefit claimants, but there's no victim here.

But please don't and twist my words to suit yourself.

There are loads of skills that can be developed by volunteering at a homeless shelter! I volunteer at streetlife, a organisation helping sex workers on streets in local city. So on outreach I - develop my listening and empathy skills, write reports quickly and conscisely highlighting the important bits, identify anyone who seems at risk and pass the information to local police etc, identify anyone who is pregnant and support them in engaging with services, liaise with police regularly so inter agency collaboration, am aware of benefit system and other services in local area and signpost information, help maintain a record of punters who have become violent, pass it onto police who use it to secure convictions. I write reports and observations and share these with colleagues so we can support the service user, I help service users access MH or addiction support, I help service users access housing, I make referrals to food banks, I encourage women to engage with the service, I give safety advice, I give out leaflets, panic alarms etc. I learn how to separate my life from the experience - how to listen and support women but not dwell on it in my home life.

Lots of skills volunteering in homeless shelter. For a start if you wish to work on that sector in future you have experience. You'd gain people skills eg listening, empathy, motivating people, managing challenging behaviour, managing upsetting situations. The ability to distance yourself from the work, being resilient. Inter agency collaboration, sharing information with colleagues, writing reports and sharing information. Signposting people, working knowledge of benefit system and services in the local area. Lots more

Volunteering is only one thing to do. Others are considering moving to where there are jobs, considering working full time as a single parent as many of us on here do and that kind of thing.

There is not much chance even if Labour get in in 2022 that benefits are going to shoot up in value so getting full time work can be the making of some people particularly if there are chances of promotion in the job concerned.

Why is it that benefit claimants have excuses but most people have reasons?

Because clearly, we are here to be patronised, looked down on, suggested to and when that suggestion doesn't work, be told that's just an excuse, because they said it must be that way then it must. We're to be we don't try hard enough because we claim benefits to live. We're to do what they say even if it's to our detriment, because it makes sense to them.

I wonder if it's just because some people have never experienced this end of life. They believe 'the system' will always do the right thing and refuse to accept that it doesn't.

I have an example of this, my mum never believed me when I said that if you miss one CT payment, for any reason, the full amount is due in 7 days, and further to that if you don't come up with said amount in 7 days, the debt gets passed to the bailiffs. Who add hundreds in charges. When this happened to me she refused to believe that it was through one missed payment because of illness and being unable to work and earn for a short period of time. She assumed I'd just not paid for months.
She refused to believe they still wanted the full amount for the year still even though I was entitled to CT support for that missed payment - meaning the missed payment was paid, but the full year plus bailiffs fees was outstanding "There must be more to it" she said suspiciously.
Then they made a mistake with her CT when she split with my step dad. She was right, and two years later, proven right, however the bailiffs turned up and she paid what she actually didn't even owe, and their fees.
She got the CT overpayment back two years later, credited to her CT bill, the rest - well no, should have done as she was told they said.
She now realises that saying "But that makes no sense, it can't be right" and the 'excuses' I used when I had my problems were real actual things that happen day in and day out. She had always just trusted that the government, council etc do things right and fairly, she had no idea they don't, because she'd never fallen foul of them.

You'll all have to excuse me now as I get my head down for a couple of hours before work, I realise that's probably not 'trying hard enough' but even someone claiming benefits needs some sleep.

Hope you all have a lovely Saturday evening 🌞

It's not at all unreasonable not to want to 'work' for the sake of it, if 'work' means doing shitty, pointless tasks for very little money, the only outcome being to line someone else's pockets. Yes, the majority of people feel better, psychologically, if they are engaging in purposeful activities for some of the time, but that can include stuff like raising a child, learning to play a musical instrument, doing research for a book, etc. Even the awful government we have now likes to pay lip service to the importance of the 'creative industries' to the economy - though that doesn't extend to, you know, funding them very much. Music, art, drama etc are being squeezed out of school curriculums; any type of decent job in the arts or media can only be obtained if you are willing to work unpaid for months if not years (which is of course impossible for anyone on UC.)
OK, you might say (if you are one of the mean-minded, wilfully ignorant poor-bashers) people shouldn't be indulged if they want to pursue art or music... but now have a think about essential jobs, such as care work, cleaning, maintenance work. These jobs are appallingly paid, yet they can't be automated out of existence and we can't manage without them. Why should the poor be expected to do them for so little reward?

Care work, maintenance work, etc is not automatically awful. I did care work years ago for a charity and it was a lovely job. But a very far cry from care work these days. The issue is that people in lots of low paid jobs are given impossible targets and tasks to achieve, in the time allocated. This is demoralising and it means jobs are often not done properly.
One of the psychological benefits of work is getting the chance to feel competent. You don't get that in a job that is impossible to do.

And I love my job and the sector I am in. But those in the sector I am in have largely not worked harder than me. What they have often done is work for a few years unpaid or for expenses to get into the high paid jobs. Something I have never been able to do. At the moment I am supervising some young adults who are doing this, and will go on to earn very high salaries. Unsurprisingly all come from very well off backgrounds.
When I started out these jobs were paid, but it was before the minimum wage existed and they were paid absolute peanuts. At a guess about £1 an hour in today's money up to a maximum of £40. The idea was to help with travel expenses and work costs, but it was never enough to live on, and you were not entitled to benefits as it was officially classed as full time volunteering, so you were not available for work.

Claire - exactly - to get a 'good' job, you usually have to have rich parents (or a rich partner) who is willing to support you for quite a long time while you are working for little or no money.

And I didn't say care work is appalling, I said it's appallingly paid. It's decent, honest work that can be rewarding but it's currently treated (by those who don't do it themselves) as a suitable option for the unskilled poor, to be paid at pretty much minimum wage level, with little or no H&S protection (lots of careworkers injure themselves by eg lifting patients without the proper equipment/training, because providing the right equipment or training would cut into the care agency's profits...). Again, those of you who reckon that the longterm unemployed should be forced into doing care work, specifically, would you like your sick child or elderly relative to be looked after by someone with no particular interest in the job, who has no aptitude for it and who is bitterly resentful at being compelled to do it or starve?

I've got nothing but respect for care workers. They took care of my dad when he was dying, they were amazing and they work for a pittance. If anyone deserves a massive pay increase its care workers, or any worker that looks after someone else.
Nurses, doctors, police officers, firemen and soldiers and any one getting carer allowance should have their carer allowance paid at full time living wage and not the pathetic amount it is now.

Seems the most well paid jobs are the ones that fuck people over or some how leach on the poor and desperate... Or anything to do with weddings...

Both my older two are in a really good university and we aren't rich by any stretch of the imagination. They realised the importance of education and stuck with it and still are. I didn't have the opportunity of a decent education and despite being a single mother there was no way I was going to allow mine to miss out like I did. They have formed great friendships with some lovely young adults who DO come from wealthy backgrounds and I did worry at first that mine might be laughed at or bullied for coming from a working class background. I am so happy to say that I couldn't have been more wrong. Luckily their friends are very respectful of the struggles poorer people face and mine aren't jealous or resentful towards people who have had a more privileged upbringing so they all get along just fine. I think it's just a case of being respectful of each other's situation even if you don't quite understand it.

Or anything to do with weddings...

Oh @WeeTinkerMonkey how different my life would be if that were true! I'm the one setting up rooms for weddings and events (move the furniture, iron the clothes, polish cutlery etc and then clear up after 🤢) I'm on a little above min wage, bar and waiting staff on min wage - the people who benefit from the eye watering amount of money paid are the venue owners, suppliers of outside stuff and of course the guests who get a free dinner 😂
We just enable that to happen. Like you say, so many people just seem to work themselves into the ground to line someone else's pockets.

And I'm with you on care, my job really isn't essential, it's desired. Care work is essential but they're paid so poorly and treated badly by employers all for profit. Not to mention the poor service users that don't get the best of anything because that'd cut into the company profits. I totally disagree with care companies, it should be non profit. But that's a whole other thread.
sorry about your dad.

Brilliantidiot
You're at the wrong end of the wedding spectrum.. doing the essential invisible work. Lol.
Now if you were a photographer, limo driver, planner, dress maker... They're in the right side of it..
One guy quoted me £1500 for the pictures... I was like,
"Does anyone really pay that much?"
Then his wife tried to tell me how quick digital photos fade unless taken with proper cameras... I left pretty sharpish.
Got a newspaper photo journalist to take them for the cost of a few beers and a favour.

Thanks for the flowers. :)

Erm I haven’t paid my council tax since July, no bailiffs have turned up nor has any additional amounts been added ... do people make this stuff up ?

@Inliverpool1

Come back and tell me it's made up when you get a liability order (and charge for it) and the council won't deal with you, you have to deal with the bailiffs.
It happens, if you haven't paid your council tax without good reason (as in you're exempt) it will happen.
Some councils of course are slower than others at realising, and deal with things slightly differently. Maybe the mistake I made was ringing the council and telling them. Trying to do the right thing. Should have just said nothing.
But no, it happened. I'm not making it up but ya know it hasn't happened to you so it can't ever have happened to anyone else. Pretty much sums up this thread!

Oh it'll happen. I couldn't pay for a while and ended up with a bailiff with a warrant to take stuff. Hadn't had any court letters or anything.

@WeeTinkerMonkey

Yes I'm at the grunt end of it! Hope to be out with a new qualification in the next 5-10 years though. I do quite enjoy it though, it gives me a sense of achievement in some way.

Take care

@MiGi777 Are your kids prepared for dealing with the massive amount of debt going to university incurs for those without wealthy parents? Are they ready for years of harassment after graduation, when there are no jobs that don't demand six months to a year of unpaid work before you will be considered for a salaried job, while your student loan debt has been sold on to a debt collection company...

There no jobs 😂
There’s the biggest skills shortage world wide since records began.
I’m a recruiter I could place anyone with any IT skills and a degree within hours. 3 interviews booked by Monday afternoon and probably a contract role to keep you going in the meantime too.
Do your research, find the gaps and fill them with yourself.

If you're a recruiter, why haven't you paid your council tax?

Do your research, find the gaps and fill them with yourself.
You just need a degree in IT and you're all set. Degrees are easy and free right? Get em out of kinder eggs doncha?

I probably shouldn't mention degrees and stuff tho, some idiot will be along saying it's "Just an excuse"

WeeTinkerMonkey - haven’t got around to paying it. Point is nothing has happened.

Degrees cost the same for everyone, nobody gets a free one. Not saying any idiot can obtain one either. But don’t be telling graduates there are no jobs, there are plenty for those with skills. If you didn’t know where the gaps are, you do now.

haven’t got around to paying it.

That's something to be proud of right there... Well done..

Everyone I know that went to uni has a really good job now and really enjoyed the experience. It's not just about the job it's the whole experience of uni, getting a great education and being a kid for as long as possible I wanted for them. They're totally aware of student debt but it was never a reason not to go. One step at a time. They'll cross that bridge when they come to it. I believe that's a debt worth having and I'm convinced that having a good degree will give them more options in life.

Degrees are easy and free? My DD will be delighted to know that, she can stop stressing about student debt and just collect her degree 👍