To ask what you think about ‘work for dole’ idea?

[WakeUpAndBe]

Is it reasonable or unreasonable?

Pros: on the surface it sounds reasonable. Means the public won’t view it as “free money” if people are working 30 hours a week for a lot less than the national living wage.

Cons: risks of exploitation and returning to Charles Dickens’ style workhouses for the poor.

Chris Philp said UC claimants should be forced to ‘work for dole’

“In his paper, Philp suggested those claiming universal credit should, after a certain time, have to work for their benefits if they were employed for less than 30 hours a week. He suggested those claiming benefits for a disability should be given work that they were physically able to do.
^^
“Philp said they could be asked to complete community work such as cleaning graffiti or clearing parks, charity work, supervised job searching or recognised training to top up their hours to 30 a week. He said a referral to the “work for the dole” scheme would be triggered between three months and two years after first claiming depending on previous national insurance contributions.
^^
“If anyone is not compliant with work for the dole activity requirements, they should automatically have all their universal credit payments suspended as long as the person is not working for the dole,” he wrote at the time. “Although the complete suspension of universal credit benefit payments may seem an extreme sanction, the evidence from the US suggests that this is required to make the scheme fully effective.”

Number crunching

The National Living Wage is currently £9.50 x 30 hours x 4 weeks = £1,140 for 4 weeks

According to the website, monthly UC is £265.31 for single and under 25,
£334.91 for single over 25,
£416.45 for couples under 25
and
£525.72 for couples over 25.

Absolutely awful idea on so very many levels.

If there's 30 hours of work to do then pay someone to do it. As in a real wage.

Horrific. If these jobs need doing then employ people and pay them properly.

We tried this already. It was called "workfare". It didn't work.

If you want people to be able to find work, you can't make them spend all their time doing something else! My last job application took me two full days.

Most people on universal credit are in work. It is a government subsidy to companies paying starvation wages.

If companies can "find" thirty hours a weeks work for free they can pay for it

I think it’s a fair idea, it would just need to be done carefully so that people were still able to hunt for real jobs.

What do I think of it?

You do realise the vast majority of people on benefits are already working? Or 'working' as unpaid carers for family members with woefully inadequate or non existent local authority help.
Educate yourself before you climb on that high horse op.

How about as a nation we focus on raising wages, providing better, cheaper childcare for working parents and more help for the millions of unpaid carers?

Agree.

It's ridiculous.

Where are these jobs coming from? And if people are working why wouldn't they get paid properly for doing it? These 'jobs' either need doing, so should be paid for, or they don't

Horrendous. Especially the part about forcing disabled people to work.

I’m seriously considering leaving the U.K.

I think its an awful idea.

If the work exists pay someone a salary to do it.

Disabiled people who are able to work do work anyway as living on benefits is rubbish.

All part of the great reset , universal basic income set up that they want to introduce I am convinced of it.
Not sure if it'll be done properly , I think it will end up being exploited by unruthless employers

Hasn't this already been to court and been ruled unlawful?

It's an impractical solution to a problem that doesnt exist "dole dossers" are a tiny amount of the benefits bill the highest is pensioners I believe

Awful.

If there is an actual job, advertise it and pay the going rate and put someone in actual employment.

This was already tried about 9 years ago and it was shit. I left uni and was job hunting and briefly signed up to job seekers allowance and they made me work in a hotel cleaning rooms for a month. Full days scrubbing filthy hotel rooms then i was expected to go home in the evening and spend 6 hours job hunting then providing proof of my job hunt. All for less than £300/£400 a month. Then they had the audacity to sanction me telling me i wasnt doing enough! Basically i spent a month being treated like sub human and i still couldnt pay bills and rent on what was given to me.

A disgusting idea designed to humiliate the poor. I’m sure it will government policy in no time.

Reminded me of The Poor Law (Amendment) Act of 1834, otherwise known as the 'New' Poor Law, established the workhouse system. Instead of providing a refuge for the elderly, sick and poor, and instead of providing food or clothing in exchange for work in times of high unemployment, workhouses were to become a sort of prison system.

Dickens had a lot to say about this!

It's one of those things designed to appeal to people that are hard of thinking. A moment's thought and you're like oh yeah of course, but scams/soundbites like this are for idiots

sTrOnG and StAbLe

Do you not think if the jobs are available then people should be a paid a proper wage for doing them? Are you ok with people(including the disabled) being forced to work for pennies per hour?

Awful idea.

So a street sweeper gets made redundant and ends up
on the dole
same person is then forced to do his old job for his benefits

why don’t we just pay people properly

I’m so sorry that happened to you.

Does sound like it’s open to exploitation if they won’t pay a living wage for doing a job.

Would you be happy to have to work for your car insurance company if you have to make a claim, despite paying the all the premiums over the years?

People who can work should be made to work in return for benefit payments. However, they should be paid the living wage. If a job needs doing, pay someone properly to do it.

That is horrendous