To think people on benefits can’t win

[Flamingosareflummoxed]

I’ve heard so many people this week, in real life, moaning about people on benefits. I get it that we are all struggling. The cost of living is crippling.
But every week there are posts on here from women who were in 70K per year HR positions who are finding it difficult to get interviews for MW jobs.
There are no jobs.
The few jobs that there are will be flooded with applications, why would recruiters chose someone who has been unemployed for years?
Plus all those with long term disabilities who need reasonable adjustments.
Its like people want to bash people knowing there is no real alternative.

If they were awarded the benefits so they could get a car, then they were deemed as entitled to it.... after having to give evidence and having assessments.

If you are so sure they are taking the piss then report them.

I do not have free outings. Where are there? Don't tell me the £1 UC ones in London. It would cost me nearly £200 to get there.
I pay council tax.
I don't need glasses.
No NHS dentists where I live, so no choice but to go private.
Many people have free prescriptions because of the health conditions they have.

PIP has nothing to do with the ability to work. It’s paid in respect of the extra cost of living with a disability. It doesn’t assess the ability to work, but looks at the level of difficulty with day to day activities caused by disability. The higher the level of difficulty the more likely the claimant is to face significant extra costs,

To get PIP for a stand alone mental health condition at any rate is a feat in itself but to get the higher rate mobility component needed for a motability vehicle is very very difficult - the condition would have to be overwhelming, with evidence to that effect, so I would question what your idea of ‘taking the piss’ actually is. PIP isn’t paid for the primary care (GP) treated anxiety and depression that many of us will suffer from during our lives. To be considered the disability caused has to be substantial and require input from secondary care consultant led mental health teams.

Motability cars are not ‘free’. The claimant has to hand over their mobility allowance for the duration of the lease, and the car is never theirs - it’s a lease. An advance payment has to be made by the claimant and they also have to pay for any adaptations needed to be able to drive the car - these are payable each time the lease is renewed, every three years. The insurance excess is also £150. Hardly ‘free’.

And the tax payer doesn’t actually fund the provision of motability vehicles. They are sourced for the scheme at discounted prices by negotiation between Motability itself - a charity and business concern - and car manufacturers. The lease is paid for by the claimant handing over an allowance they would get anyway to cover the increased costs of travel when you have a disability. So what’s your objection - is it the mobility allowance itself or the fact that the more severely disabled can use it to access a car ?

PIP doesn’t qualify you for any of the things in your list of ‘freebies’ by the way (lovely term to use when you’re talking about disabled people, whose lives are already difficult) with the exception of some concessions to entertainment. For the majority of the others you mention, you also have to be in receipt of means tested benefits which are only paid to those who have incomes below very low thresholds.

Why on earth would people want to “bash people knowing there are no alternatives”. What an utterly rediculous statement 🙄

Not to mention the fact that these 'free' outings (which aren't even free) have nothing to do with the government.

Agree. Makes me really angry when people post like this - clearly no understanding of why disability benefits are paid. I worked as a disability outreach worker for twenty years and never came across as many ‘piss takers’ as MN posters seem to, seemingly in the course of a day. For most of the concessions on that list you would need to be in receipt of means tested, income related benefits. PIP doesn’t attract free dental or optical care, exemption from council tax or free prescriptions. This is rapidly and depressingly turning into just another benefit bashing thread.

Exactly this. They are concessions provided by various organisations and are at absolutely no cost to the tax payer, and STILL begrudged. I’m seriously beginning to think that according to MN, disabled people should sit quietly in the corner, try not to be a nuisance and wait quietly to die. Heaven forbid they should actually be allowed the means for a little enjoyment in what for many are very difficult lives - which would make the average MNer here want to lie down and give up.

I find it really interesting that in the midst of posts advocating for the removal/tightening of disability/sickness benefits because of the cost, some posters are advocating for universal free childcare. You couldn’t make it up !!

The promise was 'free breakfast clubs for all schools'. After 2 years of governing they have acheived free breakfast clubs in 1 in every 40 schools. Based on their projected rollout, by 3 years into their 5 year term they will have acheived it in around 1 in every 12 schools, so 11 in every 12 still will not have. Do you honestly think that every school will have this by the end of this Parliament?

Many schools have said that the funding offered does not cover the costs, so won't be applying when given the chance, so I don't see it ever meeting the promise of being available to all children.

In many schools it's only 30 minutes, which isn't meeting one of the key aims of helping people on low incomes get back to working longer hours to combat child poverty. They can already claim back 85% of the costs of private breakfast clubs if on UC anyway, and there private clubs run hours which do enable them to get to work on time.

It has also been noted that the majority of these clubs which are running in the 'chosen' schools are in labour dominated areas. I'm sure that's a coincidence though!

The same people get LCRWA, which unlocks council tax support etc.. And if they
can get one of their kids or even better two diagnosed with asd/adhd and get DLA, Carers allowance for them, then they’ve hit jackpot.

Not everyone gets CT support. It depends where you live.
I get 80% off but I am on LCRWA. If I dared to earn a few £ (as in about £100 in one month) , I would be billed the full amount for the rest of the year. Some places do not offer any discount at all.

The motability cars are for all intents and purposes free because they are paid by the taxpayer and not the proceeds of the recipient’s work.
the people I know who have them are hardly severely disabled, what a joke. I can’t believe how naive people are, and you sound like you take it all so seriously, like you just couldn’t believe there are people gaming the system.

From that logic, anyone on benefits gets everything for free... housing, bills, food, spending on leisure etc.

Well yes, if it’s paid for solely by benefits. That’s free.

So anyone employed in the public sector also gets everything for free then.
It is also government money.

@Irotoyu ..people game all systems. There are always 'examples' on these threads. Rich people,and people not on any form of 'benefit'game the system too and cost tax payer millions.I don't think people on here are naive. Many are speaking about their own experience whether it is through their job supporting people or because they are living it.

Social care seems to be a big employer. Always looking for staff. McDonald's, recruitment agencies.

Many of the jobs that used to be considered jobs for younger people like Mcdonalds etc are now employing people who have a family to feed,rent,mortgage. At least round where I live. The job market is dire.

Morrisons just announced the closure of 100 smaller stores.

Hit jackpot? Would you seriously want the life you've just described, just because it might mean you didn't have to go to work?

I think you need to stop and look long and hard at some of the things you have been saying on this thread. Is this really the kind of person you want to be, bitter and jealous of people whose lives are infinitely harder than yours, just because they happen to be able to access a few things that make their lives a little less hard?

That’s a very selective way of framing it. A phased rollout isn’t the same thing as failure.

Most national school programmes start with pilot and expansion phases because schools, staffing and safeguarding all need setting up properly.

Saying “only 1 in 40 schools” ignores that the scheme has literally only just started. It didn’t start on day 1 of the new Labour government. You can’t build a nationwide programme overnight. If the argument is “it isn’t finished yet”, well… no government policy is fully rolled out in year one or two.

And schools already refusing because funding “may not cover costs” isn’t unique to breakfast clubs…schools say that about pretty much every initiative from every government. Some will opt in, some won’t, but that doesn’t mean the offer doesn’t exist.

The “parents can already claim 85% back on UC” point also ignores reality. Families still have to pay the money upfront first, wait for reimbursement and many private clubs are oversubscribed or unavailable. Not even mentioning the difficulty many people have claiming back from UC, which is much more difficult than it ever was with tax credits. Free provision in school removes those barriers entirely.

As for the Labour areas claim, schools were chosen based on deprivation and need. If more deprived areas happen to vote Labour, that says more about poverty patterns than party favouritism…

Yes however if the government implement “free” breakfast club provision it shouldn’t be a postcode lottery as to who gets what it should be the same for everyone.

we are also taxpayers

Children don't need a diagnosis to be eligible for DLA.

It's amazing how people still hope for healthy children considering it's apparently a fucking jackpot to have a disabled child.

What I'm wondering about are these reports of fake job ads. I find myself wondering who is posting them? Is it companies who want to look like they're more successful than they are to disguise their own struggles? Russia trying to destabilise the UK economy by demoralising our workforce? Our own government trying to disguise worrying levels of unemployment? Anyone have any info on this?

Forbes published this article saying 36% of all job adverts are fake - https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/08/13/36-of-job-adverts-are-fake-how-to-spot-them-in-2024/

This article is about the US and blames companies but could there be more to it?

The first bit says

A recent survey of more than 700 recruiters in the U.S., conducted by MyPerfectResume, revealed that shockingly, 81% of recruiters post ghost job adverts. (A ghost job advert is one that is fake because the employer is either scoping for a talent pool and potential interest for the future, or the role is already filled but still shows an active hiring presence on the recruitment page and job boards.)When the weighting of these fake job adverts is calculated, it shows that approximately 36% of jobs posted online—more than a third—are actually not real vacancies.

Similarly, a June Resume Builder study uncovered findings that proved figures comparable to the MyPerfectResume study. Out of the 1,641 hiring managers surveyed, 40% of respondents admitted to posting fake job adverts this year, and three out of 10 say they currently have a ghost job advert active.
This disturbing trend is devastating to the mental health of those applying for jobs, who are desperately praying and hoping that the next job advert they respond to would be the one to become their dream job, only to have their hopes dashed.
It prompts the question: why do employers post fake, or "ghost" job adverts?

Why Employers Post "Ghost" Jobs
According to the same ResumeBuilder survey, "companies posted fake job listings to make it appear the company is open to external talent (67%), to act like the company is growing (66%), to make employees believe their workload would be alleviated by new workers (63%), to have employees feel replaceable (62%), and to collect resumes and keep them on file for a later date (59%)."
Some other reasons listed by the report include:

• 38% to maintain a presence on job boards even when not hiring
• 36% to assess the effectiveness of job descriptions
• 26% to build a talent pool for the future
• 26% to gain insights into the job market and competitors
• 25% to assess how difficult it would be to replace certain employees
• 23% to make the company look viable during a hiring freeze
• 20% to improve the reputation of the company
• 14% to improve the company’s online visibility
• 12% to collect resumes en masse

Now that you are aware of this alarming reality, you are most likely concerned that you are wasting your time and energy applying for more jobs, only to realize they aren't real anyway.
Thankfully, there are some ways you can easily spot a fake, or ghost job advert, and prevent yourself from wasting your precious time and resources, dedicating them to real jobs instead. Here are some tips: (see article for these!)

n October last year my DD finally got a job before that she was unemployed for a year. She was applying for everything, caring, retail, hospitality, cleaning but couldn't get anything, until she finally got the job in October. She was doing volunteer work in both a charity shop and a school so it wasn't a case of not wanting to work.
I would love to work (I miss it so much) but DS has a 1:1 for the 3 hours a day he's at school and nothing fits in with that.
If they change the benefits system I'm not quite sure how we're expected to live. People like to say there are jobs if you want them but it's extremely competitive, so just because there's a job going doesn't mean that 50 people that apply for it are going to get it. Too easy to say the jobs are there until you're the one applying, interviewing and getting rejected.