Indefinate mandatory workfare for the ill and disabled from Monday.

[Darkesteyes]

On Monday 3rd December (which is also international day of the disabled person) ill and disabled people become officially eligible for mandatory workfare.
If unable to do it they could face having to live on £28.15 a week. Inhumane.


www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/30/sick-disabled-work-benefits-programme

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

I think we can take it as read that these assessments ought not to be entrusted to JCP staff - who I bet don;t wnat the responsibility anyway.
If there is to be no taking into account of medical evidence I very much doubt any employer will wnat to become involved. It's a massive potential liability. The whole notion is insane.

[Darkesteyes]

Karlos it is workFARE they are mandating people on the ESA WRAG too. Not paid work that involves a wage.
Last year Tory MP Philip Davies floated the idea that disabled people could/should work for less than the minimum wage. IMO they were simply testing the water. When there wasnt much of a public outcry they realised they could get away with something harsher and here it is!

[cory]

KarlosKKrinkelbeim Tue 04-Dec-12 22:13:45
"I think we can take it as read that these assessments ought not to be entrusted to JCP staff - who I bet don;t wnat the responsibility anyway.
If there is to be no taking into account of medical evidence I very much doubt any employer will wnat to become involved. It's a massive potential liability. The whole notion is insane. "

I couldn't agree more whole-heartedly. But this is how Atos testing is currently done and has been for quite some time.

As for staff not wanting that job, staff are recruited to Atos with promises of better working conditions than at hospitals or surgeries- and you can see how for an overworked A&E receptionist or nurse the prospect of a job where you only have to fill in forms and not work night shifts or mop up sick must seem quite attractive. They get paid the same wages for work that from their pov is much easier than what they did before. There have been whistle blowers, both doctors and nurses, who have revealed the kind of instructions they were given by Atos both at the recruitment stage and actually on the job. They are specifically told they can only ask the questions on their questionnaire and observe the activitites that are on their list. Because it's tick box, there is nowhere they can add any specific medical concerns they may have. If you clock up enough points, you are automatically considered fit for work.

[Leithlurker]

Karlos if work is ever to be available to the whole range of people with impairements then it must change and be flexible, you give a perfect example of what works for some i.e. restricted social contact. How is that to be achieved? Or how are those with variable health issues, chronic pain or fatigue, ever going to fit in to a work pattern dictated by the needs of the employer? They are just not. Employers want something done, impaired people are able to do it, but in a manner and a time scale that allows them to which is why it must be less of a set rigid pattern, and more of a discussion. Those with child care, or older workers would also benefit from getting rid of this notion that employers have the power over other peoples lives.

[Jux]

This terrifies me. I get sick with fear over these things.

[Darkesteyes]

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/i-was-told-unpaid-placement-was-for-work-experience-1480978

[BlameItOnTheChoirOfAngels]

ffs.

[Darkesteyes]

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/revealed-big-businesses-taking-on-jobless-1480979

[BlameItOnTheChoirOfAngels]

I actually have nothing else to say, nothing covers how I feel.

[Pixel]

What is required is for employers and current employees to accept that many people with disabilities are capable of meaningful work and that certain assumptions about what is required of employees need to change

Or how are those with variable health issues, chronic pain or fatigue, ever going to fit in to a work pattern dictated by the needs of the employer? They are just not. Employers want something done, impaired people are able to do it, but in a manner and a time scale that allows them to which is why it must be less of a set rigid pattern, and more of a discussion.

Isn't all this exactly what Remploy has been doing successfully for years? They have been giving employment to people who have proved they are capable if they are only given proper support, and they have been turning out quality goods that are exported all over the world.
But first Labour and now the present government have been closing these factories down. It makes no sense to me.

[zellka]

Surely making disabled and sick people do indefinate workfarewhen jobseekers are limited to 4 weeks is positivly discriminating against the disabled which is already illegal. I would think it could be challenged in the EU courts .