I wish I could earn that much every week

spongtastic

Not work for 10 years and still get over £500 a week for nothing, but they're so hard up changes to the benefit system would mean they could either eat or heat the house. Luckily they'd still be able to afford £70 on fags, £20 on booze and £15 on sky every week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16812185

No wonder this country is in the sh*t.

oodboo

Maybe if the got sky 15 or so years ago they wouldn't have to many kids and wouldn't have this problem now.

If they're worried about it maybe they should get a jobs.

mak3m

Says Ray: "The market for my skills dried up 10 years ago - there's a total lack of work in my area of expertise."

get some new frigging skills, hang on hes an educational software writer, ahh see his point total lack of any movement in the software industry in the last decade, but hey you never know we might need software again one day so I can appreciate why hes holding out.

and stop breeding

Northwind

Shame the BBC couldn't have found a less ridiculous example tbh.

Thewaylander

I'm so behind this though, I got no problems with people receiving benefits they require, But a person on benefits should not eb better off and more comfortable than a person who works there arse off in the same situation.

On the radio there was an example of 2 mothers of 4 1 works the other doesn't and basically the one who didn't said "i'm not against the cap because at the moment i know if i need more cash i ahve another child..." while the working mum who had a good few k leess a year wasn't sure about the cap just in case it hurt some people...

I thought it was a wierd interveiw but still cap the lazy.. work shy!... oh no sorry thats students

Raymondavalon

Leeches, if they can walk, they can work, not negotiable
My dad's youngest brother has been in a wheelchair (well, using leg callipers) since he was 18 as the result of a mountaineering accident. He never claimed a penny, always been [self] employed and the first claim he ever made was for a lowered kitchen when he could no longer upright himself on leg callipers and had to resort to a wheelchair permanently at the age of 55.

I have a friend who in his 30's is on benefits, solely because he has a embryonic cyst in his brain. He worked for years before they detected this when he had a brain scan to check for something else.
This is now his excuse not to work, plus his missus has a "dodgy knee" and she don't work either.
They rake in a good living on benefits between them and live more comfortably than many couples I do know that work. As good a mate as he is, the entire "benefits of being on benefits" culture leaves a bitter taste in my mouth

bwfc4eva868

Irritates the crap out of me. I am a student Nurse, and yes i do get my course fees by the NHS so taxpayers money. Now I do blocks of 8 weeks in Uni and 8 weeks of 37 hours on Hospital placements and work part time when i can.

My income ranges from £544 to £951 and Girlfriend earns £600 to £1000 as a Hairdresser a month. We rent a house which costs us £400 a month, we eat, we rarely go out these as we're skint.

And it really pisses me off that while me and the girlfriend and the rest of the working population are funding the bone idle feckers who piss out kids every year and claim they can't work.

Also, at a Nursing home i work at, people who have accuired brain injuries through no fault of their own, have to dip into savings to pay for their £1000 a week charges to stay in a nursing home.

While Dave & Donna, who can't work because their too lazy and would rather drink Stella all day and make babies get £400 a week for do fcuk all.

Really does my head in.

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shit load of jobs.

Northwind

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shoot load of jobs.

You do know there's 2.68 million people unemployed just now? According to my local job centre, on average there are 90 applications for every position they advertise. It's not enough for there to be jobs being advertised, there aren't enough jobs even for everyone who wants to work to find something, let alone people who don't. When there are 2.68 million jobs advertised, then you'll be right.

Now i'm not saying those guys in the interview are in the right; they seem like classic spongers. But it's not that simple for everyone is it? I had to go to one of those "back to work" interviews and sure there were total scumbags there just working the system, but there were plenty of folks who were dying to work, and couldn't. Pretty grim. Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

sheepsteeth

Northwind wrote:

Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

no you cant.

schmako

Work is shit, benefits are great. I'd love to be paid to sit on my arse doing bugger all![/annoyed at work mini rant]

bwfc4eva868

Northwind wrote:

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shoot load of jobs.

You do know there's 2.68 million people unemployed just now? According to my local job centre, on average there are 90 applications for every position they advertise. It's not enough for there to be jobs being advertised, there aren't enough jobs even for everyone who wants to work to find something, let alone people who don't. When there are 2.68 million jobs advertised, then you'll be right.

Now i'm not saying those guys in the interview are in the right; they seem like classic spongers. But it's not that simple for everyone is it? I had to go to one of those "back to work" interviews and sure there were total scumbags there just working the system, but there were plenty of folks who were dying to work, and couldn't. Pretty grim. Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

Yeah thats fair enough. But there's the attitude of some, not all of using the excuse of. "I can't get a job, because i have no experience" Before i did my Nurse training and worked in a care home i was a Scaffolder. A simple range of life skills are transferable into work based experience. I know everyone's situation is different, and not all the unemployed are bone idle, work shy spongers. I was unemployed myself once, and its really demoralizing.

Its also the stuff like, I'm not doing that job, if your desperate for money you'll take any job to earn money and maybe look for a better position.

My worst job was cutting excess bits of rubber off industrial mats and stacking them on a pallet for £4.75 an hour 0600 - 1400. It was crap, but i got money together and moved onto a better job.

oodboo

I used to be a security guard long before the minimum wage came in. Worst job was looking after a portable floodlight in a field that was being used for event parking. I was supposed to have a container office thing to sit in but the wrong one arrived and it was just an empty container. 8pm to 8am for £2.22 per hour with no chance of a cuppa. Still I'd rather do that than go on the dole.

Northwind

Aye, absolutely. TBH I had a nice easy time of it when I was out of work, I could afford to treat it as a holiday and do the bare minimum, but the benefits I got were basically ****-all and sitting around for any longer would have done my head in. So I did get a bit peeved meeting folks who'd never worked and had no intention to, who were getting more. When my brother got back from his year working in australia he got even less because he'd not paid NI for a year- even though he'd paid more in tax for the years he worked than most folks do in 20 years, and he'd never claimed any benefits in his life. All a bit crap.

But it's hard to have a system that works for most people, without having some people take the piss and some people be let down.

chez_m356

Northwind wrote:

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shoot load of jobs.

You do know there's 2.68 million people unemployed just now?

and you do know that when they give numbers out like that, thats only the ones that are actually claiming job seekers allowance and not the millions that are on income support

supersonic

Anyone been to an ESA assessment lately? They are very hard to pass nowadays.

allen.coulson

sheepsteeth wrote:

Northwind wrote:

Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

no you cant.

Agreed.

DCR00

Northwind wrote:

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shoot load of jobs.

You do know there's 2.68 million people unemployed just now? According to my local job centre, on average there are 90 applications for every position they advertise. It's not enough for there to be jobs being advertised, there aren't enough jobs even for everyone who wants to work to find something, let alone people who don't. When there are 2.68 million jobs advertised, then you'll be right.

Now i'm not saying those guys in the interview are in the right; they seem like classic spongers. But it's not that simple for everyone is it? I had to go to one of those "back to work" interviews and sure there were total scumbags there just working the system, but there were plenty of folks who were dying to work, and couldn't. Pretty grim. Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

my Wife found a job in 3 months after 12 months mat leave

yes its harder when there are sh*tloads of people applying, but there are things you can do to get noticed

Its about taking responsibility. People think that all they have to do is send out a few CV's and then sit at home and wait for someone to offer them a job. Doesn't work like that.

DCR00

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

Yeah thats fair enough. But there's the attitude of some, not all of using the excuse of. "I can't get a job, because i have no experience" Before i did my Nurse training and worked in a care home i was a Scaffolder. A simple range of life skills are transferable into work based experience. I know everyone's situation is different, and not all the unemployed are bone idle, work shy spongers. I was unemployed myself once, and its really demoralizing.

Its also the stuff like, I'm not doing that job, if your desperate for money you'll take any job to earn money and maybe look for a better position.

My worst job was cutting excess bits of rubber off industrial mats and stacking them on a pallet for £4.75 an hour 0600 - 1400. It was crap, but i got money together and moved onto a better job.

amen to this

its a shame that more people dont have your attitude, otherwise the unemployment figure would be a lot lower

Northwind

DCR00 wrote:

my Wife found a job in 3 months after 12 months mat leave

Aye, and I got the first job I seriously tried for after I got made redundant. But so what? The maths means that many people currently looking for work won't find it, it really is that simple- there are more jobseekers than jobs, it's not possible for everyone currently unemployed to get into work. So when it's inevitable that we have people unable to find work, treating them all as workshy scroungers is mental.

bwfc4eva868

DCR00 wrote:

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

Yeah thats fair enough. But there's the attitude of some, not all of using the excuse of. "I can't get a job, because i have no experience" Before i did my Nurse training and worked in a care home i was a Scaffolder. A simple range of life skills are transferable into work based experience. I know everyone's situation is different, and not all the unemployed are bone idle, work shy spongers. I was unemployed myself once, and its really demoralizing.

Its also the stuff like, I'm not doing that job, if your desperate for money you'll take any job to earn money and maybe look for a better position.

My worst job was cutting excess bits of rubber off industrial mats and stacking them on a pallet for £4.75 an hour 0600 - 1400. It was crap, but i got money together and moved onto a better job.

amen to this

its a shame that more people dont have your attitude, otherwise the unemployment figure would be a lot lower

I thank my parents for giving me the attitude of if you want a good life, you have to work for it. And its a great satisfaction knowing that you work long hours and get your rewards. Yes i moan about being skint, but I love my job and everything i own, is what me and the girlfriend have paid for through Hardwork.

I came from a Council estate in Wythenshawe and watched my Mum and Step dad progress through their careers, get better cars eventually, go on nicer holidays and get a lovely house that my Mum has. Thats what i want from life, start low and work my way up. Even if it means working till i take my last breath.

supersonic

The press do tend to pick the more extreme cases. Of course, people slip through the net, but if you don't make an effort to get a job when you are capable, they take away JSA. Which is £67.50 a week.

A lot of ill people do not get the benefits they deserve. The system in place is getting much tighter, but I'd like to see more one on one interviews where an advisor discusses your needs and bases benefit on that. This might work out cheaper than the endless forms, phonecalls and general red tape that is in place at the minute, and will help to even the system out.

Unfortunately the baby route is an easy one, and will never change.

delcol

i agree with northwind.. to many unemployed and not enough jobs.

i to am from a typical working class family did'nt have much money as a kid but watched as my mum and worked hard and bettered their selfs... i have worked since i was 14 and was in my last job for 13 years, till we got made redundant last year..now i was kinda lazy at first and took a few month off to spend some time with my daughter i did not sign on at this time though.. i want to work and would go to work tomorrow if given the chance, i to have applied for job after job after job, and jobs that are crap and low paid.. i have had a few rejection letters but mostly you dont even get a reply.
like northiwind i to hate going to the back to work interviews to sit with jeremy kyle types, and be patronised by the guy interviewing you. something needs to change and soon to before it's to late...

MountainMonster

Unemployed since 2001? Surely he has the skills to work at tesco as a cashier, or anything to get some food on the table. That's the one thing about benefits, once people get used to them, they normally don't go back, as they see they earn more sitting at home doing what they want.

I was raised by my father to be the type who would not go on benefits unless it was over 100% necessary, and even then, still find a job so you don't be a git. I would rather work 40 hours a week for 1000 a month than sit at home and do nothing with my life for the same amount.

bwfc4eva868

Working gives you motivation and you look forward to your days off I remember having 8 weeks off work after a Hernia Op ( job involves manual handling so hence a long spell off) and there was only so much Xbox, bike washing and reading medical books i could take.

Was glad to go back to work

cat_with_no_tail

MountainMonster wrote:

Unemployed since 2001? Surely he has the skills to work at tesco as a cashier, or anything to get some food on the table. That's the one thing about benefits, once people get used to them, they normally don't go back, as they see they earn more sitting at home doing what they want.

That's part of the problem at the moment. There are a lot of people who "earn" more on benefits than they could ever realistically earn in the real world, especially when you take into account things like social housing. Even if you reduce their benefits to £26k, there is still no drive for them to return to work. The way they see it, they'd be taking a pay cut and actually having to work.

There is a feeling of entitlement amongst some people. Like they are owed something. The dude in the story thinks he's entitled to 24 cans of lager, big bag of baccy, sky TV, and a night out with the boys every week. Other people think they're entitled to a £40k a year job without any qualifications or experience, and literally wont get out of bed for anything else. Why? Because they don't need to.

It's a problem for which there is no real solution. How do you monitor 2.6m people to make sure they are all getting what they NEED and nothing more.

CraigXXL

By giving the longterm unemployed vouchers that can't be used for alcohol and tabacco. If they want to be supported by the state then the state should control what the money is spent on. Another alternative is that they all have state funded minimum pay jobs such as litter picking, call center etc.
The only people that should be on benefits long term are seriously sick, disabled (not stopped my two brothers from been employed most of their lifes though) and carers of the sick. This way more money would be available for those that need it as well as more people to help these people.

mak3m

Northwind wrote:

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

No excuse to not work, quick job centre search throws up a shoot load of jobs.

You do know there's 2.68 million people unemployed just now? According to my local job centre, on average there are 90 applications for every position they advertise. It's not enough for there to be jobs being advertised, there aren't enough jobs even for everyone who wants to work to find something, let alone people who don't. When there are 2.68 million jobs advertised, then you'll be right.

Now i'm not saying those guys in the interview are in the right; they seem like classic spongers. But it's not that simple for everyone is it? I had to go to one of those "back to work" interviews and sure there were total scumbags there just working the system, but there were plenty of folks who were dying to work, and couldn't. Pretty grim. Honestly I think once you've applied for a hundred jobs and never even had an interview, you can be excused a bit of giving up.

actually there are 2.68 million people on jobseekers allowance.

the total of working age people in the uk not in employment and living on state stands at 13.1 million as of nov 11

got no problem with the 2.68 they are activley seeking work

its the rest of them the "ive got to many kids to work" "my anxitey makes it impossible to hold down a job" "if I have a job who will walk my dog" etc etc etc

the stay at home and breed generation makes me sick, myself and my partner are both working professionals and have one child, sure i could have squeezed out another one or two but economic viability was a big factor in choosing to only have one

approximatley just under 3 million job vacancies in the uk at the moment

go figure

MountainMonster

CraigXXL wrote:

By giving the longterm unemployed vouchers that can't be used for alcohol and tabacco. If they want to be supported by the state then the state should control what the money is spent on. Another alternative is that they all have state funded minimum pay jobs such as litter picking, call center etc.
The only people that should be on benefits long term are seriously sick, disabled (not stopped my two brothers from been employed most of their lifes though) and carers of the sick. This way more money would be available for those that need it as well as more people to help these people.

You hit the nail exactly on the head. In the states, and here in Austria, you don't really receive the money itself on your account, you receive food stamps, which are redeemable at supermarkets, and are not able to be used on purchases if it includes alcohol or tobacco. State housing if I remember correctly needed to paid to the renter, and doesn't hit your account either. I find just giving the people on their cash just fuels their lazyness, and they spend it on things they don't need. I know one guy back in Cambridge who had been on the doll for almost 10 years, claimed he had no money when he spoke to people at job offices and general financial support organisations, yet he had a car worth over 15k, new flat screen t.v.s in 3 rooms, each over 40 inches, sky, and paid xbox subscriptions among other things. He just saved on his housing and had 3 kids with his tramp of a girlfriend. Give them food vouchers instead of cash on the account, pay his housing to his renter instead to the tenant, and put a cap on things and the people will soon realize that there is no money to buy what they want, will try to get qualified some how, or find jobs which they can do. Working at Staples full time brought in 1100 after taxes, if you have 2 people in a household working, no more doll, no more dependance, and they can do what they want!

Daz555

supersonic wrote:

A lot of ill people do not get the benefits they deserve.

This.

My mother worked for 40 years. In her mid 50s she suffered from oesteoperosis - broke her shoulder, both collar bones, pelvis and even spine in several falls over those years. She was of course left unable to work. Well in summary she got relatively feck all in benefits. Certainly not enough to keep a roof over her head. If it were not for me picking up the mortgage and her bills in her later years she would have been poverty stricken and homeless. Utterly shocking after a lifetime paying taxes - what for you wonder?

When I hear about benefit spongers and scammers it makes my blood boil. Utter scum the lot of them. :evil:

Northwind

mak3m wrote:

the total of working age people in the uk not in employment and living on state stands at 13.1 million as of nov 11

got no problem with the 2.68 they are activley seeking work

its the rest of them the "ive got to many kids to work" "my anxitey makes it impossible to hold down a job" "if I have a job who will walk my dog" etc etc etc

Aye, that's not such a useful figure since it includes all sorts of folks who shouldn't be considered jobseeking or "unemployed", frinstance nonworking parents claiming child benefit make up a huge part of it. It also includes carers and long-term sick (being a full-time carer is harder work than I've ever done, and they get piss-all for it). And sure, some folk on the sick are chancing it but not all, and it's pretty hard to rule out the chancers without either spending a fortune, or cutting people off who need it.

What's wrong with "my anxiety makes it impossible to hold down a job?" You don't think that can be true? I interviewed a guy who collapsed midway through the interview with a full-on panic attack, poor sod- he'd not worked for 2 years, ours was the first interview he'd had and his brain exploded. I'd have loved to have given him a chance but really, we'd have had to be daft to take him on. Now that boy was fit to work, and doing his best, but competing with able bodied people for jobs, he was only ever going to lose out.

Briggo

Despite all the crap about "oh we need Sky" and "oh we need a gajillion fags each week"

The one thing that REALLY ticks me off is the lame excuse not to work, "Oh the educational software industry dried up and so theres no work about now for that"

No doubt there are a lot of people in the same mentality, how about getting retrained or applying for another job where initially you don't need qualifications, plenty of them about.

I decided against Uni, joined a large insurance company and now earn quite a bit more money than most of the uni students who got some useless degree and joined later, are working at the bottom end of the company trying to work their way up same as I did but now they joined later are behind. You don't always need qualifications, you just need to prove you have a brain once you're in the job.