1 in 12 Adults have never worked.

[Tashyboy]

My first time here and I am really impressed by the high level of contributions (the proponents of eugenics excepted). We can all cite anecdotes – I have played golf with a few people and discovered over a pint in the clubhouse they were unpleasant, vile racists. Doesn't get us very far does it?

I have worked in this field for over 25 years and seen literally thousands of people in their homes. To suggest that people en masse are milking the system and living the high life is incorrect. Yes there will be cases like the ex lady captain fraudulently claiming disability benefits but these are outweighed many fold by those not claiming benefits they are entitled to.

Yes there are and always have been criminal families and families where nobody in generations have worked. Are we suggesting children should suffer as a result?.

75% of those with long term mental health problems do not work.

A single mother with 3 children is entitled to £179.00 income based benefits per week. This amount has to cover food, water, electricity, gas, phone, TV licence, internet, clothes, insurance, council tax, transport, laundry etc etc.

55% of the Department of Work & Pension's budget goes on pensions

A couple earning £100k can claim £2.5k child benefit

Internet connection is obligatory for school homework

I for one do not want to live in a society where I have to step between homeless people on the streets of our great towns and cities. I don't want my fellow citizens to suffer the humiliation of proving their entitlement to receive charity from a food bank. I don't want to see a disheveled underclass whilst I am out shopping. We are a very wealthy country and I suppose it comes down to our values as to how this wealth should be distributed.

There are parts of that read that are excellent, and parts I read and think hmmmm. Single mother with 3 kids gets £179 per week. How much off CSA and if nowt, why not. What about single mothers with multiple children off multiple fathers. What about my adopted Daughter who was adamant she was having children and a fully furnished council house paid so by us. She has never had any intentions of doing a days work. She has never done a days work. Now living with 2 kids, fully furnished house.She has got her wish. She has not spoken to me and Missis T for over 2 years coz I told her I did not think it was acceptable to be taking drugs in front of children. How can a single parent afford drugs when they are supposed to be living on the bread line.

 

[Fade and Die]

Totally agree but we don't live in anything like an ideal world. And, in reality, society isn't failing. The thing that gets in the way is world economics.

Starting from the ground up, if you pay the cleaner £xx more an hour you'll have to up the wage of the technician. And if you up the wage of the technician, you'll need to up the wage of the supervisor. And if you up the wage of the technician you'll need to up the wage of the secretary, and that of her supervisor. Then there's the manager's wages. And so on and so on up it goes. End result being that the company stops being competitive in the global market and folds.

So how do you raise the standard of living of the lower paid if you can't raise the minimum wage high enough, AND you aren't allowed to subsidise the company due to EU/competition rules? You pay benefits. Its subsidy by the back door. Its needs benefits and tax breaks to be high enough and widespread enough to raise the standard of living but you're still hamstrung by the same equation of how far up the work/wage level do you go up with the benefits/subsidies?

That's a very short version. Pretty sure you can broaden that out.

Yes this is a real problem, my brother is the GMB shop steward at a Hospital in London, every time the minimum wage goes up he gets grief from the next tiers of workers.
The bottom tier, mop jockeys, porters (plumber’s?) etc come and go, turn up late, often miss days. The next tier the security guards have to pass DBS checks, cannot have time off and have a strict rota. They are on about £1.20 an hour more than the lower tier and are not happy.
I know @Kellfire is wearing his Comrade Corbyn Cap when he says pay them enough for a comfortable life but it’s not practical and can stop people aspiring to better themselves.

 

[Kellfire]

Keeping people living unhappy lives to encourage ambition.

That’s whole new levels of spin.

 

[chrisd]

There always has been, and always will be, those people who are the lowest and the highest of earners in our country. Unless we adopt a communist economy that will never change but if we were to adopt their philosophy, there would still be oligarch billionaires cheating the system.

 

[Del_Boy]

The minimum wage should allow people to live in relative comfort. It should not condemn them to never owning property, sharing with others and having to live off low quality food and sacrifice happiness for existence. If that’s all it does, society is failing then.

What do you think the minimum wage should be?

 

[Deleted member 21784]

What do you think the minimum wage should be?

The minimum wage should be the living wage. Not set by gov but a lot of companies try to stick to it

Whilst not a lot more than min wage it allows for more and in London the rate is slightly higher

Also ban zero hour contracts and give contracted hours so people get a fair min income rather than a bit one month and none the next

 

[Hobbit]

There always has been, and always will be, those people who are the lowest and the highest of earners in our country. Unless we adopt a communist economy that will never change but if we were to adopt their philosophy, there would still be oligarch billionaires cheating the system.

Surely being on slow wage is different from being a wage so low it needs state support?

 

[Wolf]

Im really not surprised at all that it's 1in 12. My wife's cousin is 43, she's never worked a day in her life, yet has a 4bedroom house in Croydon, all the latest gadgets, sky tv and 2 holidays a year. Shes eveb brazen enough to say what's the point working when she can get more money by doing nothing....

 

[Del_Boy]

The minimum wage should be the living wage. Not set by gov but a lot of companies try to stick to it

Whilst not a lot more than min wage it allows for more and in London the rate is slightly higher

Also ban zero hour contracts and give contracted hours so people get a fair min income rather than a bit one month and none the next

I was after a number. Also why ban zero hour contracts there are people who like the flexibility this gives them

 

[Deleted member 21784]

I was after a number. Also why ban zero hour contracts there are people who like the flexibility this gives them

The number is clearly in my.post earlier

Currently 9.30 per hour out of London

10.75 per hour in London


Min hours would give people this. Even if was min 10 hours a week leas people wouldn't get nothing one week and something the next

What about zero hours where they can't take other jobs then are given no hours?

 

[Del_Boy]

Close tax loopholes. Tax the rich more. Try to close the gap between the haves and the have nots.

What is your definition of rich and how much more should they be taxed?

 

[RulesGuy]

There are a fair amount of absent fathers who don't pay maintenance or arrange their affairs to pay as little as possible. This is particularly hard on many (usually) women . A claimant does not get an additional amount for a third or subsequent child unless conceived through rape/multiple births etc. I have seen people from all walks of life from rich businessmen who have had a major life changing incident through to people with severe learning disabilities and everyone in between.

I think people would be surprised how difficult it is to claim disability benefits. They are not widely publicised and are often refused with few people appealing to the tribunal where 70% of decisions are overturned.

Good comments. In your work did you find that many people needing state support were Mothers with Children where the Father was absent and took no responsibility for the upkeep of his children.

 

[Del_Boy]

The number is clearly in my.post earlier

Currently 9.30 per hour out of London

10.75 per hour in London


Min hours would give people this. Even if was min 10 hours a week leas people wouldn't get nothing one week and something the next

What about zero hours where they can't take other jobs then are given no hours?

Apologies re read your post and got your numbers.

Agree zero hour contracts should have flexibility on both sides

 

[need_my_wedge]

Saw a piece on the news earlier saying how Saturday jobs for young ins are dying out. It showed a headline from one of the papers saying that one in twelve adults have never done a days work in there life. How have these people survived. Don’t get me wrong am sure there are some genuine reasons as to why. But 1 in 12 seems quite a lot.

My lad (19) has been doing part time work since 16, working at the golf club and then AG, where he still works when back from Uni. In one of his first uni business classes, they were asked who had done any work before uni, only 3 students out of a class of 27 had done any kind of work beforehand.

 

[chrisd]

Surely being on slow wage is different from being a wage so low it needs state support?

Doesn't it depend on the nature of the work. Where I work bar staff are on zero hour contracts and about 50p an hour over the minimum wage. One or two are just supplementing the home income where their other half earns good money and others are no doubt entitled to benefits. As has been said though, if the minimum wage goes up then the rest of the workforce want t least the same increase to keep the differential- quite understandably I'd say.

 

[sussexhacker]

I don’t have a problem with people claiming when they are in need ie between jobs/ extenuating circumstances etc

One of the problems at least round here is that there aren’t any catch ups on what’s going on with these people

Someone who started working with me around 6 months ago still has his rent paid for him even though he’s been earning enough to cover it himself since he started

Also people expect to be housed when they shouldn’t be. One of my missus friends found out she was pregnant and with her other half (both of them work full time) they went straight to the council and asked for somewhere to live before they even thought of getting somewhere for themselves even though they could afford it

 

[SocketRocket]

Unemployment benifits should always be assistance to get someone into a job.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I don’t have a problem with people claiming when they are in need ie between jobs/ extenuating circumstances etc

One of the problems at least round here is that there aren’t any catch ups on what’s going on with these people

Someone who started working with me around 6 months ago still has his rent paid for him even though he’s been earning enough to cover it himself since he started

Also people expect to be housed when they shouldn’t be. One of my missus friends found out she was pregnant and with her other half (both of them work full time) they went straight to the council and asked for somewhere to live before they even thought of getting somewhere for themselves even though they could afford it

It is his responsibility to inform DWP he has employment and circumstances have changed, and he will have to pay back the rent.
If he hasn’t told them then it’s fraud.
As for the pregnant friend, unless she is single and homeless, she has no right to accommodation, but is perfectly entitled to enquire about social housing.

 

[sussexhacker]

It is his responsibility to inform DWP he has employment and circumstances have changed, and he will have to pay back the rent.
If he hasn’t told them then it’s fraud.
As for the pregnant friend, unless she is single and homeless, she has no right to accommodation, but is perfectly entitled to enquire about social housing.

She’s not single and I think if they could have afforded housing on their own then they have no right to jump the queue when others are in more need
It only took them 2 months to get a place

 

[Deleted member 16999]

She’s not single and I think if they could have afforded housing on their own then they have no right to jump the queue when others are in more need
It only took them 2 months to get a place

So a married couple?