Cuts to benefits

[klingelton]

There is always work to be had, just you might need to do a bit of hard labour or something that's a little bit unpleasant. You never know, you may Enjoy it!

[Selene]

for some people looking for work can be tough because some would go for what they are trained for or good at. yeah okay they do not always get into whatever job it is they are applying for as there are more than one applicant wanting the same job so for the employer they need to pick who they think would be suitable, sometimes they can pick more than one applicant. when i left school i had a choice of either staying in the united kingdom with my mother and work for her or move back to canada with my father and help him with the family business rather than going out looking for work but in a way it came to me because at the time my mother had her own salon and she still does today (even though now she's thinking about retiring), i have been working for my mother since leaving school and it is she whom provided me with the training i needed but then saying that she's always done so.

i'm not going to take anyone's side okay because i do not want to be caught up in the middle. but everyone has his or her own opinion of the welfare system and about the way which this country is going.

i agree with zod when he said that some have valid reasons for not being able to find or get work. you'll never know, some could be blind, paralyzed, they could be disabled or they could just be unfit to work. but then they don't think of checking out remploy do they?

transport though shouldn't be made as an excuse because you will need to find your own way to work if company transport is unavailable.

and zod you are wrong about there not being any jobs around, i know you are looking and have done since leaving college last year but don't bring up excuses which they can use against you. and for christ sake stop moaning about the system! just deal with it okay?

[Joeman]

If i had the time, i would make it my mission to find Zod a job!

I dont see why a college educated, able bodied human being who has been searching hard for work can be totally out of work for over a year!

Kids these days got it easy in some respects because the Internet makes it much easier to search for jobs than newspapers, and when they find a job they are interested in, they can just email over their CV... and then use Google maps to find where the interview is, and search the company website to do background research and formulate intelligent questions to ask the interviewer...

The internet makes job hunting easy

[Guest philgale]

Zod can you blame people for giving you a hard time over this, you have admitted doin off the books work I presume you get paid for this but havnt informed the authorities so you have committing benefit fraud? Is that right or have I miss read it? Also I presume you don't declare any earnings doing this off the books work since that's what off the books means so your not paying tax or NI on what you earn either so we could possibly add tax acasion to the benefit fraud? Yet you moan about it changing to prevent this

[Selene]

i don't think he cares at all philgale tbh. i don't want to be speaking for him because i have no right in doing so but, you have every right to be giving him a hard time about it as he doesn't do off the book work at all but he did though when he wasn't on job seekers so knowing him he hadn't worded his posts correctly.

and also he did have a job at one point though due to being in college full time he couldn't continue on with the job so in the end he left when he could have asked if he could of done part time work instead...

he has since leaving college had job offers from various companies though i'm just not sure why he turned them down. he isn't lazy or anything though...the thing is he doesn't or didn't want to be doing two things at once because he couldn't be both in college or work full time.

did he mention anything about the interview he has on friday? knowing him he didn't mention anything of it.

you guys can say all this is an excuse or whatever but this is the truth. none of you even thought of asking him why he started this topic in the first place have you because it isn't about him this topic is about everyone, most or some who are on benefits.

[dfrbrowne]

off subject but can I say to Selene in your profile picture you look very pretty!

[Selene]

off subject but can I say to Selene in your profile picture you look very pretty!

 

thanks i guess...

[dfrbrowne]

your welcome

[Smokin Joe]

There's no need for a healthy young man to be out of work. If no employers want you why not try and employ yourself, millions of us do. There are plenty of elderly people who'll pay to have their gardens tended, people want their cars valeted and their windows cleaned. When I went out of work nine years ago I got a job shoving catalogues through letter boxes, it was hard going to start with, out in all weathers but I stuck at it and built up a round that earns me a living wage. There are always firms looking for leaflet distributors or canvassers and many other such opportunities if you are prepared to look.

If you are content to sit round waiting for the Job Centre to drop a cushy little local job in your lap you'll be waiting a long time. Use your initiative, you've probably had a far better education than I ever did. I'm sixty now and if I can do it there's no reason you can't.

[Guest philgale]

i don't think he cares at all philgale tbh. i don't want to be speaking for him because i have no right in doing so but, you have every right to be giving him a hard time about it as he doesn't do off the book work at all but he did though when he wasn't on job seekers so knowing him he hadn't worded his posts correctly.

 

so this quote "Other than applying for jobs I sometimes do off the book work with my father on some weekends at small construction sites doing scaffolding. " from Zod's earlier post says he has been doing off the books work whilst looking for other work, that gives the impression hes been on job seekers whilst looking for work and whilst doing that doing off the books work which as i said is tax avasion and benefit fraud so he shouldnt even be getting the benefits in the first place so the cuts shouldnt affect him.

 

you guys can say all this is an excuse or whatever but this is the truth. none of you even thought of asking him why he started this topic in the first place have you because it isn't about him this topic is about everyone, most or some who are on benefits.

 

Zods the one who made it about him by using himself as an example, is people are not ment to pick up on that and turn the discussion to him them why post it?

I got the impression the post was a rant about the government cutting benefits and his argument against this was there isnt any jobs, yet plenty people have pointed out there are jobs out there if you want to look and by your own admission Zods turned down jobs, why? if he had the opportunity to work but chose not to and claim benefits and then moan there isnt any jobs seems a bit odd to me.

[Selene]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

[Bogof]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

 

Did someone force him to claim benefits? If not, then why is he?

[Guest philgale]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

 

you seam to have missed the point of my post by a county mile....

you posted he had turned down work, why did he do that whilst claiming benefits? if he was offered work he should take the job and not rely on the handouts whilst doing off the books work.

if someone cant genuinely can't work i have no problem with them claiming, thats whats its there for. if someone is paralysed and cant physically work then they should claim. benefits are there to help people in need not to fund a lifestyle.

[Joeman]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

 

Did someone force him to claim benefits? If not, then why is he?

 

I dont like to have a go at Zod, (its the system thats broken) but it really does seem like a prime example of benefit payments removing the incentive to take a job.

Also, i believe a certain amount of "Off the books" earnings is expected and factored into the taxation system. Yes technically it should be declared, but is anyone really going to begrudge the lad doing a bit of work for his dad??

It seems the main problem is that the unemployed are forced to attend the Job centre (or what ever its called now) and they are brainwashed into believing that the Jobcentre is doing everything possible to find them a job, when in fact the people in the job center only work there because they themselves couldn't get a job!!

Get on Gumtree, there are loads of jobs advertised!!

jobs = money = new bikes

[Ingah]

There's no need for a healthy young man to be out of work. If no employers want you why not try and employ yourself, millions of us do. There are plenty of elderly people who'll pay to have their gardens tended, people want their cars valeted and their windows cleaned. W

 

Love this stuff in principle. But follow it through: You get your JSA if you look for a job. If you, as well as looking for a job, get up off your arse to do these odd jobs and make some crap money, they will (probably) take your JSA away, possibly pound for pound if you declare it (and you'll be worse off than ever before as you've paid out expenses to go and do this stuff), and you're a benefits fraudster if you don't. This in itself is a major issue with the benefits system, the idea that doing the extra work will not actually benefit you.

I think (hope) this is the problem that universal credit is intended to solve?

Edited April 18, 2013 by Ingah

[D282]

Serious question for Zod:

Would you take a job at McDonalds if they offered you one? have you tried applying there?

 

Still not answering my question Zod?

[techno]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

 

Did someone force him to claim benefits? If not, then why is he?

 

If your entitled to it why the hell wouldnt you?

My daughter finishes college soon and tho she doesnt want to I told her to claim what she can while she finds a job, hopefully she can find something sooner rather than later.

Heres an idea, it seems people are reluctant to work if there worse off, i can see why they wouldnt take jobs in this instance, so why not ay as an example if you could earn £100 a week doing whatever just lose £60-£70 off your benefit so your slightly better off and our taxes stretch farther, I know your still doing work for little money but it may lead to better things and better pay.

The thing is the whole economy needs a kick up the arse, immigration needs to stop and people should be able to retire at retirement age to help the job prospects of working age people.

I think this thread has gone away from the terminally workshys benefits being cut.

[Zod]

he didn't choose to claim benefits he chose to further his education by going back into college.

 

you seam to have missed the point of my post by a county mile....

you posted he had turned down work, why did he do that whilst claiming benefits? if he was offered work he should take the job and not rely on the handouts whilst doing off the books work.

if someone cant genuinely can't work i have no problem with them claiming, thats whats its there for. if someone is paralysed and cant physically work then they should claim. benefits are there to help people in need not to fund a lifestyle.

 

The job offers I had were whilst I was in college and not on JSA. I couldn't take any of them jobs simply because I was doing full time in college and all my concentration was going straight into my exams so I wasn't really looking for work at that time, the course manager who is one of my lecturers had asked the whole class out of the two groups doing the course to email him our CV's and he'll send them out to various jobs in the local area and to also put in a good word for us.

Now when I left college last year again I signed up for another course though this was part time, so night classes. I'm still doing that now. I didn't however go on JSA straight after I left college I went on it a month before I started the part time course so I didn't turn down the job offers while I was on JSA otherwise of course they would have stopped my money.

In my view whether you declare it or not off the books work to me is nothing more than something to do when I haven't got anything else to do other than to sit home all day long searching through job listings on various sites, it does get boring, it does get tiring, and at time I feel I need to get up off my backside and actually do something. Working with my father on these small sites is exactly that, I choose not to get paid because it would be cheaper as it's coming out of the site foreman's pocket and not out of the company pocket, my father and that foreman had been working together for years so if my father is off work and looking for something to do rather than to sit home all day long then he does off the books work.

I don't do it to defraud the system, I do it because it also gives me an insight to what scaffolding is like.

Mcdonalds. I have thought about working in Mcdonalds though the fast food business just isn't for me and further more I'm not really a people person and by that I mean I wouldn't be very good at serving customers.

Also, everyone has the right to claim benefits. That is money which you are entitled to. Whether you see it that way or not.

Furthermore the job centre do not find you anything. All they do is have a rather friendly or rude chat with you about what you would like to do or about how your job search is going, they can though put you onto small training courses which are either low cost or which are through colleges.

They can also put you onto do a CSCS/CIA test.

The reason why that they send people on the Working Links program is because the government are pissed off with the staff at the job centre for not getting you back into work, Working Links should be made available from the minute you first sign on and not after 9 months.

All the job centre does is advise, piss you off, advise again, piss you off some more and then oooo send you onto some 2 year programe which would help you get into work.

The system is broken and deffinately needs to be scrapped and restarted. The job centre are failing most or some people all the time, but people would rather go for something which they are trained for and for such jobs that they know how to do and not something which they do not have the qualifications nor the training for.

The job centre are too dumb to listen to what you want, it's always what they want. No, it has to be met both ways.

Anymore questions now? If not then happy reading!

[Joeman]

Well said zod!

Not sure about being so public about the off books work though mate.. Big brother is watching us all!!

[klingelton]

It's like the people fresh out of college want to be senior executive of a major corp earning six figure salaries straight away. If you speak to any CEO, I will guarantee that they've done shitty jobs to get to where they are.

On top of it, when the ideal job does come along, the one zod's been holding out for - he won't get it, because there are a thousand others after the same job. Who would an employer give the job to? The kid who's been on job seekers for the last 12 months or the kid who did 6 jobs at the same time and is showing a willing to learn and earn and graft.

A gap in your employment is more damaging than sweeping streets. If asked "why did you sweep streets for the last 6 months?" During an interview, the answer would be "it beat sitting on my arse and waiting for someone to hand me the perfect job!"

Zod, I apologise for making this post a little bit about you, it's just that you did put your head above the parapet a touch!

The best bit about going out to work is meeting new people. There's sure to be bar work, bricky work, basically any sort of work where they need someone with a young back to move heavy things around!

[Joeman]

It's like the people fresh out of college want to be senior executive of a major corp earning six figure salaries straight away. If you speak to any CEO, I will guarantee that they've done shitty jobs to get to where they are.

 

Funny story about that... when i left Uni, my first day back at my mums place, i called the temp agency who always used to sort me out with jobs to pay off my overdraft each summer so i'd start the next term with zero bank balance. I told the agent i was totally broke and would take any work they had.. "Anything?? are you sure??" she said, to which i replied, "yes, anything - im skint!!"

Next morning the agent called me up and said, "you know you said you would take anything, well report to this address, wear scruffy clothes, they will tell you what the job is when you get there..."

So off i trot, no idea what i'm walking into.. it turned out to be a job travelling around with another guy in a van cleaning all of the public toilets in the area!!! I was literally cleaning up other peoples sh1t as for some reason many managed to miss the toilets, and women managed to stick used sanitary towels to walls... it was disgusting work, made bearable by the banter with the bloke i was working with, and the knowledge that i finished at 2pm and was getting paid a good rate.

Eventually i found a proper job, but my application was helped by the glowing reference from the toilet cleaning job.. I firmly believe that had i not scrubbed bogs, i would not be where i am today...

just need to remember that whatever job you take, its not forever, but as has been said, Any work is better in the eyes of the interviewer than sitting on benefits doing f-all.

[Darkest-Star]

Funny story about that... when i left Uni, my first day back at my mums place, i called the temp agency who always used to sort me out with jobs to pay off my overdraft each summer so i'd start the next term with zero bank balance. I told the agent i was totally broke and would take any work they had.. "Anything?? are you sure??" she said, to which i replied, "yes, anything - im skint!!"

Next morning the agent called me up and said, "you know you said you would take anything, well report to this address, wear scruffy clothes, they will tell you what the job is when you get there..."

So off i trot, no idea what i'm walking into.. it turned out to be a job travelling around with another guy in a van cleaning all of the public toilets in the area!!! I was literally cleaning up other peoples sh1t as for some reason many managed to miss the toilets, and women managed to stick used sanitary towels to walls... it was disgusting work, made bearable by the banter with the bloke i was working with, and the knowledge that i finished at 2pm and was getting paid a good rate.

Eventually i found a proper job, but my application was helped by the glowing reference from the toilet cleaning job.. I firmly believe that had i not scrubbed bogs, i would not be where i am today...

just need to remember that whatever job you take, its not forever, but as has been said, Any work is better in the eyes of the interviewer than sitting on benefits doing f-all.

 

That's the right attitude to take when out of work and looking for a start In life. The conversation has moved on from cuts to unemployment...... some good views here though. Most in the UK would like to see a change to the system but that requires the electorate to vote for none on the mainstream parties and look for a party with the nerve to eat a sh1t sandwich instead of smoked salmon.

We are all having to take the hit to bail out the financial industry and that means benefit claimants too.

[Darkest-Star]

Sorry Joeman, it looks like I've nicked your posting and used it as my own.

Need to get a decent handle on Tapatalk

[Joeman]

Sorry Joeman, it looks like I've nicked your posting and used it as my own.

Need to get a decent handle on Tapatalk

 

LOL!! no worries

[bex]

going back to the original post. yes the system is broken, i have friends, single mothers, who would be worse off if they got a job, that is wrong, the incentive to work is not out there and has bread a work shy generation. it is wrong but its there.

it has been mentioned that rather than having cash to spend benefits should be paid in vouchers, that are redeemable at certain places, i think this would be a good idea, it would make those on benefits realise that the latest smart phone or tv or games console is not a necessity. hell i have worked and i still work now while in full time uni, and i have a second hand box tv, not flat screen, and a second hand wii.

As for Zod. mate you dug your own pit on this one. i am in swansea, when i decided on a weekend i wanted to work i got work, by the following weekend i was working 30 hours a week. while in uni. swansea is one of the best places to get a job in the uk at the moment. you just got to be willing to lower your standards. you say you cant get a job even though your trying hard? have you thought at looking at yourself, what are you doing wrong that means your not being given the work.