Jobless 'To Be Forced To Work' For Benefits

[Jazzy]

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will announce tough new conditions on the payment of unemployment benefits at the Conservative Party conference next week, according to reports.

The Daily Mail reported that the long-term unemployed will be told that they must do an unpaid full-time job or lose their benefits.

The paper said it was expected that claimants who go through the Work Programme - the Government's main back-to-work scheme - but fail to find a job will be required to take part in unpaid community work or work experience.

Refusal to do so could mean the loss of welfare payments.

Mr Duncan Smith told the Mail: "It's not acceptable for people to expect to live a life on benefits if they're able to work."

He added: "Benefits should be a safety net - but not something that gives claimants an income out of reach of many hard-working families."

Mr Duncan Smith also announced the Government's benefits cap is now fully in place across Britain.

The controversial cap - which limits benefits to £500 a week for couples and lone parents and £350 a week for single adults - is a key plank of Mr Duncan Smith's welfare reforms. It is expected to affect about 40,000 households.

The cap covers the main out-of-work benefits - jobseeker's allowance, income support, and employment and support allowance - and other benefits such as housing benefit, child benefit and child tax credit and carer's allowance.

Source

What do you think of the benefits cap?

 

[DrLeftover]

If you mention this being implemented in the US you are immediately labeled a racist and sent to sensitivity class.

 

[Sinon]

The cap itself means nothing to me. I'm not entirely pleased with this full-time unpaid work thing, though. I've been unemployed for 11 months, and it's not for a lack of trying to get work. I've applied to basically anywhere that's hiring, to no avail. The closest thing I got to a job was an apprenticeship; £106 per week, 40 hours of work plus a day at college. That works out at £2.65 per hour.

Fuck that noise.

The question it raises though, if there's going to be enough unpaid work to be given to everyone on benefits... why the fuck don't they make some of those jobs paid, and actually hire the people instead? I know for damn sure I'm not going to be motivated to work hard when I'm not getting paid to do so.

 

[Evil Eye]

if there's going to be enough unpaid work to be given to everyone on benefits... why the fuck don't they make some of those jobs paid

:that:
I sort of doubt they have enough jobs.