Britons who are out of work for several years will be required to work full-time on community projects to receive state unemployment payments, finance minister George Osborne will announce on Monday.
The proposal is the latest attempt by the Conservative-led government to reform the benefits system, which Prime Minister David Cameron says does not provide enough incentives for people to go out to work.
It will be announced at the party's annual conference in Manchester, northwest England, in a bid to woo traditional conservative voters ahead of the 2015 general election.
Although the Tories are starting to close the gap in the opinion polls with the opposition Labour party, they are threatened on their right flank by the anti-immigration, anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP).
From April, the long-term unemployed will be forced to either do 30 hours a week of community work -- such as picking up litter, making food for the elderly, working for charity -- or attend a jobcentre every day.
People who break the rules once will lose four weeks benefit worth about ??230 ($370, 275 euros), while a second infringement could cost them three months, officials said.
The so-called "Help to Work" scheme will be open to people who have failed to find a job through the government's main work programme, a two-year process which provides support, training and work experience.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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3 comments:
I did a bit of research on this and it isn't as 'good' as it looks.
a) It effects the v.long term unemployed (UE) only. After a year out of work, the person then goes on a 'work programme'. This is apparently a tailored job search method. The UE person attends a job search place a few times a week, sees an adviser more often etc. THis work programme is 2 years in length. So, in total, it's a full 3 years until this 'work for dole' this would come into effect.
I've read also that it don't account for if someone say, goes off benefit for a month after 2.5 years say (say gets a brief agency job) and then signs back to claim benefits. They are then treated as a new claimant, again 3 years out from work for dole (even though they recently were off for 2.5 years!)The savy can simply do this pond jumping and avoid it.
THe same articles I read said the massive issue over there is 'invalidity' when they're effectively nothing wrong with them (how 'disabled is one who runs for a bus etc??) But they claim it is head related issues such as depression, anxiety etc. This is much more harder to clamp down on (in comparison to a bad leg say) and around 3 million are on some sort of 'invalidity' benefit, essentially immune to sanctions. Out of a population of 62 million (that's not working population either(, it's an epidemic apparently
This is exactly what we need to happen HERE in the U.S. but on a GRANDER SCALE. Add to that additional measures such as losing benefits or not receiving additional monies when additional children come along to folks who CAN'T AFFORD THEM...BREAK THAT INCENTIVE of getting a raise after each new kid.
Yes, agree with you, especially about the getting jacked up with kids off some tool punk.
Brit is apparently laughable with their benefit laxness though. I wouldn't look there for a 'model' system.
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