The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

harryhound

Yesterday there was a female French graduate (They have had youth unemployment problems for years, while we were "booming") on the BBC radio promoting her book based on her blog of her years as a supermarket check out operative.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5853437.ece

Max_Headroom_3

lostinrates wrote: »

£5? Wow, roll out the barrel eh?

And a bit weird: less than minimum wage for an hour, right? So you can't even work one hour for an employer. Surly it should be upped to £5 and however many pence would make it minimum wage, then one could legally do a trial hour for a potential employer without worrying about it removing you from the millions you might earn on the net.

I'm not very up on the whole benefit thing I'm afraid (I just take what they give me!) but I understood there were two types of JSA.

One was income based, ie directly related to income, and anything over a fiver earned came directly off your benefits.

And the other was contributions based, ie what you were entitled to as a result of paying over a certain threshold into the system.

My understanding was that if contributions based then you could earn money and still get the full JSA, provided you weren't working more than 16 hours a week (if you work more than that you're deemed to be no longer available for full time employment and JSA ceases).

Might have that totally wrong, but that was my vague understanding of it all.

Max_Headroom_3

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Well, I guess if you look at it in 'black and white' like that, you do make sense. However, and this is only my opinon/anecdotal.. life's a bit more of the shades of grey variety. There's only so much of the day you can spend looking for work, and if the rest of is spent doing something that you feel is both productive and learning something new ?.. It can give you a REAL confidence boost. Even if it is a few 'extra hits' or a response from someone who likes what you've written. Nothing is long term on the internet.. trying to keep up with it is. But it doesn't have to be a 24/7 thing.

When I started my first site we were in dire straits. I had just gazed in disbelief at a pregnancy test telling me I was pregnant with my 4th child ( 2 from previous marriage )..my husband had just had his wages arrested over a loan (before we were married), we were going over our overdraft every month by about £300, bank charges galore.. and I can remember sharing cup-a-soups with hubby because that's all we had left in the house after the kids were fed..I also remember vainly, but ever hopeful, walking a few times a mile to the cash machine on pay-day at 12.01am to see if the wages were in. Bad times.

That little site I started gave me something positive to focus on each day. That's all. I learned a LOT from building the site that year and I put that knowledge to good use building another one 18 months later.

4 years on ? Well, I still sit on my bum for most of the day ( well as much as you can do with 5 kids...yes 5, had another ), I spend around 2 hours a day if I'm lucky doing 'site stuff'... and a month ago, my accountant registered my yearly income this year with HMRC as just shy of 30k. I've just secured a mortgage based soley on it.*

Internet writing/blogging doesn't have to detract from seeking 'real-life' work etc. But it can be a very positive and confidence affirming thing to do and, in my case, probably saved our marriage. Gave me something good to think about and focus on while drinking my Asda tomato cup-a-soups..

(*note* I do think house prices have still a fair bit to fall, but can't keep moving the kids around/changing schools etc renting*).

Just my experience anyway. Sorry for the ramble !

That's a really terrific story Shakey, well done you. :T

dopester

Max_Headroom wrote: »

No, I think it's because you're an idiot.

We all have our moments with stupidity.

You'd have been better off stashing that £300 instead of buying that suit (alien-behaviour to me, knowing value of money - especially so if income is severely cut) and finding ways to borrow one when and as needed - although I have to assume you've got other perfectly adequate suits as well.

Now learn you've bought a car with the job-centre 30 mins walk away, or faster by bicycle. Why do you need a car? Surely that can wait until you get a paying job, and you could always rent, or slip a friend a few pounds to borrow one for interviews. I don't see how a car, house bills and feeding yourself can be done on JSA. You already walked to the Job Centre.. so why the car?

Geeves1980

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Isn't this wearing a suit for interviews thing a bit dated nowadays? All it proves is that you have a suit. Surely clean, tidy, "smart casual" attire, with decent shoes and a good haircut, says just as much about the candidate as wearing £300 worth of Burtons finest.

Another advantage to being a woman I suppose .

It really deoenda what type of job you're going for. I didn't wear a suit to my interview the other month (Nursing) just a really smart pencil skirt and fitted top (both bought on Ebay!) and I still got the job.

Boyfriend on the other hand works in financial markets in London. To not wear a suit at interview would be totally against the 'rules'. Whether these are silly, outdated rules is another story.

Max_Headroom_3

Geeves1980 wrote: »

I too didn't think the watch example sounded showy either. It's not like you were telling the story of how you went out and blew you yearly JSA on the new watch. It's stuff you've bought yourself, paid for with the money you've worked hard for (like your house & savings).

My best freind was made redundant last year and it took her six months before she got another job. She was job searching everyday, applying for every possible job, but would turn up at the job centre in her car (which was a rather lovely year old Merc). Her feeling was that she'd bought that car outright with savings (and got a cracking deal from a car auction through her dad's mate.) She never felt bad about having a nice car and signing on. Up til then she'd worked for 12 years to legitimately buy the stuff she had and she wasn't about to be made to feel she no longer deserved something she already owned or had to give it back.

Thank you, that's exactly my feelings.

I've worked long and hard and well for nearly quarter of a century. If that's created enough money that I can comfortably afford a reasonable car that I've got a particularly great deal on then I'm not going to be made to feel "guilty" about it by some silly little no nark on the internet telling me I shouldn't dare to do such a thing and should be riding a pedal cycle or the bus to my job interviews (yeah, that'll impress!) :rolleyes:

F**k it, if the worst comes to the worst and I run out of money before landing any job I'll just sell the thing.

lostinrates

Geeves1980 wrote: »

Boyfriend on the other hand works in financial markets in London. To not wear a suit at interview would be totally against the 'rules'. Whether these are silly, outdated rules is another story.

DH too,and most likely women in the smae industry, would wear suits to interviews. He wwears suits for most client metings and other odds and ends. We would both rfer suits to be the standdard niform, not th business casual code his office have. Frquently this makes more washing/ironing (e.g. unscheduled client meeting during the day means two shirts) and costs mor as his ''business casual'' is not what he'd wear at weekends/evenings out, if he weren't already in them.

Geeves1980

Max_Headroom wrote: »

Thank you, that's exactly my feelings.

I've worked long and hard and well for nearly quarter of a century. If that's created enough money that I can comfortably afford a reasonable car that I've got a particularly great deal on then I'm not going to be made to feel "guilty" about it by some silly little no nark on the internet telling me I shouldn't dare to do such a thing and should be riding a pedal cycle or the bus to my job interviews (yeah, that'll impress!) :rolleyes:

F**k it, if the worst comes to the worst and I run out of money before landing any job I'll just sell the thing.

Maybe this particular person just resents anyone having nice things and believes that we should all be riding pushbikes to interviews in cheap suits!

Bogof_Babe

Point taken about suits. I worked as sales support so was office based, but the salesforce always did have to present themselves smartly, obviously as they were hoping to make a good impression and win orders.

Silly of me really, it never occurred to me that we are talking about jobs involving meeting and impressing clients. I was imagining everyone worked in an office!

Max_Headroom_3

Geeves1980 wrote: »

Maybe this particular person just resents anyone having nice things and believes that we should all be riding pushbikes to interviews in cheap suits!

Cheap borrowed suits! :rotfl:

I suspect you've hit the nail firmly on the head there my friend.