Less than minimum wage?

toxic1990

Ok I wrote an essay in reply but damn IE crashed. I will give you the highlights.

1) Your philosophical question makes little sense. The existence of the NMW only works because of the benefits system. A Government wouldn’t able to place a NMW if it meant that its citizens would go hungry/die.

NMW has been proven, and agreed by Tories, to have increased standards of living. Proof that drawing a line in the sand and saying no less than this is beneficial to the country.

2) Well yes we do have the exact opposite of forced labour, which would be unforced labour. It’s like life and death. One is good; the other is well not so good. You seem to be implying that life is as bad as death.

3) I am repeating 1), Welfare system is beneficial to society, and it is beneficial to the economy regardless of the tiny minority who abuse the system.

Lets take Bob for example. Bob has just lost his job, with the power of foresight we know he will get a job in 9 months time. Without the benefit system to fill the 9 months he would become homeless, be on the street, possible death, either way would be unable to take up the job that was waiting for him.

Now how is it beneficial to society that Bob who has pretty much been permanently removed from the labour force? That means no taxation from him, no productivity and a fall in our economic output. Now times this by millions of workers

So ultimately the benefits of that system far outweigh the cost of operating it.

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure more can be done to encourage more back into work, or help those who have difficulties to do so. Mental health is a major issue, its not new, but its still heavily underfunded in the NHS.

I am coming of the tracks a bit me thinks.

Liz3yy

bendix wrote: »

Anyone aged 44 who is in the market for jobs at NWM needs to take a good long hard look at themselves.

You !!!!!!! my partner doesn't have to look for NWM jobs at all! he has a well paid job at the moment. The only reason he is looking for something else is to try and cut down his commute, he had no idea the position he went for this week was so poorly paid.

My OH is a proud, hard working man and has never shirked from his responsibilities.

You are disgusting and need to re-think what you say on here.

Liz3yy

Anyway.....thanks for all your (mostly) constructive comments. OH is happy to stay in his current job until something with a decent pay packet (!) and closer to home turns up.

In the meantime I'll be more careful with the threads I start on here for fear of upsetting the locals!

anamenottaken

Andy_L wrote: »

Salaried staff do, "time workers" (ie hourly rate) don't
"Time workers don’t need to be paid the NMW for hours spent:...
.. away from work on rest breaks, holidays, sick leave or maternity leave"

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_175105

You really should read with a little care so that you understand what is being stated.

Go and look at the site again.

Of course you could read it and decide that salaried workers have to be paid the NMW for their lunch breaks. However, of course, lunch breaks are not normally counted in working hours and are not paid never mind paid at NMW rates!

DVardysShadow

bendix wrote: »

All this fuss over 20p an hour.

It's simple. If you don't want to work for that rate, turn it down. There will be plenty of people prepared to accept it.

Meanwhile, you can go back to sign on.

The law is there to protect people in that position. Obviously, you think that protecting them is unnecessary.

Pound

HMRC deal with NMW compliance, details of how to complain are on the URL below. You could make a complaint if you wanted and they will eventually investigate.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/

SueC_2

bendix wrote: »

Anyone aged 44 who is in the market for jobs at NWM needs to take a good long hard look at themselves.

Are you for real?

I can think of so many arguments against this point of view that I hardly know where to start. And, by the way, NONE of them are my assumption about the situation of the OP or their partner.

a/ Could be someone of limited ability and aspirations (we can't all be Accountants and CEOs!) - good for them that they would rather earn themselves an honest crust than spend a lifetime on benefits.

b/ Could be someone who has hit hard times through no fault of their own (eg. company closed down / position made redundant) - good for them that they would rather accept a job, any job, rather than spend a lifetime on benefits.

c/ Could be someone trying to get their life back on track (eg. kicked a drug or alcohol problem / recently out of prison) - good for them that they are trying to get back into employment, rather than spend a lifetime on benefits.

d/ Could be someone who, despite their age, is only just entering the job market (eg. someone who had children young and has spent their early years looking after them rather than gathering a CV / someone who has spent their early life caring for someone else but is now in the position to find work) - good for them that they are trying to find work, rather than spend a lifetime on benefits.

I think you a probably beginning to see where I'm going with this.

Bottom line summary, many many people, regardless of age, who are in the market for NMW deserve our respect not condemnation.

dmbaxt

I think that the comment made about anyone over 44 looking for jobs at NMW is an absolute insult.

My Oh was made redundant recently as have many others in the industry my oh works in. He's only 38 and having to look at every job in his sector on offer regardless of pay simply for us to survive.

Whereas before my oh was earning close to £8 per hour nearly every job he has looked at and applied for is at or just above minimum wage simply because employers know that there are so many people after these jobs - it's simply a case of supply and demand - not many jobs + lots of people after them = employers reducing wages because they know the demand is there.

Example: OH phoned for a job that was NMW and was told that over 100 people had already phoned for it that day - it had only gone on to the JCP website that morning :eek:

Coveredinbees!!!!

To the OP and her husband.

The trouble with internet forums like this one is that they are anonymous and sad little people can easily take side swipes at people like you because they have nothing else to do in their sad little lives, just ignore them unfortunately they won't go away.

dave4545454

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

To the OP and her husband.

The trouble with internet forums like this one is that they are anonymous and sad little people can easily take side swipes at people like you because they have nothing else to do in their sad little lives, just ignore them unfortunately they won't go away.

exactly, just ignore trolls like bendix