'Would you work or claim benefit?' poll discussion

GotNo£

It depends on the job. If it was not related to or useful for an intended future career then I'd go with the benefits. After all, time is precious and the time spent not working in a meaningless job for less money could better be spent on bettering yourself in other useful ways; educating yourself, part-time study, reading, online courses, learning languages etc.

hullight

GotNo£ wrote: »

It depends on the job. If it was not related to or useful for an intended future career then I'd go with the benefits. After all, time is precious and the time spent not working in a meaningless job for less money could better be spent on bettering yourself in other useful ways; educating yourself, part-time study, reading, online courses, learning languages etc.

But why should I have to pay for your career choices? If it's that important to you, invest in it yourself, i.e. get a job and pay for it.

Jomo

GotNo£ wrote: »

It depends on the job. If it was not related to or useful for an intended future career then I'd go with the benefits. After all, time is precious and the time spent not working in a meaningless job for less money could better be spent on bettering yourself in other useful ways; educating yourself, part-time study, reading, online courses, learning languages etc.

Which can be done in your own time AFTER work.

Get a job you sponger

planetseymour

After signing on for nearly 10 months I get Nothing from the state. Not a single penny after twenty odd years of paying NI contributions. I had received six months of job seekers allowance. I am now means tested. But with the financial strain on my marriage I am about to become homeless and means tested again hope fully. I would take the job just for the mental break. Ideally i would pay my NI. and tax into a bank account so that if I came out of work I could survive without dipping into the expenses of my local MP. even my local staff buerow is making itself redundant. Yes I think the PM is a BULLY.

Bennieboy

i would happily take work over mindless boredom each day

ceridwen

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm single. It would depend on the job, how much I was worse off and why.
As for people who have said that in the workplace you get training and to move up, my experience (over 30 years in work) is that employers have never paid for any training for me. I've always self-trained, or paid for my own courses (at full price, up to £2000)... but still I found I never really got on/got up because I was working in small companies... also, being promoted takes time - a lot of time. If the amount you are earning is less than the basic costs of life then how long can you juggle it all before it falls apart? So I'd probably opt to wait for something else, a bit nearer, or paying a bit more.

Once you're in the workplace, you tend to be surrounded by people with a lot more money than you have, which is not only isolating, but you also can't join in and socialise with any of them, so they find you stand offish and you end up isolated at work because you have nothing in common with them and can't afford to go out with them or join in any work-based activities like paying £1-2 for the charity dress down day or going to the Xmas meal. So, work isn't always a great place to improve your self confidence if you start off even worse off (bearing in mind a single person's JSA is the real raw basics, so any less than that is literally skipping meals to survive)

Some good sound points by Pastures.

As someone who is single and childless myself - then there was simply no option BUT to vote for staying on benefit. Benefit for childless people is SO appallingly low that I literally couldnt survive on it anyway (at least not without a HUGE struggle) and then not for very long at all. So - it simply wouldnt make sense to do ANYTHING that would involve my having even lower income than that (which - in this case - would mean not taking the job).

cupkate

karenfielder wrote: »

Do you know you are absolutely correct, you would get all these treatments free if you were on benefits, it really is not fair - incidentally I was having a similar conversation with a lady yesterday who questioned why scotlish residents are entitled to free presciptions regardless of their working circumstance - do you know that I could not answer - does anyone know why, although we are all part of the whole country NHS why can only scotland get it all free?

Presriptions are not free in Scotland. They are cheaper mind you @ £4 per item. (Free to those on income based benefits though-same as in England)I thought that Wales had free prescriptions but not 100% sure of this

supermonkey

some here are commenting that they currently work but do not have enough money to pay a prescription. That indicates that income in incredibly low and i would be surprised that they are not elligable for some benefit (housing / council tax, working tax credit, income support etc).

I would be interested to see what the income / outgoings are for some of you. Perhaps some can be helped to cut costs and increase income?

supermonkey

wildthing01 wrote: »

i'd take the job, even tho i have two children to support, as you're more likely to get a better-paid job later once you're already in employment, as you'll have fewer gaps on your cv, and more experience, plus you're more likely to find opportunities if you're out in a workplace already. i've never understood the attitude of jobless people who won't take certain jobs, as they don't want to do it, or they feel their over-qualified. it's much easier to find work if you're already in work, of any kind, you're always building up your tranferable skill base, and you're more likely to meet people who can offer opportunities. e.g. get a job serving in maccy d's and even if you think it's beneath you, you'll soon be able to progress to supervisor/manager etc, and then you have more to put on your CV...
you have to think long-term.

With a family and a stressful low paid job, spending another 4 hours a night searching for work is asking for a breakdown.

And having a poor job on your cv is no better than having a gap. Similar questions are asked - "why were you unemployed for a year" "why were you working for mac d's for a year"

FloFlo wrote: »

It shouldn't be when someone feels 'inclined' to work, if you can work then thats what you should be doing. I don't see why myself and my husband should work to allow others to have extra time with their children. If you can't afford the children without being on benefits then don't have them.

Some people had children before redundancy and have to then claim benefits to support them. Perhaps this is difficult to understand if you're not in that position.

There was an interesting post about the challenge of looking after children when in full time work. Well paid jobs mean child care is an option. It isn't on poor pay and something has to give.

mcgazz wrote: »

For people who're apparently frugal with money, it's amazing how many of you would take a job that would leave you worse off. Self-respect doesn't come into it - how would anyone who is essentially paying from their own pocket to do a day's work feel any self-respect?

Spot on!

smala01 wrote: »

A little loaded for the forum i think.

If an individual is conscientious enough to write a reply then i assume they will be conscientious enough to be employable!

I would suggest that those lazy folks on benefits... would not be inclined to post, because they probably don`t know this forum exists!

The usual exclaimer about those with serious illness / disability blah blah applies here.

Being employable and finding a suitable job are two completely different things.

Jomo

supermonkey wrote: »

With a family and a stressful low paid job, spending another 4 hours a night searching for work is asking for a breakdown.

And having a poor job on your cv is no better than having a gap. Similar questions are asked - "why were you unemployed for a year" "why were you working for mac d's for a year"



Some people had children before redundancy and have to then claim benefits to support them. Perhaps this is difficult to understand if you're not in that position.

There was an interesting post about the challenge of looking after children when in full time work. Well paid jobs mean child care is an option. It isn't on poor pay and something has to give.



Spot on!



Being employable and finding a suitable job are two completely different things.

I don't think so, especially in a recession where certain industries suffer more than others.

I think it is all down to attitude, laziness and a sense of importance.

To me, a job is a job and in the past I have had to work in an industry that I wouldn't normally consider.