ExcludedUK - for those EXCLUDED from adequate government support

JamoLew

this was "discussed" to death last year.

Sadly the mods nuke threads they deem are breaking the rules rather than locking it and removing posts that violate the T&Cs

That way - any relevant and usefull info would be preserved

MattMattMattUK

The thread last year was ridiculous, one user spamming inaccurate and/or entirely fabricated "facts" multiple times a day and attacking anyone who dared to disagree, or even worse, use real facts, figures and statistics, rather than some totally fabricated numbers made to push a "cause". There were sock-puppets galore at the start although the mods did clean those up after a few weeks.

I agree some people have been missed around the edges of the government support, but it is nowhere near the three million quoted by the campaign. Indeed I am someone who meets their criteria and have seen my income fall by around 90%, but I do not feel one of them and part of that is to do with the awful, sensationalist and inaccurate way the campaign has been run. 

isplumm

Due to COVID both my wife & I didn't work for nearly 8 months last year - I got Job Seekers Allowance at £73 a week for 6 months - that was it - but like @MattMattMattUK don't feel part of this campaign.

Grumpy_chap

Interestingly, our MP put a flyer through the door emblazoned across the front that she is "Standing up for the EXCLUDED" and continues "3 million people ... it's approximately 1 in 10 of the UK's workforce"

The flyer does not give any source for the 3 million or, indeed, the 1 in 10 figure. 

The latter does seem about right (if the 3 million can be verified), based on the following source:
"Estimates for September to November 2019 show a record 32.90 million people aged 16 years and over in employment"
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/january2020

However, the 3 million figure still seems rather exaggerated and univariable.  The concept of 1 in 10 of the workforce being missed is inconceivable. 

singhini

isplumm said:

Due to COVID both my wife & I didn't work for nearly 8 months last year - I got Job Seekers Allowance at £73 a week for 6 months - that was it - but like @MattMattMattUK don't feel part of this campaign.

@isplumm @Greenqueen_2 @MattMattMattUK
I'm another person who has had nothing for nearly a year. Having worked over 22 years i was made redundant summer of 2019 and received £73 JSA for 6 months and that stopped mid Jan 2020. i was told due to having savings i would not receive any further JSA payment and then we went into the original lockdown. I wrote to my MP and the DWP at the time saying that due to the government lockdown i am unable to leave the house and look for work or interview and would they consider re-instating my £73 just untill we come out of the lockdown (and for people in my circumstance). And the DWP wrote back to my MP who forwarded their letter to me and all it did was outline what the current JSA legislation is.
What annoys me is that when i was working i was earning roughly £75k and the government was getting £18k in income tax + £5k in NI (so that's £23k) plus my employers NI of £9k which the government collects in my name means they were getting circa £32k EVERY YEAR, yet i got £1,900 over six months and was told that's your lot.
PS - i was not entitled to claim free prescriptions, free dentistry, no free opticians, no legal aid, no council tax reduction, no travel to interview payment, no winter fuel payment, no greener home discount grant. The list is endless.
I recall during the Briexit referendum Boris saying that we pay more into the EU system than we get out and i felt he was using that as justification for leaving (well know he knows how i feel!).

It shouldn't be about what i've still got financially i.e. what the government haven't manged to rob from me, but what i have contributed but at no point does that come into the equation. 
Rant over.................... for the moment!

Grumpy_chap

singhini said:

Having worked over 22 years i was made redundant summer of 2019 and received £73 JSA for 6 months

I recall during the Briexit referendum

It shouldn't be about what i've still got financially i.e. what the government haven't manged to rob from me, but what i have contributed but at no point does that come into the equation. 

This is nothing to do with BREXIT.

That JSA you received is based on the level of NI contributions you made previously, so what you contributed does come into it.

If you are still looking for work, then I understand you may be able to claim JSA again as a new claim given we are in a new year and 6 months after the old claim ended.

EDIT:. It may be worth checking the rules for JSA reclaim in the benefits board.

jon81uk

singhini said:

isplumm said:

Due to COVID both my wife & I didn't work for nearly 8 months last year - I got Job Seekers Allowance at £73 a week for 6 months - that was it - but like @MattMattMattUK don't feel part of this campaign.

@isplumm @Greenqueen_2 @MattMattMattUK
I'm another person who has had nothing for nearly a year. Having worked over 22 years i was made redundant summer of 2019 and received £73 JSA for 6 months and that stopped mid Jan 2020. i was told due to having savings i would not receive any further JSA payment and then we went into the original lockdown. I wrote to my MP and the DWP at the time saying that due to the government lockdown i am unable to leave the house and look for work or interview and would they consider re-instating my £73 just untill we come out of the lockdown (and for people in my circumstance). And the DWP wrote back to my MP who forwarded their letter to me and all it did was outline what the current JSA legislation is.
What annoys me is that when i was working i was earning roughly £75k and the government was getting £18k in income tax + £5k in NI (so that's £23k) plus my employers NI of £9k which the government collects in my name means they were getting circa £32k EVERY YEAR, yet i got £1,900 over six months and was told that's your lot.
PS - i was not entitled to claim free prescriptions, free dentistry, no free opticians, no legal aid, no council tax reduction, no travel to interview payment, no winter fuel payment, no greener home discount grant. The list is endless.
I recall during the Briexit referendum Boris saying that we pay more into the EU system than we get out and i felt he was using that as justification for leaving (well know he knows how i feel!).

It shouldn't be about what i've still got financially i.e. what the government haven't manged to rob from me, but what i have contributed but at no point does that come into the equation. 
Rant over.................... for the moment!

and yes there were fewer jobs being advertised and the working from home situation made things harder, but companies were still recruiting. There is no reason why lockdown should have stopped you looking for a job? 
I agree that JSA maybe isn't the best system and it doesn't feel great when you pay a lot of NI but feel it doesn't come back to you if you have savings, but that would have been the same issue without Covid. The "unfairness" of the benefits system has nothing to do with Covid.

singhini

Grumpy_chap said:

This is nothing to do with BREXIT.

EDIT:. It may be worth checking the rules for JSA reclaim in the benefits board.

Hi and thanks for your comments and suggestions, really appreciated.  i did look into reclaiming JSA as a new claim but i cant unfortunately due to the savings rule.
My mentioning Brexit was not about Brexit per-se, rather that the politicians / Boris suggested that paying more into a system (i.e. into the European Union) and getting back less was not right (yet that is exactly the system he operates in the UK). That was what i was trying to illustrate.

singhini

jon81uk said:

The "unfairness" of the benefits system has nothing to do with Covid.

Hi, yes i totally agree
It was unfair to start with and Covid has just made it a bit more difficult to deal with.
its heart breaking looking for work to be honest and it hurts to think i might be continuing to pay £30,000+ annually into a system i'm not happy with. I want to leave the increasing mountain of government debt for others to deal with (ive just been checking my old P60's and in 22 years the systems had over £500,000 from me in just Income tax and NI alone). I feel i've given the government more than enough already. 

Grumpy_chap

I think you can claim JSA again based on previous NI contributions and no consideration of savings.  Please ask in the benefits board.  @calcotti may be able to confirm.