If the system is there to be exploited, would you?
Discussion
An employee of my GF who is earning approx 15K, is single and has no family to support is currently struggling to pay her rent/council tax etc. Like a lot of people at the moment life isn't exactly fun.
She has been overheard saying that she is going to ask to go part time, the reason for this? Because she is under the impression that is she is only working a certain amount of hours the Govt. will pay half her rent/tax and help out with other outgoings? Dis-regarding the major impact it would have on my GF is she right to think this way? If I was in a position that I was struggling that much I'm not sure I would be above taking whatever I could from the system.
She has been overheard saying that she is going to ask to go part time, the reason for this? Because she is under the impression that is she is only working a certain amount of hours the Govt. will pay half her rent/tax and help out with other outgoings? Dis-regarding the major impact it would have on my GF is she right to think this way? If I was in a position that I was struggling that much I'm not sure I would be above taking whatever I could from the system.
And knowing that it's legalised theft. Call it what you want. I call it theft.I signed on when I was 19 and applied for every job in the jobcentre. I had no experience for any of them, they werent really the sort of jobs that required experience though (think watching wallpaper go through a machine and looking for print errors).
I'd have been happy to do that, the money was better than the dole but I was the wrong kind of person for the job because I wanted to do it rather than just turn up
I guess I was a bit of a gobs
te and should have just shrugged and said I didnt want to work, then be pushed into a job
Anyway, I've never signed on since and touchwood I wont ever again if I can help it
I'd have been happy to do that, the money was better than the dole but I was the wrong kind of person for the job because I wanted to do it rather than just turn up
I guess I was a bit of a gobs
te and should have just shrugged and said I didnt want to work, then be pushed into a jobAnyway, I've never signed on since and touchwood I wont ever again if I can help it
paul26982 said:
so she is lucky enough to have a job, what alot of people who have just being made redundent would be very greatfull for, her attitude stinks 
But if you could work less and be better off in this current climate would you not think it the obvious thing to do?She is a hard worker who certainly has no real luxury in her life yet she is still struggling to get by, it is not much of an existence and whilst not agreeing with what she is thinking, can certainly understand it.
raf_gti said:
is she right to think this way? If I was in a position that I was struggling that much I'm not sure I would be above taking whatever I could from the system.
Don't blame her blame a system that encourages this.And NO she should not be thinking like this as the next logical step is to pop out a benefit multiplier otherwise known as a sprog
Life is not life without such challenges. A lack of self worth and fulfillment arises when one becomes a burden on the system, taking and giving nothing back. The problem is that the lowest common denominator does not think like this and as long as they have their booze, fags, telly and cheap housing they are happy, thus making the financial struggle for those who don't earn much, but have integrity, much harder.
It's been said so many times though.
It's been said so many times though.
sparks87 said:
Get a part time evening job at a supermarket to help a little? £6.50 over 10 hours a week is £260 extra a month before tax, just over £200 take home. Not a massive amount really but it would be a great help.
Childcare?Edited by sparks87 on Tuesday 2nd December 21:48
If the system is setup in such a way that not working is better than working then she should drop her hours. Its not her fault that the benefit system is insane.
We have several women working for us part time. I never thought about it before but they may be working reduced hours for the same reason.
Thinking about it another way:
"The survey found that the average starting salary for a customer adviser was £12,800, an increase of 3.2% on last year’s survey. The typical (median) pay range for a customer service adviser starts at £12,200, has a mid-point of £14,000 and a maximum of £16,000"
Quote from http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/callcentres/call...
Forgive me if it's not up to date information.
We could all benefit from government doing it's bit by reducing the number of those who take and give nothing......
BUT
How can a company justify paying those figures for full time jobs when more than likely the 'movers and shakers', who have helped move things the wrong way lately, can earn 10 or 100 times that figure?Take into account necessary living costs such as fuel and childcare are no cheaper for low paid people than they are for company executives. It's not as if those call centre jobs have much security as they are the first to be culled in times of crisis. It is well known that the great depression of the early 20th century was in part a result of the pay of the masses not really keeping up with inflation rates in product prices. The same thing has been allowed to happen now but credit masked the situation for a while. Credit allowed us to supplement our insufficient salaries to keep things together. Now it's dried up the masses are feeling the pinch. I'm not asking to go all commie but surely a redressing of the distribution of pay, at least for large companies, is necessary to get the wheels turning again?
"The survey found that the average starting salary for a customer adviser was £12,800, an increase of 3.2% on last year’s survey. The typical (median) pay range for a customer service adviser starts at £12,200, has a mid-point of £14,000 and a maximum of £16,000"
Quote from http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/callcentres/call...
Forgive me if it's not up to date information.
We could all benefit from government doing it's bit by reducing the number of those who take and give nothing......
BUT
How can a company justify paying those figures for full time jobs when more than likely the 'movers and shakers', who have helped move things the wrong way lately, can earn 10 or 100 times that figure?Take into account necessary living costs such as fuel and childcare are no cheaper for low paid people than they are for company executives. It's not as if those call centre jobs have much security as they are the first to be culled in times of crisis. It is well known that the great depression of the early 20th century was in part a result of the pay of the masses not really keeping up with inflation rates in product prices. The same thing has been allowed to happen now but credit masked the situation for a while. Credit allowed us to supplement our insufficient salaries to keep things together. Now it's dried up the masses are feeling the pinch. I'm not asking to go all commie but surely a redressing of the distribution of pay, at least for large companies, is necessary to get the wheels turning again?
Is she right to think this way? Yes. She's only trying to improve her quality of life, 15k must be reasonably hard since a she presumably uses no less water/gas/electric/food than any other single person.
Would she be right if she did do it this way? No. It's quite obvious that the system is broken and it's because so many people are exploiting the system that the UK is in such bad financial shape. I couldn't bring myself to blame her tho.
It's gotta be the governments fault, how can someone earning a decent chunk over the minimum wage be better off voluntarily giving up full time work and getting state benefits? Is the cost of living really so high or has inflation really been that out of control that anything less than ~£8-9 ph is so poor that other people have to help them survive?
The sooner people like your GF's friend learn that Zanu NL have screwed the country the better
Would she be right if she did do it this way? No. It's quite obvious that the system is broken and it's because so many people are exploiting the system that the UK is in such bad financial shape. I couldn't bring myself to blame her tho.
It's gotta be the governments fault, how can someone earning a decent chunk over the minimum wage be better off voluntarily giving up full time work and getting state benefits? Is the cost of living really so high or has inflation really been that out of control that anything less than ~£8-9 ph is so poor that other people have to help them survive?
The sooner people like your GF's friend learn that Zanu NL have screwed the country the better
KANEIT said:
Thinking about it another way:
"The survey found that the average starting salary for a customer adviser was £12,800, an increase of 3.2% on last year’s survey. The typical (median) pay range for a customer service adviser starts at £12,200, has a mid-point of £14,000 and a maximum of £16,000"
Quote from http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/callcentres/call...
Forgive me if it's not up to date information.
We could all benefit from government doing it's bit by reducing the number of those who take and give nothing......
BUT
How can a company justify paying those figures for full time jobs when more than likely the 'movers and shakers', who have helped move things the wrong way lately, can earn 10 or 100 times that figure?Take into account necessary living costs such as fuel and childcare are no cheaper for low paid people than they are for company executives. It's not as if those call centre jobs have much security as they are the first to be culled in times of crisis. It is well known that the great depression of the early 20th century was in part a result of the pay of the masses not really keeping up with inflation rates in product prices. The same thing has been allowed to happen now but credit masked the situation for a while. Credit allowed us to supplement our insufficient salaries to keep things together. Now it's dried up the masses are feeling the pinch. I'm not asking to go all commie but surely a redressing of the distribution of pay, at least for large companies, is necessary to get the wheels turning again?
Loads of jobs pay that sort of amount."The survey found that the average starting salary for a customer adviser was £12,800, an increase of 3.2% on last year’s survey. The typical (median) pay range for a customer service adviser starts at £12,200, has a mid-point of £14,000 and a maximum of £16,000"
Quote from http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/callcentres/call...
Forgive me if it's not up to date information.
We could all benefit from government doing it's bit by reducing the number of those who take and give nothing......
BUT
How can a company justify paying those figures for full time jobs when more than likely the 'movers and shakers', who have helped move things the wrong way lately, can earn 10 or 100 times that figure?Take into account necessary living costs such as fuel and childcare are no cheaper for low paid people than they are for company executives. It's not as if those call centre jobs have much security as they are the first to be culled in times of crisis. It is well known that the great depression of the early 20th century was in part a result of the pay of the masses not really keeping up with inflation rates in product prices. The same thing has been allowed to happen now but credit masked the situation for a while. Credit allowed us to supplement our insufficient salaries to keep things together. Now it's dried up the masses are feeling the pinch. I'm not asking to go all commie but surely a redressing of the distribution of pay, at least for large companies, is necessary to get the wheels turning again?
Supermarket workers, warehouse workers, bank tellers, pretty much anything unskilled. Its very easy to say "Yeah, but these people are all illiterate retards who flunked school and thats why they're doing these jobs for £6 an hour." but at the end of the day, without these people, who's going empty your bins on thursday? Who's going to run Tesco so you can buy food? Who's going to sort the post so it can get to your house? Who cleans the bog at your workplace, i'm pretty sure the MD doesn't don marigolds?
And there in lies the problem. You can get a houseshare on that sort of money, or maybe a bedsit somewhere, and this is fine if you are young and single.
I don't know what the answer is. Sure you can pay them more, and then the comapanies have to charge more, raising the cost of living, fueling a vicious cycle.
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