Benefits

The Government say they are changing the criteria for claiming benefits. They want to get everybody into work,but they cannot see that not everybody is capable of working,there have to be exceptions. To claim unemployment benefit you have to be available for any kind of work regardless of abilities ,if you refuse you are disqualified,no saying you 'cannot do it'. For Sickness /Disability you have to pass some stringent tests in front of a panel who have no medical knowledge. I wonder if the people who make these rules would themselves be able / willing to pass the test they make

Re: Benefits

Move to Spain and claim benefit from there. I attended five appeals against their decisions in court and won them all, in the end they hated me so much they would not respond to my letters. Plus while not working I obtained 11 mortgages , shit happens , fight back.
Plus nothing new, Lillies Lunacy goes back to the 1980's.
In short injured my back at work when equipment broke. Followed up with back surgery . Off work a long time, no sick pay like civil servants. Told by the DSS that I was fit to return to light duties in court, well he said there may be a job for me making balloons in Glasgow. That turned out to be the worst day of his life. Then finally lost my job as I could not walk 25 yards then in same few weeks my wife and then my house. So broke and homeless ended up in a dump in North Wales with water running through the walls living like a recluse.
Never mind, quiting ain't my style and the boy made good .
Sorry about the written word, can't be bothered to write it all out.

Re: Benefits

Of course there are people who are unable to work and hopefully this will be recognised by the panel that meets them .

But there are those that could do work, maybe not manual work but at least some work. You see I've met and know people who live on benefits yet really don't want to work , they are just as ok financially living life. One man I knew who is still claiming he has a bad back built his own swimming pool doing the whole job himself , yet still claims. A young woman now in her forties never worked yet went to every college course available , I've known her 25 yrs , she still does not work due to ME . Yet lives in a small holding doing all her own digging , and caring for her animals.

Her sister also has full support , husband left his job to be her carer , children are taken to and from school by paid support worker , she has a 4 bedroom social housing home converted for a wheelchair , yet has a small business rebuilding and renovating furniture what's known as shabby sheek. She has to kneel , bend and repaint all this heavy furniture then sells it for a good price on Facebook !

I do hope those who are genuine will have full help and support , they fully deserve it, but I also hope that those who would be able to give something back will be encouraged to do so .

Re: Benefits

Makes me so angry hearing about these able bodied people who can and should work, and not claim benefits. They're just plain greedy.

Re: Benefits

Being fit for some work but not the work they originally did is fine if there is training for new work provided, you also need to have enough jobs for all these people and we don't !

Re: Benefits

Irrelevant, the rules are based on a persons ability to do a job, NOT on the availability of such jobs at the time.
That is the big mistake so many make when going for a appeal.

Re: Benefits

I have met a number of people over the years who are definitely classed as disabled in all sorts of ways, but work doing all sorts of jobs, although obviously not heavy manual work. They want to work, do not want to live on benefits, although possibly in some cases they could claim more than they earn if they know how to use the system. Some of them work in well paid jobs, others in more mundane work, but all want to work even some can be classed as really disabled. It has been too easy for lazy people who may have some sort of disability just to sit around claiming money because they are so say disabled.

Re: Benefits

Susan M if you know of these people claiming benefit who shouldnt do so then you should report them. A lot of employers dont want/wont take someone with a genuine disability. My nephew had difficulty getting a job because he suffers from a severe form of Epilepsy and sometimes has bad fits, also has to have time off work to attend Hospital sometimes.his present employer was reluctant to take him on in case he has a fit at work. Also a young man I know was classed as 'educationally sub normal,' yet he is intelligent ,,knows what he's doing, he has been working for Morrisons for several years but hates it ,and is trying to find another job, he is expected just to bring in the trolleys and do the dirty work outside.sweeping up the litter etc.He is quite capable of doing something more ,like filling shelves ,but because of hi 'label' he is not given the chance

Re: Benefits

Yes that is a huge problem just saying someone is fit for work doesn't mean an employer will take them on, so just removing their benefit means great hardship for them. Do we really want to increase the homeless numbers just so we can say people are fit enough to work ?

Re: Benefits

A friend of mine would love to have a job-if it did not involve walking for more than 10 minutes,sitting for not much longer and screaming with pain if she does not take her meds.

But fear not that nice man in charge-IBS?-sorry IDS-says he will encourage her.