i have been on benifits for 6 months now.i have tried looking for work but as i am currantly getting roughly £1300 a month thats including my rent and council tax . its hard to find anything that meets this.the job center have told me i have to earn roughly £7-8 a hour and work 45 hours a week mon-sat and i will get £80 more a week than on benifits ,1, take of the £50 on average petrol allowance a week takes that down to £30 a week.also wear and tear on the car roughly £10 a week, plus no more free dental care or glasses and no more winter allowance of a extra £25 a week and the other little perks free travel .every so many months cloths and shoes,free fork lift license.

also i have my other daughter on a saturday so will have to change everything around wont get to see my kids as much or help keep the house tidy plus would have to get another car for my partner so theres another £40 down the drain a week as she needs to get kids to school ect,so i would be so much worse of.i have worked full time since i was 15 and never earned £1300 a month.even when i was a supervisor,

i believe in every1 to there own as long as its not hurting anyone.when i look back on my life i dont want to see my clocking in card and see how many hours i have worked i would rather see that i have spent as much time with family and freinds and enjoyed my life,thats just my point of view everyone to there own of course.

also i even tried working a part time job as the job center said i would be better of ,i went to citizion advice to check this ,and i would have been £1 up and that was a at £6,25 a hour and thats with out takin of the £25 a week petrol ,so working 16 hours or less and still claim is a load of rubbish ,but i surpose there job is to get me back into work.only downside is i have to do this little courses,bit anoying but they do pay my petrol and give me money for lunch aswel .so spose i can sit in a room and do some drawings ,still easier than factory work ect lol

I suspect that if she does read this blog (and if she’s interested in KashFlow as a company as well as an employer then I think she should do), you have nothing to lose because she knew you upped your offer to her anyway.

Best of luck to you and to her.

M

@em Personally I think the minimum wage is sufficient for a first job when the employee lives with their parents. But perhaps I’m being naive.

It’s the other comments that got me thinking. Is she worth a higher wage? Would going the extra mile with the salary reap rewards in terms of performance in the role and loyalty?

I suspect the answer to both is “yes”.

So I asked her to come in this afternoon for a chat, which she just has. She was offered the job at the salary she said she needed and she accepted. So a happy ending.

Hopefully she don’t quit after reading this blog!

It works out much cheaper than paying out to cover someones rent, JSA, and council tax for 6 months?

I would not work any any company that offers min wage.. if they are thay hard up, wont last long in this economic climate, so would be back on the dole.

i bet many firms would pay even LESS, if they could get away with it.

min wage = min loyalty. pay monkeys, get peanuts.

my opininion is free, and worth every penny!

My sister-in-law, a skilled cook, is paid National Minimum Wage for her work in the kitchen at a state-run nursing home. So I’ve seen what it’s like to live on NMW, which is a pittance.

I’m sorry, Duane, but with all due respect I think you should be ashamed of yourself for paying anyone, even an office junior, such a small amount.

At 17 I did a summer’s work experience, doing the sort of work an office junior would do, working full-time, and was paid just over £500 a month. And that was 14 years ago.

Pay her a living wage, if she’s worth it and stays with you then it’ll be a worthwhile investment. Build in a probationary period so that if she doesn’t cut the mustard you can wave her goodbye quickly.

But don’t pay her NMW.

M

Firstly I think like many business people you lack empathy, your focus on your business and her attitude is short sighted.

Give her some credit, she has done the maths. If you had thought well enough of her to offer her the job, there is always a way around it. People with money and those who have struggled to get out of a financial situation often seem to want everyone to have their attitudes or application. This is like Alex Fergueson expecting everyone to be able to play football like a pro.

I would suggest offering her a bonus related to performance given at the end of her probationary period that would make up the rent, and an increase in salary at that point that would make it worth her while. As a previous person commented, you would most likely get a lot back in loyalty.

On the other hand she may not have wanted the job at all and just used this as an excuse.

@Duane – I think your post sums up what many people (including a lot of those ON benefits) will agree is the sheer ridiculousness of the way the system(s) in the UK are structured.

OK. There will always be the ‘want nots’ and ‘will nots’ who just don’t want to work – but I do believe they are firmly in the majority and that an awful lot of people are trapped – like your candidate.

However, the government does very little to help – infact, all they really seem to do (as an outsider, looking in – I am fortunate enough to have never been in the situation myself) is to bully and harrass.

Of course, I’m not saying that claiming benefits should be easy – otherwise we would all do it, but the purpose of the system should be to support people while they need it and to help them to change their circumstances so that they don’t need it!

As for “no experience” – I agree here too, and have always said that I would really like to be in a position in a couple of years time to take on one or two school leavers, into “technical trainee” type roles – good kids who for their own reasons don’t want to go to uni (or don’t want to go just yet) – and essentially offer an IT apprenticeship!

I don’t think its your fault or the girl’s fault. Without getting political, it is simply ridiculous that it can happen.

In terms of business being able to help solve the problem, would it not be more helpful for the government to give employers NI breaks for taking on any new employees who are currently out of work so that the costs are reduced, AND for the government to give the employee tax/NI breaks for the first six months so that they take home more in their pocket to give them the confidence to take a leap of faith into a new job.

Alex, the 6-month rule is ridiculous. I guess the thinking behind it is that those that have been unep,ployed for 6 months or more need extra help. But in practice – as you perfectly demonstrate – there are people that would benefit from it without wasting 6 months of their working lives.

Chris Padfield – I think it’s possibly more complicated than that. I’m assuming that it would also change the benefits her parent(s) would get if she’s employed. I could be wrong though.

Beech, an advance wasn’t discussed. I’m not sure it’s something I’d be comfotable with though. What happens if the person turns out to be of no use after one day?

However my interpretation is that she lives with her Mum who gets housing benefit or social housing. If someone lives in the house who is in employment that housing benefit could be reduced (maybe even withdrawn).

As such she may have to pay the rent to her Mum.

– After being unemployed for a while i’ve had to claim Job Seekers Allowance. Although i’m actively looking for work, and don’t see benefits a a safety net, I only have experience in a couple of areas, neither of which I would like to do as a career (i’m 22).
The Jobcentre run all sorts of schemes to help people back into work, lots of them look very good, but there’s one problem, and that is their ‘6 month rule’. From what i’ve been told by the jobcentre, you have to be claiming benefits for 6 months or more to take advantage of any of the schemes they run.
Eg,- ‘Work Trials’, a list of (ususally) unpaid jobs lasting a week where you take your pick of what interests you and go and get some experience in that field. Great! I wouldn’t mind working for free and getting some experience in a field that i’m interested in (not doing much else afterall!), looks good on your C.V etc. But i’m not elegible for this scheme because I haven’t been claiming benefits for 6 months.
Eg,- Local college run a sheme through the Jobcentre called SHINE. Mostly 1-5 day courses funded by the government in things like Conflict Management, Health and Safety, Planning an Enterprise Activity, Running an Enterprise Activity (2 things i’m particularly interested in), Great! A bit of government funded training that could come in useful in the future, i’ll have some of that thanks! No, i’m not eligible because I haven’t been claiming benefits for 6 months.
Eg,- Some of the jobs advertised on the Jobcentre website are only available to people on the New Deal scheme…you have to have been claiming benefits for 6 months or more to get on the New Deal scheme.
The Jobcentre run all these excellent schemes, but their ‘6 month rule’ hinders people who haven’t been claiming benefits for 6 months from getting a suitable job, or even some experience in a field they’re interested in (work trials).

So. Better off on Benefits?, for me, quite possibly Yes, well for 6 months at least!.

I would have been more than happy to work at minimum wage. Do the maths:

£64.30 a week paid fortnightly, or assuming you’d offered her a full time postion say at 37.5 hours a week, works out at £200 gross.

I know which one I’d be going for.

Given that the young lady is in the undesirable position of a rock and a hard place she had to, or was forced to, make the necessary decision that keeps a roof over her head, forget about economic climates and all that jazz, that’s common sense and logic. Also for her to tell you that reason is a positive. It was the gods honest truth.

I would seriously consider getting in touch with that young lady and having a frank chat about the situation and what you can do to make it work for both of you. As Gary Dickinson mentions, you will more than likely get back ten times whatever you pay her in loyalty and dedication alone by doing this, making up for any inexperience issues, and if not, “they’ll soon be rooted out and can find someone else”.

If you really thought the person was right then show your willingness to believe in them by offering more than you have to. Most people that age want to be believed in and given the opportunity they will give back far more to you as a business than the extra dosh you pay them.

Of course you’re going to get the odd lazy sod who thinks the world owes them but they’ll soon be rooted out and can find someone else.

Good luck, I don’t envy you.