It started predictably. The four celebs had all the preconceptions about anyone being able to get a job, lots of people fiddle the system, etc. But the reality was different. Meg, Emma and Gavin all managed to find work (did that have anything to do with the camera being there?). When, we wondered, were they going to be confronted with the reality of the benefits system? They were. When Craig Last explained to Meg that she had worked for 16 hours and would have to hand back the £39 they'd been given at the start, Meg refused and became a benefits cheat. Emma Harrison explained the situation to Dermot, who had also worked more than 16 hours. He says that in that situation he would not tell the Jobcentre and would break the law.
Larry Lamb was the most fun. He knew he had no chance of getting a job, so idled, congratulating himself on being able to manage on the money. The confrontation with Emma Harrison came on the beach at Hartlepool. Emma pointed out that the money is job seeker's allowance. When they have walked away from each other, Emma says that she meets people like him so many times, trapped in the system, but she's shocked and fascinated that he's become so in two days. Larry calls it "patronising bullshit". The Asda application form that he hasn't yet filled in gets completed on behalf of the lady he meets who is the tenant of the house he's in. She is out of work, and can't live on the £64 per week that she gets.
It could have been a lot worse.
I would have hoped that Emma and Craig had pointed out to the celebs that a single person on JSA is only allowed to earn up to GBP 5 per week without having to declare it. Had this been raised to GBP 50, for example, there would be an incentive for many unemployed to look for part-time work, in the abscence of a full-time job, knowing they really would a) be better off and b) have something current to put on a CV/application form. The present system, far from helping jobseekers, hinders them.
ReplyDeleteTim there is a £5 disregard (you can earn this much money a week without in affecting your benefits - strangely is 80p below NMW) but you must declare all work paid or unpaid before you sign on.
ReplyDeleteIf its 16hrs+ you are signed off. Even though it is annoying... there is no point in a claim of JSA when you are paid nothing. NICs are done via tax year so for a week they are rather pointless... if you had a period of 16hr+ employment you would sign off and sign back on afterwards.
It used to be the case that you could work for up to 4 days (declared, of course, and you would lose your benefit) without signing off, but I don't know if that still applies. Short-term work is always a hassle because of the time it can take to get your benefits back after signing back on again. The current system positively encourages people to do what the celebs were doing - work cash-in-hand and not declare it.
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