Osborne thinks he will save £350m by shaving a bit off the unemployed's entitlement to benefits. At the moment you can't claim for the first three days out of work. The plan now is that you won't get anything for the first seven days. (See the summary of the measures on the BBC news site.) Osborne says, "Those first seven days should be spent looking for work and not looking to sign on."
"Jobseekers," says the BBC, "will also be required to have a CV before claiming benefits." It's Planet Tory again. Many people will not be able to produce a CV without help (even if that's just help to get it on a computer and print it) so what is the point?
And "about half" of jobseekers - those judged (by whom?) to be not doing enough to find work - will have to sign on weekly. There's no mention of extra resources in the jobcentres to cope with this.
Showing posts with label jobseekers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobseekers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Writing - or respect?
Those who don't read the Observer should read this article.
Now, I start out by loathing the very notion of the "nudge unit" as a sinister way of manipulating people's thinking to suit the government. However, the exercise described here appears to be based on sensible psychological insights (otherwise known as common sense) and designed to help and support rather than manipulate. Notice that the trial was with people who hadn't been out of work very long, and that the emphasis in the article is on getting people to write down their commitments and express themselves about a traumatic event. But the real benefits (which the comments under the article pick up) are summed up as, "The unit made three changes to the way jobseekers in Loughton were treated: the amount of paperwork was reduced at the first meeting so that the claimant could talk about getting back to work from day one; the conversation was focused on what jobseekers would do for the next fortnight and they were encouraged to make written commitments; and advisers at the centre were told to build the confidence and wellbeing of those still claiming after eight weeks, rather than treating them as failures." (My italics)
I can remember a time when schemes like New Deal were promoted as being about helping to build people's confidence. The Work Programme put paid to any such soft-headed notions. Mark Hoban thinks the trial describes an "innovative approach". No, Mr Hoban, it's a very old-fashioned approach which your department seems to have forgotten.
Now, I start out by loathing the very notion of the "nudge unit" as a sinister way of manipulating people's thinking to suit the government. However, the exercise described here appears to be based on sensible psychological insights (otherwise known as common sense) and designed to help and support rather than manipulate. Notice that the trial was with people who hadn't been out of work very long, and that the emphasis in the article is on getting people to write down their commitments and express themselves about a traumatic event. But the real benefits (which the comments under the article pick up) are summed up as, "The unit made three changes to the way jobseekers in Loughton were treated: the amount of paperwork was reduced at the first meeting so that the claimant could talk about getting back to work from day one; the conversation was focused on what jobseekers would do for the next fortnight and they were encouraged to make written commitments; and advisers at the centre were told to build the confidence and wellbeing of those still claiming after eight weeks, rather than treating them as failures." (My italics)
I can remember a time when schemes like New Deal were promoted as being about helping to build people's confidence. The Work Programme put paid to any such soft-headed notions. Mark Hoban thinks the trial describes an "innovative approach". No, Mr Hoban, it's a very old-fashioned approach which your department seems to have forgotten.
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