will firms want to hire people if they can have free labour

[DrFilth]

before christmas in asda there were loads stacking the shelves,everywhere you looked there seemed to be people stocking up

i don't know if they were all free labour but after reading this in the news it makes you wonder

http://www.publicinte...ws_details.php?id=200

will this legal case change things

[dzug2]

How far should you be forced into a job for which you are totally unsuited? I wouldn't fancy being a mortuary technician, for example - or a care home assistant. The latter are usually among the few jobs advertised round here

And I don't think I'd want to be a resident in a care home with someone like me - or like a fair proportion of the unemployed - looking after them.

[naomi24]

//thing is the sick and the elderly are facing cuts so they will never see any of this money //

Yes, sadly they are facing cuts but ask yourself why? Because too much of the money in the pot is being thrown away - much of it on people who either won't work, or who won't do jobs they don't like.

OG, //I'm unsure how proficient a shelf stacker has to be.//

You'd be surprised. Sometimes people can be more trouble than they're worth - and I speak from experience. ;o)

[sandyRoe]

DrFilth, I could have worded my post a bit better. I meant if there were 2.5 million unfilled vacancies, which there aren't, and an equal number of people refusing to work, then there might be grounds for making people take any job.
I've seen what long-term unemployment can do to people and the communities they live in.

[Duncer]

Nox, I've been in business, and I know what you're saying, but if that were true, companies couldn't operate because none of their staff would ever be proficient at their jobs. I know mine couldn't have operated solely on this scheme. Far from it. The point it is if able bodied people were made to work for their benefits - even if that amounts to working in the community - they'd pretty soon look for a job that pays more. I've no objection whatsoever to paying for people who need to be cared for, but I resent paying for those who, like this girl, don't want to do jobs they don't fancy - or indeed for those who don't want to work at all. It's an unhealthy culture, and one for which the much abused Welfare State wasn't designed. I would sooner see the money be spent caring for our elderly, sick, and disabled properly. That would be far more beneficial to the country as a whole.

Hear, hear!

[NOX]

Duncer you certainly seem to live up to your name- at least don't be so lazy as to not formulate your own argument- that's uttterly slothful.

[jno]

hey, come on, Nox - it's in order for someone to agree with another post - even if it's (imo) wrong.

[Gromit]

This girl has probably spent thousands of pounds in fees and it will have taken 2 or 3 years in time to get her degree. Yet she seems to be getting a bad press by several on here because she is trying to get a job that utilises her skills. Spending two weeks in Poundland is not going to improve her job prospects. She is being exploited, but what is worse, she is being forced to suspend her genuine job hunting for this sham training.

[grffindoor2011]

If you are working in poundland or where ever for free, how are you able to look for paid work?

Every day we see thousands lose their jobs, but the attitude of those in jobs is that once JSA is being claimed they are all lazy no hopers.

I would put those who consistently make excuses not to sign on (ie 'got the bellyache' etc) or who show they aren't looking for work in community work for a few hours a week in an orange suit (like the tv show Misfits) with the words 'sponger alert'.

[NOX]

Hey come on Jno, no-one said he had to agree with me, in fact I like debate, but just copying and pasting another person's response is downright idiotic and slothful- there I said it twice- so shoot me.

[craft1948]

Why is this girl getting JSA while she looks for a job that suits her degree.
It took my daughter 4 years after graduating to find a job she wanted which actually made use of her talents but she never once claimed JSA.
She took jobs in shops, a crappy one selling advertising, and did bar work.

[EDDIE51]

I'm with craft on this, a company or organisation would far rather take on someone who has shown that they can work and act responsibly than some one who insists on staying on benefits until they get offered the 'ideal job' which will probably never come. It is common knowledge among those who have worked for a few years that it is far easier to get a better job if you are already working and have a good work record than if you have been doing nothing for years (or even months).
The modern idea that every school leaver should go to University and get a degree is rubbish. It just demeans the degree if every one and his dog has one. I have said to on AB before a poor degree or one in a 'strange' subject is worse than no degree at all. I mean how many vacancies are there for someone with a degree in 'Theatre lighting' for example ?

[EDDIE51]

Look at this for obscure degrees ! David Beckham studies, belly dancing, Happiness ( I kid you not!) the list is endless and pretty useless , would you employ some one who had spent 3 years on some of these courses?
http://www.independen...ng-sharks-411885.html

[jno]

Nox, he said "hear, hear" at the end. I think that's legit. Other websites have a quote facility to make it clearer that you're repeating another post that you want to comment on, but AB doesn't, so he's done his best.

[trt]

Why should people sitting on their backside watching TV or playing on their PC get money for nothing, it keeps them active and getting used to the big world we live in!

[Duncer]

Nox, I'm neither slothful nor idiotic, nor do I appreciate your snide remarks, a sure sign of the ignorant rather than a "debater". I was merely qouting another post and showing that I agreed with it. If that doesn't live up to your pseudo intellectual ideas of debate then I apologise half-heartedly and most insincerely.

It defeats me why we give so much in benefits to those who are prepared to do nothing, while the old, the disabled and the genuinely in need struggle to get enough. As the poster I quoted from stated quite clearly, this is not what the welfare state was designed for.

[NOX]

Duncer-you don't get anywhere near my pseudo-intellectual ideas of debate- but that's probably a good thing for both of us, and I accept your half hearted apology with all the don't give a t0ss I can muster;-)

[factor-fiction]

From my experience in business there was little or no benefit to us as an employer in taking someone on short term work experience for a week or two.
We did get some free work out of people, but it was time consuming in that we had to carry out an induction (health and safety, tour of building, explain how the place worked, use of computer systems/equipment, explain rules), then give on the job traning, then supervise and check their work, and fill in relevant paperwork for their school/DWP. Then two weeks later, just as they were starting to be productive, we had to say goodbye to them and start again.

[Duncer]

NOX - it's good to see you know me so well, not to mention my debating abiltiy, but you can stop stalking me now.

[bigbadmarty]

I just cannot imagine what possible benefit would come from babysitting an unemployed museum curator - look at the trouble stirred up already . I hope that nobody ever makes me look after someone like this it would cost me time , money and sanity ...