So over this weekend I get a letter from the DWP stating the "rules" of looking for work.
If I do not do what is told for me to do on this Best/Interserve thing I will have 2 weeks of unemployment deducted. Do something they consider wrong again and it is 4 weeks. Now a leap from 2 weeks up to 4 is not all that much. It seems fair. But a third time and it becomes 26 weeks. THAT IS 6 MONTHS.
So they want you to sign on to get benefits and to get housing paid for. But with you not getting money you end up in debt. That debt will need to be paid for. Only thing to do is to get work on the side as getting benefits while not getting any money is better than living on the streets.
So is it conform of be homeless?
No. Your housing payments are made as long as you sign on. By working minimum wage you then have to pay tax to local council and full benefits if you rent your abode. This does not include food, gas, electric, clothing ETC. If by then you have paid all of that and you are not on a pre payment meter for your provider which costs more than standard tariffs, then you are only better off by £10 per week.
Some people think it is better to be unemployed than to have this type of work and hardly any income at the end for all bills.
The minimum wage in the UK is £6.08 for over the age of 21. Depending on the area you live on the north/south divide then you are either better or worse off than someone doing the same job in a different part of the country.
Is it worth working if you can not have a bit more spending money? And even now it is crunch time with the economy stalling.
What are we to do now?
Some time back I went out on a day trip to find work. I bought a £4.20 day ticket and set off round Pontefract and the five towns area. I even managed to get to Huddersfield which is 20 miles away from Pontefract and the five towns area. Going through Leeds, Morley and parts of Bradford just to see if there is any work anywhere.
I found none and it took a good chunk out of my money allocated to me to find work. I spent the best part of that two weeks with hardly any money to do anything useful, let alone travel to a job interview.
Some days I think about just doing nothing as it is better than actively seeking if spending money more than I have is worth the effort.
