Why not get a job - ANY job?

[sp1814]

http://www.dailymail....-suicide-poverty.html

I normally get into the office at 6am to check on my offshore team (big old time difference between London and Chennai), and I'm always struck that on the tube at that time, all I ever see are Eastern Europeans, blacks and Asians going off to do the jobs that the rest if us seem to deem unworthy of our skills.

Despite having learning difficulties, surely this woman could've gained employment as an office cleaner or facilities management?

Likewise, surely her husband must've been able to find something to pay more than £57 a week? You can earn more than that as a shelf stacker in Tescos.

Is his record as ex-services blinding the Mail to the fact that they should've done more to help themselves?

It's appalling that they chose to take their lives and so sad for their families, but I can't help but think that it was completely needless.

Also (finally) why are we buying poppies if the Royal British Legion can't help a man like this? I thought that was the whole point....?

[grffindoor2011]

I have a friend who owns a recruitment company. She says the typical applicant per job is around 90. One job generated over 1200 applications.

Britain is screwed.

[joko]

i understand your point...its a shame & shocking that they felt this was there only option...but yes, surely there were things they could have done to help themselves...

i mean they could walk 12 miles...so both physically were fairly ok, so why not deliver catalogues, leaflets...even a paper round?
be a cleaner, wash cars etc...theres laods of jobs she could have done that dont require her to have literacy and numeracy skills

they could have grown food in the garden of their house perhaps...

i hope if other people are considering this sort of thing they think of these things before resorting to this...

i expect both were suffering from depression and had given up trying...sounds like they became paranoid too...

im gobsmacked that the dole woudl say that... some of the scuzzballs ive seen in the dole - can barely string a sentence together, on drugs, alcoholics , look totally rough etc - and they get money.

she looks quite presentable in those pictures so its not like a company would look down on her for her appearance...

[sp1814]

Another point - if she was unfit to work, he should've been given extra money as her primary carer. I wonder whether the DM has printed the whole story, or done its 'edited to suit our agenda ' highlights job (again).

[DrFilth]

some people did not believe me when i mentioned about a lady near me having no money for 11 months
if you think about it how would you survive on f*** all. i have said it before and will say it again in the old days when you had no money to pay for fuel you could burn some scrap wood to keep warm. these days when you have no money you freeze


joko >>
i mean they could walk 12 miles...so both physically were fairly ok, so why not deliver catalogues, leaflets...even a paper round? <<

the 12 miles turns to 10 miles in the article and as for a paper round i know someone who has two rounds to survive, when he is too bad to deliver them his son will deliver them for him


pity mr camerloon will not care for his own people like his does for people in other countries

[venator]

Desperately sad, but as always, the Daily Wail seems to have put its own slant on the story.

I agree, their mental state is probably the key - depression can prevent people from taking action.

If they had gone to a welfare benefits advisor, they should have obtained a lot more from the state.

[factor-fiction]

I've been out of work for 4 months and am finding it much harder than I thought to gain work. Okay, I'm over 50 but I thought that with a degree, an excellent and varied career history which included senior management roles, an accountancy qualification and a teaching qualification, I'd be able to get something. But:

(1) when I apply for a teaching job I rarely hear back. I understand there is typically 30 applicants per job. Occasionally I get shortlisted for an assessment day (interview and teach a lesson) but I find that even for temporary roles at least half a dozen candidates have been shortlisted too and the job inevitably goes to a much younger candidate.

(2) If I apply for a management, financial or other technical role I never hear back. Maybe they think that I'm too old or maybe too set in my ways.

(3) If I apply for a basic job (admin/ shelf stacker, customer service) I never hear back. I am certain that my qualifications and senior experience count against me- they must think either I've had some sort of breakdown or I'm just wanting to work for them for a few weeks until something better turns up.

So, I'm not surprised that for many other people finding a job is very difficult indeed.

[anotheoldgit]

/// all I ever see are Eastern Europeans, blacks and Asians going off to do the jobs that the rest if us seem to deem unworthy of our skills.///

A typical racist remark, how do you know that they are only Eastern Europeans, blacks or Asians, couldn't some of them perhaps be 'white British' by any chance?

Nice to see you are still reading the Daily Mail though.

[ummmm]

How can they grow their own food when there is a start up cost to that? Spend what little you have on seeds and compost...at least you know you might have some tomatoes to eat in 4 months time.

[Booldawg]

SP; 'Another point - if she was unfit to work, he should've been given extra money as her primary carer'

It says in the article that as she was never formally diagnosed he was unable to claim carers allowance.

[horseshoes]

AOG. I imagine sp can hear them talking in their own language!

[Old Salt]

It is easy to theorise, but one should always remember, you should, "Walk a mile in another man's shoes," before you judge him.

Just a thought
Old Salt

[anotheoldgit]

horseshoes

/// AOG. I imagine sp can hear them talking in their own
language! ///

What each and every one of them, have you ever been on the 'Tube'?

[jackthehat]

Are there any employers or payroll staff on AB who can explain whether it is more 'beneficial' financially for a company to employ part-time staff, or full-time staff?

[ummmm]

What? Like for keeping the employers contributions down, Jack?

[jackthehat]

Yes.
And holiday/sickness pay, etc.

There are oodles of part-time jobs in Blackpool......but precious few full-time. Even businesses where part-time workers aren't usual seem to be going down that route.

If you have a family to feed, it would be exceedingly difficult to do so on part-time wages.........

[factor-fiction]

There are several reasons, I would suggest jackthehat. The first few that spring to mind are:

- flexibility (if workloads go up a bit or someone goes off sick they can just ask part timers to increase hours rather than recruit a full timer

- cost. Employer can recruit to nearest fraction of an employee. If a dept needs 3.5 staff why pay for 4

-Maybe NI savings

-Don't pay overtime rates to part timers if they work extra hours, whereas full-timers would want overtime rates

-Save on holidays. A part timer contracted to work half time gets half a holiday entitlement. But then employers can ask them to work overtime but gives no extra holiday
- PTs are less likely to be in pension scheme

On the other hand it is more expensive to recruit 2 part timers rather than one full timer.

[barry1010]

He had his own problems, he was forced out of the army partly because he was an alcoholic.
They had their 12 year old daughter taken away from because they were unable to properly for her.
They were both terrified that the wife would be put in to an institution if they told the authorities the truth about her mental and physical health problems.
Because they refused to declare her problems they could not claim the proper benefits.
He had not been in the army long enough to qualify for a pension.

It is a very sad story of inadequate and vulnerable people floundering without seeking the proper help and benefits they should have done.

[naomi24]

I haven't read all the posts, but according to last night's television news, this couple have been having problems with benefits for 18 months and walked 12 miles a day to get food. I can't help thinking there's more to this story. Very sad.

[factor-fiction]

Oh yes, and part time jobs tend to have a lower hourly rate because employees are desperate to find a job that fits in with their availability (eg during nursery hours), and because some part time staff will supplement their income with benefits and tax credits

[jackthehat]

So as an employer, to have a staff made up of Part-timers (all on minimum wage) will save on your 'wage-bill'.......and you can be sure that your business functions well in the market-place.

As I said, securing a Full-time job is becoming more difficult *precisely* because of those factors............and part-time minimum wage jobs cannot sustain a family.