Begging For More Hours...

[Just-Jude]

One million of Britain's lowest paid employees will be classed as "not working enough" and could find themselves pushed with the threat of sanctions to find more income under radical changes to benefits, the Department for Work and Pensions has said.

DWP internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal that people earning between £330 and around £950 a month – just under the rate of the national minimum wage for a 35-hour week – could be mandated to attend jobcentre meetings where their working habits will be examined as part of the universal credit programme.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013…

[Just-Jude]

...the correct link.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/sep/06/uk-lowest-paid-classed-not-working-enough

[Gromit]

I know several under employed people and they would gladly do more hours if they were available.

It makes you wonder if the intended results are possible. And if people are working irregular hours how they can also be attending retraining at the job centre.

As usual, the aim is not to help people in low paid jobs on crappy shifts, it is to save money by not helping the very people most in need of it.

[DJHawkes]

what about people (like me) that are salaried based on a 39 hour week yet most weeks work up to 10 hours extra (unpaid) just to keep the business going and so make their hourly rate less than national minimum wage. will the government compel our employers to restrict our hours to 39 pw and take on someone from the cataegory you refer to to boost their hours and income?

[Eve]

There may also be reasons why people are earning less due to restricted hours such as caring responsibilities, children and elderly relatives or the ill or disabled.

[Eve]

But if you are salaried then sometimes you work according to your work contract which can include additional hours if it is a business requirement.

So far as the Government is concerned, if your main salary is over minimum wage they I wouldn't have thought they would be interested, regardless of the hours you do.

[youngmafbog]

As you would expect with a left wing rag, the title does not correctly reflect the actual article.

[jim360]

As you would expect with any newspaper, frankly. The Daily Mail's hyperlinks are sometimes appalling, casually skipping a key "NOT" at least once that I'm aware of, so that the hyperlink gives the exact opposite view to the rest of the article.

[New Judge]

"I know several under employed people and they would gladly do more hours if they were available. "

Yes I'm sure there are plenty of them Gromit. But I know plenty of under employed people who work the minimum number of hours to qualify for Working Tax Credit then have their income topped up by that and Housing Benefit. They are quite happy to work half a week, be untroubled by the DWP (because they have a job) and live a life of semi-leisure. A number of them have actually voluntarily reduced their hours. There is no reason why the authorities should not examine the circustances of such people.

[Gromit]

NJ
We probably mix with different people. I know of no one who is a shirker. The people I know genuinely want more hours and more work.

I suspect that in the great scheme of things, the benefit costs are not that great and this is an over stated problem. And the potential for savings to the taxpayer is not that great.

[DJHawkes]

'But if you are salaried then sometimes you work according to your work contract which can include additional hours if it is a business requirement. '

yep, but it's still called working for free.

[ummmm]

I can't believe that a company the size of WHS doesn't pay for extra hours worked.

[pixie373]

I'm surprised too. I would have thought everyone did timesheets and extra hours were overtime. Clearly not!

[douglas9401]

Some misguided souls might see this kind of thing as the toffs lashing out in fury at not getting their footnote in history as the heroes who brought the Syrian regime to heel.
Just some mind.

[pastafreak]

If I'd been offered more hours 5 or 6 years ago,I would have jumped at it. But now-when most my age are either reducing hours,or retiring,more work is not for me. Also,though I work 21 hours a week my contract requires I be 'available' on my days off. So-i really couldn't take on more if I wanted to.

[DJHawkes]

nope, salaried management don't have the chance to put in overtime. Some managers do 6 days and have to take it back, I very often work from 8am - 5pm and might grab a 10 minute break but i only get paid for 8 hours a day, sundays i never get a break and work 9-5 and it's meant to be my 7 hour day. It's the expectation that you will go in early or finish late if there is a big move on or a campaign change that gets on my nerves, oh for the easy life of selling shoes to debenhams stuck up precious customers, I'd go back to that in an instant.

[sherrardk]

Presumably you get paid more than other staff if you are management?

[tonyav]

Not good for those on zero hour contracts.

[pixie373]

I suppose, in theory, you're paid for the job rather than the time? But then why contract 35 hours? Are you thinking of going back to Debenhams, seriously? Both those shops are good, imo, but I'm only a customer!

[ummmm]

So a salaried manager for WHS doesn't even make the minimum wage?

[DJHawkes]

there are people at HO who are paid to monitor the internet to pick up on any mentions of the company name,