DWP orders man to work without pay for company that let him go

John McArthur is sanctioned by jobcentre after refusing ‘forced labour’ at firm where he was previously paid minimum wage

A man who was let go at the end of a temporary job has been ordered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to work for the same firm for six months without pay. Electronics specialist John McArthur, now unemployed, says he is living off 16p tins of spaghetti and without heating after being sanctioned by a jobcentre for refusing to work unpaid for LAMH Recycle in Motherwell, a Scottish social enterprise. He says he was happy to work for LAMH under the now-defunct future jobs fund for the minimum wage in 2010-2011, but refuses on principle to do the same job unpaid. McArthur, 59, says he is surviving on a monthly pension of £149 after the DWP stopped his unemployment benefit until January as punishment for his refusal to go on the 26-week community work placement (CWP). For almost three months, McArthur has spent two hours each weekday morning parading outside the plant wearing a placard reading: “Say no to slave labour”. “It was simply a case of: ‘Go here, work for nothing and if you don’t we’ll stop your subsistence level benefit,’” he said.

And i bet you thought slavery was a thing of the past.

Sacked from a paid job, then forced to do the exact same job for no payment.

Not only is he not going to get paid for the work, he is now loosing the very benefits that the previous paid job he was sacked from contributed to.

You could have worked your entire life, then at a certain age the company you have worked for can let you go.

You then sign on as you aren't old enough to receive a state pension but most places think twice about offering you work because of your age.

Then the company you were let go from can 'offer' you the same job back that they go rid of you from BUT FOR NO PAY.

If you refuse you lose the very basic benefit payments that you supposedly paid into the system for your whole life in case the worst happens and you become unemployed.

It's beyond mental and I can't believe any right minded person would support this.

a reply to: bates

So what really happens if he refuses ?

a reply to: bates
On the face of it yes, it seems outrageous, but I wonder what his overall situation is...just playing Devils advocate:

What if he gets say £100 per week in Housing Benefit, plus £15 per week Council Tax Benefit, then £72 per week Job Seekers Allowance while at the 'work placement', that's £187 per week take home. Minimum wage 37 hours will take home £220 per week so really the guy would be working for £0.89 per hour less than minimum wage.

That is a truer picture of the situation in my opinion. I do not agree that someone should work for less than minimum wage and it is not something I would wish for myself...but it is not as dramatic as working for nothing.

a reply to: MGaddafi

He's lost his benefits for 6 months.

The thing that gets me is the bloke is 59. How on earth does he need to go out and get work experience?

I'm not in favour of anyone being forced to work for free but i can see the logic of sending young kids out to get a bit of work experience.

This is just mean.

No benefit to anyone at all.

a reply to: grainofsand

Would he not get a lot of that if he were in paid minimum wage work though?

A reason a lot of economists are now pushing forward with the living wage idea because it basically make better economic sense.

Pay people enough money to live on for the work they do and you end up saving a lot of money in the long run.

I wonder how much is being creamed off by different set ups by all this 'filtering' of cash through the system.

a reply to: bates
I agree completely, the system is a nightmare tightrope walk between providing a safety net for skint people and discouraging lazy bastards from doing nothing.
It's a tricky one for me as I've been self employed for years so don't get sick pay or holiday pay, and in nearly 3 decades of working I've claimed out of work benefits for the odd couple of weeks at a time, probably 4-5 months in total ever.
I have always taken the short term crap agency work and bounced back straight away. I know loads of people who won't ever take the crap agency work and prefer to claim benefits. I've argued with a few mates who say there is no work out there, there is, just minimum wage.

I bet there is much more to the guy's story in the OP though, but in any case, he will be 60 in less than a year and no longer required to be available for work so with Pension Credit he will be sorted to chill on his sofa every day and can forget this episode of his life as a bad memory.

So what I'm getting from this story is that a guy who is willing to work for chump change was laid off because the company is cheap then he is being ordered to go back to work for free.

Am I missing anything? Sounds like the slave wage system isn't enough for corporations now and they are reverting back to actual slavery. It never seems to stop. I'm waiting to see a return to child labor in a few weeks or months.

It IS slave labour, it doesn't matter how we play with the words, its still slave labour!

What we are seeing all over the country is paid employee's being replaced with "Work experience" employee's.
That means that people who earn enough to pay tax are paying their wages!

WHY THE HELL CANT THE COMPANY PAY THEIR WAGES?

Because we have a corrupt government.

Just imagine what'll happen when we drop out of the EU and are no longer protected by the eu's human rights laws!

It does seem a bit of a catch 22 situation for some, when the only work doesn't pay a living wage, but they are forced to take it or lose any benefits, even if they have paid into the system all their working lives.
I have gone through 3 rounds of redundancy in my working life, since leaving school at 16 and starting work, to present day at 50 years old. On 2 out of the 3 redundancies, I was out looking for work right away and managed to find another job a month or so later. On those 2 occasions though I ended up telling Jobcentre staff exactly what I thought of them due to the way I was treated and never claimed a penny, even though I was entitled to it. On the 3rd occasion I was lucky enough to have savings and a good pay-off and spent the next 12 months traveling and enjoying myself and paying my own way.

The trouble though is I see so many young people claiming money and talking about their right to do so and their entitlement to benefits. Entitlement? Really?
The young mother in the council provided flat below me has 3 kids, all from different fathers, and has everything provided for her. She has never worked and is probably unemployable, yet is "entitled" to claim for so much. In other words, she has contributed nothing at all to society, but expects her benefits every month with no thought to where that money comes from.
The same goes for some of the immigrants. There was a programme on TV here a few weeks ago about polygamy amongst immigrants in the UK. One guy had, if I remember, 3 wives, all with children and all supported by benefits. The husband of these 3 families didn't work and was also on benefits. He was allowed to have 3 wives under Sharia law and gets away with it for religious reasons. Since when did Sharia law hold any legal power in the UK? THIS is where all the bloody money goes!

Don't get me wrong, there are people in society who, due to illness or injury cannot work and I fully support society's role in supporting them. A good friend of mine now claims certain benefits due to MS. She worked all her adult life and eventually had to stop after she could barely even walk. She still works from home part time and still contributes to society.
Where I draw the line though is supporting those who refuse to put anything into society, instead opting for the benefits route and gaming the system at every opportunity.
Those who have worked all their lives and paid into the system, when trying to legitimately claim, seem to run into so many roadblocks, whereas the wasters and those gaming it seem to get what they want every time.

Bit of a rant, but I am getting crankier the older I get.

More than one way to skin this particular cat. At 59 you would think he would know better. over a million sanctions have now been handed down. if Mr McArthur cared to look he would have known the outcome.

I abhor this scheme but people need to wake up and treat these employers with the same level of respect they show their clients. ie, none.
I live less than a mile from LAMH Recycle, I have had a family member sent to work there for his benefits, £51 a week. I have heard this story countless times about this and other so called "Charities". No Sympathy here.

Isnt remembrance day soon?

Least we ever forget how many people gave their lives so their grandchildren could be slaves to corporations.

This country makes me sick.

Thought i would add this..

The DWP confirmed some of the UK’s biggest charities, including the British Heart Foundation, Scope, Banardo’s, Sue Ryder, and Marie Curie had withdrawn from the CWP scheme, causing a significant loss of placements.

^^^ This is BS. the British Heart Foundation are still involved. cant comment on the other charities mentioned.

What`s happened to our unions ?
It`s a disgrace the way they treat the unemployed in the UK.

These ministers who make these rules are never going to be put in this position.
People get sanctioned for ANYTHING. !
How can you do that to poor people ?
If your late signing on, you can get your money stopped for a couple of weeks !
Your employer wouldn't stop two weeks money if you took a day off.....its disgusting.

My mate worked 35 years for the same company.
After a couple of months unemployed he was told to work at a book shop for work
experience with no pay.
He refused and his money was stopped for 3 months !
How the hell are they getting away with this ?

Not forgetting when a man gets sanctioned his partner and children suffer then they have to
go to family for hand outs......everyone suffers.

Something needs to be done about this slave labour and sanctions.
People need to speak to their union reps.

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc
Isnt remembrance day soon?

Least we ever forget how many people gave their lives so their grandchildren could be slaves to corporations.

This country makes me sick.

Sounds like it's time to celebrate by tossing pavement stones. The US isn't far behind Britain in the new slave economy, we just prisoners instead to subsidize corporation. Generations had to fight like hell to get a living wage then once we had it we took it for granted and became too comfortable. We didn't want to bother with protesting and grabbing our politicians by the ear and shouting in it. We are the fattened sheep ripe for slaughter it seems.

You guys need one of these.


13th Amendment

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Wait. He's getting unemployment benefits, but refuses to work?

Does it state anywhere he can't look for better employment while working "free" -- which he isn't because he's getting state benefits.

originally posted by: Annee
Wait. He's getting unemployment benefits, but refuses to work?

Does it state anywhere he can't look for better employment while working "free" -- which he isn't because he's getting state benefits.

He was working there for the minimum wage then they laid him off and the dole office suspended him for not agreeing to work for them free of charge for the "experience" - Which he clearly doesnt need.

This is insult to injury. Its the age of free labour.

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc

originally posted by: Annee
Wait. He's getting unemployment benefits, but refuses to work?

Does it state anywhere he can't look for better employment while working "free" -- which he isn't because he's getting state benefits.

He was working there for the minimum wage then they laid him off and the dole office suspended him for not agreeing to work for them free of charge for the "experience" - Which he clearly doesnt need.

This is insult to injury. Its the age of free labour.

:

He was still getting government benefits. Right?

And refused to work "free" for those benefits. Right?

a reply to: VoidHawk

Nothing happens...
It's the new reality in all the EU, at least I know this is so in my (also EU) country as well.
You are not protected in any way from this.
The governments follow what the big company's want ...and they want cheap labor.
If they cant get it ... they'll move to country's with people who are crappy euh happy to work for next to nothing (and feed themselves for next to nothing).

Slave labor is our punishment for not being greedy enough.
Welcome to the 21 century.

originally posted by: Annee

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc

originally posted by: Annee
Wait. He's getting unemployment benefits, but refuses to work?

Does it state anywhere he can't look for better employment while working "free" -- which he isn't because he's getting state benefits.

He was working there for the minimum wage then they laid him off and the dole office suspended him for not agreeing to work for them free of charge for the "experience" - Which he clearly doesnt need.

This is insult to injury. Its the age of free labour.

:

He was still getting government benefits. Right?

And refused to work "free" for those benefits. Right?

He was getting government benefits yes, because he has paid into the system to get those benefits. Now all of a sudden the rules seem to have changed..ie, we dont care if you have payed into the system you will work for your benefits from now on. Hell why dont we just scrap a days pay for a days labour and be done with it. Just get everyone to work for free.

If work was such a great thing they wouldn't pay you to do it.