Would you be happy working at minimum wage vs not working at all?

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Funny I was just thinking about this. I've got an interview at tesco for about 12 hours a week (they seem to be employing more with less hours, yay underemployment) and I would only be earning about £400 a month.

My friend is on the jobless scheme or whatever where they get paid £400 a month for doing basically nothing and pretending they can't find a job.

What a great society.

Reply 2

Anon346775

Original post by koronabeerus

jobless scheme? you mean benefits or the Kickstart scheme (a scheme designed by the DWP where they created 6 month work placements for those on universal credit and at risk of long term unemployment).

Reply 3

Anon346775

Original post by koronabeerus

£400 isn’t even the minimum wage but you don’t work many hours.

I work 25 hours per week and get £656 per month on the Kickstart scheme and claiming universal credit (for every £1 you earn they cut by 63p meaning they cut all of my £344 benefit and I only get my wage). Some people say £656 isn’t enough to live on (minimum wage for those 18-20) so how are you going to live on £400?

I am assuming you have another job, and this is part time and temporary?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

koronabeerus

Original post by Anon346775

Tbh i have no idea how UC works, all I know is that a lot of people I know are on it (druggies, failed GCSE's etc) and they get £400 a month and haven't worked for it.

As for the pay, Idk because it's only an interview, I am living with parents and it's just savings as it may be my first job. I would like to increase hours but all my friends who work retail (about 4-5) work little hours, the most is 24, which still isn't much.

Reply 5

Anon346775

Original post by koronabeerus

I also live with my parents and the DWP think that those claiming get the money out and use it for essentials and to live, leaving no savings but I saved mine up and eat from my parents benefits and my grandparent gets pension and my mum is her carer so she gets extra money, so right now I have more savings because I work.

Not everyone is a druggie or failed GCSEs or did bad things on benefit, I didn’t do anything bad and neither have any of my siblings and we all went on benefits for the sake of escaping having to pay rent. How do you pay if you’re a NEET?

How old are you and do you go to uni or are you looking for a job now?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 6

koronabeerus

Original post by Anon346775

Idk what ur getting at I'm not saying UC is bad (it is though) or 'benefits'. I'm just answering your question with a real world example.

Anyways to answer your question again, I would say it depends on hours and how much I need it, so context.

My freind busts his ass off working in a lab 10 hour shifts and gets paid min wage. There are people in there with degrees.

At the end of the day, minimum wage should exist the problem is that it isn't high enough to support the living costs.

If we were to use the real metric of unemployment - a wage that pays atleast the living wage and includes people who can't find a job - then the unemployment rate would probably be in excess of 20%. If we include underemployment, its probably much higher.

The world economy is one big farce, it's the result of increasing inequality and greed.

And yes I am currently going uni, am 21 and shouls graduate next year hopefully

Reply 7

GabiAbi84

Original post by koronabeerus

As for the pay, Idk because it's only an interview, I am living with parents and it's just savings as it may be my first job. I would like to increase hours but all my friends who work retail (about 4-5) work little hours, the most is 24, which still isn't much.

Just as an FYI most similar places give lower hour contracts because they used to just give “part time” or “full time” zero hour contracts which they now don’t give.

in most places once you’ve done a few shifts make it known to the manager that you’ll pick up extra hours, be willing to cover sickies/stay on if busy etc. Once they know you’re willing to do extra they’ll start thinking of you first if they have extra shifts.

Reply 8

Anon346775

they are what people with no GCSEs can do.

Reply 9

Anon346775

was going to ask is anyone ever paid less than minimum wage and then I thought of apprentices and cleaning jobs maybe and people in poor countries having to work (when they may not be at the age to work) to survive

Reply 10

Anon346775

if academia doesn’t suit you, you don’t need to take A levels after GCSEs and go to uni, you can go the NVQ route and do an apprenticeship after GCSEs (or go to college and study a BTEC level 3 which is supposed to be harder than GCSEs) and go to uni or do an apprenticeship or get a job.