New Labour has a relatively short and involved history with the unemployed. Doing away with schemes such as the dole to make way for others such as Job Seeker’s Allowance, we are today presented with the final remnants of New Labour’s plan for the unemployed- Work Trials.
Sometimes referred to as “Working for your benefits”, the idea of the scheme is to apparently acclimatize workers towards working in new conditions, doing jobs that they wouldn’t necessarily apply for. This was rushed through in the midst of global recession and has hardly been mentioned since coming into effect.
Work Trials Explained
According to the Directgov website, the work trials will provide the following benefits;
- Gives the unemployed the chance to try out a job and show the employer that they are the right person to do the job
- They will continue to receive their benefits
- Travel and lunch expenses are paid for
This is how it works; A person on Job Seeker’s Allowance is presented with the opportunity to work for a company on what can be a full time basis (anywhere up to 40 hours) and will be paid in benefits, rather than with an actual wage. If, at the end of those three weeks, the employer or employee wishes to terminate the job, then the difficult search continues for the employee.
The scheme is open on a voluntary basis and is supposed to give the prospective worker the freedom to not take on a job they don’t like, however the reality of this scheme is very different indeed.
At a time when unemployment is high, it is a fallacy to believe that anyone would not take a work trial if offered. After all, a job search in the present climate is likely to be long, hard and desperate. As well as this, the unemployed have to report back on their job searches weekly and if their search is found to be insufficient, then benefits can be held back for a week.
If someone were to reject a work trial, it could be interpreted as a wilful act to avoid future jobs and this can be held against them.
If, however, they take the work trail, they will be expected to work up to 40 hours per week with only their meagre benefits to sustain them.
What it Means for the Unemployed
In real monetary terms, the scheme seems to take on a pseudo-slavish existence. Let me give you an example. A working week of 40 hours at, say, £7 an hour will provide £280 in a week. At the minimum wage (£5.93 for over 21s), the employee will make £237.20.
Assuming the employee is paying no rent, they will receive £50 per week with perhaps another £20 towards food and another £20 towards travel, adding up to a total of £90- £40 of which is indirectly paid.
This ultimately means that the government has pledged support to a scheme that may not even pay half of the legal national minimum wage- an incredible £2.50 an hour.
Companies that require workers are the only party to really benefit as the scheme can, in effect, produce up to 120 hours of free labour.
There are many who defend the work trails as having given prospective employees more choice in the work they take on, however the reality is that for many, this will be the only solid chance at a job they really have.
The scheme is being implemented only in certain areas. To qualify for it, you either have to either live in a “deprived” area or have less than 6 months of work experience.
What this means, in effect is that it is being targeted towards the most vulnerable in society- The poorest and the most unemployable, who are also the most desperate for work.
Despite being voluntary, the scheme could make many unemployed people feel pressured into taking on these low paying jobs with the risk of the employer’s termination an ever present danger. Of course, the employee can also decide they don’t want the position, however, with unemployment rising despite the government’s conviction that the recession is over, the search for work only becomes more desperate the longer someone stays unemployed.
As well as this, Work Trails also give the employer no reason to take people on in the traditional way. After all, some people who are taken on end up leaving a short while later. If this were to happen with a work trial, the employer will have lost nothing. There is every possibility that the scheme could be abused to the point where handing a CV to a business that is part of the scheme will make someone less likely to get the job.
Panny Panayiotou - A UK based writer living in North London, Panny has been involved in short films and documentaries for the past year, focusing on video ...
