On Friday night Tesco issued a statement which read..
We understand the concern that those who stay in the scheme longer than a week risk losing their benefits if they drop out before the end of their placement,” Tesco said. “We have suggested to DWP that to avoid any misunderstanding about the voluntary nature of the scheme, this threat of losing benefit should be removed.”
The statement goes on….
“We would never offer longer-term work on an unpaid basis we remain 100% committed to offering long-term, sustainable and rewarding paths into employment for thousands of young people.”
Employment minister,Chris Grayling, said in a statement:
“Our work experience scheme is voluntary and thanks to companies like Tesco and many others it has provided a route for literally thousands of young people to find their first job. The idea that providing work experience for unemployed young people is some kind of forced labour is utterly and completely absurd.“
Lawyers who are bringing a legal claim against the department under the Human Rights Act legislation on forced labour, welcomed Tesco’s move. Solicitor Jim Duffy from Public Interest Lawyers said:
“Tesco, one of the main beneficiaries of the schemes, has now recognised that coercing people into unpaid labour will not solve Britain’s unemployment crisis or empower Britain’s 2.6 million unemployed. The government must now scrap these schemes and come up with individualised tailored approaches that will not only get people into work but will keep them there.”
Other concerned companies
Sainsbury’s, Waterstones and TK Maxx have announced in recent weeks that they were pulling out.
Other companies involved in providing placements
- Sainsbury’s,
- Argos,
- Asda,
- Maplin,
- Matalan,
- Primark,
- Holland & Barrett,
- Boots,
- McDonald’s,
- Burger King
- Arcadia group of clothes stores – Topshop, Burton, BHS and Miss Selfridge
Greedy grabbing businesses, all on bonuses no doubt. What a disgrace and an insult to those job seekers who are desparate for sustainable work.
DWP are also a disgrace as this is another way of masking unemployment figures.
The difficulty is that the decision makers in our government are so far removed from the everyday lives of others, they cannot deal with this.
Would they work for nothing? well yes if you are an intern and desparate to make your mark