Following today’s ‘informal’ meeting with work experience host providers, Ministers have announced that the clause, that two weeks benefits will be docked if job seekers quit after the first week will be dropped. The Government stated that only in extreme cases ‘of gross misconduct’ will benefits be removed.
The change in policy has meant that providers Tesco, HMV and McDonalds, who had suspended their involvement in the scheme due to the clause, will now continue their involvement.
Why on earth did this government not continue with Labour’s Future Jobs Fund that provided six months paid employment for young people and gave them the first foot on the employment ladder? Oh yes, I remember, because they were in such a hurry to dismantle everything Labour had created, they did not have the sense to assess what was actually working for young people and the unemployed.
Let this mess with young people and the welfare reforms be a warning to what’s to come when they get their hands on the NHS.