Recruiting at minimum wage level

[Newchodge]

I once was dating a large girl from Scunthorpe who let me stay with her. She worked at MacFisheries and came home smelling of fish and I had to wash her down. So it was dating with benefits - does that count?

I think it counts, but I am not sure what as!

 

[IanSuth]

I fear this too but I view it perhaps differently and less optimistically than you.

If the government continues to feed the population benefits which are hugely over the minimum amount they need to live on, repeat NEED to live on, not the amount they minimally WANT to live on, then the disincentive to work at near minimum wage levels will continue to erode.

However, raising pay levels won't solve this because the fact is there is a huge number of people claiming benefits at a level which is comfortable to live on who either have no intention to ever work or who supplement their benefits with undeclared earnings from somewhere.

I cooked yesterday, a pot of Japanese curry, which will feed 12 portions. The total cost for chicken breasts, carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers and the sauces was about £8. You can add rice from a 20kg sack I buy for virtually nothing per portion and it all freezes perfectly.

So we have 12 very good, well balanced and healthy meals for about £0.67 each and if you are unemployed or even if you are employed it is as simple as cutting up the vegetable and chicken and putting them into a large pot on the cooker. No major culinary skills required.

i cooked 500g of diced stewing beef with 3, onions, 4 carrots half a swede a large handful of pearl barley and a stock cube plus some herbs into a lovely stew for about £3.

But the issue is in my view that universal credit is a great idea poorly implemented. They have put in a max amount for all benefits but the amount needed to live on varies by location and circumstance

For example I would say 1 single guy in Reading's NEEDS are

Room in a shared house between £110 per week no bills and £650 per month inc bills at a quick glance on gumtree so call it £500 pcm absolute min

Food £50 a week min for a single guy with restricted cooking/fridge facilities (call it £250 a month)

So i reckon £750pcm to survive

UC cap is i think £1100 so you will actually have an £350pcm for everything else which is fine

But add in a kid and the accommodation goes up hugely, the food goes up a bit, you would have childcare costs if you try and do any work

Your UC cap would go to £20k (more than a young single parent is going to earn after tax and way more than what would be left after childcare costs)
Cheapest 2 bed place to rent (same as my old terrace house) is £900 pcm plus bills (e rated epc certificate and pre pay meters so going to be £250+ pcm) food is going to be £10 a day so £300pcm, you are already at £1450 of your £1666 so c£200 left and all you have done is survive, you havent bought any clothing (and kids get through a lot of that), toys, books, done laundry (and that is a big one if you dont have a washing machine in the house have you looked at laundrette prices recently)

The other issue is with UC centrally controlled there is no incentive on local councils to sort things out locally like there was when Housing Benefit came out the council's coffers

If you take accommodation out of UC it becomes far fairer (and easier to administer)

You then can allow/force/empower local authoprities to come up with local solutions to housing issue sin their area

 

[Newchodge]

i cooked 500g of diced stewing beef with 3, onions, 4 carrots half a swede a large handful of pearl barley and a stock cube plus some herbs into a lovely stew for about £3.

But the issue is in my view that universal credit is a great idea poorly implemented. They have put in a max amount for all benefits but the amount needed to live on varies by location and circumstance

For example I would say 1 single guy in Reading's NEEDS are

Room in a shared house between £110 per week no bills and £650 per month inc bills at a quick glance on gumtree so call it £500 pcm absolute min

Food £50 a week min for a single guy with restricted cooking/fridge facilities (call it £250 a month)

So i reckon £750pcm to survive

UC cap is i think £1100 so you will actually have an £350pcm for everything else which is fine

But add in a kid and the accommodation goes up hugely, the food goes up a bit, you would have childcare costs if you try and do any work

Your UC cap would go to £20k (more than a young single parent is going to earn after tax and way more than what would be left after childcare costs)
Cheapest 2 bed place to rent (same as my old terrace house) is £900 pcm plus bills (e rated epc certificate and pre pay meters so going to be £250+ pcm) food is going to be £10 a day so £300pcm, you are already at £1450 of your £1666 so c£200 left and all you have done is survive, you havent bought any clothing (and kids get through a lot of that), toys, books, done laundry (and that is a big one if you dont have a washing machine in the house have you looked at laundrette prices recently)

The other issue is with UC centrally controlled there is no incentive on local councils to sort things out locally like there was when Housing Benefit came out the council's coffers

If you take accommodation out of UC it becomes far fairer (and easier to administer)

You then can allow/force/empower local authoprities to come up with local solutions to housing issue sin their area

I don't think the cap matters that much

Universal Credit for a single person over 25 appears to be £334.91 per month, plus, I think, £77 Housing Benefit, I think that is per week. So a total of £154 per week for everything including housing.

Based on the figures here https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-pension-rates-2022-to-2023#housing-benefit-1

The benefit cap kicks in if someone is entitled to several different benefits. Even if adding those up means they are entitled to more, they cannot get more than the cap.

 

[japancool]

Universal Credit for a single person over 25 appears to be £334.91 per month, plus, I think, £77 Housing Benefit, I think that is per week. So a total of £154 per week for everything including housing.

As far as how the housing bit works in UC, there's a set cost per bedroom that depends on the area. The number of bedrooms you're allowed depends on how many people in the family. So if the local cost per room is £110, and you are a couple with one child, you're allowed 2 bedrooms and you get £220 a week towards housing. That local room rate, of course, doesn't include council tax.

 

[IanSuth]

As far as how the housing bit works in UC, there's a set cost per bedroom that depends on the area. The number of bedrooms you're allowed depends on how many people in the family. So if the local cost per room is £110, and you are a couple with one child, you're allowed 2 bedrooms and you get £220 a week towards housing. That local room rate, of course, doesn't include council tax.

thanks

Not had anything to do with HB since i was 2 months out of uni in 1992 so a bit out of touch

I do know that since it ceased to be paid by the council they are more interested in licencing properties to restrict HMO's and driving up the quality (not a bad thing) than driving down rental costs

 

[japancool]

Btw, self-employed people really get shafted on UC. If you do NOT earn at least minimum wage x the number of hours you're supposed to work (40pw, if you're able bodied), you're treated as if you did, and your benefits are reduced accordingly. Don't try to be a tradesman or start a business on UC.

 

[Newchodge]

As far as how the housing bit works in UC, there's a set cost per bedroom that depends on the area. The number of bedrooms you're allowed depends on how many people in the family. So if the local cost per room is £110, and you are a couple with one child, you're allowed 2 bedrooms and you get £220 a week towards housing. That local room rate, of course, doesn't include council tax.

Are you sure? I understood that there is a set number of bedrooms that someone can have (1 for a couple) and there is a locally set rate for a 1 - 4 bed property. In Gateshead it is:

Shared accommodation rate	£70.19 per week
One bedroom rate	£97.81 per week
Two bedroom rate	£109.32 per week
Three bedroom rate	£126.58 per week
Four bedroom rate	£182.96 per week

If you live in a rented property that has more bedrooms than you require, you lose a % of your housing Benefit (so-called bedroom tax).

 

[japancool]

Are you sure? I understood that there is a set number of bedrooms that someone can have (1 for a couple) and there is a locally set rate for a 1 - 4 bed property. In Gateshead it is:

I must admit, I just looked at the 1 bedroom rate, so you're probably right.

The bedroom tax though only applies if you're renting council or housing association property - it wouldn't affect private tenants.

 

[Newchodge]

I must admit, I just looked at the 1 bedroom rate, so you're probably right.

The bedroom tax though only applies if you're renting council or housing association property - it wouldn't affect private tenants.

I think councils still used it in assessing rent for private tenants. but there were get outs, for example, when you started paying provate rent at this level, were you better off and so could afford it, type of questions.

I know a few years ago when I needed to claim housing benefit as a private tenant, their starting point was the local hosuing allowance level and the bedroom reduction.

 

[Trundle]

I am on the other side of the fence, unemployed and looking for work. I have savings to live on so don't draw any benefits. I have though claimed benefits in the past, and anyone who thinks they are easy to live on needs to put down their copy of the Daily Mail and try living on the pittance that is paid.

One of the reasons that I left my last job was because for over a decade the (public sector) company had failed to invest in staff. This was due to government cutbacks and their obvious intention to break the organisation so that it can be swallowed up by the private sector. So when recruiting staff, their development is important. Too often businesses see training as a cost and not a benefit. Look at how not having enough trained HGV drivers panned out.

Whilst offering incentives to join on minimum wage terms those incentives won't pay their escalating rents, something that can be swallowing half or usually more of their take home pay. Be careful what you do offer though, don't take the potential employee for a mug. When I first moved here I was renting a property very cheaply. I applied for a job with a hotel as a trainee manager. The pay was minimum wage. The owner, who was running the interview, offered me the opportunity of a room in the staff quarters if I gave up renting my home. I could just see the outcome of that: living over the shop and being on call for 24 hours a day. I declined his kind offer. I was only going for the job as a stop gap until something else came up. Who stays for minimum wage, when the lowest paid always seem to be working so much harder than eveyone else? His problem was solved when he started employing the east Europeans, or at least it was until Brexit and they all went home. The hotels are like the Mari Celeste when it comes to getting a drink at the bar. A trip to reception finds no-one manning the desk so one has to lurk around until the receptionist so that they can organise someone to pour you a drink. At least one of the three hotels is now for sale.

Later I applied for a job at a hire car company. It was the sort of job that you had to do everything from reception to checking in returns and valeting the car to hand over to the next customer. I was told the wage halfway through the interview (minimum wage again) and the owner commented to the other interviewer that he was surprised that I was still sat in the chair. I listened to the rest of the interview and they offered me the job. I told them that I would think about it. I went home and calculated that after tax, NI, fuel, rent and council tax I would be left with £13 a week for food, clothing, entertainment etc. I called them to say that I wouldn't be taking the job, so the owner offered me one of the hire cars to be able to get into work 25 miles away for 06:30. Again I declined the offer.

Sometimes people just can't afford to take your minimum wage job.

Now I find myself in a position where I am applying for plenty of jobs, but the vast majority are not even extending me the courtesy of a response.

 

[IanSuth]

The "Broad Rental Market Area" rates for Reading are

Shared Accommodation Rate:£89.75 per week
One Bedroom Rate:£182.96 per week
Two Bedrooms Rate:£218.63 per week

this is from Reading councils website so HB is tied into UC in a sense as the example basically uses the local 2 bed rate and they would have £103per week deducted for being over cap

How the benefit cap will affect you​

If your total benefit payments exceed the government’s benefit cap below, the extra amount will be deducted from either your Housing Benefit payments (whether the Housing Benefit is paid to your landlord or you) or your Universal Credit payments.

You will need to make up any shortfall to your landlord.

Since November 2016 the Benefit Cap has been:

• £384.62 a week if you’re a couple – with or without dependent children
• £384.62 a week if you’re a lone parent with dependent children
• £257.69 a week if you’re a single person without children

Your household includes you, your partner and any children you are responsible for and who live with you. The income of any non-dependents living with you (such as adult children) does not count.

For example, currently:

A couple with children or a single parent currently receiving £220 per week Housing Benefit, £120 per week Child Tax Credit and £34 per week Child Benefit and £114 per week in ESA would have a total income of £488 per week.

They would have £103.38 per week deducted from their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit entitlement, as this is the amount they are over the benefit cap.

They would have to make up the difference to their landlord.