Snow shifting rant

[scudmonkey]

That puts the majority of our elected representatives (MP's) in a spot. They've been claiming huge benefits for years and doing naff all for it!
Apart from that muppet MP who said there's nothing wrong with China's poisoned milk, drank some and promptly ended up in hospital! What a plank!

[Chillitt]

Without wish to add to the 'it's only an inch of snow, what the hells wrong with this country' unpleasantness, I just had a phone call from my mum who is near Cirencester (in Gloucestershire for the geographically challenged) saying can I close the shop and go down there till the weekend, because they had 2" of snow on Sunday night and another inch is forecast for tomorrow and the Nurses cant get out to look after dad.! They are supposed to be there 3 times a day, which is a great help to mother who cant keep up with him any more (she is 72 and he is 84 and has Alzheimer's)
so 3" of snow in a week and it's every man for himself?It's pathetic.

[The Hornet]

You have missed the workshy that have been moved on to "incapacity benefit". These are not officially counted as unemployed.

[Apache]

But surely you can only be moved on to incapacity benefit if you are medically unfit for work, which must have to be backed up by medical evidence?

Which IS what the benefits system is REALLY there for, not the workshy slackers others have pointed out.

[The Hornet]

A cursory examination and easily fiddled. There's loads of them with their blue badges, doing marathons, playing tennis etc. If you know how to milk it the skies the limit.

[Diezel Weazel]

You have missed the workshy that have been moved on to "incapacity benefit". These are not officially counted as unemployed.

Therein lies the problem (I'm not work shy, just medically unfit) the DHSS call me unemployed (as in unemployable, too Risky for employers to employ) when it suits n too much paperwork for the little darlings n when it suits they'll call us Disabled (as umpteen medicals have proved),...it's an easy option for them !!!
So in my eyes they are also the manipulating, workshy, pre-modonna beureacrats .....that we all tollerate !!!
That's not to TAR em all with the same brush, but they have targets, criteria & results !!!!

Ps. My personal Opinion Only


There's always a Payback .... It always take longer than five minutes !!!!

[fatfires]

But surely you can only be moved on to incapacity benefit if you are medically unfit for work, which must have to be backed up by medical evidence?

Which IS what the benefits system is REALLY there for, not the workshy slackers others have pointed out.

oh if only that were so, I was unable to continue in a supervisory position in the fire service because of health issues, so put out to grass (retained so no pension) at 56, my GP agreed and signed me off for 6 months as unfit, after a few weeks , still covered by certification I was called to a medical by DHSS, the only time the doctor touched me was to take my pulse, he had no records from my consutant or GP but was able to declare me as fit - so no more benifits despite what my GP etc had said
my only option to survive was to work for myself as and when I can hence why I am on here a lot, durring the many breaks I have to take. If I have a good day I maybee manage 6 hrs with many breaks, a bad one nothing - but I cant overturn that DHSS doctors 'diagnosis, Fair....I think not!
Perhaps if I changed my nationallity...........

[Apache]

So I think what we're saying is that incapacity benefits are paid to the wrong people because the rules of the system are not rigorously enforced, claimants are not properly assessed etc. Therefore, you can lay the blame squarely on the system rather than the applicants.

It sounds on the surface of it that Tony (above) would qualify if assessed by someone who gave a damn rather than just concentrating on getting the agreed number of patients through the books, but plenty of people 'running in marathons' (and I believe this is overhyped by the Daily Mail's of the country) and owning blue badges would have to find a job.

[Diezel Weazel]

oh if only that were so, I was unable to continue in a supervisory position in the fire service because of health issues, so put out to grass (retained so no pension) at 56, my GP agreed and signed me off for 6 months as unfit, after a few weeks , still covered by certification I was called to a medical by DHSS, the only time the doctor touched me was to take my pulse, he had no records from my consutant or GP but was able to declare me as fit - so no more benifits despite what my GP etc had said
my only option to survive was to work for myself as and when I can hence why I am on here a lot, durring the many breaks I have to take. If I have a good day I maybee manage 6 hrs with many breaks, a bad one nothing - but I cant overturn that DHSS doctors 'diagnosis, Fair....I think not!
Perhaps if I changed my nationallity...........

When I had all the medical Facts (not easy finding) I appealed n took it to a Tribunal n Won!! They couldn't apologise enough...14 years ago now !!
Ya could try that route Tony (ask for ya doctors advice as well)
There are some I know of, that are not worthy of being labelled Disabled more like workshy !! but it's not my Problem, authority's problem is it not ...
(I have enough problems of me own) Hope this helps ya
Good Luck


There's always a Payback .... It always takes longer than five minutes !!!!

[Surf01]

Due to the company I worked for going into administration at the end of October 2008 I was made redundant. I have been trying to get a job ever since as I have debts to pay and have even lowered my CV and expectations, but no one wants to employ someone that has a disability and needs to take time off every month to visit a doctor and once every three months to see a specialist. I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and the cold makes it even worse.
Please do NOT tar us all with the same brush! I could not do physical work even if I tried.
Anyway I have been paying NI for many years so I do not really understand why I should be forced to work for nothing as I have committed no crime. I did offer my services for voluntrary work on the clerical side with any organisation that was willing to take me but was told sorry no vacancies!

[MattF]

Please do NOT tar us all with the same brush! I could not do physical work even if I tried.

I don't believe they were tarring all with the same brush, merely pointing out that the incapacity/disability system is usually weighed against the clinically disabled in favour of the physically and mentally workshy. As are all the benefit systems, in truth.

Unemployment benefit, for example, seems to be something that you can't get if you've worked and payed taxes for donkeys years and then unfortunately found yourself unemployed, but rather is a weekly wage for the terminally idle who have no intention of ever working.

That's not tarring all people claiming disabilities as skivers, but merely pointing out the tw@tty system which lets all those idle tw@ts say they are disabled when all they need to do is get off those fat idle arses and work.

Honestly, don't take it as a dig at people who are genuinely disabled. It truly did not seem directed in that vein.

[Surf01]

I don't believe they were tarring all with the same brush, merely pointing out that the incapacity/disability system is usually weighed against the clinically disabled in favour of the physically and mentally workshy. As are all the benefit systems, in truth.

Unemployment benefit, for example, seems to be something that you can't get if you've worked and payed taxes for donkeys years and then unfortunately found yourself unemployed, but rather is a weekly wage for the terminally idle who have no intention of ever working.

That's not tarring all people claiming disabilities as skivers, but merely pointing out the tw@tty system which lets all those idle tw@ts say they are disabled when all they need to do is get off those fat idle arses and work.

Honestly, don't take it as a dig at people who are genuinely disabled. It truly did not seem directed in that vein.

Sorry probably over reacting and need a holiday. Maybe GB will pay for it! However I have applied for numerous jobs without mentioning that I have an issue, but I have not even reached the interview stage although I have an excellent CV and good qualifications.
There are a lot of us really trying to get back into work, but for every job out there, there are hundreds applying for the same post so at the grand age of 59 you are pushed to the bottom of the pile by the recruitment agency. I HATE recruitment agencies, but all the jobs being advertised are through them Even tried cold calling, but was referred back to a recuitment agency. This rejection in itself causes a problem whereas you start getting negative vibes and your thinking becomes negative which is a bad thing as it can lead to ddepression.
In a previous life as an electronics engineer reparing domestic appliances I could always work for myself, but being out of the trade for nearly 12 years would mean a lot of catching up to do, however then I have th problem of lifting an moving around the stuff.
If I had the money I would hook up the caravan onto the back of the Surf and start travelling and then write about our travels and earn a living that way. For example, visit a site, check out the surrounding area for nearest pub, food store, 3G reception, cost of site, views and anything else that may interest people.

[MattF]

Sorry probably over reacting and need a holiday. Maybe GB will pay for it! However I have applied for numerous jobs without mentioning that I have an issue, but I have not even reached the interview stage although I have an excellent CV and good qualifications.
There are a lot of us really trying to get back into work, but for every job out there, there are hundreds applying for the same post so at the grand age of 59 you are pushed to the bottom of the pile by the recruitment agency. I HATE recruitment agencies, but all the jobs being advertised are through them Even tried cold calling, but was referred back to a recuitment agency. This rejection in itself causes a problem whereas you start getting negative vibes and your thinking becomes negative which is a bad thing as it can lead to ddepression.

I can understand perfectly what you mean. The 'impartial' system we supposedly have, both in the benefit system and the workplace is more biased than one might imagine. It's a joke, in all honesty.

In a previous life as an electronics engineer reparing domestic appliances I could always work for myself, but being out of the trade for nearly 12 years would mean a lot of catching up to do, however then I have th problem of lifting an moving around the stuff.

It just isn't a feasible trade full stop, these days, unless you specialise in some niche area. I'm not sure what area you were in before, but I know I wouldn't even attempt to go back to repairing domestic equipment these days. The falling cost of replacing new equipment against the extra equipment needed to work on that equipment in the workshop made it infeasible years ago. Plus, the fact that the manufacturers seem to find it amusing to charge more for some of the spares than the actual retail cost of the complete unit doesn't help. Must be about six years since I last touched any domestic kit. Plus, I can think of very few engineers over here who haven't either retired or just swapped trades completely due to the situation. I know I'm one of the few stubborn devils out this way, but even I had to go into a niche.

If I had the money I would hook up the caravan onto the back of the Surf and start travelling and then write about our travels and earn a living that way. For example, visit a site, check out the surrounding area for nearest pub, food store, 3G reception, cost of site, views and anything else that may interest people.

Have you thought of contacting any of the travel companies or such regarding that? It may be worth a try. Especially now that it may be possible that more people will be taking holidays at home this year.

[RodLeach]

If you've got a definite plan then brilliant - good luck.. I just hope there's work at the end of the tunnel for you.

I thought you was doing plumbing btw ?

Rob.

Cheers mate!


An i was a plumber. The company i worked for changed direction an it didn't suit me as much. Rather then jobs relativly local its all over the place.

At first it was great! But after spending 4 hours on the road a day i got very, very tired of it!

I'll be better off in almost everyway with the route im taking now so! fingers crossed!

[tintin]

Having run out of sub-contract work at xmas, i had to sign on.(mostly so my paperwork with HMRC stays up to date!
Because i have been self employed for 4.5 years now they told me i could only claim "income related jobseekers allowance" Fine says i, where do i sign.
That was january 12th, just got a letter from them a couple of days ago!
They are graciously going to give me £6.90 per week, until i find employment!
Break out the champagne!
I've stuck to thier rules and paid my taxes and Stamp for just short of 30 years, and this is what they call help!
What a load of BO**CKS our system is, i bet if i lived up north in a council shithole with a girlfriend and 4 kids they would pay for everything!!!!
Really dont understand how they work things out!
Cant wait to get back to work, but even the temp agencies round here are reluctant to take on any more construction workers FFS!

RANT OVER.

Alan