Chuck DarwinOne in four full-time workers in Britain would be “better off swapping wages for benefits“, according to new analysis which featured on the front of The Sun.
The report – published by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) earlier this month – resurrects the spectre of the ‘#welfare #scrounger’,
a hypothetical slacker who relies on state support to stay out of work.
⚠️But do people really claim disability benefits just to stay out of work?
❓And how much do you really get if you’re on benefits?
We took a closer look at the CSJ’s claims:
The Centre for Social Justice
– a centre-right think tank founded by Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith
– has claimed that over six million workers take home less after tax than a jobless person claiming the “right combination of out-of-work and health benefits.”
The group also claims – based on its reading of official forecasts – that the equivalent of 1,000 new disability claims are being approved every working day.
“The danger now is that Britain turns into a welfare state with a bankrupt country attached,” declared Sir Iain, CSJ founder and former leader of the Conservative party.
The think tank tallied up the average universal credit (UC) for ill health payment with the average housing benefit and personal independence payment (PIP).
The grand total they arrived at was around £25,200.
Meanwhile, 6.2 million people in employment take home less than £25,200 after tax – the level CSJ equates to a pre-tax salary of £30,100.
The figures were trumpeted by various right-wing papers, and seized on by Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice as evidence of “Labour’s war on work”
The reality:
The line between ‘benefits Britain’ and ‘alarm clock Britain’ is very porous indeed.
A third of universal credit claimants are in employment,
according to the latest government data.
Those who are not employed are required to look for work as if it was a full-time job,
unless they are exempt
– and failure to do so incurs hefty sanctions
Wen
John Earle
LilMikeSF
dicewarebot