People on these schemes often receive no expenses. They’re expected to work for periods ranging from two months to six months — and in some cases, up to two years. Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Minister Chris Grayling has indicated that two-year referrals may ‘loop’, meaning claimants could be placed on the programme indefinitely.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines “forced or compulsory labour” as:
“All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself/herself voluntarily.”
Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (and Section 47 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010) both outlaw forced or compulsory labour.
I’m fed up with people in work treating those who are unemployed as if it’s their fault — or that they’re simply too lazy to find jobs. The truth is, there just aren’t enough jobs. In some areas, there are 50 applicants for every vacancy. Yet unemployment continues to be treated as a personal failing.
Some people have even been sanctioned for applying for too many jobs. Others have been forced to paint walls or sweep streets as a form of punishment.
Being unemployed doesn’t mean someone is “work-shy”. There are 3 million unemployed people and only 500,000 vacancies. These schemes aren’t even targeted at those who’ve never worked or been out of work long-term. People are being exploited and asked to do tasks that paid workers wouldn’t be expected to do — and often with no equipment, no training, no protective clothing, and no support.
At one time “looking for work” was considered work in itself. These placements do little for anyone’s CV. Meanwhile, companies pay nothing. Providers like Atos, Reed, and A4e are making tidy profits from delivering these programmes. They’re being paid to run them — while participants do full-time jobs for no wages, no protection, and no meaningful training.
Here’s what’s happening: if you lose your job and claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, you may be forced to join a workfare scheme. You could end up working, unpaid, for companies like Asda or Tesco — possibly even doing your old job for nothing. This erodes wages, workplace rights, and job creation for everyone.
In one example, 800 station staff on the London Underground were cut — prompting concerns for passenger safety. Months later, a new workfare scheme by A4e rolled out 200 unpaid “workfare wardens”.
We once had a welfare state — a system that upheld the right to support as a universal right. That is being dismantled. The so-called “work-shy” group used to justify these measures are, in reality, a tiny minority.
If people refuse to participate, they face destitution due to sanctions. Are we really prepared to accept state-sanctioned destitution?
The private companies running these schemes — Atos, A4e, Reed, etc. — are making substantial profits at the taxpayer’s expense. But who oversees the relationship between big business, the state, and citizens? Where are the democratic checks and balances? Claimants are no longer directly accountable to the state, and therefore are not even protected by the Freedom of Information Act.
If a job needs doing, then that job should come with a living wage, pension contributions, holiday pay, training, and proper workplace provisions. Free labour is not acceptable.
Consider this comment posted on the Guardian website:
“I personally know a fifty-six-year-old man who worked at Tesco for 40 hours a week for six weeks with no pay. He was given the worst jobs — constantly restocking freezers — in the hope he’d be hired. At the end of the placement, the manager asked if he’d like to stay on for a few more weeks. My friend asked, ‘With pay?’ The manager replied, ‘Why would I pay you when I can just get more people who have to work for nothing or face sanctions — meaning the loss of ALL benefits for up to three years.’”
At first glance, having unemployed people “work” for their benefits might sound reasonable — until you realise they’re being exploited as free labour:
Boycott Workfare
Even Argos has acknowledged that it uses the scheme during its busiest time of year:
“We can confirm that Argos does not have a policy to recruit colleagues through the government’s Work Experience Programme, but we do make use of it to offer work experience. Christmas is our busiest time of year and we are pleased to provide the opportunity for work experience during this time.”
So — more profit, fewer paid jobs. THIS IS WRONG.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has claimed it’s voluntary:
BBC coverage
But this Freedom of Information request shows that claimants can be forced into unpaid work for up to six months:
What Do They Know: Mandatory Work under the Work Programme
Chris Grayling has repeatedly claimed on Radio 4 that “it is a voluntary scheme”. But the truth is: if you’re referred, it becomes mandatory.
Only one of the government’s workfare schemes is genuinely voluntary. “Mandatory Work Activity” is not.
(Guardian via Twitter)
And here’s the kicker: while people are stuck in these unpaid placements, they can’t properly search for real work. And as long as companies continue using free labour, there’s no incentive to create real jobs.
