Government urged to end discrimination against unemployed

Readers' comments (3)

• Anonymous | Mon, 2 Feb 2009 2:58 am

  This discrimination isn’t new its been happening to me for 22 years and when ever I was out of work recruitment agencies and employers either ignored me or blamed me for being out of work (when it was not my fault) and either way used my time out of work against me to keep me out of work.
  
  How is that fair?
  
  The longer I was out of work the more they did it so I lost countless years of my life and it almost destroyed me ……….
  
  You would not treat a stray dog as badly as i was treated by recruitment agencies and employers all because i was unemployed.
  
  Politicians, recruitment agencies and employers are who eager to put the blame for unemployment on the unemployed have clearly never been out of work.
  
  They have never experienced the utter hell and misery of being ignored or being blamed for being out of work endless times (when its not your fault), if they had experienced this then they would understand the problem and would not have done it to any one else.
  
  If no one will offer you an interview or job because you’re out of work ... HOW can you get a job ?
  
  Discriminating against the unemployed is just as bad as ANY other form of discrimination.
  
  It can completely affect people's lives and futures for ever and push them into poverty.
  
  Why is that allowed to happen ?
  
  Why is it "ok" to discriminate against the unemployed and not offer them work because they are out of work?
  
  Where is the logic in that ?
  
  I can’t believe this loop hole has never been closed. What planet are people living on?
  
  Over the years I checked the DWPs website on discrimination, laws against almost every type of discrimination exist including:
  You can’t discriminate against transvestites or cross dressers
  
  You can’t discriminate against people including (murderers) who’ve done their
  time in jail, who are freed and are looking for job - even murderers have anti discrimination rights.
  
  But no laws exist to stop discrimination against the unemployed - something which is 1 trillion times more serious than the above and which effects countless people's lives and futures.
  
  People out of work deserve the same rights as anyone else.
  
  I’ve heard from reliable sources that recruitment agencies and employers also use discriminating against the unemployed as a smoke screen to unofficially black list people and stop them ever from working either in that profession or in that firm.
  
  But the victims are never told what the real reason is, they are never allowed to clear their names, they are never allowed to put the record straight and get back in to work.
  
  Its all very hush hush, but it happens all the time.
  
  Why is this allowed to carry on ?
  
  To people who discriminate against the unemployed and don’t offer them work because they are out of work…..
  
  How can the unemployed get a job then ?
  
  If you were unemployed and people blamed you for being out of work and did offer you a job because you were unemployed, how would you feel ?

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• Nathan Hazlett | Fri, 5 Feb 2010 4:25 am

  I believe discrimination of the unemployed is unfortunately widespread in the United Kingdom, not only from having personally experienced it but also from the influence of the red top press.
  
  At present, I believe that the unemployment, specifically welfare claimants are generally treated as second class citizens. This is evident by the patronizing and occasionally bullying attitude of some staff in jobcentres and New Deal centres. Claimant's often have very little voice in decisions made about them and are forced to engage in soul destroying activities. This is effectively criminalising the unemployed in everything but name.
  
  I believe the problem lies in the widespread believe that employment status alone is a virtue. Job=good. Unemployment=bad. It is for this reason that the unemployed suffer such a bad press. If not condemned as lazy 'dole scroungers' then the unemployed are dishonest criminals. The irony is that honesty or lack of it transends employment barriers. Likewise criminality occurs in all sectors of society including those in 'honest' paid jobs. Im more than a little sick of this image being reinforced by the red top press in a subtle but deliberate campaign to demonise welfare claimants. The way crime is reported exemplifies this. Instead of simply saying 'Mr A was found shoplifting' it has to be 'Jobless A'. Such language actually criminalises unemployment itself and the sad part is the red top press can get away with it. Some senior politicians also, whether deliberately or not, encourage prejudice. An example being when David Cameron claimed welfare claimants 'get something for nothing'. This was highly irresponsible given that many claimants do voluntary work.
  Now I am not suggesting that there aren't dishonest welfare claimants involved in crime. There obviously are. But what I deeply resent is the collective tarring of all unemployed people. I also resent the notion that being in a paid job somehow makes you a good person or an honest person. People may be good at their job and it provides an income but as far as im concerned thats it. I also believe that in the collective strife to get people into paid jobs some complex questions about unemployment are not being raised. The fact is any number of people out of work suffer from serious anxiety about issues in the workplace, such as bullying or previous bad experience. But many are reluctant to raise such issues for fear of being branded lazy.
  As long as the unemployed are treated as second class citizens by aspects of the press, politicians and public attitudes there will be bitterness and a reluctance to subscribe to conformity.

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• Rob | Fri, 13 May 2011 3:58 pm

  I agree with the previous comments. I think professional people are the worst when it comes to giving the unemployed a bashing. Most of these idiotic comments come from people who have been in work since they left school or university and have never been out of work and many have landed themselves jobs for life. It's all very well saying that if the unemployed had stuck in at school they wouldn't be in that situation, but no-one can turn the clock back. Anyway, we can't all be "Einsteins". With millions of people on the dole in the current climate, they can't all be to blame for their unemployment.
  Employers get away with murder by "gagging" both employees and jobseekers. They have a holier-than-thou attitude. The unemployed are open to criticism, but no-one dare criticise employers in a general sense for fear of losing their job or failing to get one as they will be perceived as troublemakers and having an "anti-employer" attitude.

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