Dave Cameron has asked for our help in tackling the enormous debt mountain.
Here is my contribution.
Things have definitely changed since I started work many moons ago. Now the employee is king. When I joined the NHS 10 years ago I wouldn't have believed what goes on until I saw it for myself.
There is a hard core of people who want to milk the system for all it is worth. What happened to the old saying `a fair day's work for a fair day's pay`.
They are sick more than they are in work. Some distant relative dies in some distant land and they are on a plane not to be seen again for about the next 3 weeks. They go on holiday and contract illnesses and cannot return to work at the allotted time. They suffer `stress` which can go on for months and months. They go on holiday and some relative dies whilst they are there so cannot return for another couple of weeks.
You cannot get rid of these people and they are costing the taxpayer phenomenal amounts of money. They don't want to work and think of any excuse to stay away. Because they are not at work, agency staff has to be employed to take over. This costs the department I work in a staggering average of £25,000 per month. One month a few years ago the monthly bill was £165,000. This one department in one hospital just do the sums and you can see how awful the situation is.
If these people worked in the private sector they wouldn't know what's hit them. They would be out on their ear.
The laws need to change so useless employees can be sacked.
Of course I am not talking about the hard working dedicated staff and there are plenty of them but the usual suspects need booting out.
Hi,
My husband works for the NHS and he sees the same....but what can be done?
People know how to play the "stress game" and will and do abuse it.
Kindest regards,
Christina
how about cutting the amount spent on wining and dining for the MPs and how about a hostel type arrangement for them all to stay when they are in London, rather than having extra homes paid for out of the communal pot?
how about cutting the amount spent on wining and dining for the MPs and how about a hostel type arrangement for them all to stay when they are in London, rather than having extra homes paid for out of the communal pot?
Yes totally agree. Especially about accommodation in London. Why do they have to have 2nd homes paid for by us.
The second home situation can easily be remedied by copying the swedish system. They claim a fixed expenses sum based on the distance of their constituency to parliament. They can put this towards travelling costs, or hotel costs, or towards the cost of a home close to parliment. Alternatively, (if I remember correctly), they can stay in government owned accommodation and not receive the payment. They can't then submit any further expenses claim.
With regard to the "employee being king". This problem has been around for years but it has become worse over time. About 18 years ago I worked for a company where an employee went off sick with a nervouse breakdown. He had a sick note for the first month, sent in a new one for a second month, then a third and then nothing....... didn't send in any more sick notes, didn't respond to phone messages, letters etc, wasn't home when someone called at his house. In total he was paid for 12 months while off, only providing a sick note for three of these months. Towards the end he was sent three letters (a month apart) explaining that if he didn't contact or send in a new sick note then his contract would be terminated. When the contract was finally terminated, he took the company to tribunal for unfair dismissal and won £10,000! How ridiculous is that?!
The more recent addition of "constructive dismissal" is needed but I feel is likely abused by many. That said, "unofficially", most companies in the private sector will not employ an applicant who has previously taken an employer to tribunal.
The welfare state seriously needs looking at. This is a huge strain on the economy and although many people need to claim, there are many who obviously abuse the system. Admittedly, governments have been trying to remedy this for years and I'm not sure what the fair solution is.
One thing the Labour government did try to remedy, with limited success, is the help for single parents or the second parent in a low income family to access nursery facilities in order to return to work. I know a few people who have been caught in this "catch 22" situation where they are better off on benefits, this problem desperately needs fixing as many of those people would rather be able to work.
I've never understood how so many people seem able to spend their life on benefits, when people who work all their life, own their own home etc seem to be royally screwed if they try to claim. A friend of mine was told he had too much money to claim any assistance and had to live off his hard earned savings until he found work - at 58 years old and in the IT industry he genuinely found it very difficult to find new employment, by which time his savings were almost completely used up. He started work at 18 years old, paid for all his own further education and had been a tax payer for 40 years, having never claimed benefits before!
I could go on and on with some of the ridiculous schemes that have come up in recent years, particularly for young people who are out of work/don't want to work. Some of these schemes provide little in the way of results and cost a lot more money than the benefits alone.
I'm also disgusted by the number of large companies who move their call centres overseas to save money. This increases unemployment in the UK, which in turn potentially the number of tax payers (as well as, in most cases, the customer receiving poor service). I think a tax should be introduced on companies who operate in this way. This would make the overseas call centre option less beneficial to the company and keep at least some of that money in the UK. Banks and utility companies seem to be the worst offenders in this and lets face it, these are companies who announce huge profits each year, even during times of recession (Barclays, "British" Telecom, to name just a couple - in fact Barclaycard made 600 people in Manchester redundant when they opened their call centres in India).
Local councils need to be made more accountable to parliament for their spending. I'm sure everyone on here could list ways in which their local or county council has wasted money each year, often to use up any remaining funds so they can keep their budget up the following year.
In the recent recession, much was written by experts on how entrepreneurs and smaller businesses would have a large impact on getting us out of the recession. I think more can be done to encourage people into self-employment or setting up their own business. This helps the economy and reduces unemployment. There are so many small to medium size companies in the UK (SME's), they make up 99% of our economy - why not help make more! I feel it's part of the reason our economy is normally one of the most stable in the world and we have historically been in this situation, even though relatively little is done to help them. I think governments and local councils need to take more notice of SMEs. In my own experience, Manchester City Council will bend over backwards to encourage the larger businesses in the city but has pulled a few stunts over the years that have shafted the smaller businesses, forcing many to close.
With regard to the "employee being king". This problem has been around for years but it has become worse over time. About 18 years ago I worked for a company where an employee went off sick with a nervouse breakdown. He had a sick note for the first month, sent in a new one for a second month, then a third and then nothing....... didn't send in any more sick notes, didn't respond to phone messages, letters etc, wasn't home when someone called at his house. In total he was paid for 12 months while off, only providing a sick note for three of these months. Towards the end he was sent three letters (a month apart) explaining that if he didn't contact or send in a new sick note then his contract would be terminated. When the contract was finally terminated, he took the company to tribunal for unfair dismissal and won £10,000! How ridiculous is that?!
GPs also have a lot to answer for in my estimation. They quite happily sign people off 2 -4 weeks at a time.
Why aren't the so called `sick` expected to go back to the GP on a weekly basis?
I would guess it is easier for the GP to sign them off for a month rather than have them clogging up the surgery and giving them more work to do.
Maybe if they had to present themselves at the GP more often, the GP could ascertain if they really were still sick and they in turn maybe less inclined to take so much time off.
If these people worked in the private sector they wouldn't know what's hit them. They would be out on their ear.
The laws need to change so useless employees can be sacked.
So which is it? Those who are swinging the lead can be kicked out - or they can't because the law needs changing? Can't be both, as there is one set of employment laws that apply to all workers, whoever employs them. I think there's a bit of a myth about this public/private thing: I've always worked in the private sector and have never seen anyone "out on their ear" like that.
Good point about GPs, though. My wife has been signed off sick by GPs in the past and been ready to return to work sooner - but her employer says she can't come back because the GP has signed her off! Why are doctors so quick to write sick notes for random lengths of time?
And in answer to the original question: bring troops back from Afghanistan, wind down the armed forces and scrap Trident and its successor. That should save a bit.
Good point about GPs, though. My wife has been signed off sick by GPs in the past and been ready to return to work sooner - but her employer says she can't come back because the GP has signed her off! Why are doctors so quick to write sick notes for random lengths of time?
The law already changed in April when Sick notes were replaced by Fit notes:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?r.s=sl&r.lc=en&type=ONEOFFPAGE&itemId=1084712563
Myarka.
It's an interesting thread topic. 🙂 If we had more time (since Osbourne is announcing what will happen just tomorrow) I wonder what ideas we could come up with?
However, I don't feel the thread is kicking in until post #5 and hope nobody minds me saying so. 🙂 There's a need to save a trillion pounds. So I'm afraid a few hundred MPs having £75 meals or claiming for toilet seats and for their moats to get cleaned ...
how about cutting the amount spent on wining and dining for the MPs and how about a hostel type arrangement for them all to stay when they are in London, rather than having extra homes paid for out of the communal pot?
... 🙂 MP expenses is a different thread topic really. Pay them absolutely nothing, expect them to do their jobs out of pure charity, and we're probably looking at saving a millionth (just a guess) of what the cuts need to be.
I must say, I do have some concern that certain cuts we're going to hear about might put yet more people out of work, thus back-fire. But there's certainly no doubt that in general, we're all going to have to tighten belts. (I say "in general" as it's not true that we must "all" suffer: the majority will, but are we all Mr. and Mrs. Average? Some businesses are flourishing and growing within the recession. It's always possible for businesses and for individuals to buck trends. 🙂 )
V
Budget announcement:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10371590.stm
An "interesting" way to try and get our economic mess into some kind of order. Much of it makes sense, although I think the increase in VAT will come back and bite them on the backside as that could potentially hinder economic recovery. Mind you, Labour's ridiculous idea to temporarily reduce VAT did nothing for the economy, it just cost billions of pounds.
I'm glad to see the medicals for people claiming disability benefits, although most really need the benefits there are lots out there on the fiddle as well.
I won't dissect the whole press release, besides I have a client due in about 5 mins, but I have to say that I don't think they've got it entirely right (that's maybe being overly polite) with this budget but generally it's a step in the right direction compared to the previous government that made most of the mess in the first place.
I think people claiming benefit need to be monitored closely, there are so many people conning the system it's getting silly now. I pay nearly £800 p/m in tax, and to think it goes on scammers like these people here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1290906/Fraudster-family-worth-1-5m-jailed-claiming-170k-benefits.html
People like this need to be deported and pronto, if British indigenous then prison. Let's teach them a lesson they won't forget in a hurry! 😡
Yes, and while we're at it why don't we just put them up against a wall and machine gun them? 'British indigenous'? What a telling way you have of putting words together, Rosie.