A graduate who was forced to work at Poundland for free has won an appeal, in a blow for the Government's back-to-work schemes.

Cait Reilly, 24, from Birmingham, had argued that being made to work in the discount shop for nothing while she looked for a permanent job was illegal.

Jamieson Wilson, 40, an unemployed lorry driver from Nottingham who was stripped of jobseeker's allowance for refusing an unpaid cleaning role, also won his legal challenge.

Lord Justice Pill, Lady Justice Black and Sir Stanley Burnton, sitting in London, ruled that the regulations behind most of the back-to-work schemes were unlawful and quashed them.

The pair's solicitors claimed the ruling meant anyone docked jobseeker's allowance for not complying with the schemes could demand the money back.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has vowed not to repay anyone who had not been seriously trying to find work and said it was looking at "options" to avoid paying out.

Miss Reilly was forced to leave her voluntary post at a museum to work unpaid at Poundland in Kings Heath, Birmingham, in November 2011 under a scheme known as the "sector-based work academy".

She was told she would lose jobseeker's allowance if she refused and spent two weeks stacking shelves and cleaning floors.

Mr Wilson, a qualified mechanic, was told that he had to work unpaid, cleaning furniture for 30 hours a week for six months, under a scheme called the community action programme.

He objected to doing unpaid work that would not help him re-enter the jobs market and refused, leading to him losing jobseeker's allowance for six months.

Following the ruling, Miss Reilly said: "I don't think I am above working in shops like Poundland. I now work part time in a supermarket. It is just that I expect to get paid for working.

"I agree we need to get people back to work but the best way of doing that is by helping them, not punishing them."

Following the ruling, Labour accused the coalition of being "incompetent" and unions hailed Miss Reilly a "hero" as they called for the programmes to be scrapped.

But the Government pointed out that the judges had agreed requiring people to join the schemes was legal, meaning they could continue.

Employment minister Mark Hoban said it would appeal the ruling while also drafting new regulations immediately to remove "any uncertainty".

"Ultimately the judgment confirms that it is right that we expect people to take getting into work seriously if they want to claim benefits," he said.

Public Interest Lawyers, which represented both claimants, called the decision a "huge setback" for the DWP.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: "It beggars belief that David Cameron's Government is now so incompetent it can't even organise work experience."

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I don't know how they where allowed to get away with this in the first place.

Forcing someone to work for FREE, thee has got to be a law against this.

I signed of the dole over a year ago, but if they ever tried to force me to work for free, then I would have took the same action this person did.

LOVE IT!!!
Love IDS getting a f uckin good boot in the bollox- the jumped up little shit.Off you go-Mr Out Of Touch and start again.....how many £m do you want from tax payers this time?....to f uck up again. Knobhead.

No-one should work for free. Volunteering is another ball game.

I am lost at the phrase "slave labour" she was getting her benefits which are paid by the taxpayer.Surely anything is better than sitting at home doing nothing but maybe I am out of touch with "modern" thinking.

Roll on general election,7 May 2015 .. you had your chance Cameron, and you blew it ..

don't think he'll last that long

http://www.poundland.co.uk/press-centre/press-centre-2013/poundland-statement/
Withdrawal from the DWP Scheme

In light of the news about the Department of Work and Pensions work experience case, we would like to announce that we have been working in partnership with the Job Centre Plus over the last few months to launch our own work experience programme for those considering a career in retail.

Our work experience programme is completely voluntary – no one has their benefits taken away from them at any point during the process. This programme replaces any involvement with the Department of Work and Pensions prime providers and their work experience schemes.
We recognise the importance of offering work experience to people looking to get back into work and currently have people taking part in our own work experience programme across 71 of our stores. Since launching our scheme a positive 20% have been offered a job with us.

She was getting money, from the tax payer. We would all like to do other things at times but you have to do what you need to for the dosh. When I was picking fields of spuds or sprouts, or working on the Vauxhalls line, or packing pork pies I used to long to be doing something else but I was getting cash money for what I was doing.

""working on the Vauxhalls line, I used to long to be doing something else""
why did you long of working elsewhere, when you were getting paid a good wage?
would you of worked at vauxhalls for your dole, knowing that the person working side by side of you were getting a good rate of pay per hr, my god anyone on min wage who got a job at vauxhalls would think they had hit the jackpot

The point is that everybody says this girl and others were being forced to work for nothing when in fact they were getting paid valuable work and life experience as well as taxpayers funded benefits.

Many people out of work have good qualifications and work experince but for whatever reason find themselves out of work. So in these cases working in poundland would not aid them back to work, Instead hinder them timewise in finding an appropriate fulltime job.
Not only this but all these people are filling places that could be given to people needing paid jobs.
I was on an access course to higher education a few years back with a young lad that was told that he couldnt carry on with the course as he had to be placed in a somewhere like poundland. He could have had a degree by now and a better chance of inproving his life. I dont know what hes doing now.

she mmay have been taking money from the tax payer,but she is still entitled to the equivelent of minimum wage!!how the hell can this goverment say they are trying to get people back to work when all they are doing is giving these retail stores excuses to have staff for free rather than pay someone!!

Could it be a case of Forced labour
Is any work which people are forced to do against their will



Forced labour became a criminal offence via the 2009 Coroners and Justice Act (Section 71) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the 2010 Criminal Justice and Licensing Act (Section 47) in Scotland

Is there anywhere I can find a list of the companies who get free labour from this scheme?

will try and find you a link. i know that several charities jibbed it as they were losing custom.

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/0...till-using-workfare-tell-them-its-wrong/

Thank you. I'm going to try not to use these companies.

I will also be avoiding these companies

Wow.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/15/dwp-law-change-jobseekers-poundland

Government is quite used to getting its own way and changes laws to suit on a periodic basis. Quite a slap in the face for the judicial system, but anyway..hey ho!..Onwards and upwards

The thing which bothered me about this case was that she brought it about because it was hindering her volunteer work at a Pen Museum.

She was doing this volunteer work not at evenings or weekends, but at the times she was supposed to be available and willing to work.

The way that I would see the volunteering angle is that "The Pen Museum is operated entirely by volunteers" in any case. One would assume that the other volunteers have all the same calls on their time as she does, except that she didn't have any work to go to.

She's really pushing it to claim that she should have been at The Pen Musuem instead of Poundland (or somewhere else).

Whether she should have been sent to Poundland is another thing altogether. If she genuinely picked up valuable work skills there, then she should appreciate that. Whether she would pick up any valuable work skills by doing extra volunteering at The Pen Museum is very much open for debate.

When I was unemployed and did volunteer work I had to jump through all kinds of hoops to prove I wasn't doing this during the times I was supposed to be seeking and available for any work. If I did any volunteer work during what's regarded as a normal working day (9-5 Mon to Friday) then part of my benefit would be stopped.

That's more than a little disturbing.

Nobody, from beggar to prince, is supposed to be above the law. The fact that our unelected government can change the law retrospectively to suit itself is deeply worrying.