I used to "claim the dole" up until almost 18 months ago,before that I was self employed for over four years in a totally different field.Where I work now,I worked for an extra £15..something(a week) doing 30 hours a week but gained huge experience and landed a job when one came available..guess my point is we are not all druggies, ... etc but it annoys me everyone who signs on is tarred with the same brush!!
I don't think that's quite true nidgynoo. We all know that when people hit bad times,they need assistance in many ways, and I don't think many would deny them. Unfortunatley, there are also many who see the government hand outs as their permanent subsidy in life and use them in all the wrong ways and don't appear to be on the same planet. I don't believe they will ever change and they are the ones who give a bad name to genuine claimants. Which right minded person would truly wish to be on the 'dole' if they didn't have to?
Maybe there should be two different catagories.......'the unemployed' and as they have in other parts of Europe...'the Beggers'.
If the Beggers were given that classification, just maybe, they would do something about it. There's a lot in a name.