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How right you are... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9342682/Rampant-age-discrimination-sees-older-workers-rejected-from-jobs.html# My apologies for taking so long to get back to this thread. I've had a busy few weeks, and I've got two job applications to get out this weekend, so...

Have you considered a "living willow" hedge? http://www.kingsbarnfarm.co.uk/living_willow_hedge.html

Yup. I thought I'd answered this in my post on page 11. The key sentence being "The locals have pretty much got the job market sewn up". It's not a big town, where I live, and everybody knows everybody else. It's been hit by the recession, just like everywhere else, and several shops on...

I understand your perplexity. I've had an odd sort of life - interesting, I think, but odd - and it's probably been very different to yours, and those of most other members on this forum. I'm not going to write my biography, but it would probably help clarify matters if I gave you a bit more...

That's a very good point, and one I'm inclined to agree with. Unfortunately, I suspect it's probably cheaper to pay older people benefits than it is to pay them the state pension.

I find it hard to believe as well. Recently, I've applied for jobs with B&Q, Homebase, Next, and the local Council, as well as cleaning jobs, and a job with a local engineering firm who want a CAD draftsman. So far, I've not even had an interview. If I knew the answer, we wouldn't be having...

My apologies, we cross-posted. I was going to reply to that point along these lines: I may be wrong, but I'm new to researching this subject, and I'm still working out which sources are good, and which aren't. I've taken your views on board. I'm enjoying this debate - I don't often get the...

I'd give it a go, if if I could find somebody who'd take me on and train me while paying me enough to live on. Thanks for the compliment, by the way.

You really have no idea what you're talking about, have you? Don't make assumptions. From 1977 to 2001, I worked as a semi-itinerant, semi-professional, archaeological assistant on over 30 excavations across the UK. Don't be misled by Tony Robinson and the Time Team, they only show you...

Education? Don't make me laugh. This is the 4th of these schemes I've been on in the last nine years. Since 2003, I've been on New Deal, New Deal again, Flexible New Deal, and now CAP. The first of those was actually worthwhile - I got a work placement that proved very successful, and led...

http://www.theprisma.co.uk/2012/05/20/homeless-in-the-united-kingdom-more-than-a-million-i/ One million and rising

If I choose to work for £2 an hour, then it's not exploitation; but if I'm forced to work for £2 an hour, for the benefit of a third party, on pain of penalty if I don't comply, am I not being exploited by that third party?

Is it? Emma Harrison, the founder and ex-Chair of A4E (one of the govt's principal contractors for providing the Work Programme and other "welfare to work" initiatives) was not only on £365K until she resigned when A4E came under investigation for fraud, but also awarded her shareholders an...

Fair comment, and an interesting point. Before I respond (it's likely to be a lengthy response, and I'd rather deal with it tomorrow, when I'm not so whacked) I just want to clarify some points: 1. Would you concur that, a) the purpose of the NMW is to protect people from exploitation, and...

I'm not sure what point you're making here. It's also late, I've got a long day tomorrow, and I'm off to bed. Goodnight.

As it happens, I've done quite a lot of voluntary work over the years. Mainly in archaeology and conservation, but just before last Christmas I started doing a couple of afternoons a week at my local Oxfam online retail centre. When I was "mandated" to CAP, I asked if I could continue there as...

Sorry, that should read "12.5K" :oops:

I have much better ways of spending my free time than participating in legalised voyeurism, thank you very much :roll:

That is also a good question. The answer is that it's not "voluntary" work, it's "involuntary" work - neither voluntary nor paid but compulsory, it's a wholly new class of work that amounts to 21st century serfdom.

A good question. I shall answer it. The current adult National Minimum Wage is £6.08 per hour. I'm currently on the Community Action Programme (CAP), which involves 30 hours a week of compulsory, unpaid work for a voluntary organisation, plus 3 hours of supervised job search which requires...