welfare rights – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Granton Information Centre: Benefits Awareness session in Clermiston

Join us on Halloween for our FREE Benefits Awareness Workshop!

THURSDAY 31st OCTOBER from 10am – 12 noon

at Clermiston Church of the Nazarene, Rannoch Terrace

GIC’s pioneering work celebrated at Holyrood

A reception to mark Granton Information Centre’s pioneering work in establishing advice provision in healthcare settings was held at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday. Continue reading GIC’s pioneering work celebrated at Holyrood

Community groups invited to welfare rights conference

NAWRA (National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers) is coming to Edinburgh and we are in the process of making our final arrangements for our quarterly meeting on 8th September 2017, which doubles as our annual Scottish conference (writes CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative).

Our conference this year is being held at Edinburgh City Chambers and whilst our membership covers many welfare rights services I am reaching out to all community groups to invite them to get in touch as more and more community groups are being asked to deal with queries on income and many occasions state benefits.

In case you are reading this and are unfamiliar with our work at NAWRA our aims and objectives include challenging, influencing and to improve welfare rights policy and legislation and we are involved with various government stakeholder groups whereby we recognize and challenge discriminatory legislation and we promote welfare rights issues and encourage effective partnership working.

I am ever so proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland and part of my role is to attend stakeholder’s meetings for the roll out of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and I also represent NAWRA at our stakeholders meeting with SCoWR (Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform) whereby we continue to feedback in relation to Social Security.

Whilst I am proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland – and I am extremely proud – but what really drives me and my organisation is the help we can provide our communities in fighting inequalities and these communities, don’t forget, also includes our friends, neighbours and families.

At NAWRA we encourage community groups to get involved and I will be happy to discuss with any community group that may be interested in attending or indeed joining NAWRA as throughout United Kingdom we know that representation is becoming more difficult to find due to budget cuts both locally and nationally.

NAWRA can support any community group and assist with issues that may be relevant, for example we know families who were already vulnerable to losing their homes now face further cuts since UK government changed the benefit cap level at the end of 2016 and placing a freeze on many benefits.

Welfare rights is not just about providing a foundation through income but through providing hope and allowing potential to be realized as at the minute opportunity is scarce as we can see with our friends at Sheffield Hallam University producing a recent academic paper looking at the destruction of industrial Britain.

We can see the destruction of traditional industrial areas and these have been decimated over the last 40 years and I am not alone but I personally remember watching in awe of dockers, miners and in my own experience of watching my grandfather’s work with the gas industry or indeed my father in the wire works and Scottish gas.

Having used their bodies to build our country do we see any protection towards these workers. Well what we see is industries lost, jobs lost and people left with disabilities having put their bodies on the line for their community and country.

Is there protection? Well for some yes but due to the design of PIP (personal independence payment) and implementation we can see since the transfer from DLA (disability living allowance) over 1 million PIP claims have been refused and people who need it most are losing out and when in their hour of need and when needing it most they are being dismissed and left with no foundation to move forward.

At our conference, we shall have speakers and workshops throughout the day and our conferences continue to be offered without charge to our members and our memberships, which start as little as £40.00 per year, is per organisation making it accessible and economical to all organisations.

I hope you agree with me in acknowledging how important our conferences are and how important it is to receive the best advice and how every situation is different and intricate so I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on 8^th September 2017 or being contacted beforehand at craig@nawra.org.uk – our agenda can be seen at www.nawra.org.uk

CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative

One in five paid less than Living Wage

More than a fifth of UK workers earn less than the living wage, according to a new report published today. The KPMG research says that bar and catering staff, care workers and shop assistants are among those most likely to live ‘hand to mouth’ because of low pay.

The report is published on the day new ‘living wage’ rates – the minimum pay rates needed to let workers lead a decent life – are published.

Some 5.28 million people are paid less than the Living Wage, according to KPMG. The latest figure indicates that 22 percent of employees now earn less than the Living Wage – up from 21 percent last year.

Although the rise sounds modest, in real terms it equates to 147,000 people. The data also belies a worrying trend which sees part-time, female and young workers as the most likely to earn a wage that fails to provide a basic but decent standard of living.

The research, conducted by Markit for KPMG, shows that the proportion of people earning less than £7.65 per hour (or £8.80 in London) is much higher amongst part-time workers. More than 4 in 10 (43 percent) take home less than the Living Wage, compared to 13 percent of full-time employees. Despite accounting for less than one-third of all UK jobs, there are also more part-time roles paying less than the Living Wage (2.98 million) than full-time jobs (2.29 million).

More than forty years after the first Sex Discrimination Act was passed, the research also finds that women are more likely to be paid below the Living Wage than men. This year’s data shows, for example, that 1 in 4 women earn less than the benchmark, compared to 16 percent of men. It’s a figure that has stagnated over the past 12 months. Even where wages have increased, men earning less than the Living Wage have been awarded an average 3 percent increase, compared to 2.7 percent for women.

Although the number of young unemployed continues to fall, it is clear from analysis of the data that younger workers remain the most likely group to be caught in the ‘working poverty’ trap. 72 percent of 18-21 year olds are currently earning less than the Living Wage, compared to just 15 percent of those aged 30-39. In real terms this equates to 1,175,000 employees of traditional university age failing to earn enough to support the purchase of basic necessities.

Mike Kelly, Head of Living Wage at KPMG, says: “Although there are almost 1,000 organisations pledged to pay a Living Wage, far too many UK employees are stuck in the spiral of low pay. With the cost of living still high the squeeze on household finances remains acute, meaning that the reality for many is that they are forced to live hand to mouth.

“Inflation may be easing, but unless wages rise we will continue to see huge swathes of people caught between the desire to contribute to society and the inability to afford to do so. For some time it was easy for businesses to hide behind the argument that increased wages hit their bottom line, but there is ample evidence to suggest the opposite – in the shape of higher retention and higher productivity. It may not be possible for every business, but it is certainly not impossible to explore the feasibility of paying a Living Wage.”

This year’s research also revealed that, during October 2014, almost three times as many people earning less than the Living Wage (29 percent) reported that their household finances worsened over the month, compared to just 10 percent who saw an improvement. The net effect has seen demand for unsecured credit rising, with twice as many people earning below the Living Wage (18 percent) reporting an increase in their need to borrow, compared to just 9 percent who signalled a reduction.

This pressure on finances is also something many people believe will last beyond the short-term. 35 percent of those earning less than the Living Wage expect to see household finances worsen between now and November 2015. 22 percent also report fears over job security – a figure that has remained unchanged, despite improvements to the wider economy.

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission said: “This research is further proof that more workers are getting stuck in low paid work with little opportunity for progression.

“It is welcome that the number of accredited Living Wage firms has increased. But far more needs to be done to help millions of people move from low pay to living pay. Employers and government both have a key role to play. With the right leadership Britain can become a Living Wage country over the next decade.”

THE LIVING WAGE: what is it?

The UK ‘living wage’ – an hourly rate based on the amount needed to cover the basic costs of living – has today been raised by 20p to £7.85. The new rate – set by the Living Wage Foundation – is now 21% higher than the compulsory National Minimum Wage, which is currently £6.50 an hour.

The living wage has been adopted by more than 1,000 employers across the country, benefiting 35,000 workers, but business groups have said employers might struggle to pay it. The living wage is currently an informal benchmark, a voluntary option for employers and not a legally enforceable minimum level of pay like the national minimum wage.

The national minimum wage is set by the chancellor each year on the advice of the Low Pay Commission and is enforced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The national living wage is currently calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University but the living wage in London has been calculated by the Greater London Authority since 2005. The new rate in London will rise from £8.80 an hour to £9.15, London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced.