'Sick Note' Britain?

This has been all over the news this morning...

Tougher work tests for disabled

Is this the right way to go? Re-test people currently on incapacity benefit to see if they can actually work?

I can't see it working somehow. It's hard enough to get the benefits in the first place when you're actually ill! Surely the last thing most people want is to be told that they're not ill enough and could work sat at a computer all day (e.g.).
The Govt's reasoning is that there are a lot more jobs sitting at computers etc than there ever were, so people could do those. From working in HR, the jobs we can't fill aren't the desk jobs, it's the manual work ones - cleaners, security, porters etc.

Surely the Govt. would be better off getting people who claim income support back to work. People who haven't got a job because they don't want one should be 'encouraged' back to work.

What do you think?

I think there should be checks on those claiming disability benefits but agree with you that it is the ones on income support who should have a harder time of it. One reason why I don't think benefits for people who don't work should be allowed unless they are truely unable to work.
People should only get benefits if they are on a low income!
Becky

I totally agree with it, especially when you read the official statistics.

50 claim they cannot work due to acne, and 3000 get it for being over-weight or too tired.

It's the same with DLA and them reviewing that. If you genuinely need it you should not have a problem with a review.

When I was married before we had DLA, the higher rate, and had no problem with any of that, after all he couldn't work and couldn't even fill in the forms himself, so welcomed reviews as we knew some people who really shouldn't have been on benefits getting them. We were getting taxpayers money after all, even if he would've rather been fit to work.
Cock ups are made, so reviewing needs to be done.

Far too many idle spongers claiming what they are NOT entitled too! Time they got of their arses and people like those that DO work didnt have to fund them!

Don't forget those who are disabled ARE on income support, not necessarily incapacity benefit.

We were on Income Support and as such lost a lot of things such as child benefit as that is counted as 'money coming in'.
Fair enough, but even though I cared for OH for over 60 hours a week I also had my carer's allowance taken away as 'money coming in' and was instead given a 'carer's premium' on our income support which worked out at about £13 a week. I had to do at least 40hrs care for that 13 hours a week.

Having said that, as a 'disabled family' I thought we were quite comfortably off, and got all sorts of perks. Yes, he'd rather have been fit and well, but we could either harp on about being disabled or enjoy the benefits that it does bring. We got a brand new car with our DLA through motability, which I thought was fantastic, some people who get no benefits at all can get that.

Now with my OH we are on no benefits, we both work fulltime, long hours, have a big house, with a mortgage and are happy, so I've seen it from both sides.

i claim DLA but only get the lower rate
and i am blind in one eye, lose the use of my hand sometimes, perm headaches from condition
cannot do a awful lot at the moment, yet can only get lower rate
i am in college part time as i hate not doing anything, and i do find that a real struggle at the moment
but i hope one day to return to work and earn a wage

i know a guy who gets the higher rate, says he has a bad back yet he does loads of private work and runs around playing football with his kids hmmmm
it is people like that that should be made to work imo

I'm on Incapacity Benefit-I'm not lazy I worked for over 33 years & had less than 14 days off work ill in all that time & up to me developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome so bad I couldn't drive or write I had had 1 day off in 20 years & that was when I had my leg broken by a customer whilst I was at work. I had a cast put on & was back at work in the office a day later

However the years of working under extreme pressure finally took their toll & before I was off with CTS & a trapped nerve I had work related stress & depression in a big way. I couldn't sleep & I felt I was down a deep deep hole with no way out. I never had any time off work because of this & when I was sacked from work for being medically inefficient with a problem that work had caused but don't recognise as a RIS My world came falling down around me & I was & still am suicidal at times.

I'm a diabetic with osteoarthritis in every joint the worst being my knees, I am in constant pain & worst of all despite have the decompression operations the muscle wastage I incurred was so bad I will never get proper grip in my hands again. My depressive state has got worse despite being on medication & some days if I didn't have the dogs & cats I would lose the will to live.

Add to this I have in the past 9 months lost both my father & my mother(on 3rd Nov 9 months to the day after my dad)

As I write this I'm crying because people assume that I'm a workshy lazy b*st**d, I'm not I used to work 50-60 hour weeks(including weekends)I did more work than any of my colleagues & put the customers first, I get angry when people assume that claiming IB means I have never contributed in Tax etc I paid more tax-way more tax than married couples & people with children, I never complained, but these people are the first to criticize people like me who do not have a visible disability. I was given a voice activated computer program so I can still use the net, but gone are my days of making 100's of graffix for people & gone are the days of being able to train dogs to rehabilitate them.

In the words of the Rabbi Jesus Christ-"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her"

But the way I see it, you are entitled to Incapacity etc, as you can't work!

I just can't see how the Govt. can want to "retest" people to see if they can do some form of work.

From what I've seen, most of the people who are too ill to work would love to be able to work and lead a normal life!

you also find that most people that moan about people who get DLA or IB have never had to claim it so do not know what it is like to have live on it or claim it

yes i admit there are some people who con the system but there are also alot of people who do not get what they are intitled to

i am sure 90% of people would like to work and get a decent wage, but sadly they cannot

How do you mangage all your dogs, working them, exercising them etc? Sound like you are having real difficulties. How do you manage a working breed like a Collie, especially a puppy? You must feel awful at times, I hope the docs can help you with the pain, there is nothing worse than that.

I do appreciate many people are genuine, but many are NOT! Depends how you look at it. I had open heart surgery as a child, have had an "attack" of sorts where the scar tissue round the plastic patches in my heart are interferring with the electric passages in my heart. I am on permanent meds for this. I have a heart beat of 50 beats a minute, everything is such hard work and exhausting as my system works so slowly because of the tabs. I cant walk up hills, I gasp if I try, I cant breathe if I continue and take a long time to recover. I have recently had spinal surgery and have a permanently dislocating knee. This spine op was the longest I had ever had off work, 10 weeks, never had more than a few days before, in all the time I have worked (since 2 days after leaving school)I cant tell you how bored I was when I was able to get about again, I felt awful staying a home as I could get about and lead some sort of normal life again.

What annoys me is people who cant do this and cant do that, but can do everything they want to do!

Im not judging anyone here at all, but you have to admit there are a lot of idle scroungers in this Country, bludging off the state when they could work if they really wanted to.