Recruitment agency worker claims some on the dole don’t want to get a job
A RECRUITER says she’s heard every excuse in the book and some people don’t have jobs because they don’t want them.
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MOST people on welfare are “dole bludging” and are too lazy to get a job, a recruitment agency worker said.
Penny, not her real name, slammed people on welfare who claimed jobs weren’t there for them.
More than 35,000 Australians receiving Centrelink payments turned down work or quit new roles in the past 12 months.
The Department of Human Services said 35,576 either refused to take or hold down a suitable job.
Some refused the job outright, while others accepted the role but did not turn up.
The government also revealed more than 22,000 people quit new jobs and went back to receiving welfare payments.
Some receiving Centrelink payments told news.com.au they were offered jobs that took them away from their families or required them to travel to areas without public transport.
Others said jobs involved them moving to regional areas for work, or they were way underqualified.
But Penny said some of the struggles people on welfare claimed to face when searching for a job were “lies” and she’s heard every excuse.
Some say the distance to travel is too far, others don’t like using public transport.
People have told her they don’t want to get up early to go to work while others say they dislike their boss or the job is too hard.
Penny said many clients even rejected jobs because they were working for cash in hand, meaning they could keep receiving their welfare payments in full.
Recruitment agencies can place people on welfare in jobs up to 90 minutes away, and Penny said she always checked if there was public transport if that was a concern of her client’s.
She also said she did not ever send underskilled people to skilled jobs.
She places people with a low skillset in cleaning, labouring, and fruit packing jobs, where “all you need is a brain, common sense and a will to work”.
Some people receiving welfare payments also claimed they had to reject work because the hours meant they would not see their kids.
“People without kids are required to work 38 hours a week, fulltime hours,” Penny told news.com.au.
“If they’re a parent, they work 15 to 20 hours. We can’t legally give them any more hours than that.
“Saying they don’t see their family is a load of crap. What’s the difference between them and everyone else? I travel to get to work and I have a family.”
Penny said there were times when people were offered jobs in regional areas, but said the government supported them with a $9000 relocation grant.
On Monday, Rod Bishop, who is on a disability pension and can’t work because of his deteriorating condition — but previously worked as a technician — told news.com.au he heard of some people on the dole who were offered jobs that were impossible for them to do.
He said disabled pensioners had been told to do landscaping.
Penny said she would never place people in workplaces where they couldn’t physically do the job.
“If they are sick or can’t work for whatever reason they need to have medical evidence to prove this,” she said.
Some on welfare said they were struggling just to make ends meet, but according to Penny, a job would pay people a lot better than Centrelink would.
Those on the Newstart allowance earn about $550 a fortnight but they must be placed into jobs that pay the minimum wage, $17.70 an hour.
Those who work a 38-hour week can earn up to $672 a week.
Penny said however many people on the dole didn’t want to lose their health cards or welfare payments, and once they earned more than $500 a week, they were cut off from Centrelink.
Mr Bishop admitted there were some people rorting the system who should be punished.
“Get those dole cheats for sure. They are scumbags who don’t deserve any help while some people really need it and have to fight for it because of a stupid few,” he said.
Penny claimed some on the dole also rejected work because they weren’t offered their dream job, but she said that was an unrealistic expectation.
“We are there to find something suitable,” she said.
“I don’t like my job and it’s not what I studied, but I need a job and need to pay the bills so I don’t have to be on Centrelink.”
Despite Penny seeing a lot of clients who did not want to work, she said there were desperate people out there who would do anything for a job.
“Some people are genuine and want to look for work. They say they can do anything and want to do anything. Don’t get me wrong, there are ones who do want to work and have been hard done by,” she said.
“The people who don’t want to work ruin the reputation of people who do.”
Penny does manage to place some people in jobs who don’t want to work, but she said she received calls from employers daily, with concerns about their new employee.
“I’m sick of people on Centrelink turning around and saying we put them here and there. They don’t understand how hard my job is,” she said.
Penny acknowledged there was a jobs shortage, especially at this time of year, but she said people opted to stay on Centrelink.
People receiving welfare are required to visit job agencies and actively look for work so they can continue to receive their payments.
On Monday Treasurer Scott Morrison said those rejecting jobs should not receive the dole and Penny said she 100 per cent agreed.
She believed there needed to be tougher restrictions on “dole bludgers”.
“We should give people six months to get into work,” she said.
“We (job recruiters) need more power because jobseekers tell Centrelink a sob story and Centrelink takes their side.”
Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said on Monday there was no excuse for not choosing to work.
However, she acknowledged many people who were unemployed were desperate to find a job.
“If someone is rorting, they should have the book thrown at them but let’s have a government that’s serious about supporting jobs for Australians too,” she told reporters in Sydney.
Human Services Minister Alan Trudge told the Daily Telegraph there were areas where employers could not find workers, in roles such as fruit picking and abattoir work.
Originally published as Recruitment agency worker claims some on the dole don’t want to get a job
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