Policing the Workshy : Benefit Controls, the Labour Market and the Unemployed

Recent changes in social security legislation and in the organization of the Employment Service have sought to encourage the unemployed back to work by making it harder for them to claim benefits.

Based on extensive interviews with claimants, staff in the Employment Service and the Department of Social Security, claimant advice agencies and many individual case examples, this book analyzes the effectiveness of the Social Security Act 1989 and the Employment Service.

A wide range of employers have also been interviewed, many of whom have expressed their disquiet at the direction in which the Employment Service is going, and have shared with claimants the view that the new measures have been not only ineffective in achieving their aims but actually counterproductive.

The findings and recommendations shold prove essential for any government whose aim it is to improve services to the unemployed and to help them back into work.