And no, I am not talking about the pineapple company either!
Here in the United Kingdom, unemployment benefits or Job Seekers Allowance are also called the Dole.
I had never heard of the term the dole until I read the book Anglea's Ashes by Frank McCourt. The story was about a very poor Irish family. If you have not read it, it is a memoir Frank wrote about his childhood. He was born in the US to two Irish immigrants. Eventually, his family moves back to Ireland. His father ends up deserting the family and they live on the dole. It was a good book, and he is an excellent writer. He deals with the pain and poverty that he lived with as a child with honesty.
So, I had thought that the dole was kind of over, done with and gone. I thought that it was an archaic term that was out of use. I was surprised to hear the term used by one of the mum's who came to Cian's birthday party. She was talking about the girl that she paid to babysit her boys, she had finished college and still did not have a job and collected "the dole".
The UK is not any different then the rest of the world. They share that the youth has a high rate of unemployment. The government talks about it, frets about it often. Remember the kids here can be done with school at age 16. After they take their GCSE's they can get a job or take on an apprenticeship and take on a trade or go on to complete their 6th form (in a college) and then go onto Uni (university).
The British government recently changed the laws though and next year the kids will have to stay in school until they are 17 and by 2015 (my 2 second's year) they will have to stay in school until they are 18, which equals our high school program.
Their system is different though, they have two choices for their 6th form. They can study their A Levels or they can choose an International Baccalaureate program.
So, right now in the UK, there is a high unemployment rate in the younger aged workers. They are eligible for Job Seeking Benefits. They are awarded benefits based on their age, 18-24 receive less then the 25 and ups. To receive the benefit is to "be one the dole". Dole is a rather archaic expression which means "one's allotted portion" from the synonymous Old English work dāl.
There are also people that collect the dole and do not get jobs. Which should not be so surprising to anyone, we have people that do that it in the US as well.
But I was very surprised to hear this week in the news that the government wanted to make it easier for businesses to fire workers. There was quite a habaloo about the whole thing really. I have to admit that it kind of surprised me. I did not realise that it was hard to fire unproductive workers in the UK. Though I think that some of the US companies may deal with similar issues.
Their was a report written up by a man named Adrian Beecroft. He apparently is a venture capitalist who has given £500,000 to the Conservatives under David Cameron. This is what he is proposing.
The things that I learn and subject my poor readers too :)
Here in the United Kingdom, unemployment benefits or Job Seekers Allowance are also called the Dole.
I had never heard of the term the dole until I read the book Anglea's Ashes by Frank McCourt. The story was about a very poor Irish family. If you have not read it, it is a memoir Frank wrote about his childhood. He was born in the US to two Irish immigrants. Eventually, his family moves back to Ireland. His father ends up deserting the family and they live on the dole. It was a good book, and he is an excellent writer. He deals with the pain and poverty that he lived with as a child with honesty.
So, I had thought that the dole was kind of over, done with and gone. I thought that it was an archaic term that was out of use. I was surprised to hear the term used by one of the mum's who came to Cian's birthday party. She was talking about the girl that she paid to babysit her boys, she had finished college and still did not have a job and collected "the dole".
The UK is not any different then the rest of the world. They share that the youth has a high rate of unemployment. The government talks about it, frets about it often. Remember the kids here can be done with school at age 16. After they take their GCSE's they can get a job or take on an apprenticeship and take on a trade or go on to complete their 6th form (in a college) and then go onto Uni (university).
The British government recently changed the laws though and next year the kids will have to stay in school until they are 17 and by 2015 (my 2 second's year) they will have to stay in school until they are 18, which equals our high school program.
Their system is different though, they have two choices for their 6th form. They can study their A Levels or they can choose an International Baccalaureate program.
So, right now in the UK, there is a high unemployment rate in the younger aged workers. They are eligible for Job Seeking Benefits. They are awarded benefits based on their age, 18-24 receive less then the 25 and ups. To receive the benefit is to "be one the dole". Dole is a rather archaic expression which means "one's allotted portion" from the synonymous Old English work dāl.
There are also people that collect the dole and do not get jobs. Which should not be so surprising to anyone, we have people that do that it in the US as well.
But I was very surprised to hear this week in the news that the government wanted to make it easier for businesses to fire workers. There was quite a habaloo about the whole thing really. I have to admit that it kind of surprised me. I did not realise that it was hard to fire unproductive workers in the UK. Though I think that some of the US companies may deal with similar issues.
Their was a report written up by a man named Adrian Beecroft. He apparently is a venture capitalist who has given £500,000 to the Conservatives under David Cameron. This is what he is proposing.
- He <Beecroft> confirmed he backs the delay of new family friendly rules, such as flexible parental leave, although that proposal did not appear in the final version of his report and suggested that key Conservative figures - including former No 10 adviser Steve Hilton - initially backed all his recommendations.
- His report, which was published on Monday, proposed making it easier for firms to sack under-performing staff.
- It suggested ending a mandatory 90-day consultation period when a company is considering redundancy programmes and instead called for a standard 30-day period and an emergency five-day period if a firm was in severe distress.
- The report said outdated regulations were harming the economy and preventing companies from creating jobs.
- Changes to employment law, it has been argued, would improve the supply of suitable staff to firms, who would be less afraid of having to make large payouts or face legal action when laying off those who were no longer needed.
The things that I learn and subject my poor readers too :)
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