Recently Tesco made an announcement that the store would begin offering wages to those on benefits who have been working unpaid within their chain of stores. This appears to have caused a bit of chaos in the back-to-work programme and in the process several of the larger chains have decided they would suspend their involvement in the scheme.
According to a spokesperson for Tesco, job seekers would now have a choice between taking paid employment and staying on benefits. They would put forth a guarantee of a permanent job after a four-week trial was completed successfully. On the other hand, giants such as Superdrug and Argos announced that they would be suspending involvement in the programme until such time as they met with the Department for Work and Pensions ministers.
These chains would like to be reassured that the back-to-work scheme is purely voluntary and that anyone pulling out of the programme would not be disqualified from receiving benefits. Other stores with limited involvement such as Pizza Hut will be making a review later this month. Several other stores have already and it involvement with the scheme and some of those stores include Sainsbury’s, Waterstone’s and TK Maxx.
At the current time approximately 12 chains have left the program or suspended participation and a number of other chains are reserving a decision until some point in the future. What this means in terms of job placement is that over the next six months those 1500 unemployed consumers being referred to the store for work experience will now be given an opportunity to choose between a full-time job and their benefits.
One of the problems which Tesco notes is the fact that although the programme is voluntary, participants are in danger of losing two weeks benefits if they withdraw from work experience after the first week. Furthermore, Tesco states that their aim is to provide permanent employment because so many people are unwilling to give up benefits for a short term job.and then
