Understanding the Benefit System: Governments' Approach to Enforcing Work Obligations and Addressing Unemployment

BENEFIT SYSTEM 1
Benefit system
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BENEFIT SYSTEM 2
How and what impact have governments since 1997 sought to use the benefit system to
enforce an obligation to work?
Introduction
In many countries around the world, the topic of unemployment is still a national challenge
(Adam, Browne and Elming, 2015: p.380). The administration in various countries come up with
different ways to accommodate the high population that is unemployed and eagerly searching for
a source of income. Consequently, one of the approaches that many governments around the
world adopted is the use of the benefit system to address the unemployment challenge (Roos,
2016: p.270). Benefit system refers to a program that the authority in UK uses to practically
provide financial support and assistance to the members of the nation who are unemployed and
seriously searching for a source of income (Atkinson, Leventi, Nolan, Sutherland and Tasseva,
2017: p.310). Apart from the support to the unemployed people, benefit system gives an
additional income to those citizens whose salaries are low and have huge responsibility back at
home. The responsibilities may include caring for the elderly, taking care of a certain number of
children. Besides that, one may be ill or retired that qualifies the person to be part of the benefit
system.
The benefit system comes in various forms which include the following:
i. Jobseeker’s allowance
The above type of benefit goes to people in the United Kingdom who are able to work but have
not gotten any employment. However, there is a qualification for such benefit that the
government outline before one claims the benefit. In most countries, an individual must be
eighteen years old and above.

BENEFIT SYSTEM 3
ii. Support allowance
The allowance belongs to people who have some difficulties in delivering services to the nation.
For example, one may be experiencing some level of disability or illness. However, the
beneficiary must be at least sixteen years and above.
iii. Housing benefit
Housing type of benefit helps people in paying their rental especially those who are surviving on
a low income. One can either have employment or be unemployed to enjoy the above benefit.
iv. Disability living allowance
The above type of allowance belongs to young people who may be having additional needs. For
example, an individual may be having a burden of caring for the old people in such case, the
child qualifies to get the disability living allowance. However, the child must satisfy the age of
sixteen years to enjoy the benefit. Besides that, this type of allowance comes in two forms, the
first one is the mobility component and another one is the individual care component.
v. Care’s allowance
Care’s benefit belongs to people who are looking after people with certain disability or illness for
more than thirty-five hours every week. However, the government always set the minimum
amount which one must earn in order to qualify for the carer's allowance. For example, the
authority can make it be $150 every week. Consequently, the value may vary depending on the
country.

BENEFIT SYSTEM 4
There are many types of benefits that have come with the benefits system apart from the above
allowance (Summers, 2018: p.38). The others include the pension credit, income support, and
support with mortgage interest.
The people who control the benefit system
There is a specific department of the government that controls the benefit system. One of the
most known control units in United Kingdom is the department of communities which controls
benefits offices and the jobs benefits.
How the government use the benefit system to enforce the obligation to work since 1997
An obligation to work refers to the responsibility of an individual to satisfy the agreement of a
given contract. For example, the agreement between an employer and an employee can be that
the worker should arrive at eight in the morning and leave the job at five in the evening. The
aspect in which the employer meets the set condition is the obligation to work (Plucker and
Peters, 2018: p.65). There are many ways in which the government use the benefit system to
ensure an obligation to work in the country since 1997. However, there have been changes to the
benefit system since it began in order to satisfy the changing demand in the market. The changes
may comprise factors such as money and the level of responsibility in that particular job
(McEnhill and Taylor‐Gooby, 2018: p.260). Apart from that, the issue of age and other
requirements that one should satisfy to meet the benefits is another debate which has been
shaping up the benefit system in the country. The following are the ways in which the authority
uses the benefit system to ensure obligation to work. These factors are grouped according to the
people who benefit from the benefit system in the country:
a. The working age