Jan 12, 2023, 14:10 | Updated: Jan 12, 2023 14:20
The caller, a caregiver for his wife, denounced the government’s proposal to boost employment through disability reform as “extremely offensive” and “unspeakable.”
James O’Brien has started a discussion on the government’s new proposal. The proposal would allow people collecting disability benefits to continue receiving payments when they return to work. The proposal is an attempt to tackle the UK labor shortage.
James read a few words from the article, saying, “Ministers believe a perverse rating system encourages people to prove they are too sick to work.”
This caller reached out to share his experience as a caregiver for his disabled wife at age 28.
“It’s grossly offensive and really upsetting to suggest that you don’t make the effort to go to work just because you’ve become a PIP. Your health is your greatest asset,” he told James.
read more: Calls for a ‘radical new approach’ to narrow the employment gap for people with disabilities
He started calling James saying it was “not a story”.
The caller lashed out at the rhetoric surrounding the new disability reform, saying it portrayed disability applicants as people choosing not to work and betting the system, but the caller told James that receiving a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not the equivalent of “free money.” .
He elaborated that the money received from the government was directed to individuals who retained “some degree of independence”.
The caller told James that people who believed he and his wife were lazy to not work misunderstood it. Both of them used to be professionals, so he said he wanted her to work.
The narrative that beneficiaries “don’t want to work” was vehemently crushed by callers.
read more: People over the age of 50 could be exempt from income tax for up to a year under a scheme to lure people back to work
