didikai

No that ain't much. Is that for one person though.
So what do you get in UK?

Alan2005

The lowest level of benefit is income support which is £67 per week (that's about $460pcm). This excludes housing benefit as I don't know how that's calculated - I suspect it's quite a bit more than $375pcm though.

JamesM

Housing Benefit depends on your Borough Council so can vary from place to place.

When I was out of work on the back end of 2008/Early 09 I received 480 pounds per month in housing benefit plus around 42 pounds per week in job seekers. This was not enough to cover my rent but did soften the blow of not working by 600 plus pounds per month.

In Canada they gave me $1200 per month employment insurance- although I think I paid a large chunk of this back in the last tax year.

dbd33

EI is a short term benefit, not comparable to welfare.

teacher1000

If you got £425 pound in London, you wouldn't even be able to rent a flat because even in east london, flats are £890-1,000+ a month. Not only that, but you'd have to pay for your travelcards which are about £150 a month, and all your other bills...water, energy, tv license, car, parking, mot, phone...the list continues.

Also I should mention, the government is changing/has changed benefits and basically they have come out and said that if you get offered ANY job and refuse, they can/will cut off your benefits. So if you get offered a job at Tesco, and decide it's not for you, they can and will cut your benefits off.

You will NEVER get a council flat here. Those days are over. There are over 30,000 people on the waiting list. The problem is that those people in their teens 20 years ago who moved out and got council flats were never responsible for telling the government when/if they found better paying work, so all that time, they would have been making decent money, and only paying subsidised housing, at let's say £300 a month. So why the hell would they move out? They wouldn't and haven't, hence the shortage.
The government on top of that gave those people the opportunity to buy out their council flats for a ridiculously cheap price which some did, and now they live in a new home, and rent out (illegally i may add) their council flats for 1,200 a month.

All the while, there are people who are homeless, who have nowhere to sleep, and are having to make do rough sleeping because there are no council flats.

The government have actually started making videos that get shown in places like Poland warning them that the government is not going to be looking after them ect. Trying to get people to STOP coming here. This country is full, and cannot handle any more people.

I think the difference between Canada's welfare system and Britains is that in Canada, they harrass you to work, and they don't pay you enough to sit at home and never have, where as 10 years ago in britain, it actually paid to sit at home because the benefits were about the same as making minimum wage so you'd be able to live off of it. I can tell you, those days are over.

Alan2005

Sure, there can be debate about whether handing over money to people that don't/can't work is right or not, what level is appropriate, and which country has the right balance.

However if you are actually in the situation where you cannot work for an extended period of time - there is no debate. You are better off in the UK.

jericho

So they should.

teacher1000

um, not true. I have been out of work for nearly 2 years actually (although I was offered a job most recently which I did turn down because I am moving back to Canada and cannot commit to work) and I have college education and had good working experiences prior to my unemployment. I am not eligible for any benefits whatsoever. Most people who come from abroad are not eligible unless they are citizens and even then, the amount they will NOW give you, is not worth it.

I'd rather work for minimum wage and live in a city like hamilton any day, then have to claim benefits and live in some rural town on a nasty housing estate where there is **** all to do. You won't be able to afford london that's for certain.

teacher1000

indeed. I will/am not contesting that at all.

dbd33

I assume you know that approximately the same happens in Toronto. I have a colleague who came as a refugee and so was eligible for Metro Housing. She's been making better than fifty bucks an hour for ten years while subletting her subsidized apartment. Another colleague has been the States for a decade all the while subletting his place. I'd honestly be surprised if half the occupants of the Monoxide Towers had their names in the rent book. I'd guess this is the same everywhere there's government housing at a price lower than the privately rented accomodation.

Alan2005

I'll state it explicitly for you:-

"A british citizen in the UK on benefits is a LOT better off than a canadian citizen in Canada on welfare."

Do you accept this or not?

didikai

I'd say finacially - yes.
Better off in living conditions - no

I don't know if the benefits law has changed in the last couple of years. But I know for a fact that if, as a British citizen you return to UK after being away for a period of time (not sure how long) you are inelligible for any benefits of any kind for 6 months. But if you are a Somali / Russian / Chinese etc. refugee you get the full whack immediately

Alan2005

That makes no sense. Wealth is directly correlated to "living conditions."

ExKiwilass

HEY did anyone listen to that awesome CBC show or not?

christmasoompa

Can you provide a link for this info pls? I know that people returning to the UK are eligible for some benefits (such as child benefit) immediately, but I thought that you could apply for other benefits as soon as you are 'habitually resident' in the UK - and never knew this had a 6 month time limit?

Thanks.