'Back on the brew [benefits] again': why so many transitions from welfare into work are not sustained

an article by David McCollum (affiliation(s) not provided) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 20 Number 2 (June 2012)

Abstract

Employment policies have conventionally focused on the transition from welfare to work. However, many of those who leave out-of-work benefits for employment return to them again relatively quickly, meaning that some people cycle between work and welfare for much of their working lives.

This article draws on 130 semi-structured interviews with work-welfare “cyclers”, service providers and employers in Glasgow and Dundee, Scotland, to investigate the causes of these detrimental transitions.

An argument is developed which contends that “bad” attitudes to paid work and “bad” types of such work to varying degrees lie behind this form of labour market disadvantage.

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