Unemployment, and so on

[kandrathe]

What I get from this article is something completely different. Namely unfair competition.....how can a state 'force' people to work for free for a private enterprise? If the UK was part of the Eurozone they for sure would get into trouble on this one, but maybe they still should.

Perhaps it is more a program similar to how unemployment worked(s) in the States. You are paid by the State (unemployment), but your job, from the states point of view, is to get experience at any company (not specific ones.) The psychology behind it is that if you are out of the house, and going to a job everyday, then you are not as likely to be depressed, laying in your bed, and fretting about not having work to do. However, you still might be depressed about not having enough money to pay the bills.

The US also has the problem of young people being duped by unscrupulous potential employers to take unpaid internships under the guise of work experience. There are rules though; no one likes the scrutiny of government lawyers, and to suddenly need to come up with a huge amount of unplanned compensation.

As a former employer, I believe you tend to "get what you pay for". If I have a job I want done, I want the pay to be high enough to get the best people for the position. It's like hiring someone to work on your house... Would you go with the cheaper, unbonded, here today, gone tomorrow person, or would you go with the one where you know they will stand behind their work and fix it if it is not done properly?

I've had unpaid workers on my staff before, but they were known as "volunteers". It was they who came to me offering to help out for no pay, and just for the experience, a good reference, for something to do and to contribute something to the cause. I still get reference calls for those people to this day, and take the time to give them a proper reference.