5LI: Fake Self-Employment in the Work Programme




5 live Investigates show

Summary: Long-term unemployed on the Work Programme are being steered away from jobs, and instead told they can claim more in benefits by registering as self-employed than they could on the dole. Clients are sometimes told it doesn't matter if they don't have a viable business idea because they can simply claim working tax credits instead of unemployment benefits. What's more the private firms which deliver the scheme are getting taxpayer funded bonuses in the process.