DWP ‘Make Work Pay’ Claims “Reeks Of Hypocrisy” As Scale Of Unpaid Placements Revealed

The SNP has said that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rhetoric to make work pay “reeks of hypocrisy,” after figures revealed that the department has taken on over 27,000 people for unpaid work placements since 2011 – with no record of how many have then been offered full or part-time employment after the placement has ended.

In response to a Written Parliamentary Question from SNP MP Alan Brown over the number of people who have taken on unpaid work with the department, the DWP said, that since 2011, it has taken on 27,775 unpaid staff - with no information on whether or not they had gone on to full time employment or let go. 

In Alan Brown MP’s own constituency of Kilmarnock & Loudoun, the DWP has taken on 55 unpaid staff.

Alan Brown MP said:

“The figures detailing the scale of unpaid placements within the DWP, and the lack of any records as to how many of those placements have led to full or part-time employment, is staggering and reeks of hypocrisy.

“The grim reality is that whilst the DWP trumpet on about getting people into paid work, they have simultaneously taken on more than 27,000 people for unpaid placements - with not a single bit of paper to show how many have then been offered paid opportunities.  

“The DWP repeatedly talk about making work pay and how work is the best route of poverty, yet the very same department is reaping the benefits of unpaid labour. 

“If the UK government is serious about getting people into work and out of poverty, then they must get their own house in order first and ensure that there is not simply a revolving door of unpaid staff, with no prospect or documents of future employment.”