More than a third of people who receive Incapacity Benefits in Great Britain have been milking the system for more than 10 years.
How did this HR nightmare happen? One thing to note: Incapacity Benefits (IB) pay more than unemployment — called Jobseekers’ Allowance (JA). Those on JA face more pressure to find work than people collecting IB.
When did these numbers balloon? They exploded in the 1980s when old heavy industries suffered major closures in the north of England and Wales, according to the Daily Mail.
Changes to IB are coming this fall. Checks on how sick or disabled claimants really are will be introduced, along with programs to find out what kinds of work they may be fit for. But these rules will only apply to new claimants and are expected to take no more than 20,000 people a year off the benefit lists.
How much does this cost the British government? About 16 billion pounds a year, which is about $32 billion.
