Nine pct. on welfare have part-time jobs

Nine percent of all people on welfare benefits also have a part-time job. This percentage is 16 percent for single parents on welfare. This saves nearly 350 million euros for social services each year, as they have to pay less out. This is according to a survey done by Divosa, the dome of of social services, NOS reports. According to the survey, nearly 20 percent of people who have a part-time job in addition to the welfare benefit eventually do not need the benefit anymore as they found a job that pays enough. Among people who do not have a part-time job, this figure is 7 percent. Divosa is not sure what lies behind this massive difference. The organization suspects that it could be that people do part-time work are more attractive to prospective employers. But it could also be that people that are more attractive to employers find it easier to get a part-time job. Working part-time in addition to welfare benefits also causes some problems, however. A third of municipalities experience administrative problems in handling the income of people on welfare. Many of the part-time jobs are temporary or flexible, which means that the extra income differs from month to month. This complicates figuring out how much of the benefit a person is entitled to. This could also cause problems to the people receiving the benefit, as they do not always know how much they will actually get out. It also often takes some time for the income to be processed in the social services' administration, causing a delay in the payment of the benefit. Divosa believes that these problems are reason for people on benefits to be hesitant about accepting temporary or flexible work.