Boycott Workfare is a UK-wide campaign to end forced unpaid work for people who receive welfare. Workfare profits the rich by providing free labour, whilst threatening the poor by taking away welfare rights if people refuse to work without a living wage. We are a grassroots campaign, formed in 2010 by people with experience of workfare and those concerned about its impact. We expose and take action against companies and organisations profiting from workfare; encourage organisations to pledge to boycott it; and actively inform people of their rights.

Know your rights on workfare schemes!

Response to Scope’s, 12 July, “Comment on the Boycott Workfare campaign” statement:

Posted: July 13th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Charities | Tags: | 4 Comments »

Scope’s Andrew Adair responded quickly to today’s calls from members of the public to end forced placements within Scope’s stores. However, Boycott Workfare are disappointed that Scope will continue to use workfare – despite its stated commitment to volunteering. The campaign has understood Scope’s anti-workfare position, as set out in its April statement, and welcomes the charity’s intentions, if not its practices.

However, the point being made today by those who have phoned, left Facebook messages, and tweets, is not to question the function of volunteering, but to illustrate that Scope’s involvement in Mandatory Work Activity placements contradicts this position. The point has also been made that the Work Experience scheme when turned down by jobseekers has led to a referral onto Mandatory Work Activity by jobcentre staff, and in some instances, its voluntary nature made unclear.


The campaign does not credit Scope’s “robust placement agreement” as sifting out forced placements, and as is made clear by the DWP’s 12 June press release (case study 1), jobseekers have been placed with the charity under the MWA scheme. Boycott Workfare does not accept any defence of forced placements where those reasons are to list the same benefits as gained by bona fide, genuine volunteering, which can as easily be carried out by any jobseeker who chooses to fill out a Jobcentre Plus VOLWORK1 form (pdf).

We ask one a simple thing of Scope: that they keep volunteering to mean just that by ending their involvement in the the Work Experience and Mandatory Work Activity schemes.

4 Comments on “Response to Scope’s, 12 July, “Comment on the Boycott Workfare campaign” statement:”

  1. 1 What’s wrong with Charity Workfare? « kickingthecat said at 6:57 pm on September 17th, 2012:

    [...] in, or to say how many placements they provide. Some of the charities involved are now issuing deceitful statements trying to suggest that those on mandatory workfare placements are [...]

  2. 2 10/09/12: Fight homophobia! Boycott Workfare! – In The Sprawl said at 6:47 am on September 24th, 2012:

    [...] Scope’s response to @BoycottWorkfare [...]

  3. 3 Re-blog: Universal Credit Will Destroy Volunteering And Charities Only Have Themselves To Blame « Launchpad: By and for mental health service users said at 4:06 pm on October 9th, 2012:

    [...] opposed to those working for them unpaid under threat of benefit sanctions.  Boycott Workfare’s response to Scope has seemingly been ignored by the [...]

  4. 4 Universal Credit Will Destroy Volunteering And Charities Only Have Themselves To Blame – VONNE Blog said at 2:33 pm on October 11th, 2012:

    [...] opposed to those working for them unpaid under threat of benefit sanctions.  Boycott Workfare’s response to Scope has seemingly been ignored by the [...]

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