Tag: employment

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Wilkos Announces They’re In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration which has put 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

Sadly it’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Sadly Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Sadly Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

My photo

Ashton Under lyne, baby, benefit repayments,, benefit sanctions, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, child poverty, confidence, conservative government, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, disability, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, dwp debt, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, government, Green Party, high street retail, Homeless Manchester, Homeless women, homelessness, homelessness,, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Manchester, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, prime minister, public transport, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, rishi sunak,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, wilkos, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Wilkos Announces In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

It’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Regrettably Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

My photo

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Autumn Budget Benefit Increases.
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Autumn Budget Benefit Increases.
Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

DWP Sanctions Set To Rise Dramatically.

Universal credit claimants are going to be introduced to the DWPs new ‘Way To Work’ scheme in the very near future. The conditions for this new job searching programme will be that claimants will only be allowed to look for work in their own field of expertise cut back to one month. After one month claimants will be forced to look for any kind of job. going to have the time they can look for any Jon including work that they’re not qualified to do.

The DWPs new scheme has been introduced because the government has decided to force half a million people into work of any kind by June. Rather conveniently ignoring the fact that employers won’t just allow anyone to do any job without the relevant qualifications and work experience.

The new Way To Work scheme will apply to people that are declared fit for work and are classed as ready to work.

Instead the blame will fall upon already stressed claimants who don’t comply with the new Way To Work regime. If they refuse to look for work that they aren’t qualified for they will face having their universal credit payments sanctioned. Claimants will be forced to adhere to the new terms and conditions upon making their first claim for universal credit.

Whilst the DWP are in the mood for harassing claimants they’re threatening to ramp up the threat of sanctions. Unsurprisingly at the same time they’re refusing to publish a report which they created in 2019 into the effectiveness of sanctions.
In true DWP fashion they’ve changed their mind about publishing the report because they regard it to be of a “sensitive nature”.
Regardless of wether they publish the report or not there is a hell of a lot of information out there, published by other organisations and agencies that prove that sanctioning claimants only has a detrimental effect upon claimants and their families.



Sanctioning claimants ensures that a person will dive even further into poverty, their health will get worse. Many are left without the ability to buy food, heat their homes and pay their rent. I’ve been writing about this for years now, if you scroll down you’ll see my posts.

Given that the number of UC claimants carrying sanctions has already rose tenfold between June and November 2021, it is extremely worrying about about how many more claimants will face sanctions and how will they cope combined with the massive cost of living crisis that is already forcing people to make the choice between eating, heating or neither.

The truth is this. Sanctioning people and taking away a persons only means of financial support is yet another way that the government and the DWP punish people for being poor, blaming them for their own poverty and ensuring that they’ll have to agree with anything that the DWP tells them to do.

Sanctions also ensure that a person that has been sanctioned won’t have the energy to fight back because they’re either scared of what can happen or are too hungry, tired and worried to think about anything else.

Sadly I suspect that the DWP could also sanction people that have failed to get employment with an employer outside of their field of expertise. Will they blame the innocent claimant for not getting the job? Judging from previous experience you can bet that they could well do this.

The new ‘Way to work’ scheme won’t be welcomed by many employers either. Jobs often require qualifications and experience, sending everyone to apply for all jobs could deter employers from advertising jobs with the DWP. It’ll result in a lot of extra work trying to find suitable prospective employees through masses of applications.

It’s the perfect Tory recipe to shut up the voices of the working class, making them too scared to do anything to upset their overseers (DWP).


This isn’t surprising though, its a tried and tested tory tactic, switching the blame for any financial mess that the government has created upon those that are the poorest. They choose to take the blame away from themselves especially when they’ve been behaving shockingly. It’s impossible to forget the newspaper headline quoting people claiming social security of being benefit scroungers and also the numerous poverty porn tv programmes on channel 5.

The stigma of being poor and forced to claim social security hasn’t gone away, it’s alive and kicking online in local Facebook groups and on the streets. We need to continue to call out Boris Johnson and his cronies for exactly what they are lying scum and they’ll never have the publics best interests at heart.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-october-2021-experimental/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-october-2021-experimental

I know how awful it is to be targeted by the DWP and a very judgemental and unhelpful DWP advisor, I know how worrying it is to be threatened with a benefit section. Thousands of people have suffered as a result of this unnecessary sanctioning system. Sanctions don’t help people to look for work and like I’ve stated above they have a very detrimental affect upon a persons wellbeing.

Solidarity with everyone forced to undergo the cruel DWP regime.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and shares my blog posts. It really makes a massive difference and it raises awareness which is desperately right now.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads, shares and supports my blog and campaign.

If you would like to get some support and solidarity I thoroughly recommend going Disabled People Against The Cuts (DPAC). They are a national voluntary run organisation. Here’s the link to the Greater `Manchester branch https:\\manchesterdpac.com

How am I? To be honest I’m struggling at the moment like many of you are. Being forced to sit in a cold house isn’t my idea of living. I put the heating on for my daughter and that’s it, and its not all the time. I’m dreading the energy price increases in April.

I’m not paid by anyone to do the work that I do and I would like to be able to continue to do so.

If you can afford to donate to help keep this going theres a PayPal button at the top and side of this blog post.

A huge thank you to everyone that has r dos support my blog and campaign, I really couldn’t do it without you.