AIIB Assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

AIIB Assignment - Coursework Example If conditions are met for unemployment benefits employee receives benefits based on contributions and welfare entitlements. This is calculated based on severity of illness and contributions or in the event of retirement, contributions made over the years while employed. Critical Analysis Over the past ten or so years more than 300 million workers in Great Britain were unable to work due to illness or injury (Doherty, 1979). In the absence of a national insurance system in which unemployment benefits are calculated on the basis of contributions, the financial burden on the state would be far too onerous to bear. In addition, the provision of public health services would be entirely underfinanced and this would impact the quality of health services that the government can afford to provide for workers who are unable to work due to illness or injury. According to Woolhandler and Himmmelstein (2002), spending on health is among the highest for governments all over the world, particularly with respect to those employed in the public sector. A study conductd by Nishino, Kuwahara, Watanabe, et al., (1998) is demonstrative of the problem for the public. The study was conductd in Japan and examined the nature of national health insurance benefits accruing to a cohort of claimants between the ages of 40 and 79. There were approximately 54,996 claimants that were eligible for health benefits over a period of one month alone (Nishino, et al., 2002). The need for a contribution system in which citizens share some form of responsibility for their own welfare is required to safeguard against a depleted and overburdened, and at the same time, underfunded public health system. As Lewis (1992) argues, the ideal welfare system is one that incorporates a link between â€Å"unpaid† welfare and paid welfare (p. 591). Dependency status is also taken into account as this ensures that those who are independent can take some responsibility for themselves and this will not only he lp to fund public welfare services, but will also aid in the support of those who have dependence status and those who are unable to work at all (Lewis, 1992). Realistically, there is a disparity in terms of access to education and therefore access to paid employment. Some individuals will have the education, age, health and skills to obtain higher paying jobs than other individuals. In many cases, there will be individuals who will not have the health, education or skills to find employment at all. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the employee’s specific personal attributes and health history to determine whether or not this individual qualifies for national insurance unemployment benefits. In other words, a particularly healthy individual with skills, youth and education would not be able to apply for unemployment benefits under the rules established in the first part of this exercise. Conversely, an individual who suffers from mental or physical disabilities and o bviously does not have the skills to find employment will be able to claim unemployment national insurance benefits under these rules. An individual who has a history of contributing to national insurance and has suffered an injury or becomes ill and as a result is unable to work, his or her history of national insurance contribution will amplify the amount of benefits he or she is entitled to. According to Blundell, Duncan, McCrae and Meghir (March 2000) whenever a working individual obtains some sort of tax credit or benefit for being actively employed