Scheme to assist heroes of trenches

Ministers increase allowance for jobless

Following the signing of the Armistice those employed in industries supporting the war effort found themselves out of work.

And the ranks of the unemployed were also swollen by discharged services personnel returning from the Front or the high seas.

Ministers feared civil unrest if something was not done to help the unemployed and they also wanted to avoid the spectre of the heroes of the Somme, Loos and Ypres ending up in the work-house.

It was also felt that the unemployment insurance scheme introduced in 1911, which limited payouts to seven shillings a week, would be inadequate to tackle the post-war jobless crisis.

And so to help the millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen and war workers transition to civilian life the government introduced the Out of Work Donation.

This temporary unemployment relief scheme allowed for payments of 29 shillings a week for men and 24 shillings for women.

For the first time there were additional allowances for dependents of those on the jobless register.

Although the relief was at first available for a limited period, the government was forced to grant extensions as servicemen were demobilised.

Employment exchanges were scenes of great activity as people applied for the new benefit.

Extra staff were taken on and premises enlarged to cope with the rush.

An agent for the scheme was to be placed in every village in the country and it was hoped no applicant would be more than five miles from a centre where their claim could be dealt with.

Any discharged sailor or soldier, munition worker, member of the women’s corp enrolled under one of the fighting services or civilian holding a national health insurance card, who was out of work, could apply for a donation under the new set-up.

Demobilised members of the armed forces were warned they must take to the employment exchange their discharge papers. Benefit was to be paid on the Thursday of each week.

Civilians were advised to have with them their insurance cards and applicants between the ages of 15 and 16 had to provide proof they had been working for three months before the start of the scheme.

By May 1919 650,000 civilians and 360,000 ex-services personnel were benefiting from the Out of Work Donation.