Thaindian News

London, July 5 (IANS) Jobless Britons have lost their work ethic, a factor that has forced various bosses to employ migrants for having a more conscientious attitude, a study has found.

The study was conducted by the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, set up by the British Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Daily Mail reported.

Duncan Smith last week issued a plea for firms to take on more Britons, only for employers to say domestic labour lacked the work ethic of migrant workers.

The think-tank has supported that view by finding that increasingly bosses are unable to locate reliable candidates among the British long-term unemployed - with two third saying they have turned down applicants for unskilled jobs because of a poor attitude.

Employers, it says, see a good attitude to work and punctuality as more important than skills such as literacy and numeracy in securing a job.

They turn to overseas workers because of their “motivation, capacity for hard work and ability to turn up for work on time”.

A survey carried out by the think-tank found that an overwhelming 82 percent of employers rated attitude and work ethic as important when recruiting for ‘entry-level’ posts, compared to just 38 percent who named literacy and numeracy.

Asked why they turned down applicants for unskilled jobs in sectors such as catering, manufacturing and retailing, some 62 percent of employers cited ‘poor work attitude and ethic’ and 57 percent ‘poor presentation’, compared with just 29 per cent who complained of a lack of academic skills.