Staff at a Merseyside jobcentre have been left red faced after they were exposed making fun of benefit claimants.
The contempt that staff at a Birkenhead jobcentre have for their clients became apparent when a jobseeker visited its Brunswick office and spotted a printout of a prank email mocking benefit claimants in the form of an alternative version of The 12 Days of Christmas.
The verses expressed only seasonal antipathy towards the very people that keep the jobcentre staff in their own jobs, with derogatory references such as 11 spotty youths, nine screaming babies and seven recovering alcoholics.
The final insult comes where a partridge in a pear tree is replaced by a scally in a hoodie.
The revelation will be a huge PR embarrassment for an organisation that is supposed to be helping rather than laughing at the many thousands of unemployed who have recently become victims of the economic downturn.
Welfare Minister Tony McNulty should be commended, however, for quickly making a statement and immediately ordering an enquiry.
Nevertheless, the caper has severely dented the public's confidence in Jobcentre Plus, especially given the inadequate reaction of the Brunswick office.
When the jobseeker who spotted the email complained, managers allegedly told him that the joke was helping to boost staff morale.
An apology would have been more appropriate and could have prevented the episode from making the national headlines.
hello@octopuspr.co.uk 
01785
229530 
