"I am not a statistic, I never wanted to have a life on benefits, I used to work and I really enjoyed it. When I worked I was a real grafter I loved being financially independent. Now when I work it's for cash-in-hand and it's at times when things are really tight. Living in fear of being caught is a terrible way to live but what is scarier is giving up benefits altogether and having no safety net."

These are the words of Susan, a single mum who has been on benefits for eight years after her partner left her, eight months pregnant and with a child of one. Benefits are the only way to survive for many parents in the UK and often they are not enough to live on, and by no means do they provide a comfortable life for parents, let alone their children.

With very little money to spare, if anything, after all bills are paid parents often turn to cash-in-hand or informal paid work to make ends meet. Often irregular, temporary and low paid; this informal work provides emergency cash at times of unexpected and unbudgeted expense. This kind of work takes the pressure off and means that parents can afford to put food on the table, heat the house, pay the debt collect knocking on the door, or simply to buy a birthday present for their child. It means that at certain times of the year, such as Christmas, when money gets really tight parents can make a few extra pounds one or two evenings a week, in the pub or on a building site. Many people do not intend to play the system when they do cash-in-hand work, they quite simply do so out of need, not greed.

Their situation is being made worse by the increasing cost of living as a result of the economic downturn. As we all begin to feel the pinch and think twice about what we cannot afford, families living in poverty must think about what they can afford. As the weekly shopping increases and bills total up to more than what people can afford, counting the pennies for many families in poverty can mean choosing between food and warmth, and the daily struggle becomes even harder.

People are increasingly forced to find extra cash as quickly as possible, thinking about today and not tomorrow .This means the increase of personal debts and families spiralling further into poverty. Loan sharks and pawn brokers are providing the extra help that is absent from Government policy. Job cuts mean that vital progress of getting more lone parents into work could soon be undone. As a survival mechanism parents turn to cash-in-hand work, to make a small amount of emergency funds to help ease the effects of the credit crunch.

The underlying cause of Child Poverty is unemployment among parents, in particular mothers. This is due to a lack of flexible, high quality, affordable childcare and a shortage of part time and flexible jobs. Nowadays jobs are no longer nine to five and often many low paid jobs are based on commission. The times have changed and yet the benefits system does not reflect current labour market conditions. There is no in-between stage, no stepping stones for parents to cross from benefit into work and no long term safety net to eliminate their fear.

There are currently very few incentives to encourage people off benefits. In fact current rules trap people on benefits and therefore in poverty. If a parent wishes to enter employment they will automatically lose valuable passported benefits such as free school meals and prescriptions. They will be entitled to enter the quagmire which is Working Tax Credits. They will have to pay large amounts of tax. The existing ‘work incentives', i.e. those financial incentives within particularly benefits which aim to progress people off benefits into work, such as earnings disregards, permitted hour rules, and in-work credits, desperately need to be reviewed and changed. For example, earnings disregards count as income when housing benefit and council tax benefit are calculated, actively disincentivising people to work. The government is giving with one hand, but taking with the other, effectively offering no incentive for those that do want to take small steps back into the world of work.

To address poverty and people being forced into cash-in-hand work Community Links, an innovative charity running community-based projects in east London (www.community-links.org) which aims to tackle poverty and deprivation, is leading the ‘Need Not Greed' Campaign, calling for long overdue and much needed changes in the benefits system. It is a national campaign with a coalition of over 50 organisations who share the goal of ending the reliance on cash-in-hand work as a way for hard working, ordinary families to survive. We believe Government must be willing to fully understand the real motives behind cash-in-hand work for it to change policy so that it is no longer a necessary way of life for so many millions in this country. Policymakers must recognise the changes needed to enable people to make the transition into formal paid work, gradually coming off benefits and out of poverty. We are campaigning for practical and modernised benefit laws, a better understanding of life in poverty and an approach which uses less carrots and more sticks, as a recent National Audit Office report proved to be more effective.

If Susan and her children are to escape poverty then the Government must recognise and utilise the value of cash-in-hand work; as an attempt to move towards financial independence and as a way to develop self esteem and confidence. Changes in National policy to enable the transition from cash-in-hand work to formal employment will help Government hit the Child Poverty and Employment targets. Yet for National policy changes to be effective the Government and society must truly understand and differentiate between people working cash-in-hand out of greed and those forced into doing so out of need.

Maeve McGoldrick, Need Not Greed

To find out more about people working out of need, not greed, share your experiences or to find out how you can support the campaign please get in touch with Maeve McGoldrick on 02074739644 or on maeve.mcgoldrick@community-links.org. Check out our website www.informaleconomy.org.uk and help change the current system and thinking by supporting the Need Not Greed campaign

Support the Need Not Greed Campaign at the End Child Poverty Rally on the 4th October, Trafalgar Square