Case study

How a wage incentive helped Leigh to get a job

A wage incentive helped the owners of Meg's sweet shop to employ Leigh Simms and keep their business running.

This case study was withdrawn on

We’ve archived this case study because it no longer reflects government policy.

“The wage incentive has been a great help, it’s meant we can take on the extra staff we need and keep the business going.”

Leigh Simms had been unemployed for over six months. She finally got the break she was looking for when Bev and Dean Mortimer thought she was the right person for their family-run business.

Meg’s Sweets – an ‘old fashioned’ sweet shop in Hull got busy after the co-owner, Bev, had a baby. Leigh used to regularly visit the shop and the owners were aware she was looking for a job. At the same time the local Jobcentre got in touch to tell them about the wage incentive.

Co-owner Dean Mortimer said: “the timing of that call couldn’t have been better, suddenly everything came together. The wage incentive has been a great help, it’s meant we can take on the extra staff we need and keep the business going.”

Leigh has now been taken on and is fitting in well the family run business.

Dean and Bev have agreed to support the Youth Contract autumn/winter campaign to demonstrate the real benefits of the Youth Contract to other small businesses.

The DWP wage incentive scheme is in popular demand with employers after 23 people in two months had been employed in the Hull Area.

Published 29 May 2014
Last updated 6 August 2014 + show all updates
  1. Removed case study as part of phasing out of Wage Incentive.

  2. First published.