Benefits claimant Gigi El-Halaby says working in Boots could harm mental health because the job isn't 'meaningful'

Gigi El-Halaby, a 28-year-old PIP claimant and disability campaigner with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, argued that jobs in shops such as Boots or Sainsbury's "won't be meaningful and won't be fulfilling" for some people, adding that bad work "can be really terrible" for mental health. Her remarks followed Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden's visit to a Boots warehouse in Nottingham to mark Labour's 'jobs guarantee' scheme, which channels young unemployed people into employment. LBC host Simon Marks challenged her, saying: 'I can hear listeners saying I go to work every day — I don't find my job particularly meaningful.'

El-Halaby receives Personal Independence Payment, a disability benefit claimants can collect even while employed or in full-time education.

Official figures show 8.4 million people are on Universal Credit, with 4.27 million under no obligation to seek work at all.

El-Halaby acknowledged that not every job could suit every worker, but maintained that helping mentally unwell people 'out of that hole' depended on 'finding meaning and purpose'.