A solo dad is hitting out at Work and Income accusing them of not doing enough to help him get off the benefit.
The Bay of Plenty father has four kids aged four to 10 and told Newshub he started looking for part-time work a few months ago.
The father, who asked to remain anonymous, has a background in fencing, shearing and forestry and decided to apply for two part-time roles.
However, the jobs required equipment so he applied to Work and Income for the Transition to Work grant to buy the gear he needed.
He quoted Work and Income around $1300 for a chainsaw, hammer, rammer, gumboots and EzePull that was required for his part-time work.
But he said he was rejected because he didn't meet the requirements of needing to work 30 hours or more a week. This is disputed by Work and Income who told Newshub it hadn't formally declined his grant and is working with him to try to figure out the best type of support for him.
The Transition to Work grant is available to anyone aged over 18, looking for paid work of 30 hours or more a week, or 20 hours or more a week if you're a sole parent and you are a New Zealand citizen, according to the Work and Income website.
The man said one issue Work and Income raised with him when he applied was an arthritis injury in his right shoulder, but he told them he has been managing it his whole life and was given the all-clear by a doctor to work.
He told Newshub he's lacking motivation to get back into work after the experience.
"After all this, your motivation for me is to give up, to stay on the benefit. There's no incentive there to help out part-time workers, sole parents who want to go out and work," he said.
"I understand their side of the story, but it's a chance to help out parents, and for me, it's about giving my kids that extra little bit of help. I've tried hard never to ask them for assistance because I have an idea of what I'm entitled to."
Work and Income said they are working with him to figure out the best support and haven't rejected his application - despite him claiming he didn't hear from them for months until Newshub contacted them.
"The Transition to Work grant is intended for people who have found regular, ongoing work. We are able to pay this grant for part-time roles in certain circumstances, but we first need to establish how sustainable the work is," East Coast Regional Commissioner Karen Bartlett said.
"We will be getting in touch with him to talk about how reliable the income from his fencing work is long-term."
Bartlett said Work and Income offers a range of support to help people pay for things they need to find or start a job, depending on their circumstances and the type of work they want to do.
But the man said he couldn't buy the equipment and didn't get the jobs because of the wait, leaving him back at square one.
"I am angry with Work and Income but more frustrated as I'm not out there asking for everything, just a little bit of help to support me and my boys to have a little extra to help," he told Newshub.
"My kids are a little disappointed but they've come to understand that we don't get to have the extra things, my oldest son just recently had his 11th birthday and he would've liked new rugby boots but again he understood."
He urged Work and Income to look in the mirror at their policies and see if they're actually helping Kiwis get off the benefit.
"It's maybe a little late for me but I would like them to take this time to think about their procedures and try to help even if it's a little because it's the little things that matter just as much," he said.
"They need to look at the big picture outside of the tunnel they seem to follow."
And it's a view shared by politicians with National's social development and employment spokesperson Louise Upston saying it's yet another example of the roadblocks Kiwis face when trying to get off benefits.
"Labour has allowed benefit dependency to increase at a time businesses are desperate for staff," Upston said. "Work and Income should not put up roadblocks for New Zealanders making every effort to provide their children the opportunities and choices employment provides."
Meanwhile Greens MP Ricardo Menéndez March said it's yet another example of Work and Income not trusting the people it's meant to serve.
"This is why it's critical the Government overhaul the purpose of Work and Income to ensure its mandates to end hardship, not just alleviate it. Our Government agencies should be enabling people to meet their aspirations, instead of acting as a barrier," Menéndez March said.
He added people are constantly receiving inadequate support that doesn’t enable them to live with dignity.
"Whether it's declining grants to support people into work, turning people away when they need hardship grants to cover basic essentials or sanctioning disabled people. We need a high trust model where people are supported instead of punitively scrutinised."
Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) was also critical suggesting Work and Income clearly doesn't trust the Kiwis it is meant to help.
"We believe the Government and Government departments such as MSD should be active in creating good green jobs for people, that are essential, meaningful and well-paid but also the types of work that are currently not recognised, such as caring, volunteering, creative and healing should also be valued for how essential they are in keeping communities together."
