[CJefferson]

The problem in the UK, which is caused by the government, is that there are several points where people end up with less money overall (including housing benefit, and childcare) if they earn more money / work more hours.

While you can argue about 'deserving', it is the government's fault that they have set up a system which encourages people not to work.

Unforuntatly, the current attempts to fix this are (in my opinion) just creating a more confusing system where it is easier to get trapped or confused.