The British government have banned adverts for “the sex industry” in Job Centres because they might lead to exploitation of vulnerable unemployed women.

I’m not an expert in “the sex industry” so I’m happy to be corrected but this all seems a bit daft.

For a start, I’d imagine the kind of strip club or lap dancing club that prostitutes their dancers is unlikely to place adverts in the Job Centre.  It therefore follows that if someone was looking for a job as a stripper or a lap dancer that they’d be less likely to be exploited going to a Job Centre than replying to an ad in a free newspaper or a card in a window.

Furthermore, why is lap dancing, stripping or topless waitressing necessarily being exploited?  According to this website, a good looking, talented girl can earn £1,500 after “house fees” and before tax per week in one of the top London clubs like Stringfellows or Spearmint Rhino.  That’s for a 4 hour shift, 5 or 6 days a week.  Four hours a day on minimum wage sitting behind a till in Tesco will earn you £116 per week before tax.

I’m lucky: I have a stress-free job, I work regular hours and I enjoy what I do but I certainly can’t earn 6 grand a month before tax working 37½ hours a week and getting paid for providing round the clock out of hours cover every other week.  I’m starting to feel a little exploited myself, I wonder if that nice Mr Grayling will ban adverts for jobs paying less than £75 per hour?