To feel depressed about this?

For me, a major issue is that I have severe insomnia coupled with sleep phase disorder. I’m on benzodiazepines which help but I will never be able to sleep and get up at normal times. As a single parent, it was not possible for me to work at night when my son was young.

In theory it is becoming possible for me to work at night now. But it would still require that I receive higher and higher doses of benzodiazepines to keep to a regular sleep cycle, which my doctor won’t prescribe. They will work for a while and then I need 2 weeks off to reset the tolerance. During which I can be awake for 4 nights and going mad and having severe panic attacks.

I need to either be referred to a sleep specialist to be allowed the correct prescription, or I need extremely flexible employment.

@Babyroobs a really valid point. I won't claim to know the exact ins and outs, but from what I have read it certainly does mostly benefit those with children. If you are single and child free then the system seems much, much harsher.

To be fair my driving factor is my kids, I didn't want them to have a horrid childhood. Had I been single and for some reason unable / not wanted to work, I'm not sure what my motivation would have been to change that, because being in poverty is so depressing it's hard to have any hope about anything at all.

Sorry I should have said it's generous for working people with kids on their claim because of the work allowance that you get when you have kids. It's not half as generous for single working people who are reliant on it for helping to pay high rent.

It is pretty generous for most working people because of the work allowances and taper rates.

This absolutely.

I suddenly became single with two very young children. I claimed UC and barely had enough to keep us all housed fed and clothed, but it was doable, we were existing but it was just the basics. Straight away I was searching for work and luckily found a fairly decent job within a few months of starting my UC claim. Before starting work my total UC income was £1260 a month. That had to cover everything including rent.

Now I'm working, I bring home £3200 a month which includes UC. I have to pay out £1100 of that on childcare (UC payment includes 85% of my childcare costs) , but it means both my girls are in a wonderful nursery setting and thriving, and I'm £840 a month better off than I was, for a 3.5 day week of working.

Put simply:

UC only, £1260 per month. After rent and basic bills I was left with £460 per month to feed / clothe us all and pay for transport etc.

Working 3.5 days a week + UC: £3200 per month. After rent and basic bills / childcare I am left with £1300 per month.

There is no doubt that in my situation it is absolutely better to be working. Not just financially but it's done me the world of good (overall, few hiccups at work) and to be setting a good example for my children for them to see me going out and working. I never ever want them to think staying at home and not working is a choice, I want them to know if you can work, you should work.

That being said, I am still baffled to this day how it is funded and had crippling anxiety for months because I was adamant it must be incorrect. I am not sure HOW it can possibly be viable or paid for but I am endlessly grateful because it has given me the chance to feel like a person who has a life and prospects.

Ultimately I hope to continue working, gaining experience, embark on further training and eventually be able to totally fund myself and my girls without any help from the state. But until that point in my life, the current help with UC has meant I'm no longer in poverty or ashamed of the life I was giving my girls. As much as I understand (I really do) the frustration from people who think others don't deserve this help, I won't feel ashamed about it.

Have a miracle cure for my illness and the reason I can not work.
I wish I could work... not working is horrible... I lack purpose and I lack money.

Perhaps my question should be, if you claim UC and do not work, what would encourage you to change that, and, in this answer you must think of where the money comes from to make these changes?

Uc should be there to support those who are ill, disabled and carers. It should not be there to line the pockets of private landlords and top up low wages for employers.

Well, without UC, I would be dead. Is that the answer you wanted?

Invest in the NHS. Open night schools for adults. Force employers to offer flexible work

@XenoBitch you own it. You put yourself on the table for discussion and eek it out. I'm asking you what do you do when you don't have enough taxpayers to fund it? We don't

Oh feck off. Why should I care about maths......? I am on the sickness element of UC. What would caring about maths achieve?
It sounds like you want me to feel bad for claiming!
If that is your agenda, then please own it.

I totally agree.

@Babyroobs - agree with all of that. A hard pass on the "why should I care about maths". We all should. It's not in our interests to have lots of people on UC. Or think of it as an alternative to work, which it is not.

What is to be done is that the government need to come up with some ways to reduce Uc spending like building affordable housing to reduce reliance on extortionate private rentals, improving health care, preventing mental health problems and physical health issues, tackling the obesity crisis and providing earlier interventions for mental health care.

I know why we have UC but frankly the issue is that the UK does not now have enough wealth in its working people to sustain it. So what is to be done? Tax these people more for their work? What happens to OP?

Yes, I am a beneficiary of the state. Do you want me to flay myself in public for it?

All you seem to be saying is that anyone on UC is some huge drain and should feel ashamed.

Yes, I claim UC. I don't care for the figures and why should I? What would it gain?

The solution isn’t to cut UC which is already a low amount, especially if you have growing children to feed and clothe. It would cause more children to grow up with malnutrition and the service to become even more shit i.e people that are unwell waiting even longer for a decent income, more sanctions, the whole thing even harder if enough people have this attitude

It's about the OP. She contributes. You don't, do you? I mean, that's it.

UC claimants are big on their circumstances but light on maths. This country does not have enough people to contribute at the moment. That is why OP should be annoyed, and it is why who gets state support needs looking at. Claiming to pay tax from public money given in benefits is not a serious point. What you are is a beneficiary of the state. But you don't pay tax in a way that will account for your needs. More people need to do that

This.

I used to work for the NHS. Paid my dues in tax and ultimately, my own health.

Why should I feel bad that someone is paying tax so I can feed myself and have a roof over my head? I pay tax when I buy anything, by the way.

@Babyroobs - bluntly, I know a lot of women who hold down a job and are carers. They don't claim UC.

UC is a totally shit allowance but if I lost my job tomorrow or was made redundant I would be fine. You speak like someone who has never known anything but @XenoBitch. Do you think your vulnerability means that the fact that there is not actually enough tax being taken to support you is something that should be ignored. OP will be paying a lot more for your claim in a short while. Yea she should be pissed off

What exactly are carers meant to live off then if they can't work? Of course they need UC when you can't work because you are caring full time for a disabled relative or child.

I know a lot of people on benefits, and it was the ones who claimed to be a single parent that got caught. I knew 2 people, and both ended up on front page of the local paper. They knew what they were doing.
But, some of the comments on this thread make out that anyone on UC is somehow swinging the lead in some way.