Fed up of my cousins comments about benefits and UC

If there’s only 1 person earning why’s a nursery required? Assuming there’s 2 parents?

Are you sure about that? 🧐

Which would be your preferred option if you were paying it?

3 part time ppl on UC? That’s a lie where did you get that figure?

But it’s gone way beyond what’s fair. A family with one person earning 101k salary, a child in nursery and paying average mortgage/rent will have less disposable cash than state funded single mum in social housing. It’s a crazy system!!

The people who need it.

She isn't "choosing" to work less. She's a single parent with two kids under 16. Who's looking after her kids more in order for her to work more? For all you know her hours may not tie in with after school childcare etc and maybe she can only work those 3 or 4 days a week due to family only being available on those days for someone to help look after her kids. I work hours myself that go either past after school childcare hours or my start times are earlier than breakfast clubs start time and have to rely on family/friends to do school runs to cover those times. Their dad only just about covers my work weekends and some school holidays and thinks he's doing me a favour doing the smallest amounts of childcare he can get away with

What actually doesn't make sense is that office hours are 9-5, instead of being shorter and at the same time as school hours so parents wouldn't have these logistical problems.

'Better themselves'?

Has it actually not occurred to you that people who work part time might be making the choice to spend more time with their children? That's a pretty positive choice in my book. There are other ways to 'better oneself' than to chase after as much money as possible.

I paid just under £60k tax last year. It’s equivalent of two junior nurse salaries, 2 junior police’s officers salaries, 1.5 asylum seeker cost or 3 part time people on universal credit. Which would you rather it was spent on?

It's funny how benefit claimants are spongers, but it's okay for fathers to not take care of their child financially. You couldn't make it up

Oh and I have a full time job with childcare before anyone asks but this idea that we as a society should turn our backs on the most needy will not sit with me Social Fund it was called for a reason everyone can pay everyone can take its fair! We contribute in order to use it if needed and if you use State Schools the NHS etc you use it too

If it's such a problem to 'juggle full time jobs and childcare' then maybe they should have thought about whether it made sense to have children in the first place.

FFS, OP is a is SINGLE parent.
She is already a lot worse off than a couple.

I'm horrified at the anger in the replies. What happened to mumsnet (and the UK!)

I'm a net contributer. I'm also an immigrant, and extremely proud to be part of a country that cares for it's own.

I only feel relief at knowing the safety net is there, and that children aren't suffering because feckless fathers won't contribute to their upbringing. And that the women who are already having to carry everything on their own don't have even more worries on top.

Could you all really sleep at night knowing that a child is cold and hungry, because their father abandoned them? That disabled people who literally cannot work are left to rot on the street?

No doubt someone will come on and say 'Oh I don't mean those ones'. But the problem is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on who 'deserves' to be supported. And then entire groups of people are dehumanised, single mothers, disabled, children in poverty.

It's sickening.

I think what you're missing is lots of families face these tough logistical situations, even with 2 working parents. Yet they're being asked to pay more so you and others can choose to work less. I'm sure they'd like that option as well as they juggle full time jobs and childcare.

People should also look at the breakdowns of income tax those paying the highest (additional) ie earning the most only pay 45% leaving a bare minimum £68628 pa but basic rate which is probably a huge amount of us here is 20% even if you’re top end you have £40000 pa left and that starts at under £13000 pa the tiers are ridiculous so called higher rate (they do not end up with a lot for it) only pays 5% less than the additional rate, coincidentally guess where you’re CEOs and M.P’s etc are probably sitting? Yeah they’re probs all additional rates and I guarantee they’ll be earning more than the £125140 plus

I think it’s totally wrong that people can opt to work part time and get it topped up by the state to the equivalent of a full time salary, it removes any of the incentive for people to better themselves. I appreciate there can be complex circumstances that stop people from working full time but if we’re being honest for a good percentage of people it’s just choice because working is boring / inconvenient / takes away more of their free time / they can’t be bothered.

And a lot of the "we pay taxes" folks are on less than the £41k or so that makes someone a net contributor.

Funny that a lot of the people who are paying higher rate taxes that have commented on this thread, are ok with their money going on UC.

You surely understand that they take more than they pay in? Surely?

To all the posters saying get a full time job, at the start of 2025 there were 8.6 million part time workers. Should all of these workers opt to get a fulltime job, who will be doing the part time jobs that surely help the country to function? Dinner ladies, cleaners, bar staff??

And rent isn't ridiculously expensive

This thread makes me think of this cartoon...

Doesn't sound like it?

Maybe they enjoy doing their jobs