Too Many Cuts...come join the #Frothers and have your say

Worst six weeks of MY life, that was! Could I have foreseen all those things happening in such a short space of time? How many years do you think £20K of savings last when you have to live off it before you qualify for income-related benefits? When you have to pay EVERYTHING out of it - housing in the SE included?

My life today is TOTALLY different from the life I had eight years ago, and very different from the life that I SHOULD have had if all these things hadn't affected my family then. I would be paying 50% tax on a huge chunk of my earnings by now had I not been barred from my previous profession due to my disability. Instead, I am a disabled lone parent, living off benefits, caring for my dc, and two of them are disabled.

Next time, I'll put an order in for a crystal ball, shall I?

i couldn't even get mortgage insurance because i had a history of depression in the past which meant i'd need to sign a disclaimer that i couldn't claim for anything that could be connected with this existing condition - which would basically cover virtually everything like hunty discovered when it got them out of paying out for epilepsy.

'The argument that a family may fall into a situation where they previously could afford children and have fallen on hard times is a non-starter. Surely part of the plan should be to take these eventualities into account by way of insurance and back up plans before having more children?

We had all those.

Dh was in a good job, I was a year away from qualifying as a teacher. The boys were diagnosed with ASD so I did not manage to get to do my PGCE (did well in my degree) and then DH was made redundant.
Insurances did pay out but they are very time linked and Dh can't return to old field for medical reasons (required night work, takes meds that are incompatible. Means I can't work nights either as ds1 needs two hourly checks at night and DH simply can't wake. Note he did nights for five eyars so hardly a new idea!). Lease prevents me working from home which was next plan (DH registered at a technology centre), also bans 'staff' such as a Nanny and significantly Social Services say that if I leave ASD ds1 with chidlcare and he hurts them or another child (inevitable, well would be if I could find anyone who would have him) that I would be liable as I know the risks.

You simply have no idea; I pray that it stays that way. I would not wish this on anybody.

And I don't have 20p savings anymore, much less the £20K I had eight years ago...

EXACTLY, Tianc. I didn't expect to be diagnosed with epilepsy, whilst on Mat Leave, with a 5yo DD that had just been diagnosed with Autism, a 19mo toddler, and a 2 week old baby that was ALSO diagnosed with a disability. And I didn't expect my partner to be made redundant at the exact same time...There's only so far £20K of savings can go...I'm EIGHT YEARS down the line now...

Boffy, since you've used the details of life as an example already, would you mind me asking what your plans are if, by this time tomorrow, you are seriously disabled?

Boffyflow - And of course all these insurance companies pay up without a complaint??

I was the higher earner in my couple. We had 3 dc, good income, both working FT blah blah blah. I had insurance etc.

In the space of 6 weeks, just after dc3 was born, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, which BARRED ME BY LAW from my prevous profession, My 5yo DD was diagnosed with Autism, and my partner was made redundant. AND my newborn baby started exhibiting symptoms of a disability.

I tried to claim on my insurance - but the insurance company deemed that my prior diagnosis of depression had actually been symptoms of the epilepsy. They DIDN'T PAY. And I no longer had the money to fight them legally.

I did not have the money for the training course I needed to do to transfer my skills to an area I could work in. My partner at the time was a low earner, no skills to get a higher income etc.Plus my own disability, AND two of my dc having disabilities. In the end, my partner and I separated under the strain of it all.

Insurance? HA!

Yes, wrt to mental health I find this line in a recent BBC story quietly chilling: "A survey suggested 77% of GPs had signed people off sick for reasons other than their physical health".

Odd.

Do they mean, 77% of GPs have patients with mental health issues requiring a short term sick note? Why would this be newsworthy? Why describe it as "other than physical health"?

The quote from Freud, and the fact that this is yet another piece of propaganda pushing the untrue line that GPs can sign people off for long term sickness benefits, suggest the story emanated from a govt or related press office. Which adds weight to the fear that there's an attempt to separate mental illness from "physical" illness, and to create a category that is "other" (where you can happily dump mentally ill with fraudsters, say).

The current going rate for a sleeping night shift as paid by agencies is around 30 pounds (pound key broken) per night.
A sleeping nightshift does not constitute a nannying position.'

Night shift for a SN child is actually about £200 per night.

don't forget they're meant to be busy running 'big society' for free too!!

Thanks Hunty. Its all aimed at penalising the poorest and most vunerable. Why dont they think someone can be disabled, a carer and a lone parent? I also see Carers of elderly and sick relatives saying 'fuck this for a game of soldiers' and putting said relatives into residential care at a cost to the Govt/tax payer of anything from £600 to £3000 A WEEK. Because caring 24/7 while trying to hold down a job is often physicaly impossible.
I know so many couples where one, often the wife, carers for elderly parents while her dh earns under 17K. No way could they also work 20 hours for their 'conditionality' and if the dh could find a better paying job he bloody would have.

Tax year 2013 - 2014 will see the big loss of life I think

*SantaIsAnAnagramOfSatan Mon 12-Dec-11 12:37:26
yes - that was pre MW. a 12 shift now would cost over £72 and realistically you'd have to include an unsociable hours element to it. i think you'd be looking at minimum £90 pay plus employer contributions on top. not very viable for average night shift worker is it?

do think!!!*

The current going rate for a sleeping night shift as paid by agencies is around 30 pounds (pound key broken) per night.
A sleeping nightshift does not constitute a nannying position.

Yes, admittedly in the 80s the whole thing was more casual. I paid students 20 pounds a night to sleep in my house. They were grateful for the chance to earn a few quid - I always left them a meal and allowed them use of the shower and general facilities in the house. It worked very well for years.
I realise that rules and regulations are much tighter these days, but where there's a will there's a way. Trouble is, many people these days aren't willing to make the effort.
There may be a legal way round doing it, possibly involving extra insurance to cover the event of unforeseen problems. I admit to not being up to speed with childminding issues. How does a sleeping nightshift differ from a paid babysitter, other than the longer time period involved?

Another option, which worked for me when I was married, was for one parent to work nights and the other to work days, thus requiring a babysitter for a couple of hours only if/when neither parent was at home.

The argument that a family may fall into a situation where they previously could afford children and have fallen on hard times is a non-starter. Surely part of the plan should be to take these eventualities into account by way of insurance and back up plans before having more children?

gosh and i bet a lot of them ARE christians!!!

shutting up now.

suicide rates are already at record highs.

can you imagine what they'll be in the tax year 2012/2013?

this is going to literally kill some people.

i can't fathom how many people just don't care. it's hard to believe they don't and then you read posts on mn (and even one on this thread) and there it is! blatant couldn't give a shit about people less fortunate than me-ism.

wish i believed in bible as i could comfort myself with the knowledge these are the end times and they'll all burn in hell not much sign of inheriting the earth any time soon though sadly.

DH never did the DLA / ESA thing: when he got ill we just sold the house to cover all bills and he changed jobs.

Must go and check the blog now!!

Yes, been reading the mind stuff.

Even more scary.

All that will happen though is dh will set off for workfare, never arrive and habe to be brought home by police. Again.

Which is why we HAVE to get this business going, he is OK with that. And the year thing might just buy us that...

a lot of the reform is basically about making damn sure that people with mental health disabilities don't qualify as disabled anymore imo. it's always been notoriously hard to get dla for mental health issues and where you did manage to get it you'd only get lower rate - they're now effectively closing the lower rate which will get rid of those with MH disabilities who managed to get acknowledged as such.

Santa - you don't have to tell ME that - I was on HRC,HRM, and went from that to, apparently, my life-long disability having disappeared to the point where i don't get even LRC now...

No it doesn't Santa you are right

Also, that only really wotks (the preparing for... bit) with people with physical SN: ds3 can't be prepared for work, he can't comprehend work. Mind why don't they try putting someone on workfare in a call centre who can't be understood and has a 3 minute attention span! Just becuase he settles well (or by 11 anyway) does not mean anything. If they put him trolley collecting I have to go too as he can't do cars either.

Thank goodness he's still only 8; plenty of time for the odd Mayan prophecy yet!

if i was you i'd do a single parent with one child, a married couple with 2 etc so as to avoid the well she shouldn't have had more children shut off effect whereby they wont' read or take in info at all iyswim.

Peachy - it's a load of CRAPOLA if you have MH probs, why do you think MIND and RETHINK are So so so against the Welfare Reform Bill??

I will write a Blog post tonight, and put it up tomorrow, including the figures - but I want to do a couple of calculations for couples too, and maybe a couple for ooop North. And DS3 is not having a nap today, for some reason. . I think he KNOWS I have a lot to do...

i'm sorry hunty i'm still not clear - if i were in the 20hr conditionality group but earnt my £121 in less than 20hrs would that be ok? or would i be forced to work the extra hours?