Struggling to get out of bed for minimum wage

[LunaDeet]

I guess I just want to vent a little and see what others would do in my position.

So first off I know I'm very lucky not to be on the breadline, we manage very well on our smallish income and will not ever starve or worry about the roof above our head. We moved county when DC was 1 so I never returned to my proper job after maternity. I now have a stop gap job if you like to keep me sane, and because I like earning my own money. Its minimum wage - crappy hours over the weekend and Mondays and Fridays office based - 4 hours in the city a train ride away.

My employer will not give me a contract (so we can claim 30 hours free nursery) so my DC attends nursery Mondays and Fridays while I'm at work in the city. We pay the top up as we get 12 hours nursery government funded.

I've just been paid £500 for last month - about 60 hours work. Nursery costs were £165. I'm just about to leave for work and I'm wondering if it's worth all the hassle. Should I sack in the office role as it's not making me any money - or do I try and use this job as leverage to get a better one? WWYD?!

Train is £12 a week as well.

I have to go but I'll reply later. I honestly hope to get my arse handed to me for not being in deficit after childcare. I guess I just value my time at more than £8.20 an hour

I wouldn’t work for £8.50 an hour but I’m aware that I’m lucky enough not to have to.

You don’t mention your alternative options. SAHP? Can you afford it and would you want to be? Or can you go after a better paid job?

You can’t be surprised that the choices you’ve made around maternity leave etc have limited your choices now. Women need to be way more careful.

I think it depends on what your medium and long-term goals are. Do you see yourself returning to a career at some point? If you don't need the money and it's making you unhappy, then don't carry on if it has no plus points now or for a potential future step.

You don’t need a contract , do you actually work 30 hours?

I make £8.50ph in a job that I love. The industry is famously poorly paid.

I claim 30hrs. Never needed a contract... why can’t you?

Look at the long term. If you don't work at all, you're really going to have trouble getting any decent job in years to come when you want to return to work. It's ALWAYS easier to get a job when you already have one.

It sounds like you need a plan. Then you can use your current job as a stepping stone. Look at where you want to be in say 10 years time, and work backwards to create milestones as to what you need to be doing at 1 yr, 3 yrs, 5 yrs etc.

Can you upskill in your existing role, i.e. any in-house courses/training, any promotions or different roles in your current firm? If not, then what skills/qualifications can you work towards outside work, i.e. online courses, local colleges, Open University, apprenticeships, etc.??

Unless you have a plan and take some actions, you'll end up with a lifetime of a mixture of unemployment/minimum wage jobs.

Thank you for your replies. I can’t claim without a contact as I fall just under the earning requirement. I’d need contract to guarantee the 16hrs at minimum wage. I currently do anything from 15-20hrs so 3 months at £500 isn’t enough to claim without one.

I guess I need to formulate a plan to get on a Masters when DC starts school in a year, and keep this job for now.

Why do you not have a contract? Are you self-employed (the way of avoiding having to give holiday pay, sick leave etc)? If not, you legally have to be given a contract.

Yes Chicken Part-time, minimum wage, zero hours. Heard of those? Another poor tax to add to the collection

So you do have a contract, it's just a zero hours contract. You need your employer to give you a contract stating a minimum number of hours and they are refusing. That's the way it is for some jobs, even though it's so completely shit.

OP, you do know I was trying to be helpful. I’ve worked on zero hours contracts before. If you are employed, regardless of hours, they are legally required to give a contract. The only place that didn’t give me a contract were paying below minimum wage.

Your employer has a legal obligation to give staff a contract

www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions

Contract terms
The legal parts of a contract are known as ‘terms’. An employer should make clear which parts of a contract are legally binding.
Contract terms could be:
in a written contract, or similar document like a written statement of employment
verbally agreed
in an employee handbook or on a company notice board
in an offer letter from the employer
required by law (eg an employer must pay employees at least the National Minimum Wage)
in collective agreements - negotiated agreements between employers and trade unions or staff associations
implied terms - automatically part of a contract even if they’re not written down

It sounds like she does have a contract. She has a zero hours contract. But she needs to work a minimum of 16 hours a week to get the benefits she wants, so she wants her employer to give her a contract of 16 hours a week. The employer won't do that, and they don't need to.

You may be eligible for the 30 hours, based on below:

Am I eligible for the 30-hours childcare offer?
You will be eligible for the 30-hours offer if:
• You earn more than the equivalent of 16 hours at the national living wage or minimum wage per week: for example, £120 per week if you are 25 or older. There is no requirement to work a certain amount of hours per week – it is all about how much you earn.
AND
• You earn less than £100,000 per year.

If you are self-employed or on a zero-hours contract: You are still eligible as long as you expect to meet the earning criteria on average over the three months after you have applied for the 30-hours.