Only £36 per month better off with potential new job. No incentive to move off UC

[BonnyEm]

I went for a job interview today. It went well. Hopefully I'll know next week if I've been successful or not.
My hours at my current job are 5 per week. Potential new job 16 per week. We currently receive universal credit.
I sat with dh earlier this evening to work out our finances and taking on the new job would only benefit us by £36 a month.
I would still take the job if offered and try to progress up the ladder or to work more hours if offered.
However, I was disheartened that the increase would be so little. You can see how benefits trap people. There's little point to working more hours than I am now, in my case financially.

Sixteen hours a week is barely working as it is let alone five. If there is debt surely you’d be wanting to work far more to clear it.

It’s not about being better off, it’s about supporting yourself rather than expecting others to do it for you.

This is why the system need more overhaul. It should be a safety net not a choice.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

Sixteen hours a week is barely working as it is let alone five. If there is debt surely you’d be wanting to work far more to clear it.

It’s not about being better off, it’s about supporting yourself rather than expecting others to do it for you.

This is why the system need more overhaul. It should be a safety net not a choice.

They have a one year old. She probably can’t work more hours because she has to care for her baby.

This happened to us about midway through the childcare years when I went full time. It was frustrating but paid off in the end as it was a great career move, when I had my first child I was on minimum wage, I still have young children but am now a higher rate tax payer with very low outgoings as flexibility has enabled me to reduce childcare. Stick it out, it's an investment, once you're past this awkward middle limbo you'll hopefully start reaping the rewards.

You complelty missing the point what UC is for it's a safety net .

Even if the money was the same or only £1 why should you be funded by tax payers when you have the option to work

@rwalker I want to get off UC and this isn't the only job I've applied for.
The point I'm making is I can clearly see why people do stay on benefits.
I don't want to.
I know it's a safety net. I do understand that and the reasons why we have a benefit system.

I'm not going to reply anymore.
People are just jumping on me.
They're not reading my replies anyway.

OP I’ve just had a thought. Your new job is 16 hours per week, is it min wage? If so you will earn £617 a month from it. As you have no housing element of UC you have a disregard of £515 per month meaning the UC income taper (x 0.63) only applies to £102. So that’s £102x 0.63 = £64 deducted from the £102 = £37. Which leaves you with £515 plus £37 so £552. It looks like you’ve forgotten about the disregard.

does any know for a couple what's the threshold for getting UC help? My partner earns around £18k pa (ft) and I earn around £10,800 (four days a week, we have a just 1 yo) but think that's too much to get any sort of help? It's a push with rent!%

The person who said £28k is wrong..not sure where that came from.

When dh lost his job 3 years ago our income went down to just my salary, about £26k at the time and renting. 3 dc.

We got £700 UC a month! Couldn't believe it tbh. Definitely worth applying and checking for yourself.

@UhtredRagnarson the op already claims UC so already benefits from the disregard.

Yes but not the full £515 of it as she currently only works 5 hours a week so that’s only £193 per month.

Each additional pound you earn will reduce your Uc by 63p. If you have children on your Uc claim you will already be getting the work allowance which means that a certain amount of wages are disregarded before earnings reduce your total Uc total. Uc is pretty good already for working families.

@UhtredRagnarson

Yes but not the full £515 of it as she currently only works 5 hours a week so that’s only £193 per month.

Presumably her husband works too though??

@Wimpund21

does any know for a couple what's the threshold for getting UC help? My partner earns around £18k pa (ft) and I earn around £10,800 (four days a week, we have a just 1 yo) but think that's too much to get any sort of help? It's a push with rent!%

The person who said £28k is wrong..not sure where that came from.

When dh lost his job 3 years ago our income went down to just my salary, about £26k at the time and renting. 3 dc.

We got £700 UC a month! Couldn't believe it tbh. Definitely worth applying and checking for yourself.

There is no definate threshold it depends on your circumstances and what Uc elements you are eligible for. These are added up to make your total UC then wages reduce it on a taper. So if you have children you get childrens element( s), if you pay rent you get a rent element, if you have been assessed as unfit for any type of work you may get an extra element for illness, if you have a disabled child you get a disabled child element, if you are a carer you get a carers element. So all these elements can add up to a huge amount in some cases. If you have children or have been deemed unfit to work you get what is called a work allowance which means a certain amount is disregarded before earnings reduce your total Uc. So one person earning 20k cannot really be compared with another earning 20K because they may both be entitled to different elements in the first place.

Presumably her husband works too though??

Ahh yes! I’d forgotten about his income.

Why would you prefer to live off other peoples money (aka benefits) than earn your own?

Surely you’re not serious are you? that’s one way to show your utter ignorance I guess.

Many people will only qualify for Uc due to extortionate rental costs or high childcare costs.

its can seem like a catch22.

The way I see it - you might not be hugely better off but the money you are earing is your own.
What if benefits gets slashed or the eligibility criterea changes? what will you do when the kids are older and you havent built up the work experience?

Anything you can do to increase you work history and income from actually working is better than relying on benefits, its also better from your mental helath point of view to not rely on benefits and (wrongly) there is a stigma from being on benefits.

I just don't understand the mindset of wanting to rely on handouts. You barely worked before and the government supported you. Now you've upped your hours, still not a lot of work, and you don't need extra. This is a good thing! You could try and find a job with more hours, then you will make more money.

I just don't understand the mindset of wanting to rely on handouts.

I just dont understand the mindset of posting on a thread you haven’t read.

Can you look at it another way around - I've just managed to reduce a monthly bill by £32, I'm over the moon and that £32 a month is going straight towards a credit card I had.

If someone told you you could do that would you be pleased? If so it's a similar prospect, an extra £36 a month could be a takeaway, a treat, it covers my car insurance so now I feel better off.

@UhtredRagnarson

Yes it sticks in the gullet that doing an extra 11 hours work a week only earns you the princely sum of £9!! 82p an hour. Yay!

How about employers pay enough that people are getting a living wage for every hour they work??

It’s a tough one because if the minimum wage is raised, so too will the cost of living. This in turn will mean that benefits will also need to increase. I’m not sure how we can create a society where people are paid a fair wage which makes it worthwhile going to work, while simultaneously not pushing people who are reliant on benefits into further poverty.

Agree it’s a horrible cycle. Something needs to change though. Can we really justify being a society where two working adults don’t earn enough to support themselves and require government support just to meet their essential costs? It’s insane.

@UhtredRagnarson

Agree it’s a horrible cycle. Something needs to change though. Can we really justify being a society where two working adults don’t earn enough to support themselves and require government support just to meet their essential costs? It’s insane.

The most obvious for me would be rent/ house price controls. A single person working full time should be able to afford the rent/ mortgage on at least a two bed semi. As it is, that’s unlikely to be the case in many areas.

Obviously, this would have knock on effects further along the line to the people who own properties and their finances so it’s properly not a viable option at all.

It just seems like house prices are really getting out of control. They’re increasing in such dramatic amounts which our wages just can’t keep up with.

It’s really terrible.

For example, a relative of mine worked in housing support 20 years ago on about £25k a year. Her house cost £60k. Now, the same job is paid the same wage yet the same house is worth £250k.

It’s just impossible.

Yes housing is a huge problem. I wish BTL mortgaged were never a thing.

[quote BonnyEm]@rwalker I want to get off UC and this isn't the only job I've applied for.
The point I'm making is I can clearly see why people do stay on benefits.
I don't want to.
I know it's a safety net. I do understand that and the reasons why we have a benefit system.

I'm not going to reply anymore.
People are just jumping on me.
They're not reading my replies anyway.[/quote]
The incentive to work when on Uc is pretty good for someone who has kids and was not previously earning because of the work allowance you get. UC was designed to encourage people to work. It's not great for single people but for working families I think it is pretty generous !

For all the trouble the younger generations are having, most voters still live in owner-occupied homes. And as long as that remains the case house prices will not fall.