What does job centre/society actually expect this woman to do?

[steppemum]

I support a lady (friendship through a charity) I'll change some details to make it less identifiable.

She has a son aged 5 and in school and so the job centre are giving her a lot of hassle to get into work. But I just cannot see how she is supposed to do this:

• she is a single mum. Her partner is not son's dad and doesn't live with her.


• she lives on a large council estate out of town. Very little work on the estate. 20 minute bus ride into town. Some work in town, mostly in shops (which I doubt she would get, she's not likely to get a customer facing job) most work is then a further 20 minutes on the bus from the bus station in town.


• there is no breakfast club or after school club, or holiday clubs at the school


• there are no childminders on the estate. The closest ones are about 1 mile away, and don't do school drop offs or pick ups


• she does have local family, but they are not willing to do any childcare, either before/after school, or in the holidays.


• she is only likely to get a minimum wage job as she has no qualifications.

So, she could only work day time, from about 9:30 - 2:00 in order to do school run, no weekends and she has no-one to look after her son in the holidays.

Job centre has told her she is being too fussy and she must be more flexible with timings.

Am I missing something here? I just don't see HOW she can get a job! She would like to work actually, but is also pretty scared about ending up with less money.

This actually isn't a bad idea. At my McDonald's we have a lad with Downs' Syndrome who works a supported shift twice a week. He gets on really well and the customers love him! It does vastly depend on the BM and salaried managers but it's worth a shot.

I get it OP, she could work but it would need to be a very niche position which is going to be hard to find. Is her mental capacity low enough to be deemed a disability? Sound like something like a pot washing job/veg chopping type job in a cafe from late morning until after lunch might be ideal but it's obviously going to be low paid, in high demand and not near the area she lives.

My local school also didn't offer before and after school care when it was only the catchment for a rough council estate. It only started those things after a new build estate with houses with 2 working parents and little local family support was built. As you say, these estates either have a parent at home or have local grandparents etc that are willing to look after DC while the parents work, generally very community minded and close family relationships.

It would be good if the staff in the job centres had a bit more understanding of the realities of people's lives sometimes.

Even if she does get a part time, minimum wage job, she won't be self sufficient. She will probably have to be claiming top up benefits. The saving to the state will be negligible.

That’s probably it @Mumwantingtogetitright

Depressing that we can’t even give our fellow citizens sympathy, though.

Oh for goodness sake. It's highly likely your situation is completely different from the person being supported by the OP.

I work on facts, not clues. If you are looking for help and advice then it’s sensible to give a clear picture of the issues, not rely on your readers’ powers of inference. This is easy to achieve on an anonymous forum where nobody can identify either the OP or the person on whose behalf she is posting, so there is no benefit in concealment.

Well said.
It always shocks me on threads like this just how deep the prejudice is.
I know it is as old as time but in the 80's and 90's enough people had empathy to balance the views but a thread like this shows how well the Tory propaganda has worked.
Even if it wasn't explicitly said it's perfectly clear this woman has several barriers but 75% of the responses are Has she tried not being Poor?
Many from people just scraping by themself.

good luck @steppemum

absolutely not ! if she can barely read or write and look after herself she will not last long in care , especially care in the community where she will be expected to work alone and use her initiative ! we need good , confident exceptional carers , I've interviewed so many totally unsuitable people just because they need a job , care is not just a job

Under JSA, a commute of up to 90 minutes each way was considered reasonable. It might well be the same under UC.

The ideal job for this lady would a p/t TA at her son's school. But as that's pretty unlikely to come up, I think cleaning would fit well for her. She can pick her hours then.

OP, are there any schemes in your local community that might be targeted at people like your friend?

There is a programme in my city, delivered by a consortium of charities, that works with people like your friend on a 1:1 basis to help them address some of the barriers that they face in seeking employment. They help with stuff like adult literacy, basic digital skills (including access to free equipment), job search and employability skills, identifying training opportunities that might be accessible for people etc. It's very flexible and tailored around the needs of the individual. They work with very vulnerable clients and get good outcomes for them. Might be worth seeing what's on offer in your area?

It’s impossible. Cleaning and care jobs are either mornings and evenings . Or in care homes there long shifts. Retail jobs you need to be very flexible and have good social skills. The job centre and clearly mums netters think it’s easy . But if your a single parent with no dad involved and no family to help it’s incredibly hard . An employer won’t want you if you need days off for snow days / sick days / school holidays / doctors appointments.

I don’t think everyone is coming from it in this way.

The woman the op talks about does want to work, she has taken steps to help that by volunteering, it is hard to get to a paid version but doable. With support at least

A job that does match the woman’s capabilities could be possible and she could even feel good about getting it

This is shocking really. As a taxpayer with no children (also an immigrant) I would be very happy for my tax money to be used for childcare/nursery/kindergarten for all children so their parents are then able to work, skill up, study to improve thier lives. This can only be good for society as a whole.

It sounds from your update that she has either mild learning disabilities or mental health issues as she’s struggling with things most of us take for granted. Get her on a course that improves her reading and writing , one she can do from home in the evenings . Try and get the GP to sign her off for a few months and use that time to access training, try and Swap home or look into getting that house spruced up so it is swappable or can be used as a work space for something like telephone support , all you need is basic literacy and IT and your voice for that . If that’s still too much and she has a garden then would she enjoy being a doggy daycare person? Again she’d need the house presentable and the garden neat and secure but for the sake of a small investment, She’d have a year to try and make the business viable before they expect her earnings to be high enough to reduce benefit. By then someone might have opened childcare nearby .

Some form of self employment would be best. Lash extensions, hair cutting etc.
I have a friend who lost her job due to covid and has to sign on for the first time in her life. She recently broke up with her partner and can't afford a car. The job centre has instructed her to RENT a MOPED (she's never got on one) for £70 a week or something. It's absurd. The JC people are under enormous pressure to get ppl back into work. The system is screwed and lots of ppl have lost their work because of the lockdowns.

OP I'm gobsmacked at some of the replies on here. I grew up on a very deprived estate (my parents still live there) so I'm very familiar with this type of thing. It's very difficult and certain people do find themselves totally unable to help themselves. My mothers lovely neighbour started working in a large canteen and was let go before the week was out (I think during induction training the company decided it wouldn't work) and I can imagine your lady would be similar to the person I know.

Plus most people's gas and electric bills have tripled and the price of fuel is going up. I don't know how single people are managing to cover cost of bills etc atm even working full time.

I know this wont be suitable for the holidays unless she can get childcare support, but you mentioned that a care role (hours permitting) would be a decent fit. I see people asking on our local NextDoor group for people to help with care on a private paid basis, sometimes it's for a few hours every day or a few hours a week. Not necessarily cleaning but more general care such as laundry and similar. Might not pay enough to cover travel/loss of benefits though.

@SparkyBlue A lot of them have no clue (like really have no clue).

The ideal job for this lady would a p/t TA at her son's school

All the tas at my dc school are bright, intelligent, personable, articulate and well presented. In all honesty, the ops friend does not sound suited to such a job.

I sadly agree with another poster. SHe may just be unemployable. Too many variables are stacked against her.

no family support
Single mum
lack of marketable skills
bad location

you can overcome one problem but not them all

A TA job

Tell me how that would work when she can barely read or write?

If working isn't an option, could she volunteer? The job centre look favourably on this and then it might help improve her chances of finding a job later on when kids are a bit older?

She is already volunteering in a charity shop.

I get it OP. A family member has a job trying to help people find employment and the 2 biggest barriers are lack of childcare and transport (rural area) - add those to people who have other difficulties such as mental health issues and they're on a hiding to nothing - it's not a lack of willingness to work just a bloody great big brick wall in every direction!
I was appalled at the MP whose solution to cost of living rises was that people should just work more hours - I wanted to know if the MP was going to provide the extra free childcare!

I clean holiday cottages. In holidays take children with me, they sit on mobiles or tablets. Obviously if young it's no good, can try just putting a tv on. Theres no personal possessions for them to destroy!! It is tough but but with no childcare it's only option for me at the moment.