DH has been fired and I need talking down

[Zorrita]

DH was pulled into a meeting this afternoon to say they were letting him go. He had a few issues with his direct boss (this is a separate issue and we will be going to ACAS), been in the job less than a year and it was decided he didn't gel with the team. Nothing bad that affects his employability or that will prevent him getting another job pretty quickly.

What I do need are practical tips on what we can do now while he looks for employment. What can I do in the immediate aftermath of this to soften the blow? A few things for context:

• We have about 4-5k coming to us but that will take a month or so I believe, and have minimal savings (about 2k)
• DS (1 year old) is literally starting nursery next week. We've paid the first month but not sure how we could afford to keep him in until DH is employed again
• We have put a Universal Credit application in as our income has now more than halved
• Applied for council tax reduction but not sure we will qualify
• DH is not shy about what he does - he is happy to go back to stacking shelves while he looks for something else
• I am in secure employment with a big company

Is there anything else I need to do practically that will help our situation? If it comes to it I believe my Dad will be able to support us for a couple of months but as I am sure many will understand it's embarrassing having to ask and I would much rather do everything else I can first before I borrow from him.

Please be gentle. I am feeling rather fragile right now and I don't need anyone adding to this already awful feeling.

Why's that then?
I thought benefits were there for temporary situations as in losing your job? Seems not though
Astonished that people who have paid tax and NI for years are being berated for temporarily applying for some financial support

Jangolina um yes? If you've got kids to feed and a dramatically reduced income I hope most of us would apply. If it turns out you're not eligible or get a job first, fine.

Not really, the type of jobs that you can walk into quickly are usually the min wage ones that also need benefits top ups.

People need to chill, if there is no entitlement, there will be no benefits given.

Please be careful taking your little one out of nursery - that would be the last thing I would do personally as spaces round here are like gold dust. If you take them out can you be guaranteed the days you need when your DH finds a new job? I know it’s expensive and frighteningly so but if your DH is to even get short term work you need childcare.

Apply for a tax rebate www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/work/losing-your-job/claiming-your-tax-rebate-after-losing-your-job

Not the best time to be looking for temporary work in hospitality as there is normally a lull after Christmas. Probably plenty of care work if he can pass a DBS check.

Universal credit will not pay towards childcare with one parent not working.

Update CV. Get on indeed and linkedin. Apply apply apply.

Out of interest what industry is he in?

If you have a mortgage, and only one child and your earnings are anywhere half decent you may not even qualify for UC. If you've applied before your dh has been paid his last wages then that will likely wipe out any entitlement. you won't get help with childcare costs with one parent not working. If there is no Uc entitlement and your dh has paid NI contributions over the past 2-3 years then instead he should look at claiming new style ( contributions based) JSA which is non means tested.

Sorry Jmaho this was for op.

Sorry Op ! i somehow seemed to have missed some of the thread and just realized you have 3 kids and rent.

It won't change their entitlement but the universal credit can be used for whatever they want

He should apply for JSA ASAP.

Who do you think benefits are for?

I thought it was exactly this. Sudden loss of job, apply for benefits while looking for work, stop getting benefits when earning enough.
There is no indication that OP DP is now going to sit back for rest of his life on benefits.

I’d be wary of giving up the nursery place - around here there’s a six month plus wait for a decent place for a 1 year old - if your area is similar you’ll be struggling when he gets a new job.

Again, depends on your location, but Facebook groups are the way to go here for things like warehouse/driving jobs. Try searching your area name and “jobs” and see what groups pop up.

Job Seekers Allowance Contributions: £77 a week for 6 months if he has paid NI for the last 2 years. Savings/partner's salary aren't taken into account.

you should seek advice from a benefits advisor. Our local authority run a team for this called income maximisation, you can self refer.

If you see jobs to apply for on these or any agency websites, my personal tip would be to check whether the jobs are also on that companies own website and apply directly wherever possible. It shouldn't make a difference but based on experience, I think it does. Especially for temp work.

Economically, it makes total sense to have a safety net system for people who have lost their jobs to tide them over in order that they be able to get jobs at the same level again. If someone has a job as, say, an accountant, earning say £50 000 a year, it makes sense to support them in the short term to get the same type of salaried job again. If the support is there, then they are more likely to be paying higher levels of tax in the long term. Everyone wins.

I’d be careful about taking the youngest out of nursery unless you know there will be a place when you need it. The waiting lists seem massive at the moment and if you refuse the place you might not get one again. I’d ask if they could defer or reduce days while still retaining the place. it may be easier to do job applications/interviews with some childcare sorted.

This is also what I thought benefits were for. A bit of extra income, if you’re entitled, when you hit hard times

@JangolinaPitt what do you think benefits are for and who should get them?

So sorry for your situation OP. My DH was unable to work during lockdown and wasn't eligible for govt support so I understand some of the worry you must be feeling.

As well as some of the practical things like JSA and UC, I'm not sure what your situation is but I went back to working 5 days a week (previously worked 4) which helped. My big piece of advice is don't panic too much yet - it's a candidates market at the mo and people are being hired increasingly quickly. Also, based on our experience, don't rush into roles on zero hour contracts. We found it impossible to juggle family life e.g. pick ups etc on such variable hours - also we found managers treated those on zero hour contracts like total scumbags. This is absolutley no shade on those who work on such contracts more on the way that they enable companies to be particularly shoddy towards their workers. Good luck.

Well that would be because in this country we operate a system of social protection which we all pay into when we are in work in order to avoid want and squalor (in Beveridge's language).

As PPs have explained, this helps keep people in the workforce, benefitting the whole economy.

This isn't especially contentious.

Surely DH will still get paid his notice though, so will be paid this month?

Why are some of you arguing that they shouldn't have applied for Universal Credit? If it was the wrong thing to do, they will soon find out. And if you don't ask, you don't get.

OP is asking for helpful suggestions and doesn't need censorious comments.