Universal Credits pushing

[Thills21]

My daughter is being pushed by universal credits to do more hours work.
They say unless she does 30 hours a week paid work she will lose her credits
and be contacted constantly. she is happy to work but cant get enough child care until September. Children are 6 and 3. and she currently works 13.5 hours a week. She has also been told that she should be looking for work up to 90 mins away which would mean she would be driving for 3 hours a day with no pay and cost of fuel and they also want her to do a training course which will mean a hotel overnight stay most of which will be at her cost and again need childcare and be away from her children. Its getting to the point of harassment from UC and stressing her out beyond believe surely this cant be fair.

I don’t think 30 hours is too much to ask, it’s not even full time work. It also shouldn’t have been a surprise so surely she could have gone on the waiting list earlier for childcare. That’s what we all have to do for work, my DC went on the waiting list for nursery before they were born.

Obviously the availability of childcare is an issue in this case but in principle 23.5 hours a week does not sound unreasonable to me.

No one is suggesting that the OP's daughter should work full time.

"No one is suggesting that the OP's daughter should work full time."

I misread and thought they had. 30 hours is reasonable but I still don't think a 90 minute commute each way is.

I think a 90 minute commute isn’t ideal but if it’s all that’s available she should take it. Again that’s what lots of us have to do, why should it be any different for people on UC? I don’t think people should be subsidised with UC when there’s a job available.

Those talking about the cost of childcare, you do realise that UC pay up to 85% of the costs.
I've been on UC. It's shit and unreliable. You have to jump through hoops. The coaches don't read the journal and regularly give misinformation.
I would suggest your daughter is as calm and agreeable to work as possible. Say that she will take a job immediately but the only childcare is a nanny charging £29 an hour. They can't say no. They can't say that's too expensive.

She doesn't need to work 30 hours. She just needs to earn over £895 or something like that figure. UC is based on wage rather than hours. If she can earn over the single parent AET then they will leave her alone.

Do UC help pay after school clubs and holiday clubs ? Otherwise parents on minimum wage will be working for nothing in the holidays.

@Nonewclothes2024 yes. If you're working they will pay your childcare. They don't even care if you're working on the day you claim childcare for.

She is working. Direct your bitchiness at the ex partner.

The overnight stay in an hotel for a course is a bit unreasonable. I haven't heard that before.

In my opinion being required to work 23.5 hours a week to retain benefits is not an unreasonable ask of a healthy adult. It is not her responsibility of the state to keep her if she chooses not to work/work very few hours.

people also seem to fail to think ahead. uC will be providing a lot of support now, but if she sat on 13.5 hours long term with no encouragement to up her hours, how would she fare when the kids left school/home and there was little UC now available to her as the children element had gone. She needs to work to build a work history and pension/references for later.

@Temporaryname158 in my experience, UC also don't want you to think ahead either. I am currently a student studying which will lead directly into a job (think teacher, nurse). My UC has been stopped. I have no eligibility for student finance. I can't do an apprenticeship as I already have a BA. UC give you no careers guidance. They want women on minimum wage jobs forever.