to think most part-time workers don't know what's about to hit them?! (Universal Credit)

[aufaniae]

Do you work part-time and get Working Tax Credit or Housing Benefit?

Did you know that once you're on Universal Credit, you'll be expected to attend the Job Centre to prove that you're looking for better paid work / more hours, in much the same way as unemployed people must prove they're looking for work.

If the Job Centre find an interview for you, you will have to attend (with 48 hours notice) even if it clashes with your paid work.

If you are offered a job with more hours, or better pay than your current one, you will be obliged to take it, even if you have good reason for not wanting to e.g. it's only a temporary post (whereas your current one is permanent) / has no training & worse prospects than your current job / makes picking your children up from school impossible / requires you to travel much further / has nothing to do with the career you're following.

If you don't attend the interview and/or take the job, your UC will be sanctioned, you will lose the UC for months or even years (depending on if it's your first infraction).

You will be forced to continue "upgrading" your job until you earn the equivalent of minimum wage for 35 hours a week.

I suspect there are lots of people (e.g. parents who work part time so they can pick their kids up from school) who will be affected by this, but don't realise it yet.

More info here

"If there isn't the work then you cannot expect to do it, simple, if work is there then you go out and do it."

If only it were so simple.

You can be sanctioned for missing appointments as well as turning down work. People will have their benefits sanctioned without getting anywhere near a job offer.

"So if DH should be asked to apply for a call centre again would applying but being honest about his inability to do it be enough to avoid sanctions?"

If should, but so should refusing to apply and he'd almost certainly win an appeal, but its a bit late by then :( most sanctions are due to genuine cock ups, someone forgets to apply for a job, or can't make it to workfare provision - work programme providers in particular often threaten sanctions that dont have a hope of standing up (and its not actually there decisions), but lots of claimants are vulnerable and dont appeal or take things at face value

"What are the Chances of me being forced to quit training before I'm finished to commit to a lifetime of NMW? "

Juries out I'm afraid, no clear guidance yet on what will happen to people in education (I dont think, will have a look). Volunteers will not be able to do over 17.5 hours a week (unless perversely they have been ordered to volunteer by the jobcentre in which case they must do 30) - i would guess that a similar maximum time limit will apply to none jobcentre approved training/education, but we just dont know yet

If you are able bodied and can work the hours then why is everyone so worried about changes. Just go out to work and then you are ok and if the jobs aren't there then we all pay in to help you.

I've always worked from when my little one was 3 months old, it was horrible but I knew what I had to do.

It's the sense of entitlement that I don't get. Maybe it's the problem with housing benefit that I personally have never had.

This thread is going strong! I can't keep up now.

The more I read, the more I'm afraid. As a lone parent who is self employed I feel like I'm up the creek without a paddle.

My idea is to get myself to uni to try & improve my prospects, so that hopefully I can tell Cameron the dictator to stick his UC, along with his silver spoon, up his arse. But I'm thinking he isn't going to let mature students off scot free? johnnyv if you manage to have a look and find anything regarding this then can you please let us know?

"If you are able bodied and can work the hours then why is everyone so worried about changes. Just go out to work and then you are ok and if the jobs aren't there then we all pay in to help you."

If the jobs arent there you are quite likely to be sent on workfare, which lowers wages and working conditions for everyone

What is really pissing me off is this "sense of entitlement" phrase that keeps coming up while discussing this.
Interesting that this phrase is never used with regards to the companies and charities using workfare.
What about their bloody sense of entitlement because its bloody huge.
And i include charities in this because now we have the mad situation of the Salvation Army being able to sanction their workfare "volunteer" and cause the very poverty that they are suppossed to be against. Fucking madness.
Not to mention a HUGE HUGE conflict of interest.

They will sanction you for anything, you don't even have to have genuinely screwed up. Obviously when you are sanctioned illegally you get your benefit reinstated eventually. Currently it takes months but with the influx will probably take longer. That is long enough to lose your home (when already living on the edge), your health due to malnutrition and your children. Now how does that help get you back to work?

Eg if my husband refuses to apply for a call centre job he could be sanctioned, if applies and tells the truth he could be sanctioned for scuppering his chances, if applies and doesn't say anything and by some piece of luck gets it then he is likely to be sacked for gross misconduct for withholding essential information. This would not only render him ineligible for benefits but really screw up his CV for future job hunting. Can someone explain why that is fair? I'd especially like to hear from those who regard us as scum.

johnny so why is that so bad?

As for students don't even get me started on that one. My DD was born a year to late to get a reasonable university education at 3K per year when it jumped, under this crap tory shite to 9K, without so much of a thought.

If you are able bodied and can work the hours then why is everyone so worried about changes. Just go out to work and then you are ok and if the jobs aren't there then we all pay in to help you.

Because reading between the lines there's lots of "because I want to do something else"
I want to go to university, I want to work the hours that suit me to gain experience, I want I want.
All fine and great good for it, but at your own expense.
You're only restricted for 18 years tops when you have children once they are at senior school your life's your own again really but to allow for other circumstances lets say if you end up own your own with children and the youngest is a newborn, that's potentially 18 years at the tax payers expense - and that is not enough ???
If the numbers don't work whilst you have smallish children then you'll have to wait and that's the sacrifice you make when you had children, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme.
If you want to be a master of your own destiny then you have to finance it.

So can income be transferred between husband and wife ie does conditionality apply if the total income of the couple exceeds (minimum wage x 35 x 2)

So should I just quit now to avoid quitting 5months before completion, would be a waste of time and money. Beginning to think suicide is the only way out. The thought of qualifying and therefore working was our light at the end of the tunnel. How is it better for me to stick to a lifetime of NMW than it us to be low paid for 2.5 more years then work without claiming UC at all.

Sorry Jonny, I didn't mean to be flippant but would you rather sit at home doing nowt or get out and about instead.

I hate this government as much as you all but we need to work for our crap money, if we can.

Scrazy what you said about your daughter and uni speaks volumes. You then ask why workfare is so bad?
Your post betrays your attitude.
Which is "ive been mugged so my neighbour should be mugged too!"

Scrazy are you really asking what's so bad about wages and working conditions being lowered for everyone, along with people being forced to work for nothing?

(Note, we're not talking about work experience, training or apprenticeships here -all of which are designed to help improve prospects for the participant. Workfare is simply being made to do mostly unskilled, menial jobs for nothing, regardless of whether it actually benefits the participant).

"It's the sense of entitlement that I don't get."

are we not entitled to the social insurance protection we've paid for?

no private redundancy/disability insurance comes close to the welfare state in terms of how little it costs even the well off and how much protection it offers. it will be a tragedy for everyone but the very richest if it is destroyed.

companies like UNUM, who helped design welfare reform, are already selling income protection insurance on the back of claims that the welfare state is no longer adequate protection - their insurance costs a lot more than 99% of people are paying in tax towards social security

LB - Given that it doesn't come in until October you seem to have timed it perfectly and don't bother with the dramatic's about suicide that really is quite disgusting actually.

lazybastard it's being brought in in stages, unless you're in one of the test areas I imagine you have a good chance of completing your course before being affected.

Are you going to be a full-time student?

Mosman how callous. I have reported your post.

Mosman I only signed up for the course because I was unsuccessful in my job hunting. I fucking didn't ask for redundancy, I worked my arse of for those bastards 1000s of hours of unpaid overtime and no breaks. How fucking dare you call me entitled, I still work, yes in low paid but I work damn hard for the wages I do get, stop being so judgmental I'm a human being too I have as much right to be alive as anyone else. Also what did my children do to deserve this?

Full time 40hrs per week due to finish summer 2016. I'll be keeping on my current job as well, at least until I get something else.

johnnyv Thanks for taking the time to come on MN.

I'm afraid we get our fair share of the goady fuckers but it's a good site and I'm appreciating what you are posting.

lazybastard I'm so sorry this is getting to you.

FWIW I'm a mature student currently (done 2 years, taking a break to have DC2).

I absolutely love uni, it's been great using my brain again, and being in a place where the emphasis is on learning, not making money.

I hope this thread doesn't put you off looking forward to it. UC won't hit for a while, and you'll get to enjoy being at uni. (Not that it isn't hard work, being a parent student, but well worth it IMO).

The callousness being shown on these threads is astounding.

I think it's pretty callous "threatening suicide" if i don't get my own way - no pathetic is the word and would be very upsetting to anyone reading this thread. It upset me.

"Full time 40hrs per week" You'll mostly be dealing with Student Finance then I expect?