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

Whoops cross post with ssd there.

Ditto.

I'm pointing out. If you think the ideal is to have one parent working 37.5 hours a week and the other parent to have the option to not work then fine- but it doesn't make it 'best' or 'right' .

Do people seriously not understand. That, if the welfare state still did what it WAS designed for, every British family would be able to live a decent life.
On a single income, or equivalent.
And.
If that family wanted more stuffs but couldn't get the single income up as high as they wished. They could both go to work. And hire childcare.
Why does this. Seem incomprehensible.
To so many?

What do you mean by 'decent life' garlic? Because as people have repeatedly pointed out to you , what constitutes a 'decent life' now is probably very different to 1940s. Central heating, phones, Internet, washing machines.....

Wouldn't it be lovely if all families could live on one person working a 20 hour week. Or a 15 hour week..?

Diff between "lovely" and "reasonable" Janey.
You are missing fact that govt policy determines shape of society, is not blown in on magical breeze.

I have to go. Am in state.

What's with all the full stops btw? Passive aggressive much

Surely the whole point of uc is to make it as difficult as possible to claim, so if you work part time you will not bother claiming.
That way the government will be able to claim there one million less people claiming it and won't the figures just look so good
Stuff the lone dc at home alone whilst mum works three jobs or the dc who go without as they are to stupid to complian
It is ids scam to get the figures sorted
Even his own pm wanted this scheme scraped......

Basic standard of living already defined, whole departments paid to do it. Includes wash machine, etc. Return to healthy, stable society not dependent on return to 1940s, what a daft position.

Galic

Maybe its because there are so many entitled people out there! It just seems the way society has evolved, unfortunately.
A decent life you talk of is not enough for some people, the stuff they want can't be bought with the money they earn, even with both working.
Childcare was once for the rich upper middle classes, now parents expect it to be subsidised.

Yeah, well, ignore fact I've told you am exhausted. In pain from replying to you.

Morethan there are people out there who wouldn't even have a basic standard of living if it wasn't for tax credits and I am referring to people who work.

In many peoples opinion healthy stable society is one which enables able bodied adults to work AND raise their families by making working pay, working longer and harder pay more, by incentivising people by making childcare affordable, and encouraging BOTH parents to play an equal role within the family.

my Dad worked as an engineer and my mother was SAHM in 1960-70's,

I generally think expectations of what was necessary to be comfortable were less than at present

housing costs were lower as housing prices more stable not super inflated a 3 bed semi cost 3 times average salary, generally mortgage was calculated at no more than 1 weeks salary a month so 25% of take home pay to be affordable but I think generally people had less and felt comfortable, people had less clothes less holidays less must have technology, most families had 1 car ( it was a reasonable middle to lower class area and 1 holiday a year maybe caravanning or self catering by the sea not many went abroad, not everyone had a telephone, we had central heating plenty of food but generally people saved more bought second hand furniture etc ( at least when first setting up home)

no-one would ever have bought 1 child 5 school shirts they would have had 2 one to wear one to wash, most only had one pair of school trousers or skirts but they were made of tougher material and seemed to last all year, same with shoes most kids had one pair they wore all the time for school home etc, with wellingtons for wet weather and probably sand shoes for summer

I think attitudes changed in 1980's before people saved for things or went without, then people started borrowing for luxuries newer furniture holidays cars etc

morethanpotatoprints "Childcare was once for the rich upper middle classes, now parents expect it to be subsidised."

Please think this through.

The government is requiring both parents (including lone parents) on low wages to work. What are they meant to do with the children?!

If childcare was not subsidised, what then? What are working parents supposed to do with their children? Give them away perhaps?!

What are you suggesting as an alternative?

I want to work, always have done. I will continue to work in my current job until I can find a better job. I have no issue with job hunting, I'm doing that anyway, I've no issue with trying to better myself I am trying to do that anyway.

What terrifies me is signing on, having to submit to the humiliation that is the visit to the job centre. Having to sit there while a member of staff tells me what they think of me. I'm terrified of being sanctioned when I've done nothing wrong. I freaking out about finding the money to pay for childcare while I do workfare (childcare for actually doing paid work doesn't bother me so much). I am freaking out over how I will fit 40 hrs of workfare in when my existing job plus my course mean I am already doing a 70-80 hr week.

I don't know about other bosses auf but if I took the DC to work the best case scenario would be me being disciplined.

It's very sad. The government are intent on repealing all the good stuff that labour did. Tax credits got so many people out of poverty and off the dole and into work.
I was a single parent on benefits 10 years ago, tax credits enabled me to start part time work and because of that I have developed a career and support my family entirely without the help of benefits now. Without that help at the start I wouldn't have been able to do it.

Agree with garlic. Janey internet is a necessity now not a luxury. Without it you would not be able to apply for many many jobs. Because a lot of them are only available through online applications. And you can only apply for Universal Credit online.

Yes Framey, same here. I had DS 11 years ago at the age of 16, and thanks to tax credits I have managed to go back in to education (Ex DP worked FT) and now have a professional qualification, and do not need any benefits to support my family. Just.

Without that help, I know where I would be now.

Beautifulbabyboy lovely to see you back here.

Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll look it up.

Hope you feel better soon. :)

lazybastardSun 03-Feb-13 22:21:00

I don't know about other bosses auf but if I took the DC to work the best case scenario would be me being disciplined

In my old night job a coleauge had to bring her eleven year old daughter in to work because the childcare fell through. She couldnt afford to not come in.
The job? it was in a sex chatline office. She sat in a seperate room with coluring books etc but obviously she did wander about through boredom so we counldnt be sure she didnt hear anything. Hopefully she didnt.
Under these new rules im damn sure occurences like these will no longer be rare!

Hope you are feeling better soon Garlic

aufanaie

Childcare is free, in the form of a parent. The suggestion that everybody is required to work is ludicrous because there are not enough jobs for everyone. We live on an over populated Island. If childcare wasn't subsidised, one parent would sah, surely. This would enable the other parent to work, then there would be more jobs available for those needing to work. I don't believe it is not possible to live on one wage tbh, as its what we have done for the past 20+ years, and it is the min wage. Oh and we managed to become mortgage free. We did it by living within our means, no debt only mortgage, no credit/store cards, very few holidays abroad, and saving long and hard for what we needed. We didn't and still don't feel entitled.

garlic sent you a PM.

It is not true that you can only apply for UC online. It will normally be done online, and that will be the preferred method of application, understandably, but it will not be the only way.

Some people seem determined that this system will be terrible for everyone and will not even begin to open their eyes to the benefits of it.

I completely agree with all Janey's posts.