To think actually carers allowance is the most disgustingly underpaid benefit.

[Spaceboundeminem]

You get about £61 a week to care for a severely disabled person. That's less than job seekers and about half as much as pensions are. The amount paid in carers allowance is classed as taxable income so your tax credits are dropped. So you don't actually get the £60 even.

It's hard work caring for someone and as it is soo hard to find childcare suitable for a disabled child working is often out of the question for many parents of a child with a disability. Personally I notice people moaning about how low state pension is and how low job seekers is yet carers allowance is the lowest of all.

My personal favourite recently was a Band 6 (whatever that is) NHS worker saying to me "Ive nothing against carers" while attacking me on a thread of mine last month.

So even within the NHS carers are looked down on (I do realise that not all those within the NHS think like this Ive come across some fabulous selfless nurses and doctors and care workers) until it comes to a bed that needs unblocking and then the sun shines out of our arse. And when that doesnt work theres always emotional blackmail.

My mum wasn't eligible because she also had a govt pension.

She gave up 6 months to care 24hrs, incurred costs, parking, heating, washing, petrol to hospital, phone bills etc, and was expected to use her pension to do so.

I get £61 a week for a 168 hour job.

that's 24/7 care for a disabled DC.

I earned more when I worked 9-2 5 days a week and got rest of day and weekends off.

Id much rather be where I am now as my love for DC knows no bounds, but yes, its disgusting the 'wage'.

it cant be called a benefit as it benefits hardly anything.

out of that I still have to pay for medical stuff for DC which the disability people wont provide.

I only work 15 hours a week but earn above 100 pounds so I still care for the 35 hours but can't even claim.
It's stupid because if I wasn't careing I would be working 40 hours .
There is no childcare around here that can look after my son,so I've got to work around school hours/holidays/hospital appointments.
It's a nightmare just juggling my shifts so that I'm home when my son is.

I was once the manager of a home care agency, placing carers with dependent peeps. It's true that if peeps could ever do a job swap they'd be quids in. Many, many, many quids in. Looking after your own= bad financial deal. Looking after Mrs. Bloggs down the road= earning a living wage for EXACTLY the same job. Oh, and if you ever sleep in to care for Mrs. Bloggs? That comes in at time-and-a-half ..

It sucks.

It gives me the rage when ever I see CA under the unearned heading on someone's HB breakdown letter.

I have to stop myself ranting

YANBU, it's terribly unfair.

People who care for family should be paid the same as care workers who look after non family. It's the same job.

Cynical that I am, this will really only be on the political agenda as the population grows older and lives longer and more people are in the process of caring for aged dependent parents. A ticking timebomb.

We all know how the Tories love bribing the older generation who vote for them, so they might be persuaded to set right the scandal of carers' "benefits" so their voters are looked after. Of course, if they are in power then, which I devoutly hope not.

It really fucks me off they can give out fuel allowances and other none means tested vote-buyers to folk with substantial assets and/or income but those doing the most important job of all, caring for disabled people, get peanuts.

£68.31 for 168 hours. Imagine going for a job interview where that was offered!

Argh. £61.35 for 168 hours. Time for bed

What amazes me is the complete lack of political engagement with this subject. Yes the new Care Act will bring in some more rights for carers but these do not go anywhere near far enough. Do the 3 main parties discuss carers regularly? No. Do the smaller parties? No. Carers and the people they care for are largely invisible to those that make these decisions. Who can care 24/7 week in, week out and still have the energy to fight for what is right? But nobody else is shouting about it either. It's utterly shameful.

I suspect part of the reason as IfNot said is that the majority of carers are women and it is expected that we care while men go out to work. We care for our children, we care for our parents. So we are doing what is expected and we expect to be reimbursed or recognised or supported for doing that? It may be 2014 but we are living in the Dark Ages as far as this issue is concerned.

All carers deserve so much better.

TARDIS I am also disturbed that carers' allowance and other payments in relation to those with disabilities are referred to as "benefits".

the thing is being a carer is not the same as working.
working you get paid/a teabreak/lunchbreak/holiday/respect/company
and so on. as a carer you get hard work/no respect/ and people saying I couldn't do it/or it has to be done.

^^ this.

*The treatment of disabled people and their carers, by this government is disgraceful

The fact that David Cameron claimed DLA for his own son, yet is now cutting these benefits for disabled people and the poorest people in society, is disgusting.*

^^ and this

and also ''so when are you going back to 'proper' work then''?

oops. copied posts were supposed to be in bold!!!

I care for both my dc but am only able to claim carers allowance for one of them even though there is entitlement for both. So I get £30 odd per child per week.

that's disgusting rumours.

and I bet the pm not only claiming the 'benefits' -on the salary he gets but had round the clock carers to do the work FOR him , therefore he shouldn't have been claiming something he wouldn't do himself - not 24/7 anyway.speculation here but I bet its true.

I lost CA because I went to university 2 data a week. I left early to get home for my son & I did exactly the same amount of caring as I always had - but carers went kaput.

I now run my own business. Often earn less than £100 a week (especially in holidays when no childcare) but it's impossible to sort our the carers with variable self employed income so I don't bother claiming it.

Pmsl at SAHM - some people are truly ignorant.

Today, a new report1 from Carers UK and the University of Sheffield reveals that the 6.8 million2 people who provide unpaid care for a disabled, seriously-ill or older loved one in the UK save the state £132 billion a year – close to the cost of a second NHS.12 Nov 2015

its not just the amount you are allowed to earn, its finding a job that might suddenly let you have 6 weeks off when your child is in hospital/ There is flexible because of appointments and things, and there is the flexibility needed for sudden problems or inpatient stays.

Such jobs just dont exist

www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/news/unpaid-carers-save-the-uk-132-billion-a-year-the-cost-of-a-second-nhs