Lone parents with babies of a few MONTHS old being threatened with sanctions...

[MrsNextDoor]

here on the Gingerbread site

Bloody bastards!!!

One lone parent was told that she was being sanctioned because she'd turned down a nightshift job on account of not being able to find overnight childcare.

Others with children of 3 or 4 months old were being told they had to find work immediately or lose their benefits.

What the actual!??? In many cases, job advisers are giving their clients the wrong information....seemingly deliberately...telling them the law has changed and they must get work now....the most vulnerable people...lone parents with infants...being bullied. AIBU to think this should be stopped immediately!?

Our birth rate may have reduced but as our population is growing and we have an influx of people of fertile age from abroad our overall number of births (in Scotland don't know about Other UK areas) has increased.

Agree with fiveacres completely.

You are being sexist against me. Someone explain why sitting on a train and then in an office where you are treated like a God is bad for your health when tyou've give birth more than staying home with no help looking after in our case a 3 ywar old and getting it to morning nursery, a 1 year old and a baby whilst cleaning the house? The latter is very very hard on a woman who has just given birth and the former is massive relaxation. My work is not hauling rocks believe it or not nor is that of most office workers. Going to work is for a rest or did you all have maternity nurses at home caring for you night and day and minding your older children when each baby came?

I went back to teaching when first DC was two months old and have to admit, I loved having twenty minutes at lunch off duty. And a rest during the commute. I was a lone parent then and DD was relentless

I think ppl focus on women's maternity rights rather than paternity because women are the ones who give birth and breastfeed

That's not to say women have to be the only ones, it ckuld and often is dads _ but it is pathetic imho to still be rehashing this argument after centuries of struggling for rights for mothers and babies to be culturally respected and enshrined in law.

mn is v odd sometimes

I think we have had far too much enshrining of the rights of mothers who have never done a day's work in their lives to have a baby every 5 years so they never have to compared with mothers back at work in months who work full time to support them. The election victory makes it very clear what the views of most people are on this topic.

Lotus so....what do we do with these Mothers and their children then? It sounds like you'd be happy to allow them to starve. Is that right?

Why do they have to starve? Can't they just get a job?

I think they should be entitled to have the same time off having to look for work as someone in work would have for maternity leave.

That rather presupposes thst having children is not work. But we all know it is damn hard work actually.

And even if you are no respecter of women or even your own right to expect some payback from all your hsrd earned taxes during what is a very short time in your life relatively then perhaps you might demonstrate some compassion or at least consideration for the right of a newborn to be cared forby its own mother?

Fortunately some can't....they have no childcare...and aren't qualified for jobs with enough pay to PAY for childcare. Have you seen how much people earn in an average job on a zero hour contract?

I certainly could not earn enough to pay for childcare were I not with DH. I earn crap money....I work full time some weeks and still couldn't. I'd be buggered if people who thought all Mothers should just get a job.

I thought tax credits and vouchers paid for childcare? I did an online calculation and my childcare costs looked about 90% covered.

Apologies for not really knowing how it works...

LotusLight - are you Xenia from a while back?

Lotus the number of women in the UK who breastfeed to 21 months, regardless of employment status, is minimal. If you think 'many of we working women' breastfeed until 21 months, show us the stats.

As for going back after 2 weeks, I'm genuinely pleased for those of you who wanted to do this and could, but personally if I'd tried it after my recent EMCS I think it would have resulted in re-hospitalisation. And some of us have plenty of help at home after we give birth, you know. It isn't a choice between employment and heavy housework. If that was your reality, I won't argue with you and I can see how going back to work may well have been the easier choice. Just don't assume that's true for everyone.

tracey - you are correct you will get less in income support cos unless you are getting DLA/PIP you will lose the work related component. If you are getting DLA/PIP you would be entitled to a disability premium with your IS.
You will be asked to work focused interviews though and can even be forced to go on a course when on ESA. Unfortunately, you could get sanctioned for not going even if the reason is the baby.
There is a lot of mis information on this thread. ESA is not a work seeking benefit it is for people who are too ill to work.

Fortunately you can get up to 70% of childcare paid. The maximum amounts are £122.50 for one child £210 for two or more children per week. Full time childcare for one child can easily cost £225 a week, how can a single parent on minimum wage afford the other £102.50 ?

Exactly Six

Lots of lone parents do all the pick ups and drop offs, taking days off when dc are sick, nightwakings, appointments etc. It is hard to do that and be a decent employee, unless you have a very understanding boss (I'm lucky, I do).

Often LPs do all this while being attacked and manpulated by their ex, so there isn't even the emotional support, listening ear or I-care-about-you that you get when a partner works away and leaves you with the practical parenting. Thats why lone parenting isn't the same as returning to work as a couple.

On IS you have to attend 'work focused interviews' every few months and basically defend yourself as to why you haven't got a job yet. And yes they do threaten you with sanctions. They (JC staff) are under pressure too.

You can get UP TO 70% childcare paid for, if it is with authorised providor but they won't let you apply until you have started the job and then you have to wait 2 weeks to hear. So if there is a problem you are fucked. Same goes with holiday care, it has to have started before you find out if they will pay.

Absolutely batfoxhippo. Your first two paragraphs is exactly why I work! It's far less stressful than being at home

The system could very easily be made fairer. If the mother doesn't qualify for SMP or MA then IS could be paid for nine months in line with maternity. It would have to be a one off to stop people just having baby after baby to avoid work.

That way, all mums would have the same choice. Fund staying home themselves or go back to work. The current system of giving unemployed mothers five years of benefits makes a mockery of those that support their own children.

It would be a more fair system to have the average 'maternity leave' for unemployed mothers the same as it would be for mothers in work. That is around 1 year. And how come lone parents can go on having child after child. Where is the other parent in this scenario.

Exactly.

Fortunately who collects your children whilst you're at work if you don't mind me asking and also....do you work in a minimum wage job?

I drop off on the way to work and collect on the way home.

I have no family in 1000 miles and exh does nothing.

No, not minimum wage! I'm a teacher which helps with the holidays obviously....