Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think carer's allowance is abysmal!!

130 replies

Fizzielove · 06/07/2015 17:13

Simply that!!

All the work, save the government thousands and the carer's allowance is shit!!

OP posts:
Dowser · 06/07/2015 17:16

No your not aibu.

How much do care agencies charge ....£14 an hour . Something like that.

If you have no money this is what it costs the taxpayer.

Carers have to work 35 hours for less than £2 to qualify and loved ones work or are on call for much more than that 35 hours.

Angeale · 06/07/2015 17:17

But that argument can be logically extended to any form of work that is paid when outside of the home but not in it - cleaning and childminding being the most obvious examples.

Teabagbeforemilk · 06/07/2015 17:19

It is absolutley shocking. We just found out that one of my cousins is claiming carers allowance for looking after my grandfather. Even though she goes round, at most, twice a week.

When I found out how much it was, i couldn't believe that

A. Carers allowance was so poor
B. She bothered committing fraud for such a small amount.

MisForMumNotMaid · 06/07/2015 17:19

And to top it all there have been lots of wispers about means testing so anyone with any assets doesn't qualify for it.

You're already restricted from earning over approx £100/ week too.

ScOffasDyke · 06/07/2015 17:20

How much should carer's allowance be then?

Samcro · 06/07/2015 17:21

you can not compare cleaning and child care with being a carer.

OldBloodCallsToOldBlood · 06/07/2015 17:21

Cleaning and childminding are examples of work that can be outsourced, yes, but the vast majority of parents have these responsibilities. Being a carer applies to a much smaller group. You can't compare the two and to be honest, trying to compare the two diminishes the importance of the work that carers are doing.

OldBloodCallsToOldBlood · 06/07/2015 17:24

Or, in simpler and more direct language: no other person in the world can do what I do for my DS with ASC. Trying to compare the work that goes into him with cleaning and childminding is a fucking insult.

MarchLikeAnAnt · 06/07/2015 17:24

Carers allowance should pay the national minimum wage at least.

springlamb · 06/07/2015 17:25

You are not bu.
What makes it even more galling - if a carer manages to source decent schooling or college or a placement for an adult that enables them to work, shall we say, 17 hours a week at minimum wages, they will lose all their carers allowance in one fell swoop. Just because they tried to lift themselves from the poverty that caring had caused. Just because they wanted and needed the company/respect/comradeship/challenge of doing something other than caring. Even though out of the 168 hours in every week, they are still caring for 151 of those.

Original poster
Fizzielove · 06/07/2015 17:25

I don't know how much it should be, but 35hours work for £73.10!!

OP posts:
Angeale · 06/07/2015 17:25

It certainly was not intended to be insulting OldBlood but in general I am uncomfortable with the viewpoint that parents and spouses are 'saving the government money' by caring for their loved ones.

rallytog1 · 06/07/2015 17:26

But people have the choice whether to take time out of work to look after their children or outsource some of that responsibility.

Most carers don't actually have a lot of choice in whether or not they become a carer, and it can last for many, many years. It's just not comparable.

IHaveBrilloHair · 06/07/2015 17:27

My 13 yr old is my carer, so not only does she not get paid, they then saw fit to take my care element of DLA away, instead of £70 a week for that, I get nothing, yet my condition has worsened.

ChuffinAda · 06/07/2015 17:27

As a previous person stated if any domestic task is outsourced it costs far more than you get for doing it yourself.

The government and previous ones have acknowledged this by recognising carers as individuals with as many rights as the people they care for. It may not be money in the bank but it equates to care support that should be being provided by local government

MarchLikeAnAnt · 06/07/2015 17:30

Carers get very little support IRL

YouTheCat · 06/07/2015 17:34

So, Angeale, how should we compensate people who are unable to work because of their caring duties? Personally, I was able to hold down a few hours of work a week whilst my ds was at school but that was all. I was very often up into the early hours with him. Looking after him was a lot more physically and mentally draining than looking after his sister. I needed to be available for many many meetings and hospital appointments with little notice. How would that have worked with a full time job? Because it really isn't a matter of just using a childminder or after school club - there are so few who will take on children with additional needs and they are very expensive.

You seem to be talking about something you know nothing about.

Notonaschoolnight · 06/07/2015 17:37

Means testing disability payments that's a scary thing would that encourage some to put their children in care, every carers life changes dramatically when they have their child and that money make things a bit better for that parent and the child, that could be taken away if the partner earns a few bob??!! Christ I earned the same as my husband before we had our child now I'm stuck in basic wage part time jobs to work around my child at that will continue for the rest of my life I would think grrr didn't think it was possible for my mood to get worse

MarchLikeAnAnt · 06/07/2015 17:41

I can't see how the will assess the needs of carers and those they care for accurately when many LA have gotten rid of specialist disability social workers.

PurpleHairAndPearls · 06/07/2015 17:41

Angeale, I am disabled due to a disease i developed over the last couple of years.

I went from being employed and earning a good salary to being a wheelchair user in constant pain within the space of two years. As I became unable to work, DH returned to work from being a SAHP. I am becoming more and more unable to do anything, I posted earlier that I could not go to the bathroom until DH came home in six hours time. Someone is going to have to come and help me unless you expect me to lie in my own piss and shit? So I can ask social services or similar but for various reasons that's not ideal and would cost a fortune, ultimately to be paid via taxes.

Or my DH has to give up work and become my full time carer for £68 a week. To be entitled you have to be caring for 35 hours a week (the reality is that it is 24 hours a day). the work he would have to put in, sacrificing his job and saving the state thousands, surely at least deserves to be recognised and valued?

I know I'm a burden. I cried earlier as I feel so helpless.

What do you think is the solution is, if family members have to care for others full time, losing their jobs and ensuring the state doesn't have to pay for expensive carers to help? I'm serious, what do you think is the solution?

Ps I had insurance which won't pay out for my condition yet. If I die, they will. The way I feel today, that might be the solution. I am ruining my families lives and people begrudge the £68 they would recieve to look after me.

What is the solution?

ChuffinAda · 06/07/2015 17:44

The thing is though March they will HAVE to assess those carers now because it's a legal requirement to do so and is absolutely set in stone. The onus is very much on the councils to support carers now. They also have financial incentive to do so because it's cheaper to support an informal carer than pay for an agency carer.

airforsharon · 06/07/2015 17:47

There is a huge difference between being a carer and being a childminder or SAHP. And yes I think the care's allowance is pitiful.

If you have a child there's the expectation that, for a while, you earning potential/income may be limited - perhaps because one parent stays at home, the cost of childcare etc. But over time these things should improve. If you have a disabled child you may find it impossible to ever return to the workplace, and as other posters have said, the outside childcare options can be very limited.

If an elderly parent is in need of care, their child/children, possibly in their 40s or 50s and maybe with good careers and salaries may have to give up work or significantly reduce their hours. yes bills still need paying, and their wider family needs to be considered.

Caring is often a 7 days a week job, physically and mentally demanding. Carers DO save the government a huge amount of money. The government seems to think that relatives should do it out of the goodness of their hearts, irrespective of the effect it has on them, physically and financially. It's a bloody disgrace,

Howsithanging · 06/07/2015 17:48

I thought carer's allowance was £62 a week. And you have to provide at least 35 hours a week care.

I am a full-time carer for two family members but can only claim for one.

So yes I completely agree with you.

airforsharon · 06/07/2015 17:49

YET bills......