To wonder how people working on low wages manage through the holidays?

[Sadmummytrapped]

Hi I'm currently working nights but I'm just not coping well! The thing is I'm not sure how working days will work out! I currently do 11hour nights on min wage with a night premium and don't think I'd be able to afford childcare on that so how do people do it during the holidays? i really need to change but just can't work out how to do it?

Your best option is to check www.entitledto.co.uk/ to see what help you can get with a NMW job, and then run a quote with childcare costs involved. I think, from memory, you're given up to 70% of childcare costs as tax credit.

Ok I really need to look into childcare as I have no idea how much it would be nowadays for 3 children ages 11, 8 and 6. I know when I looked a few years ago it was a lot. My dp works too but he makes my life difficult enough about doing nights so I don't think I'll get much support days

If you're looking for after school could you possibly get a student or older teen to sit with the children until you get home? Might be cheaper than a child minder or after school club

You can get help with childcare if you both work more than 16 hours a week and the childcare is Ofsted registered. with 2 wages coming in (even on minimum wage) I doubt you would get 70% paid but you may get some help. I'm assuming you already get child tax credits the cut off is around £38k household income with no childcare costs?

Look for holiday schemes, they used to be run in low income areas with mieny from the EU. I dont know if they will still exists after Brexit but some places might get lottery funding.
If you are low waged you might only pay a token amount. In my area it used to be a pound per child for the summer holiday.

Also during the holidays you have to just cut down on childcare costs by you and your dh taking your holiday entitlement seperately, perhaps just having one week off together and take the rest seperately. Your joint holidays are unlikely to cover all the school holidays but say you get 5 weeks each and take a wekk off together then that is 9 weeks of the 13 covered thus reducing your childcare bill. This is how we manage anyway ( 4 kids)

Yes we do get tax credits not much at the moment as due to me changing hours and having to pay back some bit we do get it. Between us we work 70hours a week. I'm not sure how many hours I would do daytime but the way nights are effecting me and in turn the children I really need to find something

How do you manage the holidays currently? Do you look after the kids all day after working all might?

Could you work evenings or weekends instead so that you don't need childcare? ( this is assuming your dh doesn't work shifts). I sympathise with you working nights, I do too and it really messes you up after a while.

Over the holidays this year I had a problem with lack of sleep and found the school was running a scheme but it was £15 per child a day. I live in Surrey so not really classed as a low income area sadly

I genuinely have no idea. I've just booked half term childcare for mine and it's more than I earn for the week. We have childcare vouchers to help so we save all year round but it still makes my eyes water. 8 & 6 year old are £29/ day each and the 3yo is £58 / day

I feel sorry for parents these days doing all this juggling/ going without sleep/working around each other to amke ends meet. A lot of parents I know are doing this and are permanently stressed / knackered / lacking family time. We've done it for 16 years- me working nights/ weekends/ evenings and it is a little bit soul destroying , especially when we still only just about scrape by. My own fault for having 4 kids I guess !! Good luck with finding a workable solution.

Thank you. There has got to be a way other people manage it. The problem I've found with giving up nights is I'm going to struggle making the same money as I do now. As for the holidays my dp can arrange what days off he has he works 5 days a week but they can be any days and they are usually pretty flexible if he bothers to ask. Sometimes if she's not working his mum has them and the rest of the time I just have to sleep when I get chance.

I understand what you mean about earning less doing days. I currently earn time 1/3 extra for doing a nightshift ( time and 2/3 for a sat night) so it's tempting to do mostly nights even though they make me feel rubbish and even depressed. If you then have to pay for childcare on top of taking a drop in wages it makes the decision even harder. I still tend to do mostly night shifts in the school holidays as even though my kids are older now , the youngest (11yr) isn't quite old enough to be left for me to go to work in the day but is ok in the house if I am unpstairs sleeping. She knows she can wake me if needed.