Would you commute 4 hours for 2 Half Days work paying £16 per hour or stay on Benefits?

[ChesterDraws17]

I'm finding it hard to get another job. this current one is six or eight hours a week. The work is admin. I'd be better off on benefits though? I get pip for my disabilities which means if I signed on to job seekers, I would get more than I earn. The travel leaves me exhausted and makes my pain worse. I hate hate hate the idea of going near a job centre though.

How can that be right? I'm really frustrated and miserable. Wish I didn't exist. All I do is panic because I'm here using up resources, needing food and a place to live and so much medical attention, and can't seem to pay my own way.

You would be able to keep your pip AND esa if you took this job as it's less than 16 hours a week :D go for it!!

Being on benefits leaves you very vulnerable. Whatever the government gives you they can choose to take away, and it might not be so easy, if this happens in the future, to get back into work when you've been unemployed for so long. For that reason, if you can work even a bit I'd say work.

Please ignore the ignorant twats that think you're scum for needing help. They're the scum not you.

2 hours each way commute is horrendous, especially if you're only there s couple of hours when you get there

Initially see if your hours can be condensed into one day so you only do the commute one day a week and see how you get on with that.

Two hours commute must be expensive! How do the finances stack up between being in work and having the travel costs, and being on benefits? It's worth checking that you won't be penalised if you do quit.

This is going to sound very patronising but it's never better to be on benefits because it's honestly depressing to have no purpose or structure to your days. You're better off being around people even if you don't earn a lot and as PP have said it's easier to find a job when you have one. I would advice trying to get a new job though it does sound sucky.

Have you looked into ESA?

I hate hate hate the idea of going near a job centre though.

OP, can you tell us why you feel like this?

Many job centers are brilliant for job hunting.

Ah I thought this was a job you are being offered, not one you already have.

So is each shift only two hours long? And you travel two hours each way for each shift eg for £32? Yanbu for not wanting to do that, I wouldn't.

I guess the question is do you have a choice - can you claim JSA if you voluntarily leave a job? I thought you couldn't. Are there any options for amending your current job eg work from home, condensed hours? Is there anything suitable closer to you?

I'd just worry that on JSA they'd send you to zillions of interviews for even less suitable jobs, and you'd end up in something worse, as I presume you aren't allowed to keep claiming if you turn them down.

However if you can make it work in honesty I wouldn't think it unreasonable to leave your current job. I'm very pro the benefits of work, but two hours work for four hours travel with disabilities is, in my book, unreasonable!

I used to work in a job centre and we were lovely!

Sign up with agencies as lots of jobs are recruited for via agencies, plus in the job centre we could target new jobs that had come in to specific people before they went up for public view.

Job centres are not just for Jeremy Kyle fodder. Venture into one.

There is always one on these threads

Living is the one on here . Some people have charmed lives and cannot seem to comprehend not everybody DID or DOES

OP, as PPs have said , you should still be entitled to help on those hours per week . I think if you work up to 20 hours in fact.

I would not be able to claim anything despite my hours being low, because the money adds up to more than £70.

I don't want ESA because isn't that group for people who are not looking for any work at all, because of their illness? I can work but need to be careful to not get in situations that make my health worse. I absolutely want to work though. I find it all very difficult when I have awful days.

Can't think of anything worse than imagining not working for a long time. To stay hopeful, I need to feel I have some control and choice and power over the situation. That eventually it will be ok and I won't be so poor and such a burden on society

Admittedly, it does not feel like that though.

I wouldnt do it. It sounds like its making you more ill

On ESA you have 'permitted work' - a certain number of hours a week if you're able.

Also, there's two different ESA groups - Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and Support Group - permitted work is applicable to both.

WRAG pays the same as JSA, Support Group slightly more.

It's definitely worth looking into tbh.

*You need to try a bit harder to get a better job"
I don't think (some) people realise how hard this is.
Load up any job website. Put in your postcode, select a 20 mile radius. See what jobs come up and how much they pay.
If the option exists, select the "suitable for graduates" toggle.
Gape with despair at the calibre of jobs considered suitable, the amount of money they pay (most under £8/hour) and the several hundred people who have applied for them anyway.
If you do run such a search and it comes up with abundant well-paid jobs then do please tell me where and what they are.

www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance

I am not disabled and I wouldn't commute two hours for two hours work.
By the time you count the cost of the commute, how much are you actually making?
I do generally say that people shouldn't choose to be on benefits if they can work but this situation is bonkers, I'd take the benefits until you can find something more sustainable.

I'm lucky in that I have my Disabled Adult Railcard which gets a third off my train fares. I walk for 10 minutes, take the train for 20 minutes, walk for 10 minutes, take a bus for between an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes depending on the traffic, and then walk 10 more minutes.

Total fare is approximately £4 each way so not as expensive as it could be.

Is there any way work could gather your hours on to one day as part of a 'reasonable adjustment'? Or that you could do one day from home? If not, I suppose looking for a job with a better commute would be the way to go.

Hi. I left work recently in part due to the 2 hour commute each way. i had childcare issues that i couldn't make work. You have my sympathy. Despite living in a city i am finding it very hard to find work.

I'm lucky in that I'm entitled to income support (never thought that would feel lucky!) But i do think you would have a problem having voluntarily left work. Call them and ask.

To a previous poster querying being better off in benefits, i think it depends on things like travel costs. (My travel was £50 a day). i was still better off working but only by a few pounds.

I agree in most circumstances it's better to be working for the long term benefits and because depending on benefits does feel very vulnerable.

I know it must vary a lot but fwiw my experience of the job centre in person and on phone was incredibly positive. The job centre staff were so nice i cried when i got home at the kindness.

Thays too far to go for suxh short hours. Especially if travel gives you paid and you woukd be worse off for it. Stop feeling guilty about benefits.. that's what they are there for. You didn't choose to have your illnesses and you are actively looking for work and want to work... you need something local . Stop besting yourself up.. you're doing well

I would think very, very carefully about quitting and seek benefits advice before you do so.

However, there are probably lots of things you could do to improve your chances of obtaining work. What's your cv like? Has someone else had a read through? Are you using agencies? What's your application to interview ratio like?

Also, have you looked into access to work? It can help with things like travel to work if you are unable to use public transport - might be worth looking at if the journey is becoming an issue. It can also pay for work equipment you might need because of your disability or health condition.

Yes OP, absolutely don't feel guilty about your situation. You are not a burden. It may not always feel like it but there are many in the country who absolutely believe in the welfare state and you should not feel bad at all. You are already dealing with a lot in your life, what a stressful working situation to live with. If trying to work out your benefits situation is daunting then perhaps visit CAB who would help. Sorry things are tough.

I would say that if you could actually manage that commute regularly, your PIP will be taken off you at your next review, certainly any mobility component.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to do it so it wouldn't be a starter. If I could, I would only take it as a last resort as the travel would be exhausting and my performance in the job would probably reflect it. I would definitely try to get something closer to home if I could, first.

In our area, there are absolutely loads of cleaning and care type jobs available, a lot are shit wages and zero hours, but I would be a self employed cleaner if I could, as the market is clearly there. You would have the advantage of choosing your own hours and setting your own work load at least.

Would something like that be an option for you?

What a difficult situation.

Until I read your post about your disability, I would always think 'any job is a stepping stone', but all that travelling is very arduous.

Are you trapped, though? If you leave your job voluntarily can you get benefits straight away? There might be a long wait?

Agencies?

OP I really sympathise. I really don't think some people realise how hard it is to find a job within a reasonable commuting distance, which is even more important when you're in near constant pain.

Currently, looking at my own area, there are 6 jobs within a 20 mile radius that are not in temporary manual labour work (not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm just not qualified!) and you're right, it is a numbers game. The last job I applied for there were over 8000 applicants. For one post. It's scary. I really don't blame you for not wanting to do that commute either, even without being in pain, it's exhausting, stressful and frustrating.

I don't have much advice OP but good luck with whatever you decide to do