To ask for help with universal credit? As a sahm

[CallingPeopleACuntOnFb]

I honestly cannot find the answer to this anywhere 😩

I work in a support role helping parents and i have a service user who’s very worried about UC coming in. She has depression / anxiety anyway and it’s really getting her down.

She’s a SAHM to 3 dc, 3 year old twins and a 6 yo. Her dp earns 26k a year working long and irregular shifts. He works 45-50 hours a week. so being a SAHM is her only option atm as they also both have zero family support.

They have a mortgage so wouldn’t need or be eligible for the “housing benefit” element. She’s in Leicester. At the moment they receive tax credits but will move to UC at some point (no idea when)

She wants to know if she will still be able to be a SAHM as work isn’t an option for her while the DC are so small.

I have no clue, I don’t claim myself, we don’t even get TCs anymore and as I said I can’t find any info online other than the benefits checker on entitledto. Which says she’s eligible for UC at a similar amount to her tax credits. but says nothing about whether she’s going to have to job search as a condition of getting the money.

It’s so bloody complex ! Hope someone can shed some light 💡 x

Lougle sorry.

And the Mum op posted about has 3 children £660 a month is a helluva lot in childcare.

Yes Queen it would be way more than they currently get in tax credits.

And you get 70% toward childcare in tc. That’s if they arnt over the threshold for the 41% withdrawal rate but don’t ask me to work that out my head will explode

Op can you say to your friend to make sure she has submitted pension contributions to her tc claim - if her dp has mandatory pension payments take through paye they need to be declared and he may qualify for more tc. This is government pension schemes as far as I can tell but I’m not sure.

Oh ok thanks Queen I’ll mention that.

Couples, particularly women, need to be think about the accessibility and cost of childcare before they have children, particularly if the woman is in already in a low paid, low skilled job. It IS difficult to find work after you have had two, three, 4 ..children if you don't have anything to offer an employer.

What the actual fuck? Because nobody ever fell pregnant in the best circumstances, then suffered job loss/being widowed/having a disabled child/becoming disabled etc etc etc. Workhouses for all poor people!!

Reproduction is not a right folks - everyone best hand our kids over to foster care!

Reproduction is not a right folks - everyone best hand our kids over to foster care!

What? So if you don't get enough benefits for being a SAHM you want to hand your children over to foster care?

What counts as a change of circumstances? Is it just new partner/baby i.e. major stuff, or could it be a small pay rise or a change in hours i.e. anything that causes the claimant to contact UC?

Just major stuff yes , pretty sure having a baby doesn't count.

Cheers MyDCareMarvel. I've a colleague who is worried that accepting an additional 3 hours per week with attendant decent pay rise (it's a promotion as well), will switch her from tax credits to UC (our area goes live very soon, before the promotion which would start when someone retires in January). She doesn't want to go on to UC because she has £15k coming to her from her grandmother for a house deposit).

It's complex, this. I'm so glad there are people on MN who know their stuff.

*Couples, particularly women, need to be think about the accessibility and cost of childcare before they have children, particularly if the woman is in already in a low paid, low skilled job. It IS difficult to find work after you have had two, three, 4 ..children if you don't have anything to offer an employer.

I hope the next generation of women strive to obtain good educational qualifications and go on to have well paid careers before they have children, which will allow them to afford decent childcare and a good work/life balance.*

I agree. It's sad just how many still subscribe to the theory that women should be in the home.

Tax credits caused many problems that will take years to correct even with UC. A system that allows people to not work or do minimal hours whilst others have to support the children was always going to be used to it's full advantage. People have no shame in letting others do it.

I’m a sahm ( I recently worked) my dh earns about 25thousand we get tc and have three dc. We looked into childcosts and we would be worse off it would put us into poverty. Unfortunately op there’s a lot of middle class posters who haven’t a clue what it’s like and think no body should be entitled to anything

YellowMakesMeSmile

Your attitude stinks you have no idea people’s circumstances my parents used to help with child care unfortunately my poor father has terminal cancer and my mother is caring for him

Exactly Belle this is the same for a lot of people. I’m sorry to read about your father 😔

Thanks op I think mn is abit unbiased to real life (I’m a northerner so opportunities aren’t always available to the working class than those who were lucky to born into parents who were high earners and could afford university for their kids and help with house deposits) You only need to look the threads of how much people earn and it’s 40k 50k 60k 100k and they think 27k a year is pittance.

Belleoftheball8

Yellow is correct. It may stink but thats the way it is.

You can't then complain because benefits won't allow you the standard of living you want (at the expense of the taxpayer(who do have to work))

If he earns enuf for both of them ie £525 a week she will not be made to look for a job other wish she wud have to find work to make up whatever he don’t earn

Bashing the working class

How dare we breed ey

opportunities aren’t always available to the working class than those who were lucky to born into parents who were high earners and could afford university for their kids and help with house deposits

Yes only people with wealthy parents who paid for uni and their houses can go to work and support themselves

Plenty of adults without a degree or rich parents manage to work, many working around each other to keep childcare costs down. Those are the tax payers putting into the system that currently funds part time workers and SAHPs who just have excuses as to why they can't work or work more.

In most cases it boils down to lack of work ethic and the belief that as people can claim they will. Why support yourself when you can have others do it for you.

It's £412.50 blessedmum

Sorry stand corrected just tried working it out in head while posting 🤣 oops

Oh fuck of yellow I say that as someone who went to university although I’m from working class background and did nursing it isn’t possible to have a job that fits round my dh hours he starts at half 5 and to also accommodate the school run! They might be so lucky to have family who can help accommodate them especially during school holidays!