Did I REALLY say anything wrong here?

[wheresAbobble]

I have a very close friend, she has just got back into work, she has 6 children and single so has been a struggle for her. We've just been chatting on the phone and she was talking about her new job (cleaning) which she does a few time a week, she said how she's getting an extra £80 a week on top of her benefits and how much it's helping her, I said it all makes a big difference etc etc.

She then says how she hasn't told the job centre that she's working cash in hand so getting all benefits still, I know it's none of my business but as we were talking about I said how she needs to tell them because if she gets found out she could be in the shit, all I said, and she tells me to fuck off and hangs up???

You're Katie Hopkins and I claim my 5 pounds....

Shot for "possible benefit fraud".
I take it you also have the same view toward million tax avoiders?

Or do you have different rules for toffs

I sympathise with her but I would be very concerned re consequences if caught.

Signpost her to mse, local financial charities where she may well be able to get support to tell them in the right way AND ensure she isn't worse off as a result.

That said...

To the pp who said how wonderful UC is - have u been living under a rock?! It's a mess! Several threads running on here and mse about it AND it's been all over the news!

Credulous is joking Awwlook.

'Poor woman on her own with six kids'

And who's fault is that ?

U was right to inform her.

It is a nightmare dealing with DWP when you start earning. I informed them recently of the £20 a week I am earning, which I hope to slowly build up and eventually come off benefits. I am a carer so fitting in paid work is challenging for me but I really want to work. DWP stopped my benefits as soon as I informed them and my case went to a decision maker and sat on their desk in a pile for two months! It is agreed I can earn the £20? If I earn more will my benefits be completely stopped for another two months or longer?

If I earn any more it is deducted off my benefits but I would have been happy with that, I just can cope with it all being stopped for months at a time. I would not do what your friend is doing but I can understand why she is. Maybe if they made the system easier more people would declare their earnings

Erm. How about the fathers/father who left her. If that were the case,
or she could have been widowed.
Could have been a victim of domestic violence. What was she supposed to do put up with it, so as not to cause offence to "perfect families'
The possibilities are endless

To be fair, she probably needs the extra money to feed her goat. 😒

I think you did her a favour by explicitly stating that she could get in trouble, just in case she didn't realise. You now need to leave her alone to do as she pleases, though. I sympathise with her but you're right, it is risky as he'll.

Yes, i would make it clear your not going to say anything and leave her to it. Its up to her, she is the one that has to sleep at night and worry about getting found out. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it all, she still runs the risk of a fine or being put in prison for fraud or whatever the penalties are.

She could eat the goat

😆

Chances are if it's £80 a week then it will be within the legal limit before her benefits reduce. You're allowed to do about 15 hrs I think??
She still had no right to be rude to you in that way. She needs to make herself aware of the rules.

She will be better off declaring it and she will get more in benefits legally than she does illegally

I assume there's someone you can call

The Daily Mail?

There are some people who think it's perfectly fine to do this. I would step back a little from the friendship after her response to your concern.

A family friend worked cash in hand whilst on benefits and got into a load of trouble. The whole situation was an eye-opener and I decided the dishonesty wasn't restricted to just benefits but carried on into other aspects of her life. I was being pressurised to lie on her behalf (luckily I wasn't asked in the end), was used unknowingly as an alibi and then reproached for not supporting her.

Well at least she is working. But she shouldn't be worse off working than being unemployed. I'd rather this than some skiver not wanting to work at all.

Agreed Fuckit It makes not the slightest bit of difference whether her children have 1 father or 6. nor does it make any difference if they left her, she them, was a victim or a widow. The number of children she has and how she got to be a single mother of them is almost entirely irrelevant. the only possible impact it should be having on this thread is the valid point that she will be affected by the benefits cap (depending on the ages of the kids) and so is being doubly foolish by not declaring her work as, if she is working a certain number of hours she will probably get MORE help, not less. Additionally, if she is not working the requisite hours her earnings will be under the threshold and so she will not receive any less.

Even if it wasn't in her best interest (which it would seem to be) she should morally be declaring her earnings.

My auntie has 6 children,they all have the same father.and they are on benefits.