To not want to work for £3.58 an hour?

[DontHaveAGoPlease]

Going to get absolutely flamed for this!

I'm a single mum to 1, in regards to UC, I get the equivalent to a monthly full time wage this includes CM.

If I go back to work for 22 hours a week, I will be effectively earning the above an hour.

Do I just suck it up or wait for my DS to get his 15 Hours free??

I am desperate to work but I'd hate to look back and regret outsourcing my childcare all for the above. Shall I just suck it up and go for it or suck it up and look after my ds??

I've already braced myself for the flaming!

For all the people who think they are educated, remember that when benefits were started, it was only given to those who had paid into the system previously.

Do your homework

What kind of work have you been offered op?

What were you doing before you had ds?

Is there any training you could do to help you find a career when your son is older?

OP, in your shoes, I would spend the two years doing a vocational course or access course.

Going back to work in a dead end job now means you'll end up stuck in a dead end job for most, if not all, of your life. It is much more difficult to leave a low paying job to better yourself than it is to better yourself while you're out of work.

A vocational course would mean you'd be back in the workforce with a decent earning potential by the time your child is in school. Access courses will take longer to see a gain as you'd have to go on to Uni and then find a graduate position but it's likely you'd earn more in the long run (unless you want to be a plumber, those dudes are raking it in)

Many colleges offer funding towards childcare for mature students with young children. Why not call into your local FE and speak to student services?

She is working! Looking after a one year old to give the most positive upbringing in his formative years!
I went back to work when my first son was six months old...blah blah blah. I shouldn’t have. It was my choice. You’ve got the choice, OP, it’s not worth it and it’s only for a little while.
That benefit money you are entitled to is a drop in the ocean x

@ADescentofWoodpeckers I was the same I think when I first went back my wages basically paid for childcare and that was it but i felt happy and fulfilled and like I was contributing to the family rather than have to ask DH if I could buy shit as it wasn't "my" money (tho he never ever made me feel that way )

My plan when I was pregnant was to live off my ex partners wage.

He would work, id raise the children and he'd pay for me to do so. That's a fair set up. He wanted kids, didn't want to stay at home with them nor did he want to pay for the childcare.

It was only fair for him to support me whilst I was at home with our child.

He left me, I went on maternity, my job wouldn't take me back unless I would go full time. I simply couldn't afford it. I'd be worse off.

Now I'm on benefits, with minimal help of money from ex, he doesn't have any contact.

I am doing a voluntary position which in the long run will give me more money as il have the skills and experience. I am also doing a course which again will give me the experience and skills.

My DS is 1, I don't have anyone to support me but the government.
I don't have a partner to lean on for financial and emotional support. I am the sole carer for my DS, he is only my responsibility.

Op that sound tough, I have a 1 year old too and can’t imagine being in that situation. Bring a single parent or one of the toughest jobs there is. I would just do what works best for you now and in your current situation. Don’t worry what others think, only you know what works for you and your family.

Being*

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I never worried about missing milestones. I was still primary carer and was there for most of them my concern was how my child settled at nursery/ childminders / grandparents. Research your childcare options before you commit. You have to be happy with the childcare.

I haven’t read the whole thread but I believe you are allowed to make your decisions on what is best for your family unit. Other people’s opinions should not sway you from doing what is best for your family. There is plenty of time to get back into work, please do what’s best for you and your child.

OP you are in a difficult situation however if you are on UC and your child is 1 you will be expected to start preparing for work. This will ramp up as your DC gets older . Even if you only work a few hours a week you will be better off and remember that you can claim back 85% of childcare costs .

missadasmith of course people should low paid jobs - someone has too. I worked in low paid retail for almost two decades. I actually recently discovered on the wage I had I would of been entitled to housing benefit - but I didn't know at the time and as I had a Full Time Job I didn't think I could. So the 'tax payer' has saved a bit there. But my wage was low (ie month to month living). It was random hours all over the place, retailer workers are quite frankly treated like crap from the general public. It made me very very unhappy. I didn't have a child then - but the thought of having to juggle that life with childcare fills me with horror. Infact I had collegues who would sometimes end up with their kids sat in the staff room because it was late night shopping and they had no child care. The OP just wants a couple of years of society's help while her child is small. So she can focus on her child - and her future.

I was on a low paid job when my first child was born. I chose to take a 5 year career break, have another child and study with the Open University. Went back to low paid work when kids were starting school and I had more skills,had grown up and was confident my kids had my values instilled in them. They went on to be confident and happy at school and I progressed through 5 promotions in 10 years. Sometimes taking the time to work out what you really value in life can lead to a more planned and structured decision.

Just look after your ds and go to work when it is financially viable, why put yourself into the position were you may have to get into debt when you don't have to?

If you're already studying and working towards a better future and career then taking a low paid job now would be counterproductive both to your own self and the whining 'it's my money you're frittering away' taxpayers.

Stay in training and work towards a life of self sufficiency rather than accepting a low paid, dead end job which lead to a life of struggling on government top-ups and having panic attacks whenever a brown envelope lands on your doormat.

People complaining about OP being on benefits do realise that she will receive MORE in benefits if she works? Because she will get money towards childcare and working tax credits. So no one really benefits do they

So it would still be nearly £80 a week more than you have now? I would do that. 3 days (assuming) in nursery or CM doesn't seem that bad to me. I don't see how you would miss many milestones? By 1 they've done a lot of them. You'll have 4 days a week to spend with your child.

To be blunt, I know this isn't how you imagined it would be but unfortunately that was the partner that you chose at the time so it is up to you to pick up the slack. It's unfair that if falls to you but that's just the way it is.

I actually cannot believe the benefit bashing going on here. It is utterly disgusting.

OP, do the sums, what you will earn vs what you will loose in UC and work out what your bills will be including childcare and commuting. If you come out evens or marginally better off, take the job for your pension provision and skillset, if you are going to be worse off then leave it and keep looking for something better paid.

Good luck with it.

Just to point out another poster, I will get more money in benefits than I do now because of childcare and working tax.

(That's certainly not to say I'm more better off than I said I'd be).

So not working is actually saving the "taxpayer" money.

Even on government help, I do volunteer work & also a course to help me job wise.

how do you fund childcare whilst attending a course & doing volunteer work?

I think a lot of people posting have no idea what being a single parent is like. It's not even remotely the same as working full time BUT HAVING ANOTHER PARWJT ALSO WORKING FULL TIME. Totally different. So two wages. Childcare costs split two ways. Two parents to split sick days and school holidays. Two parents to take it in turns when the baby is up all night teething on work nights. Etc
OP just do what is best for your family long term, even if people judge you for it in the short term. You are studying and volunteering which is good, hopefully this will mean you can be in a much better position soon enough. People are so quick to judge but anyone can end up in this situation

dont I don't earn enough to pay tax but had to work and got £4-8k a year in childcare fees when the dc's were at nursery. That'll never be paid back. So I've cost the country a lot in childcare fees and NHS problems caused by the stress of being a working lp .
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I'm doing a distant learning course, which I do at home whilst he's with me.

I also only volunteer for 4 hours a week. He is with my mum during these hours (she can't offer childcare whilst I'm working due to own commitments).

I don't think it's benefit bashing to suggest that benefits are not or should not be there to subsidise lifestyle choices not to work at all when work is reasonably available. Avoiding 'missing milestones' is IMO lovely but not really what taxes are collected for. Sorry.

That said if it's genuinely the case that you intend to return to work and spending another year improving your skills and experience will give you a better job and prospects in a year, compared to the job you are offered now then it's a no brainer. Upskill and then get a better job in a year if the system allows. I'm assuming there that you can't do both.

FWIW it doesn't remotely concern me that someone working gets more benefits than someone not working. A lack of work ethic and sense of entitlement to be funded by the state do bother me (and I'm not suggesting you have either btw).