To think you shouldn't be better off a single parent living with family than being in a working couple? **Title edited by MNHQ**

[CallingAllLovers]

In a nutshell, I'm working 17 hours a week and getting £700 take home salary, plus £82 something Child Benefit. I have one DC.

On top of this, I get about £800 it so in tax credits.

I'm now separated from my husband so living with family.

I'm far better off financially than I was when both myself and H worked and ran a home together.

I have a friend who's really struggling, her DH and her both work full time with one DC. Another friend in a similar situation with two DC.

I was incredibly panicked when leaving H, I often kept staying when things were really tough due to being petrified of how skint I would be.

But it's not the case.

I did wonder why the money I get was so high, then I was told tax credits don't care about your bills/outgoings, just your childcare.

AIBU to think I shouldn't be better off than someone working full time, or a hard working couple working full time?

I realise this thread sounds really goady, but I'm not trying to be.

It just seems like people are penalised for working more/having a partner.

I think that a situation where SPF and low incomed families are topped up to more than the cut off point for tax credits is a broken system.

It needs to be fairer for everyone.

Most of the people living in poverty in this country are in working families. This is a problem whether you like it or not.

And no, I don’t need to ‘look at my lifestyle’ I work damn hard for what I have. No regrets here but I can see why those on the boundary struggle

well we're a low income family and are topped up.
It's enough and i wouldn't expect more when there are disabled people and carers struggling.
Working families get enough help, what support do you want.
childcare is subsidised for those who are working, if you don't qualify, you can manage financially without assistance surely.
If you can't afford the childcare and don't qualify for financial support, then you can't afford to work and you need to change your lifestyle choice like many others have to.
I couldn't afford to work at one time, so I didn't.

gilly
It’s pretty evidence from every family based charity in the country that working families don’t get enough help.

I can see you feel you do. Tbh when I was below the cut off, being topped up and having some HB and council tax support I was doing really well too. Unfortunately just above that are families who don’t get assistance and struggle to get by. If you don’t understand that, do some reading. It exists. Working poverty exists. Q

i couldn’t afford to work at one time

You’re proving my point for me here.

The council tax reduction fair enough. You don’t get the reduction because you get the same, as I said. And you don’t get free childcare for two year olds just for being a single parent. That is also based on income.

‘Fair enough’
It amounts to hundreds of pounds a year!!!

Yes, but you don't gain anything by getting angry at what others have.
You work for a better day.
Every generation has had to do that for some reason, even the much despised Baby Boomers.
It helps to keep you sane, or it did me to just go with what you've got, you can't change it, you can only change what you do.

I’ve repeatedly said what other people have is not the issue, the issue is that there should be more help for working families.

This is the third time I’ve said it (none of which are in anger)

You seem to be reading different posts to what I’m writing

Gilly I'm glad the top up is enough for you but for many working families it isn't. I think housing costs at least should be taken into consideration as that is what makes the difference. As a single parent I had around 2k a month which was my wages and TC top up but nearly half of that went on rent and council tax. Had I been able to get a council house I would've been laughing. Or even better free rent and board with a relative as per OP.

I'm definitely worse off now though living with my partner who is self employed and earns very little. Although I'm currently on mat leave and now don't have the work related expenses, mostly travel but also other miscellaneous stuff - working costs money....another thing rarely taken into account.

Can’t people see that both sides are possible?

No one has said that single parent families on low income live a lavish lifestyle. This post has been misconstrued and a lot are seeing it as an attack.

The bottom line is that there are some middle earners who work full time who would actually be in a better position if they did not work.

This thread has shown me the amount of barriers and restrictions that there are to working families. Families are deliberately forced into working minimal hours so they are at the threshold of receiving benefits.

Let me give you an example. I am currently in the process of a restructure at work. All part time positions are set at 20 hours a week. There are staff who are currently being supported by our union to reduce it to 16 hours a week. If the staff accept the 20 hours then they will be penalised by having their benefits taken away. Benefits they need to survive.
This has a knock on effect on the staff and also the children who attend the school.
Why do the government encourage unemployment?

Squeezy a PP has agreed (while arguing the opposite) that for a while she couldn’t afford to work.

I’d far rather see a society where the term ‘can’t afford to work’ is completely irrelevant

@cantankerous funnily enough it’s been more than one PP who has accidentally proven that point.

This thread is very relevant to me at the moment. Sadly my family and friends, including my best friend who works at the job centre, who is actually in the process of resigning due to the same issues we are discussing, are trying to encourage me to leave my job as they know I would be more financially stable and have more time. My family have always worked, all in very good positions financially. So I was very unhappy and tbh angry at the suggestion.

I feel like I’m going back to the 1920’s where a woman’s home was in the kitchen 😩

@Squeezycheeky I think the main issue is how the OP was worded.
A lot of people will agree that working families need more support. But it shouldn't have been put in the context of "I'm a single parent with minimal costs look how much money I'm getting!". It will make some people defensive and others resentful..not a good premise for a debate.

If single parents get more it’s because in the vast majority of cases they need more.

If they get s bit more than they actually need then that too is understandable. Gives them opportunity to save because of the shit ever hits the fan as a single parent eg like a got serious pneumonia last year, there’s no partner earning £36k a year as in cantankerous’s case, to be there as a financial and practical support. In most cases, you’re on your own.

(Fourth time now)

Nobody is suggesting that SPF get less but that there should be more support for working families

Please, please reread this post. I’ve writtrn it four times now and nobody seems capable of actually reading it.

I have LESS disposable income (just) than I did before DH moved back in. His money goes on rent, council tax, a few credit card bills from when he was training up in his job, his bills getting into work, his food etc.

rebel but it IS in the case of SPF’s get more support, because the option as a working family is to struggle to make ends meet or have one parent separate physically and financially to make life work. There are many families in which the secondary care giver is living away from home because the wife and kids can’t afford him moving in. This helps no one

@Caribbean everybody’s situation is different. My partner is self employed. What if he were to become seriously ill. I don’t have any spare money to save?

If you are on benefits then you should not receive more than you need. Suggesting that is is proving the point that you are better off unemployed. I would be grateful for a spare £10 at the end of the month.

Cantankerous I totally agree with you

Squeezy your situation isn't normal - you had a thread not so long ago didn't you?

Your job clearly isn't the problem it's your husband's expenses and maybe you need to take some more advice on what can be offset.

Also your children will quickly grow up so the situation you're in with childcare is very short term and I'm not sure how leaving your job is a long term solution

Sorry if I've confused you with someone else

Well as a single parent living in a shared ownership property...I have bugger all money and cant manage to provide everything needed for myself -I do ensure my son has everything that he needs.
I work 30hrs a week and a sleep in shift at work once a week. It really does feel that you need 2 working adults in a family to be financially stable - which is a sad state of affairs given that if one parent would like to be at home with young children it makes things financially very tight indeed.

@mrjohnreese yes. Although my situation may be unique it is still a situation that is not considered in the eyes of the government. My point being there are many families in the same position as I am, but are overlooked.

I also said exactly tre same in this thread as the last. There is just so little support for a working parent.

I’m a single parent and many really struggle financially.. and definitely not better off than someone with a partner, I’m surprised you genuinely think that just because of your own limited experience. There’s so many stories of people struggling on benefits; it’s a shame to reinforce the tired old stereotype of it being a comfortable, easy life. I’m lucky to have been able to borrow money from family to buy food and nappies at times, god knows how people without a support network manage

Ps even if they did disregard his expenses we would still be over the threshold. We work too many hours between us and earn more than 26k between us.