I'm about to give birth and were going to lose our home

[Worriedmumof2dc]

DP has just been informed that his hours are being hugely reduced at work. He's on a 30 hour contract but has been working 55 hours a week for the past two years since he was hired. The understanding was that the 55 hours would be standard and consistent, so not to worry about what the contract says as he will always have the 55 hours. The company is a disgrace in how it treats its employees but that's another thread.

This company branch has a new manager who has now decided to reduce him to just his contracted hours to save money, he's forced to accept that as per the terms in the original contract.

The problem is his amended wage won't cover our outgoings. We will lose our home eventually, we are safe for another month and a half maximum by which point we will have a baby of a couple of weeks old. I'm at home with a 15 month old and am about to give birth to our second in less than a month so the timing couldn't be worse. I can't realistically go back to work yet and by the time I can, we'll owe the landlord alot of money in arrears.

My hands are tied as to what I can do to help, I feel useless. We have no savings and no family help. I'm worried we will lose our home. It's inevitable isn't it.

He's applying like a mad man for every job he can find, but we're worried.

I can't claim benefits because he works and even with the amended wage will earn over the threshold in which we'd be eligible for anything, despite the lower wage not being enough to cover the costs of living in our London flat.

We have no savings

Please somebody tell me that we can't be made homeless with a newborn and toddler. I'm scared.

Hi OP - do you know who your DP took the loan out with and the rate of interest? If he's been paying £200/month since August 17 it should be well & truly paid off by now & I wonder where the extra money is going.

Thank you so much for all the advice I've received, everything has been noted and I'm going to relay it all to my partner later on today.

To the PP who shared their experience of being in a similar situation I'm really glad things turned around and you're now secure again. I'm not feeling so pessimistic now after posting here and getting what reassurance I've got from you lot on the thread. I didn't realise we had such a safety net in UC as I've only ever heard bad things about it, but if it saves our home then I'll be only too happy to apply.

DP has been applying for anything and everything we can find online, even before finding out for sure that the nights were being stopped this weekend. He found out this morning but has suspected it to be coming for a while so has been trying to line something else up in the interim, in the event it happened.

Am going to have a hot bath, stick some guided meditation on and try to relax. I've been on autopilot all day panicking about the worst case scenario and have been unable to stop worrying. I'm an anxious person as you may have been able to tell

You're all brilliant for taking the time to advise me I can't thank you enough.

If your partner drives, then they could sign up to be a food delivery driver-so try companies like JustEat, Deliveroo and UberEats-also independent restaurants. The pay is surprisingly good, if long hours are put in.

@shazkiwi I'm pretty sure it was 118 loans, I'll ask him to clarify when I talk to him. I've had nothing to do with the loan regrettably so am quite in the dark about it.

He took out 2.5k to get us the flat, then a few months later he borrowed a smaller amount of a couple of hundred pounds to make up a shortfall in an underpayment of wages (he's been underpaid by work many, many times which has been another problem with this employer)

this sounds like B&M, they are a pretty badly rated employer on glassdoor, if thats the case.

I hope you get this sorted soon

@Jenasaurus Yep that's them! Terrible employer who care not one bit about staff. They rely on a massive staff turnover as there's always some mug desperate enough to work there for a bit. I feel very sorry for DP who has put his all into a role and worked his backside off only to be treat as disposable.

@maddening not that we can afford to move into just yet. In order to set aside the money to move we need to secure new employment. The 1k deposit from our current flat isn't going to get us in anywhere unfortunately, it cost over 2k to move into here. Were in London. It'll cost about the same to relocate once we've paid for everything.

When you speak to the council, ask about a discretionary housing payment while you're waiting for UC to go through. All councils run this scheme and have an allocated amount of money for it every year.

@Lysistrataknowsherstuff I've made a note of that, thank you

You need to move out of London, retail pays the same everywhere so you'll be able to have a nice house, even buy once you are working again somewhere like here, and smaller cities are cheaper for transport as everywhere is cycleable or even walkable. In the meantime you will be able to get uc whilst he looks for better paid work

@anniehm indeed that's my long term goal. If I could go back to work tomorrow and squirrel away enough to leave the city within a few months I would do it.

This might be the push needed to make changes.

In the back of my mind I think I always knew this day would come. Unreliable employer, extortionate rent, in theory it should bring it home to DP just how impractical it is to stay here.

If your local council has a welfare rights team then they are excellent at helping you apply for benefits and making sure you get everything you’re entitled to. You have been given some excellent advice above, and I’m glad you’re feeling slightly more positive. x

DHP is not an option.
Councils can often help with loans for tenancy deposits.
118 loans sounds like a company that charges astronomical rates of interest. Don't borrow from a company like that again.

Hope you get sorted OP. Would your husband consider taking in ironing or doing some casual work while he finds something more permanent?

He'd be willing to do whatever work he needs to in order to bring the money in, as would I.

I did wonder about taking on some ironing jobs but have no idea how to gather custom? Would I just need to put an ad in the newspaper/Facebook and hope for the best or is there companies set up for home ironing?

It's frustrating because he has alot of good work experience behind him, he's had assistant managerial roles in previous jobs and glowing references available on request. He feels like he has been took for a complete mug at his current workplace and I agree completely.

I could see the upset on his face when he told me this morning, he knows I'd be worried sick and blame himself.

I suggested I find something part time immediately, in retail or cleaning for example, but then we'd have the obstacle of childcare which would cost more than a part time wage. I don't even think an employer would touch me with a barge pole at 35 weeks pregnant and SPD, that's without the inevitable time off I'll need once DD arrives and the lack of childcare for both children. DS is 15 months so doesn't yet qualify for any free childcare hours.

It looks like we're entirely reliant on him pulling something out the bag in the interim until I can get back to work, practically. It's a huge amount of stress and pressure on his shoulders and whilst he's worrying about me, I'm worrying about him.

If the loan is at a high interest rate, you may be better off to get another loan to pay it off.

I helped a client get a credit union loan to pay off an exorbitant loan, and it made a big difference to her overall financial position.

You've had some excellent advice on here, and I hope you've found it reassuring. One thing I would add is to get yourself on the council's housing register. You don't stand a chance of getting anywhere through the council while you've got somewhere to live, but it will help if anything like this happens in future.

For ironing and cleaning I'd just put a post in your local facebook groups, and maybe a card in the newsagents window? Good luck OP. I know how hard it is.

When now XH was made redundant, he took out a 0% credit card and paid off his car loan that had a higher %.

It meant that we could reduce our monthly outgoings as we dropped to minimal repayments, and then increase them again once he found a new job

Sainsburys always need night managers, they pay 22 grand plus an extra 4,500 for night shifts...thinks it even more for London weighting 👍

I'll put some feelers out on my local Facebook groups about some ironing work this evening.

The loan is a high interest one I believe, hence taking so long to pay back. It didn't help that he felt he had to take out a further, smaller amount a while after because he was underpaid by £200 ish from work. He eventually got that money back, months later, but he had already incurred extra costs from the loan by then.

Regarding Sainsbury's he applied for a position with them late last year but somebody else was offered the job. It's a shame as it would've been good for him, and a much better environment by all working standards.

I'll mention to him the possibility of taking out an alternative loan to balance things with his current one. I think he'd be hard to convince though because having just the one lender has proven very stressful. I'll push him to talk to CAB about his options in regards to the loan.

I've definitely received alot of great advice here and am feeling more optimistic than I was this morning so I'm glad I posted.

He'll be up for work soon so I can relay everything I've been told here. Hopefully he'll take some comfort from the advice like I have.

With a baby coming you aren't going to be physically able to work for a bit.
Are you getting a rates reduction on low income, that reduces what you pay?
Are you eligible for extra allowances for dp under Marriage Allowance which reduces the tax payable( can backdate to 2015)
Are you eligible for fuel reduction of £140 annually and are you on the right tariff
Also there is Watersure to restrict the water rates payable

If you haven't had any of these do look into your eligibility. Don't think any of this comes under UC. None if these are huge but could help.

No practical advice regarding your home/financial situation, I'm sorry you're facing this OP.
I wanted to say your DP could try looking at hotels as a night porter/manager. It's a job most hotels struggle to fill for more than a few months at a time and it's hard work, but this is the time of year that hospitality work starts to go up, as a person you need to be physically strong and fit to move furniture around (not like athlete fit, I'm 40 and fat and manage!) But have enough about you to check late guests in, deal with a fire alarm or issues through the night on your own. It sometimes pays a little more than min wage and good night porters are like gold dust - and not a lot of people even know the job exists.
Just an idea to persue - his management experience will go for him in an application.
Really hope things improve for your little family.

@lightlypoached discount isn't 25% at Waitrose. It's 15%. It's 25% at John Lewis and as a Waitrose partner you'd get that but no, it's definitely not 25 on food