To think relying on working tax credits and housing benefit is a bad idea

[InkedGreen]

My sister has a very decent amount coming in every month - similar to what I have as a professional with 10+ years experience.

However it's all top up earnings and she's on a low paid job two days a week.

She's quite happy to stay on 2 days even though all her children are at school.

Aibu to think she's foolish to rely on these topups and not try to get a better job or increase her hours? If they try to reform benefits she could very quickly be very poor and I'm concerned even if she isn't!

A lot of high flying women rely on the cheap labour of working class women while berating the same class of women for not earning enough and using misogyny in feminist clothing as a stick to beat them with.

Another benefit bashing thread lovely!

NONE of your business op. I very much doubt the situation is as simple as stated.

Helena excellent post!

I hate all that shit. Get another job. Get a job . Blah blah blah. Because 2K pw jobs do grow on trees don’t they.

Its a bloody insult to say that low waged jobs arent stressful My ex was on a minimum wage And it was a high stress job. His boss was on his back constantly Expected him to answer the phone while driving and expected him to regularly break the speed limit.

Care workers is high stress.

Ever done retail at Christmas I have

Its bloody insulting to say a low paid job is low stress Is it BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve noticed Helena is very passionate about these types of things.

Thanks @Graphista

im quite proud of that one

My mum was care worker. She worked 12 hour days. No fucker will ever ever ever tell me she was deservedly poor.

I wrote my dissertation about the difficulties of single parents moving away from welfare. It’s easy to brand them as work shy, but it’s hardly surprising that many choose to accept top ups and work part time rather than full time. Just some of the reasons:

1. Lack of childcare, particularly in village/rural areas. This is bad enough during term time, but a complete nightmare during holidays, if there’s only one of you so no one to share annual leave with.

1. Running a home and caring for children single-handedly is twice as much work than having someone to help you, even if they are a crap partner except financially which means you can buy in help. The time this takes and emotional and physical drain of it means that full time work would be very difficult.

1. Very little flexibility in terms of available working hours, meaning that the type of work available is often a ‘McJob’ rather than a career with progression. Staying late? Forget it. Evening meeting? That would be a no. Training courses away from home? Don’t think so. The hit of doing shitty low paid work medium-long term causes permanent damage to a woman’s earning potential.

1. Lack of suitable jobs with prospects nearby (especially if living rurally) and childcare making it impossible to go further afield. Moving is an expense many can’t afford, and would often mean moving away from support networks which are invaluable to single parents.

There’s lots more but it’s late! Of course some single parents so manage to work full time in good careers and fair play to them, but I wouldn’t say it’s the norm, there’s a lot of social and structural barriers in the way.

1. When the change to Pension Credit start to take effect (you can no longer claim as a couple if one is still under state pension age ) you can also forget grandparents providing childcare Ditto if retirement age gets raised to 75

There are a hell of a lot of grandparents providing childcare.

@Awwwlookatmybabyspider Its cos this kind of shit winds me up.

My mum did 50 years in factories.

My gosh, I am really struggling with this thread. Has anyone actually had a proper conversation with anyone they are worried about due to them being on benefits to find out what their individual circumstances are?

I clicked on this as a weird Google "news" item & find mums bashing other mums - yet no one talking about Boris & his mental plan to press on regardless of public feeling, expert opinion & legal challenge.

I am a working mum to a 4 year old, who's just started school, have a husband & has (until this month)been on tax credits.

You have now probably formed an opinion of me - yet...there is a wealth of information that that sentence / statement doesn't tell you:

1. Jan 2014 - my first miscarriage
2. Feb 2014 - left my job as Careers Adviser, which was a 4 hour daily commute into London after facing notice of redundancy from other careers jobs TWICE (2010 & 2013- yeah Michael Gove had some pretty p.poor Education related policies)
3. March 2014 - changed career to HE admissions admin
4. April 2015 - had my son (spent a year getting the uni I worked for to agree part-time 21 hrs a week, so I could go back when son 9 months old)
5. realisation that I still couldn't afford the extortinate Berkshire rent & that Childcare was even less affordable, so Aug 2016 left my job & relocated to Wales for affordable housing & chance of buying a property one day (I'm 43 now - bear in mind this was 3 years ago & I am still no where near ever being able to buy my own home).
6. secured full-time job working in Bristol starting Aug 2016, a 3-4 hours daily commute, also in HE admissions (my son was less than 1.5 years old when I started that job & carried on in completely unaffordable childcare)
7. start being bullied by my superviser on day 3, put up with this for 2 years until Aug 2018 when I resigned to "start my masters & work part-time" so I could a. see my son occasionally & b. save on some childcare c. work-life balance / prospect of higher income (before Aug 2018, I was main bread-winner on 28k in 2010, down to 20k) after having my flexi-working application refused (I also have 3 long-term health conditions, 2 of which are disabilities & have NEVER had ANY disability related financial assistance in my whole life - yep I grabbed all the opps I was given with both hands & have already graduated uni twice - 1998 & 2002, I have also finished year 1 of my part-time MSc while being a mum to a 3 year old).
8. April 2017 my 47 year old only cousin on my Dad's side dies of Alcoholism & Liver failure. She was a teacher. I was nearly 41. My masters is MSc Education & I deferred my 2017 place to Sept 2018 to see if my hubby would be earning more.
9. Nov 2017 - I have miscarriage 2

10. Dec 2017 my mum's only brother dies of cancer 11. Nov 2017 - May 2019 my tykes nursery attempts to convince us my son has behavioural probs and / or a SEN (he doesn't, he's just a 3/4 year old boy & their old manager turns out to be so utterly poo that she's been losing all sorts of incident forms, referral paperwork & childcare funding forms & even had staff not properly vetted working there). This situ nearly costs me my marbles, my MSc & my career as I have 16 (16!) job interviews for HE admin jobs (some I could do in my sleep) between Aug 2018 & April 2019; currently I have lost all faith in the job market. It is impossible to find good part-time work (the competition is 45+ applications for even a temp admin role), I finally get work starts 1st Sept 2019 in my local SPAR 12 hours a week (apparently a professionally qualified Careers Adviser with 12 years experience & 4 years in Admin roles is only good enough to work behind a till / stacking shelves). 12. My hubby is a qualified primary teacher (2014 - I was 2 weeks pregnant at his graduation & it took him 18 years to finally get his degree), currently working as a HLTA & Cover Teacher (still trying to get 3rd term of NQT) & part-time 2 eves for Dominos (driving). His school job is in Bristol. He was a HLTA 13 years before he got his QTS. 12b. (you'll understand why I go 12b & not 13 in a mo) - in Jan 2019 our son started presenting sexualised behaviour at his nursery, in March 2019 he "made a disclosure" to me & hubby (his Dad obv.) we told one of thier staff...yes for anyone still reading, same nursery with the p.poor manager (their 'Welsh Ofsted' report published Jan 2019 makes very difficult reading), April 2019 the nursery referred US(!) to Children's Services, we have a fam support worker for a bit, June / July more weird nursery related behaviour happens at home (once with a friend from the nursery during a playdate, once with 2 HVs), July joint services SS & Police investigation of the complaint/disclosure we made May 2019 finially happens. Police send us 3 line email bout 3 weeks later saying not enough evidence to fully investigate (yep, the nursery is Epstein, we are Virginia G-F), we quite literally never hear from SS or Fam Support again (they earlier told me maybe I need parenting skills / hopefully knock on head b4 school as "kids can be cruel..so can their parents". I used to write transition plans & SS referrals for my job with 13-19s, so believe me when I say I no longer have faith in the system either.

So even after all these 12b things & finally getting 2 shifts at my local SPAR, I am still interviewing for a second job & contemplating revoking my MSc year 2 suspension to go back & complete this year. NB. its MSc Education & I no longer have faith in the system. NB. my son is 4 & was likely sexually assaulted by someone at the nursery we were paying £50 a day to care for him. NB. I am STILL seeking a 2nd job & considering carrying on my masters.

Explain to me please how exactly that is me/us being a/lazy benefit scrounger(s) OR why our p.poor Gov (who frankly cannot organise p.up in a brewery) DON'T OWE US (big time)?????
My sister thinks SHE has right to tell ME what to do with my life too, yet she know less than half of the 12b things. Have an open convo with your sister love, ask what her 12b things are for not working full-time at mo, she may feel able to open up. Then walk a mile in her shoes...then...& only then (if you still feel you can), judge.

think the fact that single parents (who are mostly women) are expected to work more hours while they still have school-age children is indicative of the how little the raising of children is valued by the PTB. Running a home and rearing children is a lot of work for a single person to do and I think it's great for kids to come home to a parent who has the time and energy to talk through stuff with them.

Well said Lakie

I’m married and dreading returning to work after maternity leave. It would be beneficial if she could work an extra day or two but it must be so hard doing a low paid job and raising children by yourself. I don’t think she should be forced to work full time, at least while her children are in primary school.

Can i ask if there are any on this thread who employ cleaners or
childminders?

Do you pay them enough so they dont have to claim top ups?

Do any of you have an elderly relative in a care home. Would you be okay with a demand for you to pay an increase in fees from said care home so the care workers there can have a wage rise?

Its a bloody insult to say that low waged jobs arent stressful My ex was on a minimum wage And it was a high stress job. His boss was on his back constantly Expected him to answer the phone while driving and expected him to regularly break the speed limit.

Care workers is high stress.

Ever done retail at Christmas I have

Its bloody insulting to say a low paid job is low stress Is it BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very good points usually totally ignored by those who are fond of 'get a better job' and telling us low wage earners how easy we have it. How many have been smacked in the face by a customer for adhering to the law I wonder? Or faced the possibility of an on the spot £80 fine, which could become up to £20,000 and 6 months in prison, or being threatened and called all sorts, told you're thick and have no common sense? Because that's a weekly occurrence for me!

Oh

Not to mention that none of that is contributing to her pension so she's not making any provisions for her old age.

I guarentee you that her 12c thing will be along the lines of: "the whole situ / poo poo I've been thru the last few (insert) months / years (etc.) has completely robbed my confidence & ability to believe in myself and / or others.

I'm a single parent. I have no support from dds father (financially or otherwise) so I have to work full time or I couldn't afford to live!

I know that I could possibly work part time and get more top ups but when I cease to pay childcare once dd is at secondary I'd lose the top ups and be stuck in a lower paid job. Most jobs and careers are harder to progress in if working part time so I think I'm more inclined to think of the future and my pension etc.
This means dd is with a childminder before and after school. Thankfully I do have Flexi time so am able to pick up on occasions. Yes, I wish I could work less but I can't see how that's doable. I also buy extra leave so I can manage school holidays.
It's difficult and I am constantly stressing about money but we are ok. I get £8 tax credits a week which is laughable. I think I may be better with UC but I think you have to have a change in circumstances to claim it.

So absolutely I think YANBU

Can i ask if there are any on this thread who employ cleaners or
childminders?

Do you pay them enough so they dont have to claim top ups?

Do any of you have an elderly relative in a care home. Would you be okay with a demand for you to pay an increase in fees from said care home so the care workers there can have a wage rise?

I would consider it an ethical failure if I had an employee who had to claim top-ups.

Do you pay them enough so they dont have to claim top ups

That’s very subjective though. Most on top ups will be working part time. A part time salary is never going to cover an adult, children and house costs etc in most cases. That’s not the employers fault. It’s a choice to work part time.

Even with full time work people need to make choices on affordability ie where they can live, the number of children they can support. The problem isn’t wages, it’s people choosing things they can’t afford to do.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss

You think people choose to get divorced and become single parents?

IceCreamAndCandyfloss your argument is ridiculous. Basically what you're saying is that people living in the expensive SE for example, working full time in low paid jobs and needing top ups to survive, shouldn't have children. And if your solution is "live where you can afford" who do you think is going to do those low paid jobs in those areas? Expensive areas of the country still need care workers, nursery nurses, waitresses, cleaners.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I don't think people choose to be a single parent.. Dont judge people until you know their situation and why they became a single parent.

I think it's a risky choice but perhaps she plans to increase her days once jet children get older.
I see tax credits as a lifeline for people struggling. I have relied on them in the past and thankfully no longer need to but they were a valuable support.
But I can't really criticise people who choose to do this. I worked 3 days a week when my youngest was in nursery and preschool, 4 days a week when he was in Reception and have only gone back to 5 days starting this week now he's in Y1.
I am finding it so hard to adapt to!