To think wages should cover the cost of living?

[KeepYourCup]

I'm a single parent, I work full time and pay for childcare for my primary school ages child. I physically can't work any more hours and my salary is just above the NMW.

I rely on top-up benefits from Universal Credit to get by. We have a nice life - nothing fancy but there is food on the table, a comfortable home, car etc. I realise I am in a better position than many people who claim UC but it pisses me off that I am left relying on it each month.

Last month they wiped out my entire payment with only a couple of days warning. I am appealing that decision but in the meantime I ended up having to borrow money to cover a couple of bills and a repair on my car.

Single parent families are normal, and households should be able to get by on one wage. My rent alone eats up almost half of my take-home pay, and I only live in a two-bed flat so not a huge house with a garden or anything.

I realise its all relative and that everyone's circumstances are different, but there is something very wrong when an adult working full time doesn't earn enough to cover the costs of simple living when there is only one adult and one small person living at home.

AIBU?

It's such a complicated issue - if wages went up then prices would go up too and really nothing would change. House prices is definitely a big issue and one that should have been tackled by governments decades ago.

On the main I agree with you, but here we're discussing London. Labour inputs should cost more in London, and generally they do.

The UK has low productivity levels so perhaps there's room for a labour correction without spiralling inflation. We need higher interest rates.

EntropyRising

You quoted me but I can't work out why?

I have no sympathy for businesses paying peanuts, none at all.

I think it's disgusting that working people can't afford to live without relying on in work benefits or food banks. I also think it's disgusting that single people in professional jobs ie teachers don't even qualify for in work benefits despite being unable to afford rent on even the most basic of accommodation.

I think it's disgusting that businesses are allowed to trap people into minimum hour contracts whilst at the same time demanding that they are available at no notice to work extra hours, meaning that employees can't work 2 jobs in order to afford to live.

This is just a time bomb waiting to explode.

Also single people in general are worse off in every respect of course. It always annoys me the single person council tax discount is only 25% - that means I pay 75% of it while the couple next door pays 50% each out of their two wages... And utility bills in general are the same regardless of the number of occupants.

This ^^ spot on @viccat

My monthly council tax bill should have been £125 however I get the single persons discount so I pay £93 a month instead. But if I lived with someone it would roughly be around £62 instead so I'm paying a lot more how they work it all out is beyond me.

People in London earn more or move to cheaper parts of the country

London still needs cleaners, retail staff, waiting staff, care workers. Minimum wage jobs exist in London and still need somebody to do them! And those people doing those jobs who have lived there their whole lives should be able to afford to rent there without having to rely on benefit top ups. It's a shambles.

It’s the growing inequality that is becoming more and more noticeable - the amount of homeless people in our local city early in the morning is shocking. I put my daughter’s entire old school uniform on Facebook for free and had an extremely grateful lady turn up for it within half an hour. She couldn’t afford it new. I am not sure those at the top care in the slightest.

“No matter how "economic" it may be to have one's spouse or offspring to act as one's secretary, it doesn't look fair or money well spent, and that's important.“ absolutely! Don’t even get me started on the large profits they make “flipping” the 2nd home bought by the country!

“It always annoys me the single person council tax discount is only 25% - that means I pay 75% of it while the couple next door pays 50% each out of their two wages...”totally agree with this should be a 50% discount

Asl ot hose of us who house adult chidlren don't even get that 25% distcount - my fairly low income son lived here after graduation although he has moved out now and my council tax went up £750 as a result (I didn't make him pay the £750).

But also some big employers (who make big profits, and in some cases know how to play the tax system) will RELY on the fact that UC or Working Families Tax Credit top up money so they get away with paying close to or minimum wage. More profit for them.

This with bells on

It always annoys me the single person council tax discount is only 25% - that means I pay 75% of it while the couple next door pays 50% each out of their two wages...”totally agree with this should be a 50% discount

50% of council tax is based on the property, 50% on residents, hence 25%!discount for single person (and 50% discount for 1 year if unoccupied )

I’d remove the 2nd home nonsense and instead have a communal building where mps can stay while in London, with living quarters and on the ground floor conference and dining rooms for entertaining visiting dignitaries etc make the costs for offices and staff a set central standard cost that they don’t personally decide.

Yes! I've been saying the same for years.

Housing is a major issue & I think it's completely fecked. Another issue is the tax paying population is shrinking so I'm not sure how we can keep taking from those working when living costs are so high.

Can you claim child maintenance . This would not affect your Uc.

I am not sure those at the top care in the slightest
they dont care
why would they care, they are alright Jack

Totally agree. NWM should be the minimum people need to live at least a normal life. Home, food, warmth and occasional treats etc. This is not the case and it is simply not good enough

Also single people in general are worse off in every respect of course. It always annoys me the single person council tax discount is only 25% - that means I pay 75% of it while the couple next door pays 50% each out of their two wages... And utility bills in general are the same regardless of the number of occupants.
I disagree with that as a single person you only have one lot of food, clothing etc to pay for. Households with two adults with one unable to work due to sickness, disability or unaffordable childcare revive no such discount and have to provide for two adults needs.

We rent a three-bed and both on low incomes - I'm on £13,500 pa and OH on around £25k pa. I have two kids but 50:50 so no maintenance and no other benefits. Only income is from us both working ft and CB for one son.

We made the decision to have another child together (I'm 9 wks pg) and of course it will be be tight but we'll get by.

For me, things like haircuts are luxuries and I'm happy to go without posh holidays etc.

Privately rented BTW.

“50% of council tax is based on the property, 50% on residents, hence 25%!discount for single person (and 50% discount for 1 year if unoccupied )” sorry but that’s sophistry as far as I’m concerned.

Council tax is for services and infrastructure used by that councils residents. The size and quality of the property makes no difference to what the residents use, the number of residents DOES.

“Households with two adults with one unable to work due to sickness, disability or unaffordable childcare revive no such discount and have to provide for two adults needs.” That’s not actually quite true.

Adults unable to work due to sickness or disability like myself get council tax rebate as part of welfare benefits, how much varies and is ridiculously complicated.

I’m not sure what the situation is with carers - any registered carers on here able to answer that?

@Helenadove am I right in thinking you’re a carer?

And those who aren’t working due to having young children, not sure of the rules now but when I was a single mum and on benefits initially when I split from ex I think I got council tax rebate then too.

There’s a slight difference here in Scotland as water rates are sort of included with council tax as the water infrastructure is still state owned and maintained so while in terms of uk govt I’m entitled to full council tax rebate due to disability there’s no rebate for water rates so I still “pay” council tax but only to cover water charges.

Still better and cheaper than the situation south of the border with privatised water...but that’s a whole other thread! And when I start on that stuff I start getting accused of being a communist 😂

There's simply not enough good jobs, I earn a decent hourly rate (£14) but rarely get more than 20 hours a week. I can't get a penny of uc and other jobs won't net any more pay. H left me because I don't earn enough (among a litany of other complaints).

Housing is the problem. I'm paying £950 a month plus bills, if it wasn't for spousal maintenance I would loose my house.

Surely one of the political parties will put a cap on rent one of these days? It's far cheaper to pay a mortgage.

I absolutely agree that any business that employs people should do so at a salary that frees them from the need for reliance on benefits. A business that is heavily subsidised by payment of benefits to employees isn’t really a decent business - particularly so if you’re a multinational, huge profit making concern.
McDonalds shouldn’t be subsidised by the tax paying public.
That is not to say benefits are a bad thing - they aren’t - basic wage taxpayers being fleeced to allow them to drive huge profits is shameful.

Yes - our society is hugely disfunctional.
We need much more high quality and eco friendly social housing and we need to pay a true living wage not a NMW.

Paying huge amounts of rent from the public purse as housing benefit to private landlords is unaffordable and undesirable.
House prices need a big downwards correction. A house should be a safe place to live and not an investment.

@cherry pavlova you've got the right idea.
Why cant macdonalds/tesco etc pay a salary for their employees to be able to afford to live?
Small businesses perhaps should be paying nmw with a view to increase as business does. Maybe a sliding scale of profits etc

I am not sure wages need to go up, its more that housing costs need to fall significantly. Far too much of peoples income goes towards the cost of housing.

As many posters have pointed out, the way we run our economy in the UK is dysfunctional and favours the few over the many. Taxing land would be a start; as I understand it the UK is one of the only countries that doesn't tax land owners, instead it taxes the users of the land.

I don't think the minimum wage differences are fair either. I'm 30 so it doesn't affect me but the difference in minimum wage for 18-21 year olds and 21-25 years compared to 25+ isn't very fair. Some people might have 2 kids at 20 or own a home at 20 and it's very unfair that they get paid less. They also get less UC as well. Do 18-24 year olds that are working get to pay less rent, less petrol, less gas and electric? No, so why are they paid less? It's assumed 18-24 year olds will be in education or still relying on parents but most full time working people of that age are not in that situation! Also, someone can complete a degree at uni by the time they're 21 so I don't understand the logic behind it at all

In this particular set of circumstances the OP could probably move to a cheaper flat. Two bedrooms are not essential.