To think not everyone on benefits are taking the psss

[Greydrabday]

Background...
Me and OH both have worked until 6 months ago, when he became so unwell with his condition, he became unable to gto work.
I work 23 (going up to 28) hours per week.
So for the last 6 months we've been claiming UC to help with living costs.
OH is slowly getting better and looking for work now to get us back on our feet and not having to rely on the benefit system.
(we have a 1 year old too)

Isn't it funny how people's opinions change once they know you're claiming UC?
Had a run in with a friend today, who claims I have choose this path, I should work full time, and while I'm choosing this way, the tax payer (ie her) is paying for it.
That the people who are better off, have worked hard to get there...

Basically you're made to feel like scum if youre claiming any sort of help in the form of benefits or food parcels.

AIBU to think not everyone is taking the psss out the system, and some just genuinely need a helping hand until they are able to get on their feet??

Really quite upset at her comments.

But you have said if you work three days a week and your DH works four days a week you would only need one day of nursery so you obviously do have another option for childcare than Nursery.

Also I don't understand how DH can be too ill to look after your 1 yo but well enough to be going back to work in a month

@dairyfairies she can afford to work part time as UC makes up the shortfall. Those aren't rules set by the OP, it's what the DWP says.

I grew up on benefits. Had all the support out there, help with university fees, etc. Am now a successful tax payer! Totally could not have got here without our fantastic benefit system.
Most people on benefits are there because they need them and deserve them. Only a very very few abuse them.

Just a note to those ppl commenting you only work three days, Op is a nurse. Three days is most likely equivalent to full time hours!

I’d far rather my tax dollars went to people who are struggling to help them have a better existence than they go towards paying for Security for a very Rich couple who want to get richer.

I make no apologies for that. One of the things that make Britain really great is the way we help people who are not as fortunate as some others.

Most people on benefits are there because they need them and deserve them

Need them= absolutely
Deserve them= really????!!!!

Dairyfairies,

He has a chronic condition, yes he's ill, been hospitalised but is slightly better thanks to steroid use, hence wanting to get back to work.
Not to Mention the impact being out of work has caused his mental health to go down the pan.
We don't want to be in benefits forever.

Even if I was full time right now while OH is off work sick, it still wouldn't be enough to cover rent and bills, and we would still have to claim UC.

Choosing to work part time, and OH work 30 hours or so, and NOT claim benefits is our choice yes.
If we can afford to live on those hours and be with our son, that's what we will do, that was working before for us before OH got ill.

I wish the system was different. If you can work more you shouldn't get help. I myself have been a single mum with a 4 month old baby (domestic abuse) I didn't claim a penny. I worked nights so that I had the with my baby and paid for me and her. Helped I own my own home outright from previous hard work. For me it's the entitlement of people that others should pay for there lives, and then have more children or complain they dont get enough. My husband's family are like this and they think we are snobs because of our earnings

It's just a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.

I have a friend who is single and paying a mortgage. She has 2 children and works 2 days a week. She gets CM from her ex and benefits. Because of this, she has a higher income than I do and I work 40 hours a week in a stressful, boring job. I have been to uni and worked my arse off to get where I am!!

I don't begrudge her at all. I'm pleased that she is not struggling but makes me wonder why I worked so hard!!

Unfortunately these threads always bring the arseholes out.

I'd guess at the most 5% of people on benefits take the piss. And the other 95% are there cos they need them.

You need them op and thank god they are still there. And drop you're friends if they speak to you like that.

Also 30 hours is not full time and 23 hours is pitiful our kids do 35 hours a week at school and they handle it fine.

Go away tictac86. This isn't about you.

It didn't even take one page of replies to have people coming out the woodwork to benefit bash. MN at its finest. Hide the thread op and just know that most reasonable people don't give a toss.

I think all this thread shows is that different people have different ideas about what taking the piss actually is, that is always going to be the case.

I don't know how close to two your toddler is but if your situation doesn't change before their birthday you may well be entitled to 2 year funding so your childcare costs would be reduced.

Your friend is a cow. Bin her.

Loving the stereotypical rhetoric being churned out by both sides of the benefits debate- both equally getting my back up. Such "arguments" as:

"I dont want to lose time with my child working full time, they are only young once"
"You are only taking out what you put in"
"Im raising a future tax payer"
"children are a lifestyle choice"
"only have children you can afford"

the issue is lower incomes not covering basic outgoings in the UK. having said that I'm proud to be in a country with such a safety net!

You are choosing that because you want more time with your child. That's fine but in my opinion the tax payer shouldn't be paying for that choice.
OR taxpayer funding the "free" childcare

@Greydrabday

It doesn’t matter if you’d be no better off. You are CHOOSING to not work because you want to spend time with your child

Others don’t have a choice. Some mothers have to work full time. Regardless of funds. As this is the only way for them to feed their kids

I’m sorry. But with each post. You’re losing me each time.

You are choosing not to work full time.

Absolutely agree you are within your right to want to be at home more when he's young. But if the circumstances don't allow it, unfortunately that's not an option, imo. Could you pick up some extra bank shifts? That could be short term while he's looking then when he's back at work you can drop down to what suits your family if that was working.

Of course your OH is absolutely entitled to UC while he's unwell. But if he's better and you also have him or some other family support for childcare (which I presume you do if you don't need nursery the whole time both of you are working) I would have thought it would be sensible to pick up hours while he's looking at least, if you're in a position of requiring food parcels which suggests things are quite dire and I imagine stressful, and have debts to pay off.

Benefits are uncertain and unreliable. A career, especially in nursing that you have trained for and is highly skilled, offers much greater potential for the future, and nursing also is potentially more flexible than some other jobs. My friend manages to organise her nursing shifts to reduce the amount of childcare they need by tag teaming with her partner on the days she does. could that be an option to reduce your costs?

My daughter receives around £24,000 per annum in benefits - this includes £12 000+ for having a severely disabled child.

She chooses to live with me, stay at home and home educate her 4 children and receive these benefits

If she choose to go to work and have her own accommodation she would receive £32,000pa in benefits including wrap around childcare and rent and she would still receive £8000 in disability that is non means tested. Plus she would receive £41 0000pa in school places. Including a space at a specialist school

So making a choice to have around £5000pa more disposable income would cost the tax payer approx £50,000pa more

At a recent hen part she was at 9 out of the 15 women said they received more in benefits when working than they would if they stayed at home - due to paying for childcare - and all of their children were in school.

They are expecting the tax payer to support their choice

This is why changes to benefits to encourage more people into work rarely make savings and often cost more - they do not look at whole system costs - how all the different costs from totally different budgets might add up. Free nursery places are tax payer funded nursery places - whether the money goes into people's benefits or paid direct to the nursery makes no difference to the overall costs.

You are choosing to continue to work part time and claim UC when you could work full time

Or...she had a part time job which suited her family circumstances at the point her partner became unwell. Not necessarily that easy to just up to full time, is it? Seems some people struggle to acknowledge that it isn't as easy as 'just work full time'.

Free nursery places are tax payer funded nursery places - whether the money goes into people's benefits or paid direct to the nursery makes no difference to the overall costs well nursery is seen as a benefit to the child also.

Choosing to work part time, and OH work 30 hours or so, and NOT claim benefits is our choice yes.
If we can afford to live on those hours and be with our son, that's what we will do, that was working before for us before OH got ill.

So you have just said this is a choice not a need or something completely necessary. But my point is you can't afford it, you are claiming UC to be able to afford it. I wouldn't be claiming it myself if I was in your situation. In my opinion you are claiming benefits as you have chosen to have more time with your 1 yo not because you really need it. The tax payer shouldn't be paying for that.

I am not working at the moment as I am studying. I am claiming nothing except the standard CM because I am choosing not to work. So are you.

@mummyrocks1 What a refreshing change :)

Mothers working costs the system more in child care coming from tax free childcare, free nursery places, tax credits and universal credits.

Basecamp65 is totally correct.

But lots of people don't care about what saves money for the taxpayer, they would rather jump up and down about benefit piss takers than see the reality.

Benefit fraud is a tiny amount by the government own statistics and most people do not take the piss legally like with tax credits or illegally like fraudulently claiming.

There has been over ten years of benefits hysteria, scapegoating and a propaganda campaign to turn people against benefits claimants including the disabled.

Working people were told to look down on benefit claimants and those not working and watched gleefully when universal credit brought in tough and unfair sanctions and a lower level of subsidence, not realising that universal credit applies to those in work also.

People go on about helping the genuine disabled, yet the government has cut a minimum of £336 per month from the genuine disabled, that a minimum.

The severely disabled also have seen a cut. This is on top of cuts to respite, care packages, special school, education, social care, NHS, etc etc. Also cuts to help with rent and council tax.

Yet people still come onto threads like this and talk about piss takers.

The only piss takers I can see are the government and the population who support this rhetoric.

My daughter was diagnosed very early with autism at 2.5 years old, this won't change. Also add and a physical disability. Yet we receive less money now than 3 years ago and probably less going forward.

Fine, I will cope but others have died as a result. I'm pissed off that when younger, I didn't saddle the taxpayer with thousands of pounds of care costs and respite packages and social care by choosing to care for my daughter myself. For £64 a week carers allowance.

If I had to do it all again I would not care what it cost the taxpayer as, as a group they don't give a shit. Hence voting in the same government again.

Working parents and carers cost the government more and if all carers gave up tomorrow, the government would be fucked.

All those saying to the op about her husband looking after their child, he is recovering but will be looking to return to work when well. He will obviously look to do work that he can cope with as he is longterm chronically ill but they have had a worse than normally ill period. The op has said this.

All these expecting him to run around after a toddler and not recovering enough and quicker are stupid and deluded. Not letting him recover properly will cost the tax payer more as he will be sicker for longer.

Some people are so stupid they don't see that what they propose actually costs more money, as they would rather fuck people over and label them a scrounger than see the truth of the many situations.

Op yanbu.