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.

Well if you can't afford to support your life and a child then you shouldn't have a child until you can. I would of loved a big family but stopped after one because I cant afford to put more through uni or get more on the property ladder.

tictac86 so no one on min wage in this country should be allowed to reproduce?

tictac86 well then my stance is I shouldnt pay the council tax increase to fund social care if baby boomers were too lazy not to prepare sufficiently for their eventual care needs.

That's OK, Op. I'm a taxpayer so I'm paying: and I don't mind.
You can tell your unpleasant so-called "friend" that!

I was working fulltime then shit happened. Had no choice but cut my hours and get help with benefits.

@tictac86 not everyone has the potential to become a high earner. Minimum wage jobs have to be done by someone. Why should those people not have the opportunity to have children? What about women who get divorced and the dad doesn't bother to pay maintenance?

Spot on, flirtygirl.

@PleasePassTheCoffeeThanks in some cases someone working full time would be claiming the same as someone working part time, myself for instance. I work school hours, I don't currently need term time childcare. As a single parent if I went full time I'd just have to claim back the wrap around childcare costs. I'd get more "taxpayer money" doing that than I do now working part time.

I'm a working mother. I'm pretty sure I cost the tax payer more in childcare than a mum who decides to stay at home.

Who decides to stay at home on benefits

I'd rather have less money and be around for him, than be at work 5 days a week, doing 12 hour shifts, paying extortionate nursery fees, and missing out.

I see where you are coming from with the nursery fees, but I think more people would have sympathy if you could make that choice without using UC to make it work. You have a job where you could earn more, but choose to be part time. Many people can't get more hours this way.

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

Do you really believe that? That 95% of claimants are all working full time and more?

The numbers that aren’t working but physically able, work part time etc would be way more than 5% of all benefit claims easily,

Its disgusting that someone can work full time hours and not have enough money to look after their family.

Its disgusting that companies are not forced to provide a living wage

With this OP, I think that working 3 days a week is a bit of a cop out really, she's fit and healthy, and has no reason not to work a full time job - sure nursery is expensive, but you get help with that.

@SlothHouse exactly! My mum is a benefits advisor, she had a lady in the other day with four kids and no support from a husband, partner, family and friends. UC were going to pay up to 90% of her childcare costs for her to get a minimum wage job. In whose interest is this better?
We'd be better off just paying for her to stay at home. £300 per month in benefits or £300 per week (at least!) in childcare costs? People won't start having masses of kids to stay at home for £300 per month. Obviously keep the free nursery hours for those who earn under a certain amount, because that's of benefit for the child, who shouldn't be punished.
I think the majority of people would rather not be on benefits. It's an awful way to live. At least with earning a decent wage it's unlikely that you aren't going to paid. In three years on TC my money was stopped 3 times. That's terrible, you don't know how you're going to survive. Ringing people, begging, and then finding out they lost your letter because HMRC don't accept emails in 2020!

That isn't a friend op, your circumstances changed and uc was there to support you.
It is logical to use it in the way you did until your dp regained his health. Why run yourself into the ground when your dp is already there. It would benefit no one in the long term. Now that your dp is well again then the need for uc stops.

Sure I get the point of work as hard as possible to not rely on benefits but the system is designed or rather flawed so much that it isn't realistically possible without mass misery and further consequences to those trying to prove themselves worthy of living.

Well I had a great career, good money, planned and saved to have a baby. Didn’t plan on becoming a full time single parent when my dd was 18months. Didn’t plan on having a mental health breakdown and being physically unwell with an undiagnosed illness.

So I lost my job (in the NHS), I was unemployed for 1 month. I now work in a school, my childcare costs have massively reduced as even though my child is now 8 the wrap around care was a fair amount.

I claim UC, but I am in work with an excellent attendance (ended up having surgery), my childcare costs are much lower, and I’m mentally much better.

Or by the looks of some posters I should go back full time to my previous career, massively increase my outgoings in childcare, up my stressors to the point where my mental health nose dives and I can’t be an effective employee or mother. No thanks.

So I made the choice to claim my UC (I am a home owner so I don’t get a huge amount) and remain a functional parent, and contribute to society through my work. Honestly if you judge me for that then I couldn’t give a shit.

@WitchesGlove most people can't afford for a partner to become disabled, sick or die. Most people can't afford to have an SEN child. What are you suggesting? Poor people aren't allowed to have children? Should we enforce tubal ligations for women earning under a certain amount? Forced abortions for those who potentially couldn't afford a child if something awful happened? We aren't talking about people who have ten children, I think you know that's a false equivalence and no one can feasibly afford 10 children, even the fairly well off, but for ordinary families with one or two children claiming top up UC is the reality for most families earning a normal wage if something does go askew.

@tictac86 we pay for other people's bin collections, roads you may never drive on, you pay for the schooling of other people's children, the salaries of MPs who don't represent your constituency, a lot of things you'll never benefit from. But that is how the country works, if you do not agree with it, if you cannot care about other people, if you do not want to be part of the larger community, move to a tax haven.

Never claimed a penny in my life OP, but without benefits my friend, who was born without the use of the majority of his body, and my neighbour with JIA wouldn't be able to live independent lives or survive at all as no employer is keen on hiring someone who takes months off work at a time due to hospital stays. Your DH has a chronic condition, you'd be worse off working full time, I pay taxes and I care not one jot. Am far more concerned with tax evasion.

(*as in I care not one jot that you claim, if you need to then you need to! )

That's just a nasty, poorly thought through comment. If this 'friend' took a moment to engage her brain before being horrible to you she's realise she'd be paying exactly the same in tax regardless of whether or not you were working full or part time. Countries with no discernable safety net still have comparable taxation. And yet she's willing to sacrifice your friendship for a hypothetical 'saving'. Says more about her etc

Unfortunately it's a common theme and it's getting more popular, encouraged by the media and government - the government paid for by tax payers money, which happens to include a subsidised bar, travel, food, accommodation...... The things the majority of low waged jobs come without.
I've found that the get a better job brigade are a bunch of hypocritical arses quite honestly, happy to use the services provided by these jobs in retail, hospitality, childcare, elderly care (and moan about the price!) Say that these jobs don't 'deserve' higher wages and at the same time call people lazy scroungers for getting the difference between what they earn and what is needed to survive from benefits.
Such jobs are the backbone of society, without them the high earning judgemental 'such hard workers' would actually be at home looking after their own frail and elderly relatives, their own children. And if they weren't they'd be unable to enjoy the spoils of their hard work because there'd be no retail or hospitality workers to condescend to and be waited upon by, no where for them to go and enjoy their money because all the low wage earners would suddenly have better jobs - which of course all exist.
But we don't talk about that because it doesn't make such sensational headlines as 'Single mother has 87 children with different dad's while living in a mansion and claiming more than Branson earns a week in benefits'

There are other ways to get families like the OPs off benefits. Pay public service workers more and have massively subsidised childcare. Boom. Job done.

I work in a job center in another country. The vast majority of my clients are very normal people who through no fault of their own find them selves out of a job. Not only have they paid taxes theyve paid for unemployment insurance. Every so often we suspect a client isnt upholding their end of the deal so we report to the insurance co. Who then investigate. Being on benefits isnt ideal and certainly not a goal in itself but you shouldnt be ashamed of something thats beyond your control!

I don't have a problem with people claiming benefits who fall on hard times and genuinely need it as they can't work for whatever reason. Absolutely fine.

But I personally don't think the tax payer should be paying benefits to people who CHOOSE to work part time to have more time with their dcs or whatever other reason. That is a choice not a need and so they should only do it if they can afford to fund it themselves.

A friend of a friend works the minimum part time hours with two kids at school and claims benefits. She goes out all the time and affords skiing holidays and trips to Dubai. I am sorry but I do judge her. There is absolutely no reason she can't work full time.

@mummyrocks1 "a friend of a friend" I always call bullshit on these posts. Because how would you know the ins and outs of a "friend of a friend's" finances?