To ask if anyone else is struggling on one low universal credit payment?

[Evasmummy2019]

I'm not working at the moment as I lost my job as a palliative care nurse while doing my 8th round of fertility treatment last March. I reacted pretty badly to the ivf drugs and overstimulated my ovaries making me really poorly. Thankfully I got pregnant. I then couldn't get a new job while pregnant as I had HG (constantly suck 30x a day) and then in and out of hospital for fluids etc then with diabetes, bleeds, too much fluid and at the end reduced movements. I had my daughter in December. My husband is self employed so took no paternity leave. He's only been self employed for just under a year and doesn't qualify for the 80% SE (self employed) benefit payment. We were living on £20 a week child benefit between March and April and have no savings as he only earns £1600 per month on average and it goes straight on bills. We've cancelled his van insurance, pet insurance for our dog and cat, reduced our energy bills, suspended our loan repayment and council tax break for 2 months . We get no benefits only child benefit for our daughter. We've been really really struggling. We applied for universal credit and was awarded £629 per month. That only got paid on the 6th of May so we've had to still pay all our utilities etc. And I hope our mortgage break continues as that money will be gone on the mortgage alone if it starts back up in June . Its been very hard indeed and our relationship has suffered. I also suffered a traumatic birth and pnd has crept in.

Didn't Government also increase UC by about £80 a month because of CV issue. It is designed to be punitive & doesn't take into account long-term situations (which often isn't a choice & may well be in if have to take DWP to tribunal) and basic survival doesn't allow leeway to replace anything that may break.

Mortgage company maybe able to help further, friend had to switch to interest only for a while but it lowered costs. Housing benefit used to pay interest element but not sure if still does, it is capped by area. Benefits advisors best to make sure claiming everything entitled for.

Please contact GP if feeling struggling with PND symptoms, it is an incredible stressful process normally & need to take care of yourself

While DH is home would be great time to train him on the care of DD which would allow to you share the care so he doesn't feel useless. I'm sure most parents aren't medically minded but would have to learn to take baby home from hospital.
Would give you more flexibility in future & benefit your mental health to be able to take breaks without feeling anxious about her care.

Gosh some people are harsh.

@Evasmummy2019
UC for a couple with 1 child should be £829 month this includes the increase so next month you should have a bit more. Yes you may have had some earnings in that assessment period but a 5 week wait would have seen them disappear.

If your baby was born in December did you claim the £500 Sure Start Maternity Grant. If not do it now, you don't need the form signed by a health professional during covid crisis but you only have 6 months so are very close and it can only be paid once.

Its a shame that the hospital or health visitor did not refer you to help you claim DLA (it's not PIP for babies) for your child do this immediately, ring for a form today to protect the date of claim and you can then claim carers on your UC and disability child element. This would substantially increase your income and ease the pressure of looking after your child and yourself.

Have you claimed Council Tax Support?

Are you receiving treatment for your possible PND?

As others have said, there are two able bodied adults in your house and surely the answer is for one of them to work. If you're DH can get no s/e work then for the duration he needs to find a job, any job. If he can't then you will, even if part time.

If you paid NI for 13 weeks before your DDs due date you are eligible for maternity allowance. Are you getting that?
Pointless to claim MA as it’s deducted pound for pound from UC. It is completely ignored for tax credit purposes!

Dunno why anyone's saying there are loads of retail jobs out there.

No back claims possible then for maternity allowance? OP could have claimed 11 weeks before birth of baby and up until they moved to UC. It's lost money then...

Do people see benefits in the title and immediately decide to give the Op a bashing? This is a woman who has worked as a nurse, bought her own home and paid her taxes like everyone else.

She is entitled to claim some benefits when experiencing an extremely difficult time in her life,; a new baby with health problems, suffering from anxiety and PND and a global pandemic making it near on impossible for her husband to work.

Fair enough the helpful or tactful comments about her husband finding other work (although let's be realistic it's not easy when we're on partial lockdown and almost everything's shut.)

Are people seriously pressuring a new mother to Go back to work as a nurse when she's depressed, has a new baby with complex needs and is half crazed with sleep deprivation because her daughter stops breathing every night?

Universal Credit is there for families as a safety net in times of crisis like this. It's just a shock when families realise how little they are given to live on.
Working as a painter and decorator will take time to resurrect after the strict lockdown but would pay more than a NMW job. I can understand why a tradesman would try to get back to that rather than chase a shop assistant job.

There aren't lots of jobs in supermarkets where I live. None are taking on new staff.

@SmileyClare many posters are being supportive. UC is not working (for this family and many others). Unfortunately this family do not have the luxury of waiting for the benefits system to be fixed so they must act in the meantime. They short answer is somehow they have to start earning again.

On what planet are some people living? This woman is struggling with her mental health and has a young baby with medical needs. She’s caring for her child. It’s all very well saying she needs to put food on the table but she sounds concerned about her baby’s health too. I think it’s understandable.

Sorry @Evasmummy2019 but I think your husband needs to start looking for a job, any job. There are things you can to mitigate risk of the virus, like changing clothes and showering when he gets home.

Hello, sorry you've had such a tough time, we have had it pretty crap too. I had my second DS end of Jan. Newly qualified nurse and because I haven't been working (certainly not sitting at home on full time nursing degree!) not entitled to anything. DH made redundant after being moved abroad by his company and they managed to get out of paying him any redundancy. We sold our flat and therefore have a deposit (savings) so no UC.

I've started work, 2 12 hour shifts a week and I'm loving it. Obviously im sad at leaving my youngest and pumping every break sucks but I need to not watch every single penny of our hard earned savings drip away. There are risks with working and my DH is vulnerable and I have a three month old but I literally strip off and straight in the shower/uniform in the washing before I interact with anyone. I'm also in the 'clean' side of the hospital. It has actually helped my mental health, I have no choice but to work which helps with guilt, I can switch off from our crappy situation and focus on my patients.

Dh was a bit hopeless with our first born until I went back to placement when he was 8 months and he had to get a grip. I wasnt helping by trying to do everything and taking the baby out his arms as soon as he was remotely fussing. He bonded so well with him once he finally got the chance to find his own way. Hes at home now with the two and it's not what he would want obviously but one reason I chose nursing was the guarantee that I would always be able to find some kind of work as my husbands role is project based so no projects means no work.

For what it’s worth I think the point of many is that whilst their should be a safety net for OP
There clearly isn’t one

She can’t magic up more benefits especially now

So it’s not benefit bashing , and both OP and her partner work anyway

It’s brutal fucking facts

And he’s given updates it sounds like OP had it hard with the baby and their set of needs

The whole point of UC is to 'encourage' people into work by making it impossible to live on as a family, so SciFi is right, it's the way it is, one of them has to start earning.

We have an electrician starting work here next week.

Trades are going back.

The standard Uc element has gone up a bit due to coronavirus so you should be getting £594.04 standard couples element ( assuming one of you is over 25) and child element of £235.83. If your baby needs extra care above what a baby without her conditions would need then you can apply for DLA but it may be hard to get for a baby and you cannot get the mobility component until she is aged 3. If she gets awarded DLA then you would be able to claim carers allowance. On Uc as you have a mortgage you would be able to earn up to £512 a month without your Uc amount being reduced so even if your dh could get any type of small part time job you would be a lot better off.

Also op if you are too ill to work you can start handing in sick notes to Uc and wait to be assessed for capability for work. If awarded LCWRA which you could be if you have pnd and have medical evidence to support this, you would then get an extra £341 per month on your Uc claim which would help. It can take a while to be assessed though particularly at the moment.

Doesn't seem right in terms of standard allowance for 2 adults and a child. Did your DH have any income reported during the last assessment period? What were the deductions?

Ahhhh MN Benefit Bashing at it's finest.

Have you all missed the part where the OP is shielding with a 4 month old very vulnerable baby...? Are you honestly telling me that you would want your partners to go out in this same situation?

Also who on earth believes there are "loads" of retail jobs out there right now most non-essential retailers are closed. And do you honestly not think that the ones who have stayed open haven't had loads of applications too due to the current situation?

OP, I am so sorry you're in this situation. It all seems so unfair

People saying op is the problem are way out of touch. It's the fucking awful goady comments that are the problem. I'm not sure why people feel the need to be so vile. Sorry you're going through this op.

With what yihve said about your mental health and your baby's health I think your husband should be the one working. Obviously easier said than done right now. I'm not sure how much decorating work there will be in the next few month or year. As you say money is tight for a lot of people. So it's probably best for him to look for something temporary like retail until it picks up again.

In the uc amount it feels very low but I know that benefits are tough! I'd suggest look on citizens advice or benefit entitlment website

I'll join your club with struggling with universal credit. I applied to see if I can anything as I'm pregnant, lost my job due to coronavirus, working at Tesco 7.5 hours a week which is barely earning anything but I live at my parents still. They seem to expect my parents can pay for my living costs even though I'm a full grown adult and they are struggling themselves they need me to contribute to put food on the table! The lady that rang me from the job centre said I shouldn't be working, which my midwife said I can and to stop working, give up my job offer that I have lined up after lock down and claim universal credit £340 a month, less than £100 a week! I then said I will struggle on that how do you expect me to buy the essentials for my baby to which her reply was to get an advance which I would have to pay back monthly, putting me at more of a struggle! She said I wouldn't get anymore if I decided not to work because it is not safe! Being young my car insurance isn't cheap, I can't cancel it as I'm going through a claim that wasn't my fault which is taking a long time because of the coronavirus! I worked so hard to get a decent car which at the end of this it looks like I'm going to have to sell due to not being able to afford the insurance and needing the money, I'm heartbroken thinking about it!

EBM when child is born claim child benefit

Also can you claim child maintenance from the father ?

Some people seem to think that benefits are endless, but the reality is that they are not

You can claim sure start maternity grant too. How pregnant are you?

Just thought I'd put on an update. I've applied for surestart grant and will wait to hear back. I have queried our uc amount and yes it is correct amount. I am really very low at the moment and rang gp as was suffering with pnd and now been diagnosed with ptsd after my daughter and I almost died during her birth. I wasn't sure what I was doing posting on here it made me feel like shit to be completely honest. I don't think I'll be sticking around on here for any more advice. It's just that I have nobody else and I wanted a bit of solidarity maybe. But thank you for the great advice you have given me. And also no I won't be taking a lodger

It doesn’t sound right. The basic is

The standard Uc element has gone up a bit due to coronavirus so you should be getting £594.04 standard couples element ( assuming one of you is over 25) and child element of £235.83.

So £800 ish

OP you haven't said what the deductions have been on your claim though?

OP said in April that her partner hadn't stopped working at all during the crisis - deductions will almost certainly be due to his earnings.