Why do you benefit bash?

[greyblanket76]

My family and I are working class and always have been. My friends are too and so are the people that I tend to socialise with/meet in everyday life. I've only been on MN since last year but have seen so many comments bashing people who are on/depend on benefits and I'd really like to know why?

Is this because some people on here think everyone that's on benefits is lazy and doesn't want to work therefore claim benefits? Or is it something else?

I'll talk about my situation and will keep it as brief as possible as I already know people will come in the comments to try and shame me. I'm early 20s and a single mum (didn't start out that way but your whole life can literally change overnight and that's what happened to me). I have one DC and I'm expecting another so I've been on maternity leave back to back as I'll have 2 under 2.

I've worked full time since I was 17 right up until I went on my first maternity leave. Due to the rate of SMP, I'm entitled to benefits as SMP doesn't even cover my rent which is £1200. I'm entitled to £1670 of UC which covers my rent and all my bills. During the first 9 months of my maternity leave I was receiving around £1507 UC (due to deductions) + £638 SMP = £2145 a month.
Once I give birth to my second DC, my UC entitlement should go from £1670 to £1907. This isn't 100% accurate but due to receiving SMP, let's say the deductions would be due £1700 UC + £638 SMP = £2388 a month. That would be excluding child benefit for both children btw.

When I was working full time, I was earning £1383 a month. I do plan to go back to work after my maternity leave ends as I genuinely love my work and have my whole career in front of me. However can people see the huge jump in difference between the two amounts? Nearly a grand in total! When returning back to work, I would be entitled to some benefits however because I'd be working full time, it wouldn't be a lot. That's why it's advised that you drop hours to work part time in order to get the most help available.

I've read my post back and hope it isn't too confusing but I just wanted some people who benefit bash to understand that sometimes life on benefits seems better especially as you have kids because you get so much more help. My mum keeps telling me to consider not working for a year or two just because I need to consider the quality of life my DC and I will have. I wouldn't be able to pay for rent AND childcare so what would I do? There's a lot that comes into play when deciding if you should go back to work or just be on benefits and I hope some people got that from this post. Seeing as this is an anonymous forum, if you judge/bash people on benefits, I'd really be interested to hear why. Posting in AIBU because I'm prepared to be flamed and have learnt not to take nasty comments to heart

@wanttomarryamillionaire

Your anecdotes definitely won't be relevant to the OP. Not in the epicentre of the public health housing and homelessness emergency - London. Scarce social housing, and very few private landlords accepting tenants on benefits. She goes to the council and they'll likely socially cleanse her out of London - away from family, community, and support networks. There is zero inventive for any Londoner to 'fake' disability.

@Wineoclockx

Have I missed something here? As a responsible adult who is raising 2 children, please remember that your children are watching you while they’re growing up, they will notice how their parents are living their lives. If you have a choice to work, then show your children a good example. In my view that’s the most import thing.

@Wineoclockx you're definitely right and that's why I will be going back to work. My mum thinks it's like shooting myself in the foot and maybe it is but I'll have to see how it goes

Well you are incapable of paying your own way. That’s why you’re claiming. And you can’t act like the fact you’ve chosen to have a second child without financial support from the father is irrelevant in all this. Working on paper is different from working sufficiently to look after yourself and raise your children.

*incentive

@Cheekypeach That’s exactly it. I think disabled people need far more help, and the system for everyone else needs to be unplayable.

@Wineoclockx

Have I missed something here? As a responsible adult who is raising 2 children, please remember that your children are watching you while they’re growing up, they will notice how their parents are living their lives. If you have a choice to work, then show your children a good example. In my view that’s the most import thing.

Exactly this!

@Cheekypeach

Well you are incapable of paying your own way. That’s why you’re claiming. And you can’t act like the fact you’ve chosen to have a second child without financial support from the father is irrelevant in all this. Working on paper is different from working sufficiently to look after yourself and raise your children.

Are care workers also incapable of.payong their own way? Will you pay them double so they don't have to claim UC to care for the elderly?

How about nurses that claim UC? Are they too incapable?

Shelf.stackers at Tesco?
Delivery drivers?
Teaching assistants?
Nursery workers?
Ambulance drivers?

Are.these all incapable people too?
Or is it just people on Maternity that are incapable?

If people are being crippled by rent perhaps the ire should be directed at btl ll who charge such crippling prices and the artificially inflated house prices rather than those who are forced to claim state help to afford neccessities such as secure homes.

Well, it’s for the children not you, that we dump money into benefits.

That money can’t be given to a child so it’s given to you to spend on looking after them. It’s better to pay you some money each month than to throw the kids in care..

I do find all the ‘you don’t know how I ended up like this’ a bit meh, though, you shagged someone and got pregnant and now you’re on your own.. the reason you’re on your own is a moot point at that stage.

OP it might be difficult at first when you return to work. Get help with childcare costs through UC, it's backdated though so you still have to pay up front then they pay up to 85% the following month, it depends on your income I think. But it's better than nothing. And in the longer term, you'll be making contributions to your pension and continuing to gain experience in the work place so that you can progress and get a better job and pay. Better than not working and scraping by on the minimum then returning to work many years later and feeling out of your depth. Short term pain for long term gain. I do know it's hard though and I can see why single mothers don't return to work, I never judge.

@BashfulClam

I get less than that working full time. A lot less abs still have to pay my mortgage and full council tax etc. This is what gets to me, as a childless 40 years old couple we get nothing. No benefits, no fee travel (pensioners and under 22’s in Scotland get free bus travel) etc.

I can understand why u feel it’s slightly unfair but the majority of the OPs UC is for housing it gets paid to her landlord she doesn’t see it and it’s not like she will own that house at the end if it (which obviously would be wrong because then UC would have bought her a house) when u pay your mortgage it’s you that benefits from that ( you will own your house). The housing part of UC isn’t always the full rent amount either if your rent is £700 and the LHA amount is £500 then UC will only pay the £500 so the idea they get a free house is wrong. Obviously I don’t know your circumstances but from what u have said but “ you have to pay your mortgage…. But u will own your home and if u received help with that then “benefits would be buying you a house” and council tax people on UC still pay council tax not everyone in UC receives a full council tax reduction a discount maybe.

Im so confused by the numbers here. I’m a single parent to two disabled children and therefore get more than the standard. I don’t get anywhere near this. Also I didn’t realise you could claim UC whilst getting maternity pay.

@MaryAndHerNet I take zero issue with UC topping up those workers. Well, I would prefer the government make their employers pay them properly, but I don’t begrudge the top up as it stands.

But OP is on maternity because she is having a second child as a single mum with no responsible father in the picture. We are therefore picking up the financial slack. That’s the part I object to.

@MaryAndHerNet or maybe myself and my colleagues are working with these people day in and day out, therefore we know what really goes on rather than printing out statistics that we all know can be twisted to suit any argument? You have no idea what job i do yet myself and my colleagues deserve to be sacked? Nice

@MaryAndHerNet
Thank you for saying this, I'm a full time care worker and need UC to top up my income. It's easy for people to say I'm undeserving, yet they don't mind me taking a low paid job to look after their relatives.

People in Cornwall or the Lake District are priced out of the area because of a lack of well-paid jobs. That hardly applies to Londoners.

Oh yes it does. Just with that added biggie - housing. Londoners are priced out because of a lack of affordable homes (because of people from elsewhere like Cornwall or the Lakes moving to London to take higher paid jobs...).

There are many low paid minimum wage jobs in London. A lot of them, essential roles (so, no, the workers can't just move elsewhere - because London needs those jobs as much as anywhere else does).

I do find all the ‘you don’t know how I ended up like this’ a bit meh, though, you shagged someone and got pregnant and now you’re on your own.. the reason you’re on your own is a moot point at that stage.

Quite. It’s one of those phrases used to emotionally blackmail people into not querying their poor life decisions

[quote cuno]@MaryAndHerNet
Thank you for saying this, I'm a full time care worker and need UC to top up my income. It's easy for people to say I'm undeserving, yet they don't mind me taking a low paid job to look after their relatives.[/quote]
I don’t begrudge you UC top up whatsoever. If you’re working full time, I have zero issue with it.

@cuno

OP it might be difficult at first when you return to work. Get help with childcare costs through UC, it's backdated though so you still have to pay up front then they pay up to 85% the following month, it depends on your income I think. But it's better than nothing. And in the longer term, you'll be making contributions to your pension and continuing to gain experience in the work place so that you can progress and get a better job and pay. Better than not working and scraping by on the minimum then returning to work many years later and feeling out of your depth. Short term pain for long term gain. I do know it's hard though and I can see why single mothers don't return to work, I never judge.

@cuno thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. That's definitely what I plan to do so I just hope my plan falls into place as simple as possible

Why is it that people have children they can't afford.

Why does 99% contraception NOT work for people who can claim benefits ? Me thinks the precautions are not taken with real honesty because the state pick up the cost ...

Why are 'naice ' mummy's at the high performing primary not carrying around children by multiple partners .. but 2 or 3 kids max by the same DH....

Whereas under performing primary is over run with kids that have 4 or five siblings , come to school without a coat and haven't had breakfast..

Pretty sure that efficacy of contraception is not income based.. but ' can be arsed' controls .

[quote cuno]@MaryAndHerNet
Thank you for saying this, I'm a full time care worker and need UC to top up my income. It's easy for people to say I'm undeserving, yet they don't mind me taking a low paid job to look after their relatives.[/quote]
According to some posters, Londoners doing the essential work that you do, should all move out of London to 'somewhere cheaper' (that will no longer be somewhere cheaper if everyone moves there).

[quote Cheekypeach]@MaryAndHerNet I take zero issue with UC topping up those workers. Well, I would prefer the government make their employers pay them properly, but I don’t begrudge the top up as it stands.

But OP is on maternity because she is having a second child as a single mum with no responsible father in the picture. We are therefore picking up the financial slack. That’s the part I object to.[/quote]
@Cheekypeach Again, a pp has attached the percentage of the amount of taxpayers money that actually went on unemployment. It's 1%. Maybe you think of yourself all high and mighty because 'you're picking up the slack' when in reality, you're barely touching the surface

@pollygartertidywife

Why is it that people have children they can't afford.

Why does 99% contraception NOT work for people who can claim benefits ? Me thinks the precautions are not taken with real honesty because the state pick up the cost ...

Why are 'naice ' mummy's at the high performing primary not carrying around children by multiple partners .. but 2 or 3 kids max by the same DH....

Whereas under performing primary is over run with kids that have 4 or five siblings , come to school without a coat and haven't had breakfast..

Pretty sure that efficacy of contraception is not income based.. but ' can be arsed' controls .

We need to invest in a good support system. Social services, training and education opportunities, mental health help.

@pollygartertidywife the answer is education...mostly. It's not THAT hard to understand!

@MrsPsmalls

Good luck to you OP you have to start from where you are, but you COULD have made better choices. You could have. Why do you have two children in your early 20s? You say life can change overnight, but anyone with any insight realises they are taking a big chance getting pregnant at 20 ish. You can't have known the man for many years. Why did you think he'd make a reliable Dad? Where is your own career? How hard did you work at school? Why were you working at 17? Surely you considered that you might be financially responsible for children on your own if he buggered off or even if he died. Why did you not plan for this eventuality? Most marriages end in divorce and even more cohabitaions. It just seems like you have abdicated responsibility for your own life. And then brought children into the mix.

I agree with this.