Universal credit what my husband to go to the job centre, AIBU?!

[ImEasyLikeSundayMorning]

After a string off 'errors' that occurred out of nowhere, we have been kicked off tax credits, and we cannot reapply.

Both DH and I work full time and have not been out of work for many many years.

We can only apply for universal credit. We are entitled to a very small amount towards DC3's childcare but we are absolutely broke and desperate so need to apply.

Despite checking and double checking, during the application they did not ask for DH's income (self employed), but they did require mine.
DH had a phone interview today and has to go to the job centre next week to prove he is self employed and working.

We hare always just used his self tax form for that in the past.

Who can just drop work like that with a weeks notice?! I know I can't.

Is this a normal expectation?!

I'm sorry but here you've just said you can and are willing to take time off for look after your daughter/look after her when she's sick, but you refuse to take time off to go to appointments to evidence the benefits(free money) you receive? How entitled.

@ImEasyLikeSundayMorning you have my sympathy. The comments from some people on this thread demonstrate a total lack of understanding of being a self employed sub contractor! Taking any time out means no pay and it is not always easy to walk off a job midway through the day. No advice but sending hugs

If he's a CIS subbie and isn't earning that much, has he done his 2021/22 tax return? DP used to get quite a bit of money back due to the way they took the CIS out of his pay during the tax year.

Well OP if your OH is a trained builder and is sub contracting for not much more than minimum wage then there is the answer to your problem. Stop claiming UC, your husband can start working as a self employed builder and significantly increase your household income and then he doesn't need to attend meetings. Problem solved

That’s why I can’t take anymore time off!! Don’t start with me lady. I work hard I get a tiny percentage towards my childcare cost and no I’m not going to an appointment to prove I am looking for work. I work! I like my job and I work hard. You have no idea the circumstances that lead to being a single parent. I have worked my whole life and been to uni so don’t come at me with your snobbery ok!!!

There’s some lovely people on MN but also some absolute twats.

No snobbery, I just don't understand why people can extract money/be given free money from taxpayers and refuse to attend any appointments to evidence their entitlement. It's just one of those things. They have to run checks because of the amount of fraud that has/does happen with benefits. Attending a meeting or two in exchange for that help is hardly the end of the world

Thank you, I really appreciate that.

So you would be happy if your child's teacher had to take time out of class to go to the job centre because they'd been off for weeks with their sick child?

Or if your appointment was cancelled with a nurse because they had time off with a sick child then had to take more time off to go to the job centre?

You can't see how pointless that is ?

I've nothing helpful to say OP, except to assure you that you're absolutely entitled to say whatever is your "worstest word" about the DWP. Their actual remit is to get as many claimants OFF benefits as possible, and damn the consequences to the claimant and any dependents they have.

It's sick, it's cynical, it's typical Tory, but sadly it's not new.

My late uncle was manager of what was then called the DHSS in Rutherglen a few decades ago, and he told me that there was an unwritten rule that, e.g., if a person came in with a claim they weren't eligible for - but you knew from what they told you that they WERE entitled to a different benefit - you were absolutely NOT to inform them of that.

I have heard in the recent past, but don't know how accurate this is, that DWP staff actually have targets for stopping people's benefits.

Bastards.

Has he looked around at other sites? Pretty much every building site round here, of which there are many, has a sign outside asking for brickies. When DP was last on a site all the trades would come and go all the time when they found better paid work elsewhere.

But it just seems quite odd that you're struggling so much, but he's not doing the obvious thing you could to make things a lot better.

Start working as a self-employed builder?

You mean start his own business, literally.

He doesn't want to. You make it sound very simple. I tried to persuade him many years ago and he said it wasn't worth the stress and he isn't up for it.

But the way you make it sound is like a hair dresser just taking over some clients.

It isn't that simple. At all.

Friend of mine is a single working mother of 2 primary school age children. She drops DCs at school, goes straight to work, works till 2:30 and then frantically goes through London to pick up her children from school at 3:15. She is entitled to a small amount of Universal Credit and gets asked to go to the Job Centre every few months. Every single time she calls them and tells them it is impossible for her to take time off just to attend her 'job-focus' interview as she is already working as many hours as she can without needing to pay extra child-care fees, but every time she has to take half day off work (without pay), just to attend her interview. It is totally unnecessary, but those, apparently, are the rules. No logic whatsoever, if you ask me!

He isn't a 'brickie' but thanks for showing me your ignorance.

It sounds like you have a DH problem then. He has the skills to dramatically increase your household income but can't really be bothered so you will continue to struggle indefinitely. Maybe you need to start having those conversations

IamEasy, We are painfully broke, tax credits are wankers and universal credit are an insult.

No, you will soon find out that you get more money on UC. But a bit more hassle , as well.

How obnoxious are you? Those people taking time off work are also tax payers

Did I say anything factual incorrect? Do you not think there should be some degree of compliance work with tax credit/UC claimants?

Blimey, round here the builders are bloody loaded! Maybe he should raise his prices!

That's not necessarily true. Our nearest job centre is about 50 minutes drive away. Add another 15 for finding parking and then walking to the centre. Throw in a half hour wait, 20 minutes or longer interview, another trek back to the car, 50 minutes drive home and then to wherever the job is (mine is 40 mins from home, opposite direction to job centre town) and poof! Whole afternoon gone.

Are you implying people who haven’t got English as their first language wouldn’t understand the word ‘hysterical’? I’d say that’s verging on racist. No, I’d say it IS racist.

Honestly, you are just so ignorant. So I’m not paying tax? I’m working all of the hours I can with having an 8 year old. Tell you what. I will let her walk to school on her own? Yeah, would that make you feel better about me using tax payers money? I book her in for a couple of after school clubs so I can do my job. I take no shame from someone like you believe me!!

I think they should be able to upload anything the job centre needs to see

Do you not understand that people having to take time off unpaid every few months means they are losing money , people who can't really afford to do that as they are already reliant on support ?

And how much is it costing the tax payer to have all these working people come in for a totally pointless interview?

Autumndays123 of course it's bloody snobbery, and a pretty f*ing thick point of view. Benefits are not "free". We all pay tax so that if - and yes, it COULD happen even to you! - we lose the ability to work, or to reach a high level of remuneration, or for some reason to lose the latter, the State will prevent us from losing our home, starving or dying of hypothermia.

"They" can run checks via for instance, employers; HMRC; receipts and so on, mostly all able to be done in a few minutes online. "They" don't need an actual body in a seat to check over documents, and phones/zoom, etc., can take care of any questions that arise.

Attending a meeting or two for you, may not present a problem in the world. In that case, with so much ability to utilise your time just as you please - you're extremely fortunate.

You're not, by any chance, Jacob Rees-Mogg's wife, are you?