to be shocked at universal credit amount?

[oddsocksmatchifsamethickness]

I've just become a single mum of one, husband gone. So obviously I want to bring my earnings up. I'm self-employed and will be doing so. But I put in a calculation for UC to see if I could get help while I sought new contracts. I'm self-employed. I earned 1K this month and did the calculation and it says I will get another 650 a month from UC.

Can that be right? It seems a lot, it would take my income up to a wage of 28K/year, but I only work 20 hours a week.

Is this what people get?

It is a fund available through the job centre ( or a work coach) which can help with the first months childcare costs up front for someone returning to work, so they can apply to that fund for help with upfront childcare costs and then hopefully when they submit the first months payments it is paid shortly after to cover the next months. I haven't used it myself, I just know about it from reading Uc forums. I guess it only helps people for that first month but better then nothing if that is all that is preventing them from returning to work.

Understood Babyroobs but it is helpful for parents who are in this situation. That was my point, really.

@Babyroobs it's how all the dates fall. I've even tried to pay 6 weeks childcare upfront this is a luxury for some and I'm really lucky I can afford to do that. But even then UC want your child to have actually gone to the childcare provider past those dates it's ridiculous because I've paid out of my own money and shown proof. There's no way of conning them, UC don't really want single parents to work more hours and I think it's about MORE people opened their eyes and realised this.

On TC you could call them and they would sort your childcare payments within a week or so. UC is a bloody nightmare. I think some people have had their kids years ago and don't know the reality of UC.

£640 in childcare costs for 1 child is a lot of money to be paying upfront let's be honest.

So youve massaged the figures and put in for high rent in London...

And if ored the benefit cap.

Not mentioned LhA rates

Private Vs social housing.

You've ignored that the vast majority of your total will go directly to a landlord.

Bias bias bias

This is the problem with the discussion about benefits. The disqualification without any arguments to silence any discussion.

• The benefit cap doesn't apply as the parent is working 16 hours per week.
• LHA is considered that is why the amount is so high. 365.92 per week.
• It is private housing, a 2 bedroom allowance for a child and a parent.
• I haven't ignored that fact. Don't forget that a lot of us also have to pay rent at those rates. The remaining of our salaries has to cover the rest.

Where is the bias?

"LHA is considered that is why the amount is so high. 365.92 per week"

Good good.
This renders your entire post meaningless and alarmist. That's the LHa rate for Inner London, it reflects the circumstances of a tiny proportion of people with extremely high rents. It 8s not a representation of the whole or the average.
Presenting minority biased amounts as any kind of reflection as to the whole of the benefit system is misleading, or, disingenuous..

You win. I am sorry to have said anything. I apologize.

I have to say, whenever I see a thread complaining that a benefit amount is low, I’m always shocked by the amount as it’s always at least twice what I was earning when I was just over the threshold for benefit entitlement, AND I had to pay for my rent and all bills out of it. I was left with £10 per week on a good week.

People on this thread have laughed at the idea that childless single people have a rough time, but I’ve yet to see a single thread like this where the OP, or any poster, has complained about a figure that came close to my situation when I was basically in poverty.

If your children were not disabled and you were not a carer then you would deduct nearly £900 from that amount.

Absolutely. If I was not a carer and my children weren't disabled, I would be working full time and we wouldn't even get UC.

£1650 a month take home equates to a gross salary of around £24k - somebody would have to earn £24k in a job to take that home - OP was referring to an equivalent salary, not a take-home amount. Shocking that so many adults don't actually know the difference.

Well grab it with both hands and don't worry.. You clearly are a worker.. Some don't bother at all...

Your figures are as dismissive and disingenuous as the "purposefully misleading... Tory antibenefit agenda". Someone claiming unemployment UC will also receive their rent paid to the local allowance, c/tax discount, Government cost of living assistance, free prescriptions and dental, support to get back to work, caps and discounts on utilities and broadband, and other discretionary payments they can apply for. These "soft" benefits are things which most of the working population would have to pay for, so have a monetary equivalent too.

You're right, £1000-ish per month is a tight budget but that's the amount for one single person (families and those with children receive more). Unemployment benefit isn't meant to provide a comfortable lifestyle; it's meant to get someone through a short-term time of hardship so they can get back to work again. You seem to have forgotten this.

Someone claiming unemployment UC will also receive their rent paid to the local allowance, c/tax discount, Government cost of living assistance, free prescriptions and dental, support to get back to work, caps and discounts on utilities and broadband, and other discretionary payments they can apply for.

In the post you quoted, I said:

£334 is the unemployment element.
I didn't mention housing element.
That £334 is to pay gas, electric, food, clothing, hygiene, rent shortfall, council tax etc

Which is accurate.

I didn't mention Housing element of UC which fluctuates dependant on area.
I didn't mention childcare costs which fluctuate.
Etc.

And here it is..everyone can live on a " string budget " as you say, then the car needs a mot, washing machine not working. In come the lenders..wake up lov! If your that miffed give it to the people who need it. Most ridiculous post of 2022

And that 'string budget' includes doing the weekly shop for £25.00 for two people. More than a tad miserable, I'd say, but unmanageable and unsustainable.

Someone claiming unemployment UC will also receive their rent paid to the local allowance, c/tax discount, Government cost of living assistance, free prescriptions and dental, support to get back to work, caps and discounts on utilities and broadband, and other discretionary payments they can apply for. These "soft" benefits are things which most of the working population would have to pay for, so have a monetary equivalent too

Well then, that means people on UC are rolling on cash, doesn't it.

Rent only gets paid up to what the LHA would pay anyway, and you have to make up the shortfall yourself. If you have more bedrooms than you need, then you have to pay extra for that too.
Free prescriptions - honestly, anyone who has regular medications is stupid for not taking advantage of the £10 per month instead of paying for individual scripts anyway.
Not everyone gets council tax help. I don't. I just get the 25% discount for living alone.
Dental? Hahahha! No NHS dentists here for miles. And if you do have one, on benefits it is the bare minimum of treatment.. think an extraction instead of attempts to keep your tooth. No point asking for implant, bridge or dentures.. that is cosmetic and not covered.
I don't get help or caps on energy as the bills are not in my name... same for lots of people on UC, because they are in HMO or above a shop.
The social tariff for broadband is shit. I pay £6 more for a decent speed as I game, and need a proper connection.

Of course, the most shit part about being on UC is the judgement from other people, or assuming that we have all these lovely extras and are rolling in spare cash.

Yes but people who work have to pay for that all themselves.

I think you've missed the point

That is why the state is trying to do something about it as it feels unfair to many workers. We ahve the highest tax burden in 70 years (since the 1940s) at the moment. No one is saying benefits allow those who work part time or don't work (or work full time and also receive benefits) to live like kings but the balance is not quite right and those who work full time and do not receive any state help (some on MN do not even receive child benefit) can feel things are a bit unfair.

it is the same as you reach the 40% (42% if you add NI a upper rate) tax band and higher - parents often do less work, pay less tax and contribute less to the poor and the country because so much more is taken away from them in tax.

But presumable tax free. On the 28k salary you would be paying tax and NI, possibly student loan repayments.

Yes, I am not sure all benefits claimants realise how much is taken from people's gross salaries, If those in full time work were doing better and better with loads of savings they would probably not be cross, but instead for at least 10 years and partly because of so many people available to do jobs and the state subsidising through benefits plenty of people in full time work, wages have not gone up much. The grey blocks on the ONS graph on this link I was just looking at may be part of the reason for wages for full time workers not going up much https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/articles/explore50yearsofinternationalmigrationtoandfromtheuk/2016-12-01

If you work full time on a low salary, you will be entitled to benefits - universal credit, tax credits etc. High earners don’t receive child benefits as they earn enough to not need the additional support.
The tax system in the UK is much lower than many other countries - and the UK are paying the price of therefore have a poor level of social services - education, health care, emergency services etc.

Why are you resurrecting a zombie thread?

As someone who now physically can't work anymore and I hate it and my dh been off sick most of the year and is likely getting laid off next week due to him not being physically able to do his job. He had a knee op and it hasn't fixed the problem. We are barely getting enough to get by, I got just over 1800, and my rent is 792. Our car payment is 195, so after that it doesn't leave much for the month. I'm having to use my pip now to prop us up. And I need some new insoles and some treatment I can't get on the NHS.
Trust me not working is not all what everyone thinks it is. We had a small amounts left before when we could work but now we are having to lend regularly just to be able to put gas elec and food on the table.