Graduate DD not qualifying for job seekers. The buck stops with us

[drivinmecrazy]

DD1 graduated this summer and moved home to us in October.
Since then she's been applying for entry level jobs in publishing and copywriting in London.
We live in a rural town with limited employment opportunities, for which we feel really guilty for, but that's another story.
We agreed to give her until the new year to focus fully on finding the ideal position before we expected her to apply for local jobs which would tide her over.
Since then she's applied for job seekers allowance. Found out today she does not qualify because doesn't have enough NI contributions.
She's certainly not work shy, she supported herself largely through uni and spent time from graduation until she me of September working full time at her uni job so was paying NI and tax.
Now she's home it falls to us to support her. She has dwindling savings so has enough for her socialising and we obviously don't charge her for board and lodgings.
But at 22yo surely she should be treated by the state as independent.
What if we didn't have the means to support her at home?
TBH I was hoping she'd qualify for the £200 odd per month for job seekers so she might be able to contribute £20 a week to the household, which would obviously not come close to what she is 'costing' us , but might give her some self worth.
We are fortunate we can accommodate her but it's a hefty weight for us to carry with the cost of living etc.

We have never claimed anything as a family but surely as an independent 22yo woman she should have some autonomy.

I realise probably shouldn't have put this in aibu cos I know I am, but where do our parental responsibilities stop?

She has obviously started applying for local jobs in what she has experience of and her cv is fortunately full of work experience so shouldn't take long.

But I guess my real AIBU is what would happen if we could not or would not cover her living costs

I have just put a fictitious 22 year old through a calculator and she is entitled to £61 per week. She just applied for the wrong thing.

This website might help
benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/

She needs to apply for uc. Job seekers is for up to 6 months if you are made redundant

I’m surprised you gave her until the New Year. She should have taken on anything that was available until her dream job came up. Remember that employers don’t like CV gaps.

Nope. She's misunderstood somewhere. She's entitled to the full amount. Obvs nothing for the housing or other elements, but she'd get the job seeker component.

Could she get a job in London
Any job
then at least she has a London address when applying for London jobs.
If she can’t afford the first months rent then she needs any job right now to save as much as possible for her initial rent put lay

If she didn't have you she'd also be entitled to the housing element at the local house share rate.

She's just applied for the wrong thing. She should be eligible for the income based UC providing she meets the conditions and doesn't ha e ither income or a lot of savings. Your income won't count as she is an adult and not a dependant.

Surely she can get bar or shop work in the meantime? Not sure why you think the state should be supporting an adult of working age tbh. It’s not like she didn’t have advanced warning of the fact that her course was going to end and she’d need to find work.

Round my way, most shops, pubs, restaurants want staff to start yesterday. Why doesnt she get off her precious derriere and go washing dishes, work in the local care home etc?

She should have a job within the day in the current market

Then, and only then, go looking for the dream job

She has it too easy, sitting at home waiting for her olds to bail her out.

OP I think your post highlights the dilemma of whether it’s best to spend time applying for the ideal job or whether to take any local
job for the income. My DH was keen for my middle DC to do the second option but my DC argued his case well, did a 12 week online course, arranged lots of interviews for jobs he didn’t actually want but to get the interview experience. Then bam he applied for his dream job, did really well in the interview and got the job. He’s been there nearly a year now and received a glowing review and a pay rise.
He has a degree and masters in History.

Why is an intelligent, young, capable woman applying for any sort of benefit? Take any old job whilst looking for a copywriting job! When I left uni, I lived with my parents, worked in a local pub, had a hoot, went to interviews in the day, worked evenings and weekends and paid my Mum and Dad fifty quid a week. Even though I knew they didn’t really need it. That was 20 years ago. I did a similar degree and it took me a good year to get a creative media job, but I wouldn’t have dreamed of getting government handouts. She’s at her peak, get out there.

Entry level jobs in publishing and copywriting are MASSIVELY HUGELY MAJORLY oversubscribed. She urgently needs a Plan B.

She’s looking at jobs in quite competitive fields, so it wouldn’t be unusual to do a few months of shop or hospitality work before getting a permanent role. Perhaps she could get a part time job and look into freelancing, building up her portfolio so she has something to show potential employers. I’ve hired junior copywriters in the past and having a portfolio, even just some basic stuff, will make you stand out from the other 50 fresh graduates who’ve also applied.

In terms of location, does she need to put this on her CV? I just put the county on mine.

Exactly, and if she isn't already in London she has no chance of getting a job like that there.

There are zillions of job vacancies out there- supermarkets, pubs, cafes, care homes, etc.
Dog walking, babysitting, virtual PAs for small local companies.

She will also find it easier to get a job if she shows she is working no matter what that is.

I think you are being a bit blinkered.

Both my adult DCs found it hard to find a job immediately after graduating, one with a masters in science, the other with a BSc in science.
They worked in pubs and a hospital canteen for a few months before finding the right jobs and now earn very good salaries.

She needs to get a job which is much better on a CV than showing she is on benefits.

Fluent Spanish should make her very employable as Brits are so bad at languages! The English literature obviously less useful in the real world.

She has obviously started applying for local jobs in what she has experience of
Don't know how it works with Brexit etc but perhaps she could consider applying for a job in Spain, if she's studied Spanish? Get something that looks like a useful language learning opportunity on her CV (EFL jobs are easy to find), polish up her spoken Spanish, and come back a year or two later that bit more mature and confident.

I was wondering about why she can't get a temporary job too. Care work? retail? hospitality? Surely there is something she could do locally. I know applying for jobs is very time consuming but its not a good idea to not do anything for such a long time. I'm not sure why she would think to try getting benefits tbh

One of my kids did coffee shop jobs for longer than planned while applying for grad jobs. Thier coffee shop experience didn't seem to put any companies off (including KPMG and PcW) and was a positive talking point in interviews.

I can tell you something else that won't please you OP.

when she does eventually get a job she may well be very pissed off at losing so much in tax to pay benefits for young grads, who are able bodied and can work but choose not to.

This is not what the welfare state is for. It's a safety net for anyone unable to work if in poor health etc. It's not there as a lifestyle choice for a 22 year old with a dream of getting into publishing in London.

I have friends who are copywriters and who work as journalists.
She has a very slim chance of getting those jobs and would be better off trying to get an unpaid internship and getting experience, but sadly you would have to find that.

I don't understand why she's applying for UC and not just getting a job, surely that would be better for her self-worth?

Most people don't walk into their dream job but it's a really buoyant job market, she doesn't have to get shop or bar work (nothing against shop or bar work, of course). I bounced about doing this and that for years after graduating before I found my way...

You are asking where your parent responsibilities should stop - for the child you chose to have? You think it makes more sense for the taxpayers to fund her existence instead?

If she applied for UC they wouldn't have the same patience as you regarding finding any employment to 'tide her over'. She would be expected to take any work offered and spend 30 hours a week actively seeking any form of employment.