DH and I going part time to deliberately reduce wages

[Bucketheadbucketbum]

Just working out the free childcare hours and actually DH and I will be muxh better off if we both dropped to 3- 4 day week to deliberately reduce our incomes. Would obviously be nice way to live too! Anyone else doing same? Seems mental but we've looked at it 100 times over and it's true!

Can someone talk me thru why what OP plans to do will hurt other tax payers?

You won't be the first to do this. I know someone who purposely does a smaller amount of hours every March or April, to drop her normal monthly wage of £1150-ish to £800-850, so she can fill in an HC1 and get full help with health costs all year. Free prescriptions, free dental, £60 voucher towards glasses, free eye tests, help with travel costs to hospital or specialists etc....

£350-ish wage loss to potentially save multiple 100s over a year. (£750 to £900 typically.) She doesn't have to worry about a filling dropping out or a tooth chipping or needing multiple prescriptions etc, as it's all covered.

That's how ridiculous things are in this country. You are only OK if you're a very high earner/rich, OR if you are financially poor, coz you get lots of help from the Government.

I know a few people who are/were on less than £20K a year joint income whose young adult children got 1000s thrown at them in grants and bursaries, and they had more money at uni than many students who had parents on £45-55K a year joint income. The ones whose parents were proper loaded were OK, but the students of the middle earners were fucked, because they got NOTHING, but their parents were not well off enough to give them anything.

@Bucketheadbucketbum Ignore the naysayers and the haters calling you grabby and lazy etc... they're just jealous and bitter. Most people would give their left arm to work only 3 days a week and have more time with their children. And as I say, it's the SYSTEM making you do this. If most jobs paid a lot better and gave people good money/plenty of surplus income, people would not be inclined to do this.

That's great news that you will both be able to spend more time with your children when they are little. Good for your relationship too if everyone is less stressed

Seems fair enough

Yes we can - we both do sessional work , just drop some sessions. Never have before because didn't want to drop wages but now in that "squeezed middle" where actually if earned less would pay less tax and get more benefits! Mad house!

Yes exactly! I think I'll go to 3 days DH to 4

Yes, this is my thought.

Horrible that people can be so brazen about this.

Yes exactly . It's madness that the system is so skewed. Government must be losing so much money making it like this!! I'm sure we are not the only ones

Why is that any different to people who work in good jobs living in councils houses paying less the private sector market rent?

We looked at this but pension rules are so strict with tapering and other things it doesn't work out

It's not.

i think there's a bit of a difference between factoring in 'free childcare' when making a change to working hours - for example if you were part time before considering going up to full time hours.

but for both of you to deliberately drop down to 3/4 days a week for the sole purpose of claiming these benefits I find really distasteful.

Or you could frame it as having a better work life balance where you actually get one on one time with your kids. I do know a couple that did this they both worked 3 initially then when older 4 days a week and spent the other days being around for the children especially as round here there doesn't appear to be after school care on Fridays

Yes exactly this situation. Do less hours = get paid less but no impact on seniority or progression etx.

The government really should have made these reforms conditional on receipt of certain elements of UC if their aim was actually to remove barriers to work

people get all knicker twisty about benefits going to the ‘wrong type’ of people but then tie themselves in knots to make sure they qualify for something they don’t actually need.

Are you confident that your childcare provider will offer the new hours - many won’t as they won’t be able to afford it as the government contributions are so low. There are likely to be less childcare providers not more.

Depends on your occupations. Some jobs require full time staff, if you go part time would they have to backfill? Later if you wanted to go back up you may not be able to. It's not an automatic right. You can ask though.

Are you “squeezed middle” if you’re earning over £100K a year?

Yes I think a lot will do this , drop to 3 days a week now that the free hours would fully cover it. Who wants to be working full time with young kids, it's gruelling. Not unreasonable to expect one of a couple to work full time though. I just feel sad there wasn't this level of help around when mine were small, we worked around each other for years which really took it's toll. I don't begrudge others now getting the help though although think it will backfire for the government because many on good wages were managing the childcare costs and will now do as you are suggesting..

Get screwed as a higher earner. At 99.9k a year salary you get net 5500 a month, at 120k you get 6000 a month eg the extra 1666 a month you earn only gets you another net £500 a month - taxman has £1166 you get £500. You lose out free childcare at 100k. The government are decreasing the supertax threshold from 155k to 120k so we will pay another 5% on that bit too. At 155k you lose tax benefits on pension contributions.

Most high earners live in the SE so get screwed on higher house prices and stamp duty, we get screwed on train fares too.

For all the tax we pay, the NHS is knackered, schools teach woke fake biology, police don't investigate burglaries or stolen vehicles. The answer everyone has is to put taxes up - on who?

So for all this, I left the UK for work last year. I had planned to come back in 2 years but am terrified about Labour winning the next election and putting taxes up even more.

Really surprised at the responses here. It’s not unusual or unreasonable for two people with big jobs (both the op and her partner appear to be earning over £100k) to cut down their hours to spend more time with young children. And here they have a financial incentive too. NI contributions etc will still be very high.

DP will likely cross £100k before our DS starts school - hopefully I will too - and of course this is in the mix.

Boo hoo, poor you only earning £6000 a month, what a hardship.

Oh it's just apparently tax pays for everything in England and no one wants to pay tax for anyone to possibly benefit of their minimal contribution but they also expect to reap benefits of every service available. As obviously their tax contribution has not only paid for every child, disabled person and pensioner but also paid off every healthcare, operation and care home fees they may have too 😂

They’re not doing it to spend more time with the children- the children will be in childcare.

I assume the child will also drop from five days to two-three!