Poverty trap? What to do

[Duckingfun]

I’m on benefits due to having a disabled child who currently isn’t in school.
I want to work, when he’s at a suitable school I will be looking for work. However my rent has now increased in my council house to just under £1k there is no way I can afford it if I work. The better off website says I will be something like £90 a month better off, I want to work but I don’t want to work 40+ hours a week for £90 and then I’d be worse off after travel/childcare etc
Whats the answer? I can’t move and it just feels so unfair that the council raise the rent to the top limit of what they can.

The trap is that rather than working full time you’re playing the system because that’s what pays.
Everyone should be able to work full time, contribute and not be worse off or working for peanuts. I’m not interested in thousands or finding out the optimal hours to play the system. I want to work and I don’t think it’s right that landlords can price you out of your home. I want to buy my house eventually, savings are capped, mortgage on part time work and benefits isn’t going to be easy, the trap is that we’re being kept in this situation because it doesn’t pay to work.

She's not looking at the 15hrs (or whatever it may be) which would greatly benefit her.

Because my son isn’t in school and his care is 24/7 jeez woman give it a rest.

But she doesn't say she's short of money or needs extra support, in fact she says the opposite.
The thread is about how she can make working worthwhile. Well, it was until you came along.

Some people really don't have a clue. Of course there should be a suitable school for op's son but this isn't a rare case. So many children are not in school because there simply isn't anywhere suitable. Poorly trained staff also.putting unrealistic expectations on ND children, causing fallout and absence. The parent then gets more fall out at home. Probably exhausted, can't guarantee they can work x hours and after all this fall.out whilst trying to fight for their child they are expected to work for slightly more money. It's ridiculous and why so many parents are burnt out.

The fault is with the system not the parents. Op I hope the new school is a good for your ds and things improve for you all soon.

Ignore the negative posters.

You can't do this long term though. Not paying to work full time only applies for a short amount of time. It never "pays" to work zero hours.

You aren't interested in finding the optimum amount of work you can do, to both increase your income without penalty and get back in the workplace? You're not interested in thousands of funding whilst being unclear how you'll pay under £1000, mainly subsided rent in the future?

It absolutely pays to work. So, when I have no childcare costs in September, I will be increasing my hours. Because in order to still get CA, I'd have to cut my hours severely to only take home £602pcm. I've already secured this increase and a pay rise, by having my foot in the door with my low hours I work now. I'd have been able to do so even if I was only working 1 day a week. It's about having your foot in somewhere as well as the money.

I suspect, you will be putting in a claim for DD DLA in the next 18mths just before DS hits 16 and converts to PIP. Then you will have potentially another decade or so of the same financial situation via DD. You do need to consider her being refused, or even DS being refused PIP. It's always a possibility. The loss of DLA/PIP and CA would lose you just under £900 a month. That's huge. And put you into a different category of expected to work for UC. Even if you think it's nailed on, as you've seen from your current award looking wrong, you can't assume anything. And then, when she hits 16, then what? Cross everything for PIP for her? It's a risky way to live.

I get you don't like looking at it. But you truly need too. Full time isn't the sensible answer right now, very short term, very part time would potentially be. Then increased part time. And depending on what happens with DS/PIP, DD/DLA changes what the best route would be.

No, but hopefully that will not be the case imminently, I think it's pretty clear the advice is on the basis you sort his temporary situation of his placement out - or did genuinely you think we were suggesting you should work right now when you physically can't leave the house

What are you on about? I could have claimed for dd a year ago, why do I need to wait until ds turns 16. You’ve really made up your own theory about me haven’t you!

Yet you haven't claimed for her. Which makes zero sense. It would seem that you are waiting for something when there's a significant amount of money that you could be claiming.

An extra £300,400, 500 whatever her claim might be. You've actively chosen not to receive that?

This would seem a big help towards the rent increase you're worrying about.

I’m not worried about the rent increase.
I’m worried about working and not being able to pay the high rent.
No I haven’t claimed for her because I’m not out for all I can get and I can currently meet her needs. As she gets older if that changes I’ll apply. I was able to apply for my son as a baby and I applied when he was 4. Not everyone is money hungry and I don’t believe in having all the benefits if you’re not actually in need of them.

My issue. Again. Is that landlords are allowed to increase the rent so much and it isn’t fair. If I get a full time job if and when I’m able to, I will end up worse off. That is the poverty trap.

As other posters have heklfukly pointed out I could spend this time training so when I do return to work I can apply for a half decent job with room to grow.

I can’t believe a page ago you were high and mighty about me ‘choosing’ not to work and you’re there playing the system and now asking why I’m not claiming thousands when I could.

I’m worried about working and not being able to pay the high rent.

And this has been spelt out how you can do this, numerous times.

Not everyone is money hungry and I don’t believe in having all the benefits if you’re not actually in need of them.

Completely inconsistent with the fact you don't want to work full time to pay rent, because you'd lose the benefits that cover it. Which is it?

I can’t believe a page ago you were high and mighty about me ‘choosing’ not to work and you’re there playing the system and now asking why I’m not claiming thousands when I could.

Yet after rudely sniping about "useless advice" from "made up fantasy land" it turns out that all of the financial information you were given is indeed correct, and you've even discovered your UC claim is hundreds of pounds understated each month. Who knows how much, you say £1000 in some places. You say it's "more than double what you currently get" in others. Again, and on behalf of other PP who took the time to show you, despite your rudeness, you're welcome.

You'll stay "trapped" OP. You'll virtually make sure of it, regardless of the facts. It's taken you ten pages to understand you haven't even got a correct UC claim after being unbelievably rude and completely unapologetic to people taking the time to show you it was wrong.

Quite.

I could suggest that @WillYouPutYourCoatOncould absolutely work far more than 19 hours per week. That’s not much, is it? Even if not full-time, why not more? She doesn’t because the financial gain is not currently worth it. It is the same for the OP while her son is currently and temporarily not in school. @WillYouPutYourCoatOn ’s circumstances will change and so will the OP’s. I understand both perspectives but OP is getting a grilling for it.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could choose as the OP to block people from commenting further on your thread? 🙄 Or hit a button where everyone then agrees to just ignore someone that's relentlessly whittling away negatively at the op.

I've just seen another thread where a poster was badgered so much she has broken down and deregistered, when all she wanted was a safe space to vent.

I really feel like MN has gone to pot. We have always been a nest of vipers but not in this horrid badgering way I am seeing some posters adopt towards an OP lately.