To push ds into claiming

[Lacky301]

Ds has just finished uni and never worked through me and ex dp give him £450 a month between us plus I've always bought him the odd thing and gave a bit extra here and there.
Me and his dad are seperated and his dads just received notification that he will now be charged full council tax as ds has finished uni I'm under strain financially. I've told ds he needs to claim universal credit until he finds a job but he keeps saying I want my results first. Am I wrong in pushing him to claim to take some pressure off me and dp. Fwiw he would get around £370 per month as living at home.

Yes, a handful of seasonal part time jobs between the ages of 16 and 24. I don’t think that’s wildly different from the OP’s son who worked a couple of part time jobs before starting uni.

The benefit system is completely fucked if it will pay out to someone who wants to sit on their arse doing nothing because they are waiting for their degree results. Are you not embarrassed by his attitude? I would be and mad as hell!

The benefit system is completely fucked if it will pay out to someone who wants to sit on their arse doing nothing because they are waiting for their degree results. Are you not embarrassed by his attitude? I would be and mad as hell!

A good part time job for 6th form & university students is as a lifeguard. Some of the leisure companies will pay for you to do your lifeguard qualification if you commit to working for them for a certain amount of time. You can then work in your uni town during term time and in your parents’ town during holidays.

There absolutely are temp jobs out there, but some require you to not be fussy and turn your nose up at jobs that you consider to be “beneath” you. Agencies who supply manual workers are desperate for unskilled labourers like bin men.

Pragmatically, it sounds like you can't afford to support your son financially (so you should have advised him to find work) and your son currently can't survive without your financial support (so he should have looked for work in his own interest). The taxpayer has no role in this at this point (yet).

Your ex's financial matters are his own - and he should have a conversation with his son about that and what it means for the support he can provide. He should also tell him it is time to work. But that is for him.

There is no time left for "finding feet" or "time out". This is when it is a necessity to work and start earning, no if's and no but's. Your son has had 3 or 4 years of university life, still has stable family home(s) and all the opportunities you have worked (very hard, I expect) to give to him. It is time he started to pay that back by being productive, reducing the financial burden on you all and make a start.

I don't understand why it is in his long-term interest to not work, have no CV at his age ready to go and think he can live off you or your dp (or worse benefits) for three more months and then come home without a plan. The graduate ship sailed for his academic year probably already. He will know his degree classification unless of course there is a major problem. Is there?

It is tough out there but you have to do something and show it to "proper job" employers at this stage. Did he not intern or work experience at all at university?

I graduated into the global financial crisis so it wasn’t exactly a great job market.

It’s laughable when you put it like that. Imagine putting that on your CV… between end of exams to X month, waiting for degree results 😅

@AmpleFatball did you claim benefits?

I don’t think, correct me if I’m wrong, he can claim UC until the September after he finishes Uni.

Like others have said, he needs to get a job, anything at all. He needs money to live clearly, and it will fill out his CV.

Also has he literally never had any kind of job? At all? No judgement exactly but he should start. I personally think whatever career someone goes into, everyone should work in a customer facing role at least once in their lives- hospitality, retail whatever. It’s done my 16 year old the world of good.

Yes - housing, council tax and JSA for about 3 months. Then I found a job in my field.

He probably will and think employers will think it is normal. Just read the OPs updates, I struggle to understand how people like this family get by in life.

It really doesn't take time to get a job. Most places are desperate for staff.

There's no point in being picky. He needs to work.

Ok. I’ve just checked.
Thats not the case apparently, don’t know why I thought it was 🤪

He needs to sign up to a job agency and they even find the job for you. In the longer term he can polish his CV and apply for graduate jobs in his field but he needs to get some work on his CV or future employers will think he's lazy and give him a wide berth. Most graduates have been working alongside studying showing they can multitask.

Yes ds may end up really well off despite the criticism on here

OP tell him to get a temporary job while he finds his career. I finished uni in may, temped though the summer and started my big grown up career job in October. Most of my friends did the same:

you need to explain to this man that he is int he real world now!! Why automatically go to benefits when he could easily get even a part time job to cover expenses while he career hunts?

you really are not setting him up for life! Benefits should not be the default position.

YABU. There are loads of jobs out there. He could EASILY get a job at the local supermarket to tide him over until he gets something more permanent. Claiming benefits should be the absolute last resort for those who really need it. I’m absolutely flabbergasted that the majority vote on this post is that YANBU.

Both my son's walked into a job agency and started working 2 or 3 days later whilst looking for a job they wanted to pursue longer term. It really is that easy.

Not if he doesn’t get a job! What’s his degree in?

Physiotherapy

@Lacky301 If he doesn't have a cv, tell us where he has tried for employment?

My students tell me the best way to get work is to do temp work, sign up with an agency, a lot of hospitality companies take on students and they struggle when they all leave, so that would work where he is.

Getting a longer-term job in a supermarket or shop can be harder, mine have applied for jobs where 100 people are going for one job in Holland and Barratt or whatever, and the application processes take longer than the 'days' which people are talking about on here, most companies these days do not employ straight away, my teenagers have sought jobs and it's taken 2-4 weeks minimum to get employed in Costa or in shops.

Not saying he shouldn't try, I'm saying temp work is available on the next day often, whereas other jobs require more persistent application and can be quite competitive and if it's just to fill a gap, temp agencies are better- there's often temp warehouse work as well.

I was angry when I read this thread earlier. I've now just got home from a 10 hour shift and I'm exhausted. I'm 58 and I've worked for 42 years. I just want to weep at the idea you expect me to find your lazy son. You should be ashamed.

Fund not find!