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.

Interesting that he's only signed up for an events agency. He's previously worked at festivals. Sounds like he wants a job where he can attend things for free.

OP, he's making excuses and you're enabling it. How many pubs had he been to asking if they have jobs? How many shopping centres has we walked round, calling in at every shop or cafe to see if they have vacancies? How many normal employment agencies has he signed up to for ANY work? How many hospitals has he contacted to volunteer at to help his CV? How many care homes has he contacted to ask if they have jobs going?

None by the sound of things because the poor little flower needs a 3 month rest after all that hard study. And he can't get a job in Uni town because he might have to come home. And he can't come home before August because if he does you might expect him to get a job he's already paid up for his digs.

He simply ain't going to get a job as a Physio if this is a correct assessment of his attitude. It's not about whether you're a failure as a parent. Its how to stop this ridiculous situation rolling onwards. I was given 3 months after my final exam at Uni to get a job or I would have to leave home because my parents wouldn't sub me a minute longer. Whether that was true or not I have no idea, but it scared the pants off me enough to ensure I got a least a bar job, and then had 3 "career" interviews lined up within 4 weeks (and that was with a 3rd!). Graduates can't just hang round in their Uni towns doing nothing - they need to get their arses into gear and start making themselves look attractive to employees. Taking a 3 month dossing about 'rest' is nothing but making excuses.

He won't get a job while you're paying him £450 not to.

I did a similar course and many people just couldn’t live without a part time job. They needed to eat! I worked in my first 2 years, even with full time placements. Obviously it was very part time. I was extremely fortunate and was financially supported by family in my final year. I worked full time in the long summer holidays though. I also did a bit of voluntary work here and there - no commitment, plenty of flexibility- to show I was building skills. I was a similar age to the OP’s son. People make so many excuses.

Nobody minds him choosing to having time out but NOT paid for by him claiming UC. That would make him a lazy arse and daft, as clearly a future employer is really going to be wondering why he wasn't working and others were. This makes either you and his father ignorant or goady on this thread.

@Lacky301

Would it help him to join the CSP, OP?

https://www.csp.org.uk/networks/new-graduates

https://www.csp.org.uk/apply-online/student-prescreening

it will take at least 3 months to get any money through from UC, in that time he could easily have had a full time-sized pay packet from a job.

i would encourage him to get a job in a cafe, bar, restaurant or supermarket asap, then once he’s secured that, start working on his cv and applying for jobs in his field.

Hospitality industry is crying out for people and the majority of graduates have a tough time landing a job in their field/ preferred area. There is also quite often a mismatch with what graduates think they should be earning as their starting salary vs the reality so he might be overly picky when looking as job adverts and salary. But any job is far better than a gap in the cv. He has already finished uni so needs to plug that gap sooner rather than later.

good luck to him, and hopefully you won’t need to subsidise him for too much longer!

It takes 5 weeks and you can get an immediate advance.

And you think the tax payer should fund it,

Hospitality is shit pay and mostly zero hours. OP's son could work in it, and still be topped up by the tax payer anyway.... and probably get more in UC top up than if they were just unemployed.

He can take some time out if he wants - if you and his father are willing to fund it. It's not the job of the state to fund people who have finished their education but don't feel ready to work yet.

If he wants to apply for jobs now in earnest he can by all means claim JSA equivalent part of UC.

Because he has finished and could be working within a week if he actually wanted to.

If he's been studying Physiotherapy, has he at least had a work placement during his course?

@AmpleFatball

I had little work experience - a few part-time, seasonal jobs but that was it.

But exactly - you did have this. In the 3 or 4 years OP's DS has been at university he has had none of this. No seasonal jobs.

Do you think I should be kicking myself for not spending a little more of my youth working in a bar of whatever?

Of course not. Firstly, you did have some experience. Secondly, you'd a clear post-university plan, unlike (again OP's DS, who currently has not)

I didn't, by the way, speak about casual work as being important for one's career. You've misread.

I simply said that you can fund yourself through casual work while planning your long-term career, in response to OP saying her DS couldn't work as he needed time to plan his future.

This doesn't really add up.
He did physiotherapy and hasn't worked all through uni but he wants to spend time working on his cv?? What is there to work on, it's going to be pretty empty!
He doesn't use his student council tax discount where he's actually living but your ex claims it even though your son isn't actually living there?
He wants to stay in his uni accommodation until August but doesn't know whether to apply for jobs there or at home? Well if he's applying for work in his uni town he just needs to find a zero hours contract for now.
Do you mean if he hasn't passed the course then he's going to stay and retake his final year?
If he's been working really hard for 3 years but might fail then the harsh reality is he's not capable of it. And if that's the case, he's going to need a lot of support to cope with that. But how did it get this far? Has he not had any warning of this from his tutors? Or has he actually not been working really hard at all, he's just been enjoying himself?

I worked in hospitality as a student and while I looked for a job after. I claimed fuck all in benefits. That was before minimum wage was a thing.

I fully support the need for a benefit system. I would pay more tax to increase things like carers allowance, but I 100% begrudge paying a single penny to anyone in this situation.

He needs money? Get a job!

If he applies for.universal credit, he'll have to be actively looking for work. They'll ask for proof of job applications. If he doesn't apply for 2 jobs per week, they'll end it. Agency work is plentiful and easy to get.

Please tell me he has at least applied for the applicable graduate routes for his chosen career(s)? Applications for starting this autumn will have opened last autumn, and honestly it’s unlikely that there are any places left now. If he doesn’t apply till after results, he will have to apply for positions starting next autumn, and will be up against a cohort of more recent graduates as well as people looking for a sideways move. Depending on his field, he may be able to get an internship, which would help him to then get a job, but these days most are unpaid, so he would need to live at home and be supported by you and his dad. Sounds like you would be willing to offer that support though, and he could then do paid work at the weekends.

He can have time out if his PARENTS pay for it. If they don't it is not acceptable to expect other hard working people to fund his break. The reality of being an adult is you need to work. The reality of work is you don't get heaps of holidays.

As for not taking a job in his uni town because he might have to quit in August - why is that an issue? People quit jobs for many reasons. He equally may remain in that town and continue working.

As someone noted, he's after a three month summer holiday with no commitments. He's happy for you to fund that. You'd prefer taxpayers to do so.

Students on physio courses are told how and when to start applying and it's during their final year. Obviously, job offers they get are contingent on passing their course - as are most/all graduate job offers.

Plenty of sessional physio jobs about if he wants p/t work to enjoy the summer. Casual work shouldn't stop hom from applying for permanent positions as it'll take a while to secure one.

https://www.kickitout.org/job/academy-physiotherapist-part-time-0

It appears he hasn’t even TRIED to get a job though? He’s likely not going to walk into his dream job straight out of uni, he needs any job while he sorts out his long term career plan. Either you bank roll him if he doesn’t want to work right now or he gets atleast a part time job. Pushing him on to benefits isn’t the answer.

Even if he's struggling with his MH, getting a job in something like hospitality will most probably help his MH rather than ruin it - some of my best working memories are from working in a pub in the summer between my UG and PG degrees!

Having done physiotherapy as a degree, he could probably advertise services for things like sports massage etc for a competitive hourly rate - even a few hours a week would be money in his pocket whilst giving him work experience and something to talk about to prospective employers.

But honestly, I do find it worrisome that he has so little work experience in this job market and doesn't seem to have any motivation to pick up any paid work in this interim period. My work experiences as a student were the reason why I got a graduate placement after my PG, and my CV would most probably have been auto-rejected if I'd had none at all.

No it won't. Five weeks or immediately if he takes an advance once everything is verified.

As long as he actually looking for a job I don't see the issue claiming. UC will force him to look for jobs anyway.

@Lacky301 all I'm reading here is that he doesn't see the point in getting a job until he gets the job he wants or plans to stay in. That's not how it works. He needs a job, any job right now because he is currently an adult who is unable to support himself