Do some mums just not like working?

[Dragontooth]

I know this sounds awful, and judgey but I'm trying to understand. I am not a benefit basher and I used to be on benefits, also a single parent.
I'm on a lot of 'being skint' forums, I was on UC but now I have quite a lot of experience in various things so I like to try to help.
There are a number of mums who were previously on legacy benefits who are terrified by UC and the work search appointments. Lots who are unemployed and some who do very part time jobs, 10 hours or less.
I don't understand why they are so resistant to finding work or better paid work. Having been on benefits, it is a horrible existence. I was paid £850 per month. Clearly it would only take a MW part time job to make me so much better off. And they pay for childcare/ holiday club.
It literally changes your life. You can pay for things to have a better, easier life like driving lessons. Not only that but you are back in the work place so it's not such a shock when your children leave home.
I feel these women are so anxious, they can't see how their lives could look with more money/ options. Not only that but a lot of them have their heads in the sand about retirement, will we even get a state pension? Then there's the fact that it's so much harder getting back into employment after five or ten years out, I think that's what UC wants to avoid. I'm not saying it's a kind or person centred system but in reality is taking years out of the workplace really in these women's best interests either?
Disability/ disabled children obviously excluded.

You can't claim for more than 2 kids now!

Heard this said about middle class people being stuffed on higher mortgages. Apparently its okay to tell a homeowner off and say that they should move somewhere cheaper so they can afford to pay the benefits for someone who isn't willing to move. Fascinating really.

Aren't the double standards disgraceful.

At some point the benefits system will start to fail in the UK anyway. I understand 2035 is the demographic crunch point when it becomes impossible to maintain the level of benefits to so many people.

14m working age people on benefits already today though! Amazing!

Your reading skills are terrible. No one is saying this should be denied, we are just stating the fact that this is another benefit to low income families and to be frank most families that are not in full time work. That's just a FACT

I imagine the longer that you don't work the harder that it is to envisage working again. I am part time and actually enjoy my job on the whole but the thought of full time freaks me out a bit even though I did full time for nearly 20 years. I do think it is good to work though if you can, gives you something else to think about other than the children and keeps the mind active. Plus I like the banter etc with my colleagues.

I think a lot of people don’t like working. Being a mum is a great way to avoid it for a while. I thought id the sahm life.

I have a great job, and I do like it… but I might go more part time when kids are in school so I’m available for them. I work part time at the
moment and use nursery, but toddlers are exhausting and work isn’t so much.

I don’t get any benefits, or tax free childcare or free hours etc … but I still want the option not to work and spend time with kids. I’m not surprised other mums feel the same!

The people who have "never contributed" have either come out the care system, or are sick/disabled.
Do we want to live in a society where they are just left to starve?
And unless you earn over £40k, you have not really contributed either.

I think there are just rather a lot of people who have grown to adulthood not having worked, so it's their entitled way of life to have the taxpayer subsidise them.

My cousin hasn’t worked a day since her son was born - he’s just turned 10.

From what I can gather she spends her days watching TV, seeing friends and going on social media. Looks fairly easy to me!

what about changes to the tax system for large corporations etc ?

Bringing up children is absolutely contributing to society, in fact, it's pretty much the most essential contribution after food growing.

My reading skills are fine actually, the posters were talking about it being childcare and "not understanding" why parents who don't work get it. Maybe do some research about it.

This was my argument, parents who are not working does not have to put a 2 year old into childcare, as they’re home all the time, it’s working parents who need childcare

How's that then? You have to work at least part time when your child starts primary school to get benefits so I'm guessing she doesn't claim.

Don't be ridiculous 🙄 why on earth would working part time and topping up on benefits be harder then working 60/70hr weeks trying to juggle childcare and housework

Which is what pp is also doing.

The benefit to the parent is incidental. There's no way to provide that benefit to the child without giving the parents a few hours of peace, and because it's typically three hours a day, it isn't long enough to make the parents do something menial and tokenistic to humour you

I am sitting here, nodding to this. 😆

I don't want to work, but I do as I need to. Get me that winning lottery ticket!

She definitely does claim. The times she’s asked me to lend her money, it’s been until her UC comes in.

I think the system is possibly easier “played” than we’d like?

Not sure, never used it - but it’s definitely a thing.

It can't be that great if she is asking to borrow money.

Perhaps if you don't want medicine, phones, internet i suppose so.

The USSR had to import food from the west, it destroyed and ruined vast swathes of land in Siberia and Central Asia, causing ecological disaster. After the downfall of communism, the Ukraine became a major grain exporter.

The non capitalist countries I am aware of - Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea all seem a bit crap to me and given a choice i would rather be poor (or rich) in a rich capitalist country than a non capitalist country.

i want the feedom to choose and the ££ to enable it, but i am looking at at least £250,000 to do the roles i want to do due to transport then staying in a hotel during the week to do the job etc that i prefer to do so a lottery ticket too please

I think this thread shows no understanding of what the reality is.

Imagine Joanne. She left school at 16 with no qualifications because no one at home was really any good at school and she had to look after her two younger sisters all the time.

She got an apprenticeship, but it didn’t work out because she kept arriving late because she had to look after a younger sister. She got another job somewhere else but her manager was horrible so she left. She got a job in a pub and that was okay. That’s where she met a partner. They had two children. He left.

She didn’t work for a few years and she got a job has school dinner lady And she loved working there. She got a job as a cleaner too, but as soon as she did that on the Legacy benefits they stopped all of her money for six weeks until they recalculated it. she had nothing and nearly lost her house after that, she decided not to work more hours.

Now she’s told that she needs to find at least 30 hours of work but the only places that will offer something are nursing homes and other places where the hours are in flexible and she is treated like dirt.

She is so frightened. A friend helped her apply for Aldi and she got rejected before she’d even gone to interview. She feels so worthless. she love a nice job but she prefers to cope with what she’s got available because she knows that in reality, whatever she does they probably won’t like her and she’ll probably end up getting fired and that will probably mean that she’s left with absolutely no money. Plus, how is she to wait a whole month until she gets her paycheck, what is she to do?

I can’t see that there’s anybody here on this thread who appreciates it that’s the reality.

I think actually something a bit like an apprenticeship where people can go from 10 till 2 and get an nominal payment maybe £90 a week and do some work coaching Perhaps even some life skills and get to go and do voluntary work in very different organisations where they might then be asked to go and work their permanently like for example in the NHS would be what we need to do is a society to help support these people into jobs where they would get more money and be more fulfilled

Let’s face it Joanne has essentially been living with her two children on about £1400 a month. I think Tesco made nearly £2 billion profit last year.

Nice bit of whataboutery

The benefits system is probably too generous and traps people.
I know 2 families who are long term not working and neither could be said to be poor. They have nice new clothes, kids look smart, designer labels, nice new prams, they have enough money to get drunk in pubs and to gamble.
Neither has a car so that's a big saving and housing wise one is in a 1 bed council flat with a 2 year old and 2 adults. The other is in a 2 bed with 1 adult and 2 children. So housing wise it's not ideal but still they have a secure council tenancy. Free healthcare and education. They are probably in the poorest 5% in this country but still better off than 80% of the world's population.

As a single parent on 25k I would be able to claim benefits but don't. I don't really understand why I can live comfortably on 25k but other people can't.

I mean. She also went to see Taylor Swift twice in one weekend a month or so ago, so I think it’s okay.