Working expectations for parents on UC

[BlackCatGreyWhiskers]

AIBU to find this really frustrating? Basically there is no expectation for parents to work until their child is age 3. So if a family has more than one child that could be several years.

Whereas maternity leave is only 9-12months.

Especially as universal credit claimants can actually get help towards childcare expenses.

I don’t understand why there is a mismatch between the employed and unemployed?

When I went back after maternity, my pay was around £1500 and my childcare £800, then after I went back with my second my childcare went up to £1200. So I earnt next to nothing for 5 years before the eldest started school.

It's not realistic to expect employers to keep a job open for 3 years though, even with the best will in the world 1 year is pushing it for some smaller employers.
Your job isn't kept open.
A person on UC doesn't have a job kept open either.
They get support because their income is below a certain level. You don't get support because your income is not below that same certain level.

Your husband is supposed to support you or you save up if your working are you saying your a single parent

I can’t speak for everyone but I would have been happy to have been unpaid. Especially for the period my take home was £300 pcm. I’ve not mentioned retaining my salary anywhere.

What is this protection you believe you missed out on? You had a partner to support you. You have a choice, the same as any other mother benefits or makes a choice.

I’ve been in both situations, when with my ex DH we had to cut out holidays, go down to one car etc to enable me to stay at home until DD was 3 years old.

Now I am single and on UC I am worse off as do not have the luxury of a combined income. Yes there is no requirement for me to go back to work yet but I am poor! The same as when I had time off in my marriage. But worse this time. We now have no car instead on one car as cannot afford the repairs on UC. Once I go back to work I will be better off.

it’s up to you, stay home but accept you will be on the breadline unless your DH is a high earner, or leave DH so that you can claim UC and be on the breadline, but without the owned house and move into high cost unpredictable rental. Council houses don’t exist anymore.

Perhaps more men should be made to be contributors and actually pay for the children they have rather than it falling to the state and women on their own.

You had a joint income, that's a decision you make in a partnership whether one parent goes back to work and the childcare cost should be split - he wouldn't be work if you wasn't looking after your child

But you could have left your job and become unemployed. That was an option for you, albeit not one you chose to take.

@BlackCatGreyWhiskers @Morgenrot25
here you go https://www.welcome-center-germany.com//post/understanding-maternity-leave-in-germany

either parent can take the extra leave (type of parental leave). And employer makes up shortfall and there are tax exemptions too.

I find it curious that you don’t think a job being kept open for three years is realistic, but you do think not working for three years and claiming UC is. Some of us would say that’s hypocrisy at its finest. But I wouldn’t talk in the third person.

You said the German system was better, yet cannot actually tell us why other than friend having stayed away from work for longer - which could have bern for a variety of reasons.
Do you understand that you need actual information to back up a point?

I didn't mention retaining your salary either.

Being employed and having no gap in your CV, your employer paying pension contributions and the possibility of promotion even on mat leave for example.

And no 2 parents being unemployed isnt allowed unless they are looking for work. If one is disabled then I can guarantee they wouldn't wish to be disabled earning very little on uc and other benefits.

So if you were working and was a single parent whilst on mat leave then you should have claimed yourself. If you had a husband earning then thats his child and he should have supported you. Stop benefit bashing people.

And I left my job so it isn’t left open for me either, I’m not protected at all. On a single income, two dc and no car it was impossible to go back to my old job. If I was still with DH we could have managed the nursery and school runs between us.

You're missing the point though - OP was singing the praises of a system she appears to know little about. I was especially interested if there was anything she could tell us about the length of leave, especially being anywhere close to the 3 years she wants.

I didn’t say it was better - I said an option would be something similar and outlined my vague understanding. I was floating ideas for the purpose of discussions, not making an assertion or statement as you’re suggesting.

You DID have that exact choice. As has been pointed out to you multiple times.

It's not a choice for many people, they have no other option.

It sounds like you are sad that you are in a position where you feel like you cannot give up work. I get that. It takes a massive amount of cut backs. I often go without dinner and my daughter sometimes has random food bank combinations over the school holidays. Please don’t be jealous of single mothers on UC. Some of us have suffered domestic violence too and would love the security and partnership of a two person household with 2 incomes instead of scraping by on benefits.

I think the issue here is you want to be a stay at home mum. That’s something you need to discuss with your husband and see if it’s possible. Or if you could reduce your hours.

on UC it’s possible for me at the moment to stay at home for the next year or two as I have no car, walk the long school run, skip meals and use food banks sometimes if desperate in the school holidays. It’s not ideal at all and once DS is old enough (3) to go to the school nursery and I only have one drop off to do on foot I’ll be straight back to work!

Are you saying you want to receive the benefit while working, because you've chosen not to leave employment; or would you also like to leave employment and claim the benefit?
Or would you like maternity benefits to be extended to 3 years?

Look back at what you actually wrote.

Oh thanks - I have only been able to review my life choices thanks to the enlightening Mystic Megs of MN who know all about me, yet repeatedly miss the point.

I know I had a choice. But as I’ve “repeatedly” said it’s not backed by policy as things stand.

Yes I said

”I don’t know precisely. This happens in Germany though. I have a good friend who took advantage of a policy very similar.“

then you started banging on about it.

I'm curious as to how you think it IS realistic. 🫣

You tell us how you’d been able to make a living out of doing sweet FA?