To apply for night jobs?

[TheLovelinessOfDemons]

DS 14 is in a children's home, but his social worker is starting the process of him coming home. I'm looking for a second job because my current one can't give me anywhere near enough hours. I'm on Universal Credit, but they expect me to earn upwards of £952 a month. Would it be unreasonable for me to go for night jobs even though when he comes home I'd have to switch to days? I'm widowed and DS has ADHD and a history of not going to school and going missing. How long does the parenting assessment process take?

TIA.

If you don't earn at least that you're asked to look for work and come in for appointments. I go in for appointments every 2 weeks and upload my job search. I understand that not all work coaches are strict about it.

Op if the social worker is assessing the suitability of your son coming home, applying for jobs that aren't compatible with childcare isn't going to look great. Is there a reason that you're looking at night shifts rather than something more family friendly?

Sorry I got confused
I do earn over that some months so it must even itself out which is why they're ok with it.
Sorry I wasn't thinking enough and shouldn't have commented

But then Universal Credit top it up. My rent alone is £1404 so they'd still pay that.

Gross or net?

No, it's definitely 18 hours on NMW.

It's fine.

That's why I'm looking for other jobs. My present employer can't give me the hours. I'm on a zero hours contract.

I'm applying for every job I can right now. As I said, that's why I'm asking if I can apply for night jobs now along with all the other jobs I'm applying for, and then switch back to days when I know he's coming back. By my calculations, if I'm going to be home when he is I'll only be able to work a maximum of 20 hours, and if he doesn't get DLA Universal Credit will be pressurising me to work more hours when it will be impossible.

It’s nice that your store is like a family but if they can’t even give you a couple of shifts to stack up to that wage then just see them in your spare time and get a day job with more hours elsewhere. Or deliver parcels or whatever to make it up to the monthly amount. Don’t get sentimental about a zero hours job. You could get on well somewhere else and not have to do the ‘won’t have to work’ strategy.

(But in answer to the original question, yabu to apply for night jobs. It’s not practical at all)

Says up to 30 here. Which is roughly what I do

Gross

This. Was thinking this but you have worded it better

I'll still have to do the 'won't have to work' strategy, because Universal Credit will pressurise me to work more hours when I won't be able to because my DS is not reliable enough to come home after school. I'm looking for both full and part time jobs. Ideally I'd rather have another part-time job so I don't have to leave my store.

Minimum £952, which is 18 on NMW.

I guess my point was that if you’re barely at your store then don’t have that as a parameter. Get a job elsewhere and pop into the store on the other days to chat or whatever, but as a job it’s not really ticking the box. If the after school hours are an issue, cleaning jobs could work where you do gigs during school hours. Maybe sign up to some agencies if you haven’t yet.

Yet this says 30 which is what I do roughly for the £1447 I have to earn

Yes I currently have no dependents. When he comes home I'll need to apply for DLA because I won't be able to leave until he goes to school and I'll need to be back before he gets home. That's if I don't have to take him there and back. Where he is currently, he's only allowed out of an adult's sight outside the home for 5 minutes at a time. They drive him to and from school.

This is because you’re self employed - you are impacted by the minimum income floor; if you were employed then you’d also have the same earnings threshold if a single adult in a household.

Why should it make a diff whether in se or employed ? It’s still work

That's what I was coming to say.

Self employed people don't have to meet the AET, instead they are expected to meet the MIF which is much higher.

That’s very unfair then. Esp as only me !

Why are the hours different 18 to 30 is a huge amount diff to earn £500 ish

Yep, I'm also a self employed single parent and totally agree with you!