Work can't give me extra hours. Want to come off benefits.

[Simbamumone]

I want more hours to help me come off benefits.

My child is now 16 and is going to college, and I have worked all my life, working both full-time and part-time hours. I have been receiving UC for 7.5 years and I feel it's time to try and get off them.

I currently work 25 hours a week in a job I have had for years, so i'm stable in a job I enjoy, but they haven't got anymore hours to give me.

My shift patterns make it a bit difficult to find a suitable second job to help top up my hours. I was offered a second job recently, but because I work 1 in 4 Saturdays, they couldn't work around it, so I couldnt take it.

I don't want to leave my main job I have, because I feel safe, stable and comfortable there. It's local and I know the job well, but I just feel so trapped in a part-time role and it's making me feel quite sad and depressed. I worry i'm going to have to find a full-time job else where in the next few years, so I've been stressing trying to find a second job.

My biggest struggle is that it took me years to gain my confidence back after bad relationships, bullying, and just being a single parent raising my kid but I am now finally confident enough in my abilities at my job and I finally believe in myself, but I worry If I leave my current job for another one I will regret leaving and then thank, what if i dont enjoy it or I can't do it and I lose everything??

I want to come off UC now, so i can move forward with my life and save more money. I feel ready for it now. I know i won't earn much as i 'm minimum wage, but I just want to feel like I'm self sufficient again.

Is anyone else in a similar situation? And how do you cope with the anxiety of it all?

That's not entirely true. Its based on personal allowance, not having a second job. Thats a common misconception that you're taxed more.

I would double check this as I have always done bank work on top of my normal role - over the years I have worked 16, 22 and 40 hours and have been taxed 20% during all these periods

Why do you want to come off UC? You’re working anyway and UC will top you up. Someone is going to get it, why not you? Have some time for yourself while you’re on it. Learn a skill that can get you some extra income. A beauty course, baking courses, etc.

That’s not a bad idea actually, stay as you are but complete a qualification with your extra time that will assist you in getting a full time job in the future. You could enrol this month.

You don't pay 20% tax on the second job if the first job doesn't use up the personal allowance. You just need to contact the tax office and get the tax allowance split between the two jobs. So extra income from a second job should work out no different to extra income from the same job.

Full time work is often easier to find surely?

Why does the full time job need to be minimum wage?

I would agree with just finding another full time job. Many of us have had to take the plunge with working for a new company after being beind made redundant.

If your only choice is moving to a full time minimum wage job, why not stay in the part time role and train for a higher paying role? You could study in your free hours. I wouldn't move into another minimum wage job unless there was clear career progression. I worked at a well known bakers and there was support and training and clear progression to Manager.

And this is why we have a massive benefits bill in this country.

Behave yourself! Always the people who don’t get it who moan.
Someone WILL get that money. I work and I gladly take my UC too, as I should. I have worked since being 16 years old and throughout my pregnancies and straight after having my kids. You best believe I’ll be collecting UC to top up my wage as a single mother and whoever grumbles about it I couldn’t care less. It is there to support for a reason. Don’t worry about any type of bill because if it doesn’t go on helping out those in need it’ll go toward something else.
If you’re looking for anyone to blame for bills in this country, think about this - they replaced all paper money notes with plastic ones, proving that it IS just a matter of printing more money off a machine. Online “money” is points. No actual money is exchanged with payments on cards, it is points. It is as simple as adding an extra “00” to “£100” to make it a lot more money. Which CAN be done, it just doesn’t because it isn’t allowed. That is at government’s discretion, not little old me claiming UC while I work by the way. Wake up.

Only if your personal allowance is all used up by job one, otherwise you contact hnrc and split your personal allowance. Its no different than just doing extra hours in the same job income tax wise. once your personal allowance us used up everything is taxed at 20%..it just is more obvious in the second job payslip a the whole lot is taxed wheras your furst job payslip doesnt separate out that those extra 10 hours paid 20% tax because you already had your personal allowance.

The actual difference is you might not hit the national insurance threshold in your second job if you dont earn more than the threshold as they are counted per job. So you could take home more than if it were one job.

Would care work be an option? My DD works full time in a care home but the also have a lady who works 1 night a week, 12 hour shift. They aslo use agency staff, so you could tell the agency your availability.

There's also different jobs in a care home like cleaning/laundry/kitchen/activities

Have you thought about a Sunday shift in retail or supermarket? You can do every Sunday with your current job, and that would likely give you the option for overtime at hours to suit you when they get short staffed.

Yes i have thought of everything and apply for whatever is available.

You could do a Sunday care work possibly

I think you misunderstood their question due to the punctuation! It should've been something like this:

Did you ask your current job if, as they can't give you more hours and you need the money, they would not make you work on the Saturday?

I feel like thats the goal to come off it eventually and worried once child has finished education I'm not going to be receiving enough to pay rent/ bills/ food and I'm just panicking about the future really and trying to secure myself with more hours.

I guess the problem isn't the fact that im claiming whilst working, its the low wages, no extra hours and lack of jobs and high rent/bills. I wouldnt know what extra skills to learn tbh, because i believe the best way is by learning whilst in work and then moving forwards, but my job doesn't have career progression. Id have to move to a different department but i wouldnt be happy in that.
My brother has just got a mortgage and surviving on min wage at 43. Yet my dad used to work and support a wife and three kids.
am i being too hard on myself??

You know you've actually got a point here actually and ive been thinking about it alot.
I won't be earning over minimum wage in the job I'm currently in and a second job is only going to give me minimum wage too, so maybe learning a new skill at home could help me in the future. Like an online course or something. I wrote to my work coach today and asked how much I roughly would be living on once child leaves full time education and they gave me an estimate of £1700 per month, which includes my money from job and this is basicully a full-time min wage job.
I think i will either have to stick with what i 'm doing and take on more hours if offered or go full-time else where if another job offers over
minimum wage.