AIBU to encourage my 18-year-old daughter to claim Universal Credit?

[ThisTealWarrior]

My daughter is 18 and no longer in education. She currently as a job (7.5 hours per week) and is waiting to start another job pending DBS checks. I advised her to make a claim for UC at the beginning of September before she was offered this position. She had to go to a meeting at the job centre this morning to start the claim and weekly check in video calls until she starts the job. This won’t be fixed hours as it is a bank staff role.
She has made such a fuss about it saying it is pointless basically acting like claiming is beneath her! We don’t charge her any board and don’t intend to after she earns more either but I have explained that technically we could. I just think it’s important to claim if she is eligible and also explained about NI contributions for when she gets older. I have explained that at some point the hope will be that she is earning enough that she doesn’t need to claim but for now she should.
Am I being unreasonable?

I was brought up to believe that if you're seeking work, then you claim JSA (or the equivalent). That's what it's for.

Don't do the application for her. She needs to manage her own claim as it's part of being an adult. It cones with a level of commitment to job seeking and that in itself can give structure.

But definitely she should be looking for work and also claiming whatever benefits she's entitled to. Same as any other adult capable of work but not employed.

That's what normally seems to happen. Once you board the gravy train it is hard to get off.

Oh, that makes sense! Does she have SEN? Did anyone support her to try for a functional skills qualification instead?

Exactly!

The college didn’t offer functional skills unfortunately.
She doesn’t have a formal diagnosis but got learning support at college (extra time in exams and smaller room) so the college assessed her as having mild learning and processing needs.
She has also talked to the GP about ADHD as the college suggested she met the criteria but she decided not to put forward for an assessment.
I helped her to do the UC form as she struggles with admin tasks and gets overwhelmed and she put on there that she had help to complete as it asked if anyone helped her to do the form.

Why do posters assume if a teenager is unable to get a grade 4 in maths and English there must be SEN?
There are loads of teenagers who struggle to get grade 4s amd the current system isnt working for them.

firstly, I didn’t assume, I asked because if she did then there was a case to be made for an exemption or to be counted in the college tolerance level.

secondly, sen students are twice as likely to fail to achieve their L2 English and math than the student average. Approximately 65-70% don’t achieve a grade 4.

That’s rotten luck, assume she was at a specialist college as virtually all general colleges offer it? She could do it online or at another college to support her employability. Now is the time if so as she can access it via a college for free while under 19.

Job seekers

https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance

I think the jobs market is hideous at the minute. The previous entry method for many young people, that of “start at the bottom, show some nous and work your way up” has vanished in many instances, with the advent of AI. Experienced, high qualified professionals are struggling to find work and people cannot live on nothing. I cannot see how the welfare bill will not continue to rise.

No, a mainstream college but I think the problem was that as she got a 3 originally in English she wasn’t eligible for it or something like that. The tutor did explain it but it seemed a bit confusing. It was the maths that let her down mostly as she couldn’t get past a 1! But because of the English she was expected to do GCSEs not FS. Seems like a strange system. We might look into it in the future but I think she is fed up of tests for now.
Just concentrating on her theory test at the moment is enough!

Thats not true many general colleges dont offer functionsl skills
And its soul destroying
My son only managed to get his English level 2 functional skills after moving from a general college to a training establishment.

FYI

My National Insurance record began when I started my first part time job at age 16

I can see every year until this year

It shows
Zero years - at uni (did work PT)
Part paid years
Fully paid years

State Pensioners do not pay NI

I think it is necessary for parents to treat adult children as adults with financial responsibilities. Not extend the notion of childhood existing into adulthood with parents financially supporting adult children.

It is illogical to consider adult children financially supported by parents as morally superior to adult children financially supported by the state. Neither are independent. If anything those supported by the state will receive more scaffolding to become independent and be more incentivised to do so than those who ‘scrounge’ off parents.

Also this pressure on parents to financially support adult children who meet UC eligibility criteria artificially reduces the official statistics relating to youth unemployment and under employment and impact of the cost of housing to the ability of young people to leave home and move for work. Hence reinforcing the narrative that there are plenty of jobs and young people lack an appropriate work ethic and that benefits are a lifestyle choice.

This was never an issue in my youth. I left home at 19 with a friend to rent a flat in London and work as a medical secretary (through an agency as NHS wages were dire and I was ‘qualified’) and then as a legal secretary. I earned over 20k pa when I gave it up to start a degree at Manchester uni - with a grant.

These days it takes months to find a job and wages are low and rents are high. Young people are just as ambitious and hardworking as they ever were. The context is very different.

No chance. Andy's gonna spend it all on social care. Young people would be foolish to get comfy on benefits now.
Youth unemployment isnt actually particularly high if you look back more than a few years. Patience and willingness to graft and get some experience is what is lacking.

As someone who’s paid their taxes and also had a stint on the dole myself, YUBU. She just needs a bit of help getting started and that’s what it’s there for. She’s entitled to it and she should get it.

Do make her aware tho, going to the job centre isn’t a nice experience a lot of the time and they sometimes make you feel like shit. Mine was sound, but I know some people who had really nasty work coaches who were just weirdly adversarial. I know they must deal with a lot of scammers but the way they can treat you is a bit uncalled for sometimes.

No I don't, which is why I said any money claimed should be paid to her parents as her contribution to the household, and on work related jobseekiing activities. She already has a small job to spend money on herself.

Nobody is getting comfy onn
£338 / month
I got slightly more than that when i did my nurse training 30 years ago.

This is a teenager living at home. She'll be perfectly comfy with £338 for free.

It won’t even be that much, with her earnings as they are currently it’ll be around £150 approx.

If its only £150 then I'd encourage her to earn it. Babysitting, dog walking etc. She's got the time and the connections and experience would do her good. Get her to use her time productively.

You genuinely believe the job market has not changed that much, and young people are struggling to get jobs because they simply can’t be bothered?

Sounds like you don’t know many young people at all.

Can she not just work more hours in her current employment rather than claiming?

This is wild. Of course it’s morally superior not to take from the state when you don’t need it.

I’ve just checked and maybe it’s because I’m talking about England? But every one of the 153 general FE colleges in England offers functional skills. 3/35 sixth form colleges don’t offer it, which might be your experience?

*sorry, just clocked you said general not sixth form. Was it elsewhere in the uk?