Hi everyone,
I'm a single mum with two children: DD1 (who is in school from 8am to 4pm including travel time to and from which is done by her father) and DD2 (who goes to nursery on Wednesday and Friday from 1pm to 6pm). I have a commitment with the Job Centre to work 30 hours per week, but after factoring in travel time to drop off DD2 at nursery, I only have about 10 hours of kid-free time available each week to work.
I have no other childcare options with family or friends or their father.
Currently, my availability to is work Wednesday and Friday from 1:30pm to 4pm. Nursery can only offer to add Monday and Friday afternoons if I’m able to secure 30-hour funding for DD2, but this would require me to find a job to meet the Job Centre's requirements.
Unfortunately, the nursery doesn’t have availability for full days or mornings, and even if I did manage to get 4 x morning slots or 2 full days I’d still be limited to 14 hours a week at best. DD2 has been at this nursery for over a year, and it took her a long time to settle in. She’s very happy there with her friends and the staff, and I do not want to change her nursery at all.
I really want to work and be in a better financial situation, but I don’t know where to start finding a job that fits within these hours. Even if I do find a job for 10-14 hours a week, it won’t be enough to meet the Job Centre's requirement of earning around £900 a month to stop going in every week. They’ve said I need to earn that amount to be exempt from weekly appointments.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? How have you managed to work with limited childcare hours? How can I find a job that fits these constraints and earns enough to meet the Job Centre's expectations without having to go in each week? Any advice on jobs or strategies would be really helpful!