Would i be better off not working?

[Bunny2607]

Hi all
Can’t believe i’m asking this question but i’ve just gone back to work after maternity leave. I’ve gone back three days a week and after tax and deductions i get £1600 in my hand. The nursery bill for those three days is £780, i do tax free childcare so Of that amount we pay about £580. We just can’t manage. The nursery bill is crippling us. We can’t get universal credit or any other benefits etc as my husband brings home £2300. Our mortgage has gone up to £800 and obviously fuel food energy everything is costing more.
does anyone know if i gave up work would i be able to claim benefits? The nursery bill is crippling us and i’m wondering if i’d be better off not working to save this but i’d need some sort of income.
TIA

You'd have to do a benefits calculator to tell you if you'd be entitled to anything. But it's highly unlikely you'd get more than £1000 a month in benefits which is what you have left after paying nursery fees.

People are rarely better off if they leave work because you lose out on pension contributions, career progression, your network and skills can deteriorate etc. Think about the long term and remember paying full whack at nursery is a short term squeeze.

Can you compress hours (or increase and compress hours)?

Factor in the help you’ll get with nursery bills at age 3-4.

Can a family member help out one afternoon a week?

If you take home 1600 and nursery is 580 then how will you be better off not working??

You can use the calculator on entitledto.com to see what you may be entitled to. I believe a £2300 take home pay equates to about £36/37k annual salary so I think any benefits would be limited.

Is there room to reduce your childcare needs by changing to weekend or evening shifts when DH could look after the children while you work?

It used to be that you’d be classed as “voluntarily unemployed” and have a 13 week period where you couldn’t claim anything. Not sure if it’s the same now.

You need to put your husbands earnings into the online benefit calculator and see what it comes up with. I’d be better off not working as it were, I only do so for my mental health. When I take childcare and travel costs out of my days earnings, I’m taking home between £5-£6 per day (double shifts as well). If I factor in the shoes I have to replace every 3 months or so (I walk 12 miles per shift), all the pens I go through etc, realistically I’m paying to go to work.

If the job centre found out you voluntarily left work im sure you cant claim for a certain length of time, or thats the way it used to be years ago.

After mortgage and nursery fees you have 2500 a month?

That on paper sounds sufficient

You may be entitled to a bit but with your DHs salary, and owning a house not renting, you wouldn’t be entitled to much. I very much doubt you’d be better off not working.

What would your take home pay be and nursery costs if you worked 5 days per week instead of 3? Would that bring in anymore money?

If your household take home income is nearly 4k plus child benefit and your childcare and mortgage comes in at around 1.4k, how can you think you'd be better off not working?

Is it your first child? I found a fairly hefty lifestyle adjustment was needed when I had my first.

Are you claiming child benefit?

I've assumed you earn £2k pcm. If you pay 5% into your pension and your employer 10%, that's £300 pcm or £3,600 yr into your future financial security you would be giving up. Do not do this.

I think you need to look at where the money is going.
On the face of it, you should be more than ok. After mortgage and nursery, you have 2500 left over every month. That should be more than enough for bills, food, petrol, and some spare for other stuff.

I also don't think you will get 1000 a month in benefits - which is what is left over from your salary after nursery. Although you would save some commuting costs.

Do you know where all your money is going?

Get DH to go down to 4 days to save a days childcare, as you pay the most tax on your 5th day

I think the op means 1600 per month?

Ignore that I hadn't realised you were adding husbands wage on.

No, you’d be significantly worse off on benefits. You’d basically get nothing. It does sound like you should have enough to get by, have you written all your spending down? If you really can’t manage, it sounds like you earn more per day than your DH so maybe you have to go back to full-time and he could cut his hours. Or you could both work full-time.

I put your figures through a calculator quickly and with your husbands wage you wouldn't be entitled to any Universal Credit, so you're definitely better off working. Are you claiming child benefit?

It’s very unlikely that you’d get any benefits at all, let alone £1k per month which is how much cash you have left after paying the nursery bill.

I found that I couldn’t go back to work after I had kids because nursery cost £1k per child per month. I didn’t earn enough to cover that. So not only did I have to quit work, I also lost out on pension payments and ended up being out of the workplace for years, which has made it very difficult to get another job now they’re at school. In the long run I think the country would have benefited more by subsidising my childcare and keeping me in the workforce.

If you could get anything in benefits then it won't be anywhere close to the £1000pm you get after childcare is paid so no
Like a few others have said after childcare and mortgage you have £2500 left a month. Where does this go? That's a lot for bills and food etc. Do you have a lot of debt or is it a case of you splitting everything 50/50 and you're finding it tight as you earn less?

I think you'd do better to go through your budget.

You bring home between you about £3300 AFTER childcare. £2500 after mortgage.

What else are you paying? You don't need, to say here but I'd go through that first.

You'll not get £1k+ benefits, and you'll be spending money on lunches and entertaining her.

You wouldn’t be entitled to much sadly. Would your job allow you some extra hours? If you are able to put in a flexible working request you could potentially work 4 days a week and only pay for 3 days childcare. Could your husband ask for compressed hours to save? Are you claiming child benefit etc?

We have slightly higher earnings than you, and similar proportions. Mortgage costs v similar to yours. We have 3 DC! (Two primary school with wraparound care costs, one at nursery). We aren't well off but we are comfortable, with a bit of careful financial management. Where is all your money going?

Childcare is seen as a valid reason to leave your job.

No, you wouldn't be better off not working. Could you increase your hours?