lone mothers and employment

[mia90]

Hi, I'm doing some research for my university project on lone parents and unemployment. I would like to know what you think are the barriers lone parents face in gaining suitable employment. For example access to childcare, suitable working hours and financial situation.
I have posted something similar before and had a few good responses, however I would appreciate some more feedback. Thank you!

The obvious really - childcare availability, hours, costs etc.

Also what to do with your kids are ill, inset days, school holidays, snow days, and requirements of work to work at different times or days (eg evenings, or overnights away)

And travel to work time and costs - very quickly wipe out savings from working vs not working.

You can find out a lot by looking though other threads on this site.

Thank you very much this is very helpful!

I have always worked, and I haven't worked for financial reasons as I'm pennies better off.

The problems have been:

1. Housing benefit, they just stop your claim until it is assessed how much you will recieve, then take months to sort it out. Office only open 9-5, so how do you get there to see them?
2. Childcare, trying to get it outside 8am and 6pm is impossible
3. Childcare. My kids had a fantastic childminder who moved away, although we had notice, our other childcare wasn't as good and my kids weren't happy.
4. If you have children who have an illness. My annual leave has been used for hospital and doctors appointments for kids.
5. If you have a disabled child, childcare is even harder.
6. relying on public transport to get to work, although this applies to all parents.

7 tax credits, are a nightmare to get through to. Time is a premium to all working parents how are you expected to be on hold for hours on end?

I think the benefit system is a big barrier.

Nothing new to add, just echoing all of the above which are genuine and serious problems for lone parents.

Also - the equating of p/t jobs and junior jobs. Just today I have seen two jobs advertised with one employer - a full time senior one (on a good salary - would be a step up for me) , and a more junior one on a part time basis, on a lower salary than I currently earn.

I do not want to work full time. It is too hard when also caring for kids. And it's important to me to pick up from school at least some days of the week. My daughter does not like going to after school club every day.

I can't see any reason why this employer couldn't take on a senior part time parson and a junior full time, or be flexible and see who they get. But it is very very common to see only junior, low paid, jobs available part time.

(Just as an aside, I'm a single dad)

I was working full-time in a position with very good career prospects and a healthy salary that increased every year.

I then asked for the opportunity to go part-time, with some time spent working at home, to allow me to cope with suddenly becoming a single parent. I was allowed to do so but at that moment my career stopped dead. It became very clear that there was no possibility of moving upwards from that role and because I was not always in the office I became marginalised from what was going on. I was also the only one out of the team who was made redundant a year or two later.

I've since found a new job with an employer who allows me a fair degree of flexibility over working hours but it's still problematic and I end up using a lot of my holiday entitlement to cover things like doctor's appointments and inset days. As my DCs' schools set their own inset days it can be very difficult to ensure that they will be looked after properly.

Childcare is a big issue. It costs a lot of money and it's not easy to find. Most after-school places around where I live are booked solid. Pre-school places are even busier.

Thank you very much these are all very interesting and helpful responses for my research project

Unhappy, sick, barely cared for children are a huge bar. As is the money - there is no room for spare.

Exactly 60% of my wage goes on rent. The remaining 40% I have to put aside to cover childcare for the year (summer holidays being horrendously expensive).

I pay the bills with Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Child Benefit. The little bit of Housing benefit left over might go towards new clothes and shoes for the DC.

I feel sick at the thought that I cannot afford for my DC to do extracurricular activities. I know that having just a couple of extra-curricular activities could enhance their sixth form and university applications.

If I take unplanned leave I don't get paid. There is no possibility of working from home. If I take more than three days of unplanned leave in a 12 month period I am subject to disciplinary procedures. Prior to last week I had taken three days.

I once sent DD2 to holiday club - even though she had a temperature of 39. DD1 (also at club) secretly administered paracetamol and ibuprofen to DD2 through the day (the play leaders can only administer prescribed medicine and the Dr Surgery is not open before we leave). I felt like the worst mother in the world. DD2 should have been at home. DD1 should not have been encouraged to act deceitfully to care for her sister. But my wage already fell short of the outgoings and I have to make the deficit up with the only flexible thing - the already tight grocery bill.

I am dreading my "Back to Work Interview" with my manager tomorrow.

I cannot afford to be ill. One of my three days off was being sent home with pneumonia - having left a chest infection untreated. I returned to work the next day stuffed with antibiotics.

Until last month I was registered at a Doctor Surgery that was only open between 8.15 and 5pm Monday - Friday so I was not able to manage any of my several conditions properly. I have now moved to a new Dr Surgery, with Saturday appointments and online repeat prescription requests (delivered straight to the chemist so I only need to make time to collect the prescription). This has hugely improved my ability to manage my health. I am back on top of two conditions and feel healthier for it.

I barely see my DC during the week. I leave at 8am, return at 6-6.30pm. I come in cook tea, the DC bath and then go to bed. There is no time to do homework during the week and eat and sleep. Trying to fit breakfast, tea and time for washing and dressing in to a day means they do not get enough sleep. This makes me feel like a crap mum. Some evenings I am so tired I can barely string a sentence together. My brain just cannot function. The DC are crying out for attention. I am exhausted.

Housing Benefit is a nightmare. I cannot budget each month because they will only work my entitlement on a three week, then five week basis (alternating - I really do not understand why not calendar month of four weekly). This is because my childcare costs differ each calendar month due to school holidays and half-term breaks. The HB office is open from 8am-6pm (4.30 on Friday). I cannot get to the office to drop my proofs in each month, so I trust the postman with my wage slip (they won't accept photocopies).

Last year the HB office made a serious error in working out my entitlement. I spent months making phone calls and precious hours writing letters, gathering evidence etc. The replies were always "we don't make mistakes". Eventually I requested an independent tribunal, also notifying the local MP. This prompted them to properly look in to it. Having said I owed them over £500, it turned out they owed me £200. All this stress and worry was horrible, draining and took precious little time away from my children. The time I was with DC I spent worrying sick about how on earth I was going to find the money to pay HB back or cover the loss of HB because the HB office was not paying anything because their error resulted in them thinking I was over paid.

Much of these problems are due to having such a limited income. There is only so much I can bring in. On top of that DXP left me with a number of unpaid bills and a rather liberal attitude with my credit card (arguing that his salary could cover it) means I have debt repayments to make that almost equal my childcare bill. He left years ago - the children and I are still paying for it. He has evaded CSA to such an extent that they have given up and so pays no maintenance.

That all said I do enjoy working. I look forward an improving wage and increased qualifications. I feel glad that come retirement age I will have built up a good pension and I will finally manage to relax.

I just posted this on another thread:

"A lot of us have the same problem. Childcare, lack of. I could apply for more jobs if I could get childcare. In my area, there are few childminders, most are already full, none start before 7am. Breakfast club starts at 8am. I could get to work for 9am but even Admin jobs now all seem to start at 8am. Cleaning jobs earlier. Retail jobs are shifts all over the place, factory jobs the same. I know a couple of women who work nights in supermarkets, I cant do that.

Childcare is the biggest issue for many Lone Parents, but it's never mentioned. Many employers are not family friendly and dont want to employ us, which I personally think is madness. I've had to have a day off here and there in the past with a sick child but i've more than made up for it with extra hours. I've seen office juniors spending the day on facebook, mobile going off every few minutes, asking to leave early on a Friday so they can get ready for a night out. All while i've worked my butt off, because I have responsibilities, I dont take the piss. I'm less desirable though because I can't start until 9am."

Tax credits are supposed to help with childcare, 70% at present I believe. That childcare has to be OFSTED registered though. So if a LP is lucky enough to have a friend or family member willing to help, the odds are she/he can't afford to pay them.

I personally wont apply for temp jobs as it's a nightmare to get back on JSA afterwards, you can be left without for months.

Ditto tax credits.
Ditto housing benefit.

The same goes for any job that requires sickness/holiday cover. A few extra hours and due to slow response and cock ups you can be royally screwed and in debt before you know it.

I once waited three months for my tax credit childcare element to come through...it was slap it on the credit card or give up my job. Happily I wont be able to do that again as i'm bankrupt and cant get credit.

Does that help ?

Thank you all very much this has given me a very helpful insight and some interesting things to talk about in my project!

Childcare!!!
When I worked with 1 child (although then i had a partner, but his working hours were longer than mine, so it made no difference as far as childcare was concerned) finding a childminder was relatively straight forward - not easy, but ok. I was a teacher, so school holidays were not an issue, though for many I know they are.
I then moved to a very rural location, and stupidly assumed I would find childcare for 1 child, for half an hour before school and 1 1/2 hours after school, without problem. How wrong I was! There is no nursery in the village (nearest is 11 miles away, they do not do school pick ups from my village) there were no registered childminders, again, the nearest was 11 miles away.....
So not being able to go and do supply work due to the practicalities of finding childcare, (it can be at the drop of a hat and up to an hours drive away) and having had to turn a local job down, lack of childcare being one of the issues, I became a childminder.
I have a post graduate degree, was head of year in a large secondary school before I moved, now I work for £3 an hour from home. I now have 3 children (and no partner) so returning to a place of emoloyment other than my own home is even less of a reality. If I did, I would leave the three families I work for totally in the lurch, as I am the only registered childminder in the village. I cannot charge them more, as even with tax credit help it takes a huge bite out of their salaries, especially as 2 of the families have 2 children with me. I cannot take more children as I can only care for 5 at a time, including my own, I am lucky that I manage to amas about 3 days a week work between them and average about £5 an hour.
considering the hoops and checks that need to jumped through repeatedly to maintain a childminding business (and quite rightly so) it is unlikely that many people will be willing to put in the time and effort required for the return of £5 an hour, if you charge more, then it simply not worth the while of parents going to work, even with tax credit help, especially if you have very young children, or more than one.

The cost of running a car is getting more and more exorbitant. This may be a barrier for many single parents.

The lack of family support, albeit rare, is another key factor. I have no close family even alive let alone living nearby!

Finding a supportive partner who can pitch in and do school run even one day a week is nearly impossible too, even if they don't live with you they could help but they may be living far away or unable to help for whatever other reason.

Also even if the single parent's ex is paying maintenance and seeing his child/children it does not mean he is free to help with school run/helping in an emergency.

Neighbours these days just DO NOT CARE! Another reason! People can be so smug and complacent and have no clue how difficult it is for a person on their own to access employment.

Part-time work is invariably poorly paid unless one is top in their field before they go on maternity leave and can then immediately return once their maternity pay has run out.

Finding friends who can support each other is also hard as although in my experience I have found it remarkably easy to find fellow single parents for friendship support, for a variety of reasons they are equally unable to help me. They are invariably up to their eyes in it themselves.

I hope this helps!

I think it only works well if you have the following:

1. Good childcare that will cover all the holidays etc, or relatives that will.
2. An understanding employer.
3. A child that hardly ever gets sick.
4. A high income or tax credits.

One of my old employers used to pull their face if I was off with sick DS. Comments like "can't you get another family member to look after him" "My sister is a single parent and she uses my mum when her daughter is ill"

I feel some employers see single parents as a hidrance, that its the same for all of us etc.

I've been unemployed for over a year now. I think its because I'm restriccted to hours and I'm not very flexible. its very frustrating.

I would never let on at a job interview that I was a single parent. I would avoid mentioning that I have kids if I could help it, but sometimes you have to mention that to explain gaps in the CV or why you're not full time.

Access to childcare, lack of adult support in ther home, suitable working hours, child sickness (there is NO childcare for a sick child), child disability (NO childcare for a disabled child and parents of disabled children are more likely to be separated), lack of employment opportunities for someone who is inflexible, frewuently unavailable and permanently exhausted .... the list goes on.

Reading this thread has made me feel quite fortunate that I haven't had some of the difficulties some of you have.

My main problems have been lack of understanding from managers and if my dd is ill its a nightmare. However I think probably all working mothers experience these problems.

I am lucky in that I have my mum near by who can help me out in emergencies and have got a good childminder for before and after school.

I think one of the many things I miss from not having a partner is not having someone to come home to and have a good moan of I have had a crap day!! Also not having someone to help with the practicalities like making pack lunches, making dinner, washing up, putting a load of washing in/out, feeding the cat, bathing dd, picking up a pint of milk..............................!!!

i'd like to add that it is difficult to get a job if you are obviously a lone parent or sahm.

I had an interview today and over half the questions asked were about my children: their ages, health, childcare etc. I was asked twice whether I can work the hours advertised and who will look after the children. I didn't mention being a single parent or I would have no chance.

Interviewers are not allowed to ask these questions, but invariably do. I can't explain my working history without saying I have children.

It's so unfair. I can't imagine a man being asked the same questions as me, even with the same CV.

I think there is a perception among employers of mothers, especially lone mothers, being unreliable.

I am lucky. I have a well paid FT job and work from home 3 days a week. I have also negotiated 2 weeks extra unpaid parental leave to cover the days when I need to be home for my children. And I now have an au pair.

BUT my biggest challenge was just getting re employed when my ex left us. Anyone who knew I was a single parent did not take me seriously. Even though I have a great CV I am in a senior role with a fair bit of travel and they just didnt believe I could do it. The discrimination against single parents was glaringly obvious.

So eventually I put my wedding rings back on and pretended to be married until I got a job. I love what I do, it is a daily struggle, but I manage. Fortunately I am pretty good at what I do so they put up with my rather flakey work habits.

Lack of flexibility is a major problem. If I run out of petrol money in the morning ,I have no husband to ask for £10/borrow his car/ to phone in sick (because I've been actually ill already this month),school holidays. You are screwed. Ill child, INSET,working late/early etc etc are all problematic especially outside of major towns or in smaller schools with no wrap around provison. The most common type of job we can get is one where being reliable and available "to help out" is most common.
There's only you, so if you come home tired and knacked there's no one else to counteract your bad mood. As you get no respite the relentlessness puts you at a disadvantage anyway. Children only get your viewpoint on work,other people everything. Not a good thing IMO.
These are not barriers to employment but reasons why it doesn't pay to work in a lot of cases.
Tax credits can't be relied on because unless you understand how they arrive at their figures (which are last years and include all sorts of allowances, discounts etc) you never know if they are going ask for them back, withdraw them,change them.
I too am at Uni and as a single parent I'm about £4,000 better off a year than when I worked. Wrong on so many levels. The best thing is that I can plan my spending. I get my student loan/grant on set dates, for set amounts. I get CB and Child Credit paid weekly so I never run out of money. It's a godsend. I am dreading going back to work TBH.

Thanks very much for all these responses they have been very interesting to read. Any more responses would be greatly appreciated. I will be happy to post my research findings when I have finished my research project. thanks!

I did a back to work financial assessment at the job centre and I am better off working part time than I would be full time because childcare costs are so high. The government needs to help out more with childcare costs.
It would increase employment greatly

a) for childcare providers (more people would take up child minding I think)

b) more lone parents can go to work

Also the ofsted registered thing is a nightmare. If a holiday club only takes children aged over 8 then they don't need to be ofsted registered but then you can't use them for your tax credits (grr) so frustrating. It adds to more problems of finding childcare.

I am self-employed and earn a reasonable amount but again, childcare is a massive issue for me. I try and work from home most of the time but at least once a week, have to go to clients' premises. Although I am very lucky with the school's breakfast and after school club in that they'll take my DS at very short notice AND they will take him at BC earlier than 8am, the AFC shuts at 6pm.

Childcare is a bloody nightmare tbh and the biggest headache in my life.

The jobs not being paid well enough for the hours that fit into my child's routine. eg it is very difficult for me to find employment that is between the hours of 8am and 4pm or 5pm mon to fri, as alot of parents want these hours of work.
Not saying this is just a lone parent problem but not having a partner at home to share the unsocial working hours makes life harder for my child.

For the past 4 years I have worked shifts including nights. I wanted to be there as much as possible so this fitted in. Although it is very hard on me too as changing my sleep patterns is a nightmare.
If there was more jobs that paid well enough between M-F 8am to 5pm then I wouldn't need to work such crazy hours and my child could sleep in his own bed at night. Instead he has to be woke to get out of bed at 6.30 to then go and collect children with his childminder before a 10 mile drive to school. I would also be around at weekends.
The problem that I am having now is differant ......... he is getting too old to want to go to the childminders. He is 14 and it isn't seen as very cool by friends to be sleeping at a babysitters. So it is embrassing him which makes me feel bad.
Then when I do shifts and leave him at home (not overnight) I worry as he is not being watched. It seems to be harder now than when he was 10 or 11 and was quite happy to be "babysat". Then you have school hoildays.... again left at home or to childminder when he should be out with friends not looking after minded children for his childminder of 2 and 3 yr of age!!
I know some of these problems could be faced by children living with two parents but if there is two parents with say 4 weeks hoilday from work each a year that is 8 weeks out of 13 that is covered per year where as lone parents have to cover 9 weeks with childcare for the school hoildays alone.
sorry was abit of a rant lol hope it helps though!

oh forgot to mention the tiredness........... having to do everything how could I forget that one.........