Lone parents - universal credit / changes to working hours re. budget / Jeremy Hunt?

[catsinwater]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/22/jeremy-hunt-universal-credit-benefits-mothers-30-hour-weeks

Anyone read this yet? Although my child is 10 it could have a massive impact on my life as a working single parent. I feel really sorry for the people with younger children, it's difficult enough for many lone parents to work the 16 hours a week (I struggled with health issues and stress related to the burden of being a LP when my son was younger and it's not even easy now so goodness knows trying to do 30 hours a week).

I am really worried about this!

I am just about getting by and work a lot of hours in my self employed job but am worried that I will be made to take a job for less money to push me up to the difference of 30 hours, which will set my career back massively as well as my mental health and reduce my hourly wage etc (even if I am working more hours).

What do others feel about it?

I'm too angry to even read it. Anything they can do to make the lives of (mostly) women and children harder.

I am enraged. The government can manage the UC system and check wages via HMRC every month to make sure not a penny more is paid to single mothers.

They can not use this system to work out the pay of the non resident parent. They will not enforce payment of less than a 10% underpayment of maintenance.

And they will not reasses maintenance claims if there's less than a 25% pay increase.

I did this, worked with tiny kids as a lone parent. It was utterly shit and wrecked my mental and almost physical health.
I made my comments on the main thread and walked away.

Is this definite? It's been agreed?

@MaryKateDanaher yes it's in the budget.

@megletthesecond I think what a lot of people don't realise is most of us already work - but increasing to these levels will make life almost unbearable as a single parent for many reasons. People are framing it as "work is good" but most single parents already DO work, and that's a struggle. 30 hours when you have no support is virtually impossible, 16hrs is super tough as is.

I currently work 37 hours with a 3 year old. I was considering reducing my hours when he starts school. I guess that won’t be possible now

@Danikm151 I think for age 5 - 12 it's 25hrs a week to take into account school run etc.

All those meetings at the job centre with a 1 and 2 year old as well! It's just more punishment. Breathtakingly shit.

As pp said - they should concentrate on getting the payments due from absent parents. Not bashing those that stay to raise the children- and having their choices taken away. Too many seem to wriggle out of that responsibility of cms. I reckon they want to get women into the roles they are having problems filling in care etc (mainly due to their own policies). And those are low paid, but also with little flexibility, so aren't good if you have no support with childcare. And there are no overnight childcare places! And I doubt there will be enough places or providers if the free hours for those who want them now, let alone an increased workforce.

I haven't seen another thread, could you link to it?

I worked full time from the start, and babies are easy to work full time - take them to nursery all day.

It's even they start school that it becomes a logistical nightmare.

I'm not sure that's a good argument. The lone parents who don't receive UC generally have to work full time to earn enough to live on so lots of people manage it. It is exhausting though.

The main reason this plan seems bad to me is that it's all stick and no carrot and doesn't fix the disincentives in the system. They need to sort out child maintenance as PPs said: raise the percentage rates to reflect half the cost of housing and raising a child, pursue non-payment as they wod for tax evasion and impose prison sentences for underpaying/ not paying. But also force employers to offer more flexibility, address the crazy UC taper rate, make child benefit universal again, implement the legislation that was never fully implemented to require all schools to offer wrap around care, equalise tax allowances and thresholds so that single parents aren't taxed more than a couple on the same household income (which is outrageous!), etc...

I think people would jump at the chance to work more if the right employment opportunities were there and the tax system wasn't set up to mean that it would barely make them any better off.

I am just about getting by and work a lot of hours in my self employed job but am worried that I will be made to take a job for less money to push me up to the difference of 30 hours

Also don't understand this. ^^ If you're earning more from self-employment already than 30 x hourly national minimum wage then surely the new requirement wouldn't impact you? Why would they make you give that up and take a job for less money, surely then they'd have to give you more UC?

There are already enforcing it.
My daughter will turn 13 June this year and up until now I've been working 20 to 25 hours a week in a flexible job so as a lone parent I can be present on my daughter's needs and life.

Unfortunately my child was diagnosed with an ilness that I fear will stay with her for a long time, it is chronic at this point and she already had 2 surgeries cause of it. Dd also takes medication that makes her immune compromised, so classified as vulnerable.
Universal credit has contacted me and said I need to spend 35 hours a week looking for a full time job and even tho I've explained my situation they said that without DLA AND careers allowance I would still need to look for that amount of work.

What made me very cross was the fact that the agent that saw me first was trying to argue with me that even after a day after surgery I could still attend an appointment with them, and why didn't I had a support network. I'm sorry but no way in hell I would drag a child a day after surgery to a centre... they don't care about you.

I had to provide loads of proof that I simply cannot work 30 hours a week, no employer will hire me knowing I need so many days off for hospital appointments, but they are still insisting... they call me every week! And it's a call because I told them after my child surgery there was no way I could be going physically to a centre to just chat for 5min. They said calls were just for when covid was happening.

Admittedly I've already sent a form for DLA but it takes time, what if they decide my child isn't entitled to it?
Carer's allowance is only for people that care for another for 35hours a week and my dd care needs to not amount to that.

So yes at the moment I am in a hard situation, can't work because my daughter needs me for after surgery recovery, appointments, picking up, taking to school (she developed anxiety and depressive symptoms), medication taking and monitoring. I'm losing money, universal credit does not pay what I'm losing, I'm being pressured to work more and potentially lose the job that has been me giving flexibility to work EVEN around my daughter's condition.

Just thought I would share, it will affect so many single parents.

@BlueGiraffes the thing is if you don't get UC you are obviously earning a lot more than your average single parent. Making your situation very different and probably your living situation (if they're able to buy a house for example, which is likely if they're not getting UC, this brings huge stability that most LPs in crappy private rentals could only dream about). If you're earning these levels of cash, you can afford lots of added extras that make your life that bit easier than your UC claiming parents, whether you understand it or not.

Also - many single parents don't have the luxury of an ex partner they can rely on. So there's a big difference between co-parenting and splitting childcare with another person 50/50 and all the time benefits that you get from that, meaning if you're doing it all on your own it's doubly as tough. This is why people who don't have a reliable ex / coparent on the scene will be even more adversely impacted by this decision. I realise a lot of SPs are in either category.

I personally get no money from my ex (he's disabled), no help from him, have no family locally and so on. It's people like me who will really struggle with this. Bear in mind I already work.

@BlueGiraffes to be honest I am not sure how it works with the wages and minimum income from self employment which is why I said I was worried about being pushed into crap work. I am still on the old tax credits system, but due to change over. I'm yet to understand the full implications for my self employment income and how that translates to required hours as I've not shifted.

@Nindaelita this sounds really tough, I hope you manage to sort something out ok.

@Nindaelita that is ridiculous when your child is so unwell. How stressful. I think there is some kind of system where you can be recorded as someone's registered carer even if you are not claiming carer's allowance because you work, but not sure what the criteria are. Would they accept that plus DLA as evidence I wonder? Crazy there is so little support for people with disabilities/ disabled children. I hope your DD is ok.

@catsinwater yes, everything is much harder for lone parents. I've been a lone parent since my children were tiny, they have no contact with ex-H. No family help, either. I've always still worked full time though, I've had to. I'd love more time with my children and life would be less chaotic but it is what it is.

@BlueGiraffes sorry to hear it's been tough for you. Hopefully the financial benefits of working full time has made it somewhat worthwhile in other ways.

Sadly not: childcare costs especially are crippling!! You can't win really.

I'm one of the people that is off sick who how to wait two years for my benefits due to delays. This government has no empathy or logic. Saw all the mums getting excited about free childcare without addressing the issues around that, this work hourly policy and the wca being taken off.

@BlueGiraffes I would imagine that you worked FT for the benefit of owning a house and paying a mortgage? Which is a big benefit is it not? You could have worked part time and got UC, so there is an element of choice to an extent there if you get what I mean. I do realise for many this would have the downside of likely renting a property though, which most of us would rather not have to do.

@taxpayer1 oh please eff off.

No I don't think so. If I worked part time I couldn't afford to keep paying my mortgage and I think UC will pay towards housing only for those renting? So no option but to work full time. Everyone's situations are different but I think what is clear is that single parents get way too little financial support to reflect the additional costs they inevitably have. Hence my comments about sorting out the taper rate, child benefit, tax allowances etc.

Also not sure how all these extra people with very small children are meant to increase their work hours when there aren't enough childcare places already! Seems the whole system was designed by idiots...