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Lone parents

Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

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Original poster

i want to claim income support for a while! please give advice..

18 replies

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 11:36

hi there, i jusy need a bit of advice, i have 3 children ages 2, 3 and 5 and a 6 months old baby.
i have been working/ at uni getting my degree for the last 2 years and when my baby was born in nov i had 4 days (thats right 4 days) off for maternity leave. i want some time off, im exhausted and i feel as i had no maternity leave it is not unreasonable for me to claim income support for 6 months or so to spend some time with mybaby, ( my husband left me in april so i am a lone parent) any thought on this ladies and do you know if the job centre will say i can/ cant do this.
i fully intend to find a job in 6 or so months time, i just need a bit of a break to recover and sort my house/ kids starting school and nursery properly ect before i commit to a permanent job or start a masters etc.
does any one have any advice for my situation.
many thanks
guys!

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mrsmharket · 13/05/2010 11:49

why 4 days no wonder you are so tired. i would suggest that if you can get down to your local jobcentre and ask to speak to a lone parent adviser, the one i speak to is lovely adn really helpful.

mosschops30 · 13/05/2010 11:50

I was wondering why you only took 4 days?
If you were working, could you not get any SMP?

Original poster

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 11:54

i was not entitled as i am a student and i was not working 16 hours! i had to come back to uni as i had deadlines and exams. now im shattered.

OP posts:

mosschops30 · 13/05/2010 11:58

could you have deferred your exams, sorry I know you cant change any of that now.

I can understand why youre tired, you must be exhausted but you say you want 6 months off on IS and you 'fully intend to find a job' followed with 'before I commit to job or start a masters'

I dont mean to sound harsh but Id like 6 months off work and then do my masters but I cant afford it.
Income support is there for people in hard times who cannot work, and I can totally see why you couldnt work being a lone parent with 4 children, but you make it sound like they should pay you for a rest which IMHO is the wrong way of thinking

Original poster

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 12:20

well diod you go to work 4 days after having your baby? prob not. In reality if i took leave i would have had 9 months paid by gov on income support so all i will be doing really is defering my mat leave by 6 months. either way the money would have come from income support as i wasnt entitled to mat pay. i prob will find a job or do a masters im not runling out either at the moment but i would speand the time off making decisions. in the l;ast 6 monthsd i have had a baby, had dh leave me with 4 kids and finished my degree and im moving house on sat as the house id phils.
i need abreak and i wanted practicle advice about how to go about it at job ctr ect not advice on what peoples moral opinions were!
sorry but i need to do something else im in danger of going a little doo lally!!!!!

OP posts:

mosschops30 · 13/05/2010 12:33

no i didnt, but that was your choice, we all have them.
I actually think youre doing incredibly well, I found it very hard doing a degree with 2 kids and the support of dh so you have coped admirably.
I have no experience of claiming IS so have no idea what the job centr will say but I would imagine that as a lone parent with 4 children you would be entitled to IS

Original poster

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 13:07

thanks for the advice, sorry that i ranted ! i will look for work while i am on IS, but as its the end of my degree i imagine i would have claimed IS while looking for work anyway, what did you graduate in? im taking law, politics and sociology. hopefull i will apply for ajob with the NHS or childrens ctrs. how are you managing being a lone parent with two kids and working. if you dont mind me asking?

OP posts:

mosschops30 · 13/05/2010 13:10

sorry, Im not a lone parent, I still have the 'support' of dh
I did a nursing degree and work in ICU.
Im sure you will get IS and this will give you some quality time with your children and the brain space to work out what you want to do.
I wish you lots of luck

Original poster

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 13:17

well if i do a masters i will be doing midwifery. it another 3 years tho with placements etc. oh well onwards and upwards. thsnks for the advice

OP posts:

mosschops30 · 13/05/2010 13:24

can you go straight into doing a masters in midwifery without a hons degree (not sure you can, but you'll porb know more). Are you doing a direct entry?
TBH thats my idea of a job from hell, for personal reasons, Id rather be an undertaker than a MW
A degree with placements is fab, it really breaks up the years, just as youre ready for a change it is time so change so it works well

Original poster

kimplus4 · 13/05/2010 13:30

great, i will be doing the first two years as a direct entry and then the final year is masters modules as i already have a degree, its a pilot scheme. ill be one of the 1st to do it, besided i am already a band 3 HCA from before i went to so that gives me some advantage too. i let you know how it goes! cheers

OP posts:

HanBanan · 14/05/2010 09:42

Pay her for a rest?!! Bloody hell, she has 4 kids all under the age of five and she is a lone parent!! What is the world coming to when a woman in this situation is frowned upon for wanting income support rather than busting her balls working and studying?!!

Pop along to the jobcentre and perhaps go and speak to citizens advice bureau because there might be more help out there for you aswell as income support.

Best of luck, the role of mother is a full time full on job in itself, and I hope you enjoy some more time with your children.

GypsyMoth · 14/05/2010 09:47

how are you supported at present? through student loans/bursaries etc?

your ex paying maintenence?

if you've had the money up front then i doubt you'll be able to go onto IS just like that. as others said,visit lone parent advisor.

Dominique07 · 24/05/2010 18:42

I think you will have to prove you can't find work/be on job seekers allowance.

grapesandmoregrapes · 24/05/2010 20:06

as far as I know, if you are a single parent with children under school age then you are not expected to work, so you should be able to claim IS. could you not of claimed Maternity Allowance if you weren't entitled to Maternity Pay?

Original poster

kimplus4 · 29/05/2010 23:41

unfortunately i couldnt claim any maternity allowance as being at university as i would not have actually worked. i think im gona go on IS as i went to the JC today and the woman told me that ild be 40 quid w week worse off working as ill have to pay for 3 to be at nursery. lol luckily when i was at uni there was a nursery on site at the uni, i wont have that luxury working.
thanks fr all your comments

OP posts:

colditz · 29/05/2010 23:47

It will be pretty much impossible for you to work until at least 2 of the four are at nursery.

Try it by all means. Don't kill yourself doing it.

I work part time, and my two got to school and preschool, and frankly I am exhausted. Being a single parent is absolutely exhausting. Poeple don't realise - they think a husband who works long hours is the same as being single.

colditz · 29/05/2010 23:49

And by nursery, \I mean school

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