Universal Credit and work

[Magicpaint]

Hi everyone.
I am a single mum with a 3 year old daughter. I am currently on £590.00 UC a month.
My ex pays £100.00 a month child maintenance.
I am on a course at the moment which will lead to me working for an agency three days a week at £10 an hour.
I don't know if it is worth me going back to work 3 days a week mainly due to what I would lose. For example I'm currently getting legal aid. This I assume would stop. I don't really know what I would be entitled to. I have tried the Turn 2 Us benefit calculator that came up wrong. I've called UC and put it in my journal and I have an appointment with them Friday but they just fob you off. I asked her last time to go through it all with me. She said try the benefits calculated. I said I had so she gave me another one to try which gave me a different answer. It's like they can't get off the phone quick enough. I want to get off UC I just don't know how I'm going to do it? How do people manage to work part time and still get everything paid for?🤷

Have you contacted citizens advice? They are pretty good at helping work out how much your entitled to.

Uc is much better for working people then not working because you get a work allowance which means that a certain amount of your wages is disregarded before the wages reduce your Uc on a taper. I assume you have a mortgage ? If so the first £512 of earnings is disregarded and then each pound you earn above that reduces your Uc by 63p. If you rent then the first £292 is disregarded. So you do end up a lot better off by working as you have your wages and then UC top up.

@loutypips I have contacted CAB and they have booked me an appointment on the 14th of January. Fingers crossed they can help

Ah good! They are pretty good at helping with UC.
It does work in your favour to work 16 hours a week or more, I was surprised how much I was entitled to.

Ok thank you I think I'm trying to overthink everything and rush everything along. May need to calm down a bit.