Uc not going back to work

[ash646668]

I was lead to believe in my first meeting for universal credit that I wouldn't be expected to get a job untill my baby went to school at 4. I've now found out they expect you to go back to work at 3. My baby is only 6 months at the moment but I'm thinking ahead. I don't have any family who can look after her and my partner works full time. I am really against her going to nursery and even if I did send her I can't imagine I could get a job with limited availability as a carer. They are typically 12 hour shifts including weekend. Has anyone else experienced not working after baby turns 3 and waiting until they are ready for school. And what happened with universal credit.

Wrong. The percentage is 38% of UC claimants that are working.

And this is another reason why the benefits system needs a massive overhaul.

Unfortunately they don't advertise it much because they don't want to pay out. Always worth a try.

No ill keep them and the 10hrs :) means I get to see my kids.

Maybe they first should start getting employers to pay better wages and lower rents so people don't need to rely on top ups?

I hope it works out for you ❤

Thanks.

If you can afford it that’s your choice. If you expect other people to pay for it, it should be their choice.

And this is one reason why the country is on its knees. Time to reduce benefit payments for those who could work but just don’t want to.

I took a few years off work when mine were little. Was a bit skint and ended up in a bit of debt. Didn’t even consider trying to claim benefits though. My kids, my choice.

(and yes I appreciate there are medical circumstances of parent or child which prevent work, I am not talking about those families)

So you chose to get into debt rather than claim tax credits or whatever benefits at the time were? If you were entitled to them obviously! I imagine like most of us in the situation it is only a short time and we will all be working full time again.

Yes. Not a lot of debt and had it paid off within a year of going back to work. But yes, why should I claim benefits (other than child benefit - no idea if I’d have been entitled to anything else) when I could’ve gone back to work earlier but chose not to? I never paid a penny in childcare, think I got 15 hours free, so there’s that.

Why is a couple couples AET £1437

Yet a single person has to work /earn just under £1200 - think it's £1189 which is 30hrs

Surely if a couple it should be double the single so around £2400 - £2378.00 to be precise

I don't get why if a parent you can stay at home as long as other person earns over an amount - but still be entitled to uc

By all means be a sahm - but not expect uc to pay you for the honour

Or am I missing something

You are completely missing the point. Just because you didn’t know you could get pregnant and therefore could not save still does not mean you should get paid to be a SAHM. MOST people save just to be able to cover expenses to have between 6-12 months maternity as statutory nowhere near covers costs and then have to return to work.

Your argument is completely ridiculous. Why would that mean the OP should be able to savour the moments above someone who doesn’t have fertility issue? Is she more deserving than any other mum? So mums who decided to have one child, or multiple children or mums with one child without fertility issues?

I am not saying she is more deserving but that it might be understandable that OP might want to be a SAHM whatever it takes. You know what I meant.

Also to add, I do not have fertility issues but did lose my first baby in the second trimester. At no point did this leave me feeling entitled to be paid to stay at home with my second child even though it is extremely unlikely to have another.

Cannot believe how entitled some are on this thread. I was brought up to work hard to support myself. I thought the benefits system was to help people in emergencies and for the short term - or those in ill health, and not a lifestyle choice. Madness.

I am sorry for your loss. I wouldn't judge you if you did the same.

And this is one reason why the country is on its knees. Time to reduce benefit payments for those who could work but just don’t want to.

Agreed

The child benefit and the child element one is not for me. Its for the kids. So really I hardly have any money left over

So what you actually mean for this family's situation is:

Total Benefits (£1,397.27 UC + £44.50 CTS + £110.93 CB) = £1,552.71pm
Total Earned Income (Net) = £1,328.09pm
Total Income from above = £2,880.80pm or £34,569.60pa Net

And then I'm guessing you added on a % for tax and NI to gross it up to around £40k?

OK, I get what you're saying now.

The UK birth rate has been declining since 2008 which suggests no amount of benefit support is incentivising women to use children as an excuse to stay out of the workforce for "years and years".

UC was first introduced in 2013. The UC rules for people who are the main carer for their children (usually the mothers) are as follows:

Child is under 1
If your child is under 1 year old, you will be placed in the ‘no work-related requirements’ group. You won’t be expected to do any activities through the jobcentre and you won’t have a work coach. You won’t be expected to look for work.
Child is aged 1
If your child is aged 1, you will be placed in the ‘work-focused interviews’ group. You won’t be expected to look for work. However, you might be asked to have interviews with a work coach about the kind of work you would like to do in the future.
Child is aged 2
If your child is aged 2, you will be placed in the ‘work preparation’ group. You won’t be expected to look for work but you might be expected to take part in activities to improve your chances of getting a job in the future.
Child is aged 3 - 12
If your child is aged between 3 and 12, you will be placed in the ‘all work-related requirements’ group. You will be expected to look for work and to be available to take up a job if one is offered to you. You won’t be expected to take a job that would mean working more than 30 hours per week and you won’t need to spend more than 30 hours per week looking for work.

Parents can get 30 hours per week of free childcare for children aged 3 - 4 years old and this enables them to return to work and meet their UC claimant commitment of no more than 30hrs paid work pw.

@Slinkyminky22

You cannot usually get Universal Credit if you're studying full-time. There are some exceptions, i.e. you're disabled, were assessed as having limited capability for work before starting your course, and are getting Personal Independence Payment.
If you're studying part-time, you may be able to get Universal Credit as long as you can meet the work-related requirements that apply to you.

So, it isn't the establishment you're studying at, but whether your course is part-time or full-time.

No. You can't usually get UC if you're studying full-time. There are some exceptions, i.e. you're disabled, were assessed as having limited capability for work before starting your course, and are getting Personal Independence Payment.
If you're studying part-time, you may be able to get UC as long as you can meet the work-related requirements that apply to you.

Thanks for bringing clarity to the situation.