UC joint claim do you both have to work if you have children (over 3)

[DisneyPrincessMummy]

Hello,

I have a question about Universal Credit and I can't for the life of me find a clear answer, it's like they don't want to give the money away 😆
This is something I'm not doing as of yet so it's more hypothetical.
If I do a joint claim with my partner, And I am the main care giver for our children, if he works full time do I still need to look for work for 30hrs when our youngest is 3?
At the moment, we have a 5 year old and a 6 month old but I will return to my part time job in April, if we want a 3rd I am thinking of being a stay at home mum because its not fair to ask my mum to watch my 3 children whilst I do my part time job if my partner is at work, but I keep reading that even if my partner is full time working that I would also have to look for work as the main care giver.

I've got friends who say this isn't the case as they have been claiming for a while now but I can't see anything online that says for sure.

My partner does have a high income so the UC would just be to top us up if we needed the extra income if we were eligible but I didn't want to evene go through the process of UC if I was going to have to work anyway when the youngest got to 3 as I might as well stay in my part time job.

Thanks

There’s no if you do a joint claim, if you are in a relationship you must do a joint claim.

and yes you will have a work requirement

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-your-family-quick-guide/universal-credit-further-information-for-families

Would you be entitled to UC if your partner is a high earner anyway?

That was my thought.

It's possible to get UC with surprisingly high income if you rent in an expensive area like London but homeowners are unlikely to get help.

I don't think that UC is meant to be for couples where one of them has a high income and the other works part time. It's for people who both have a low income. Or none.

if we want a 3rd I am thinking of being a stay at home mum because its not fair to ask my mum to watch my 3 children whilst I do my part time job if my partner is at work, but I keep reading that even if my partner is full time working that I would also have to look for work as the main care giver.

Why are you thinking of having a third child if you can't do it without benefits or paying for childcare.

If you can't afford childcare and think it's unfair to leave your mother with three children to look after for free then don't have a third child. It really is that simple.

It sounds as if you can't afford the two, you've got.

Why post judgemental stuff like that?

Either the OP qualifies for UC or they don't. If they do, then provided the Regs are complied with, they can and should claim.

The irony is that if they work UC will help with childcare so the Max UC will be higher.

She won't get anything more chan CB for #3 due to the two child limit.

Unless the budget removes it.

How much does he earn? If he earns over the AET for a couple then you don't have to work because he earns enough for both of you. I don't have any work commitments for this reason now my youngest is three.

Edit we will try for a third soon to and I will carry on working one day a week if we have a third

Might be checking first. Ask on a UC group first. You don't want to give it up if he earns too much. I will warn you if you own your home it isn't as generous.

It is within the rules. As long as the AET is met then it doesn't matter if one or both earn. Only issue is you cant get 30 hours at three if only one works.

I wasn't being judgemental I genuinely didn't think they would qualify.

Look on the entitled to website and play with the figures / number of children. It will tell you if you would have any entitlement.

Or contact Help to Claim:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/contact-us-about-universal-credit/

The Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) for Universal Credit is an earnings limit that determines the work-search requirements for claimants who are in work. For a single claimant, the AET is £952 per assessment period, and for a couple, it is £1,534 per assessment period. Earning below this threshold means a claimant must actively look for more or better-paid work and be available for work, and they will receive regular support from a work coach.

If your husband earns more than £1534 per assessment period you won't have work requirements.

As long as your partner is earning at least £1534 a month you’ll be put into light touch group and won’t have work commitments. However you won’t be put into this group until your youngest child turns 3

Until that point your work group is dependent on the baby’s age
Under 1 no work group
1-2 work focused appointments
2-3 work prep appointments

Thanks everyone for your input 😊
I mainly wanted to see if we could qualify for anything, my friends partner also earns higher but on months when he works 1 less weekend they do get a bit of UC which does help (but she does also have more children). If we didn't qualify then we didn't qualify and we'd still have a 3rd, just trying to work out the beat path for us 🙂

On a different note, marriage would offer you and your children legal protections that you don’t currently have. You might want to consider that before you have a third.

you can use a calculator like turn2us and see if you'd be eligible for anything.

my partner is a high earner (not high by mumsnet standards), i work PT and we rent in london. plus childcare costs (although low) for one child. we end up with £100 a month so it's possible you'll get something. Try the calculator out and see.

This is what is wrong with this country. Why is this woman planning a third child when they can only afford it with the help of UC? And as one of comments stated above: you can plan to have a third and will be allowed to not actively look for a job and claim UC? Why are people not responsible for their own life choices and not financially responsible for their own kids? We, the rest of the country who breeds responsibly, pay their taxes responsibly can’t afford to fund these people’s lives while the public services ie NHS, education are so desperately underfunded. Why have we not got the right to determine where we would like to see our taxes to go.

Are you suggesting that people work full time, so you can claim UC? There are weekend/ evening/ night shifts available. Take responsibility and stop putting the burden onto others. And if you can’t afford a third child, then don’t.

I totally agree.

This thread sums up everything that is wrong with the UK benefits system. No wonder the whole thing is unaffordable.

Why should the state fund you having more children you can’t afford? You should only be ‘entitled’ to money you earn yourself through working. Stop trying to bleed the system dry.

This has got to be a wind up?