Do all 18 years old go on UC if they cannot find a job

[Crystalovertherainbow]

Do the family needs to show their income or the new adult is considered their own financial unit now , even if they live with the parents and their UC is given them

@arethereanyleftatall "getting £300 instead of working 20 hours".
It doesn't work like that.
They would be expected to spend 35 hours a week job seeking or doing job seeking related activities (ie a session on how to write a CV or something).

housekeeper available. Looking for a room to stay in for free in return for 3 hours a day cleaning/errands in your home.’ 27 comments - yes please

Result, your teen DD moves into a house with some skeevy bloke who either throws her out when she won't sleep with him or rapes her. When Homes For Ukraine started up, predatory men showed up in their droves.

The same applies to "Beth" the sixteen year old babysitter: rocks up at someone's house to find dodgy bloke(s) and no children.

There was re babysitter and carer. I’m not about to trawl through to find it but there was a poster upthread whose 18yr old doesn’t have a job who said ‘no one wants a 18yr old to babysit’ (patently false) ‘some people don’t have the right disposition to be carers.’ (Find the right disposition then).

personally I am very aware that it’s harder for some than others. My objection is to those claiming it who don’t need it, or to those turning down jobs that aren’t perfect. Let’s not pretend that that isn’t a growing number in the uk.

Then, dear Liza, don’t be a housekeeper for a single male if you are concerned about that. This is my issue. For many people, offer a solution and the answer is always ‘I can’t do that because.’ No resourcefulness. And, why bother when the god old tax payer is there.

Imagine the first thought is to claim benefits. Sheesh.

If money is very tight for parents then they can be in heat or eat territory unless 18yo clams benefits.

What’s your first thought if you can’t find a job? To plough on, sink in to depression while your family support you, or maybe look into if there is any support?

We have never claimed benefits. I don't know anyone who has claimed benefits, including all the young people I know. I admit I live in a very privileged bubble, but all the young people I know, including those with only basic qualifications, have jobs, have moved, have rented, bought houses, worked jolly hard at multiple jobs to do so. I suppose it's another indicator of how different people's lives are, and where you live. London and the South East is another world.

Yes they would. Someone can claim UC irrespective of their parents earnings. They just wouldn't qualify for housing element

Under 25s only get a certain amount for a room - they probably wouldn't be able to afford a house share on UC at that age.

We have savings. DH once was off work for months due to a surgery recovery. We relied on our savings, a loan from family (which we paid back and ourselves).

Even so someone healthy and fit shouldn't be relying on the state. The 18 year old can do Uber, deliveroo and all the gig economy stuff till they find a job. Also isn't the 18 year old in FT education and off to university soon?

Not if they have savings they wouldn’t.

I agree there should be. There are families I know who just see "what can I claim, what can I claim".

One mum I know wanted her son to drop out of education asap so he can start claiming.

Housing for singles with no dependants is limited to shared accom until age 35.

People can claim UC as long as they have less than 16k in savings

Just looked up the shared housing rate where I live. £90.10 per week. Which is £390.43 pcm.
There's a room in a shared house being advertised locally, £750pcm
So UC and the housing element for an unemployed 18 year old who's parents can't afford to keep them wont cover the rent. Let alone food.

Of course the teens in this position could all move to a cheaper area, which will put more demand on housing there and push prices up. Plus there won't be enough jobs for the influx of YP. In my experience cheaper housing is usually where there are no jobs anyway.

Or the YP could stay at home and claim their £300ish whilst looking for a job.

There should be shame attached to claiming benefits? Don't worry - there absolutely is. I get disability benefits because of a serious leg fracture - for a short time period - and I've been called a scrounger all over these boards and elsewhere.

Oh yes and everyone always knows someone whos family are on the make don't they. Not genuine people in poverty who need benefits

Maybe it's your attitude that's dreadful. You've admitted that you're privileged and that your kids won't ever need to claim benefits. Some people live well below the line and need UC either as a safety net to live on their own or to help their family.

Some people don't have parents - care leavers. Some young people are homeless

Why do young people always have to wash pots or be a carer? You don't think young people have a work ethic? Why do so many young people go to university if they are able to

Why does it bother people so much what other people do? I couldn't care less if someone two streets away from me claim UC. I'm not that invested in other peoples lives

Right. So perhaps that particular poster has a better idea of her own children’s savings than you do, perhaps, and is aware that they are in excess of £16k and thus they’re not entitled to it.

You were not entitled to claim UC if you had savings. We are talking about young adults who do not have such savings.

Sure, all 18 year olds can drive and have access to a car, or live in a city or large town (Deliveroo by bike). Oh yes....ALL 18 year olds go to university.

We are talking about a young adult who has just left FT training/education who IS LOOKING FOR A JOB claiming about £300 a month.

The number of married men who fiddle the nanny or housekeeper is also alarmingly high. We've had Relationships threads where women have walked into find their husbands dick deep in the au pair.

Imagine that you sink your last money into a single ticket to a town based on a reply to the advert you posted, only to find that there isn't a family and children, or there is a family and children but the man wants you as his bit on the side, or that the "Joanne" you were messaging turns out to be John.

History is littered with young female servants who were dismissed without notice for having the temerity to become pregnant by their rapist employers.

The point of the taxpayer funding basic cost of living is so that women and girls don't have to make highly risky decisions, such as prostitution, OnlyFans, or moving to be a lodger with someone they've never met. This isn't about a lack of resourcefulness, but about safety.

To your first question. I think maybe when people post examples of possibilities that could be a list a hundred points long, they might need to explain that it isn’t an exhaustive list to help those who can’t work that out.

to your third. It bothers people when they’ve been out to work for 8 hours and 4 of those hours were spent working to give the money straight to someone else’s 18yr old kid who can’t possibly babysit.

These threads always make me laugh.

I have almost 20 years experience in my field and all the degrees, certifications, and other industry bollocks you could possibly throw at a recruiter and I still spent almost a year unemployed.

18 year olds on gap years are likely applying for unskilled work where there’s thousands of applications for each role.

They’re not just going up against other young people like when I was growing up, they’re going up against young people from all over the world here on student visas, they’re going up against underemployed older people trying to get any money in they can because they can’t get the roles they’re actually qualified for, and they’re going up against a backlogged DVLA with 12 month waits for driving tests so the radius of opportunities they can go for is narrowed.

You can’t breathe without getting charged nowadays, so if a young adult wants some independence and not rely on mummy and daddy while they search for work then good for them.

£24 billion goes unclaimed by the people in this thread that tell their kids welfare is beneath them, so the 18 year old’s who have to live in the real world may as well use them.

I didn't have a driving licence until I was 30 and grew up in suburbia, where bicycle couriering wasn't feasible because of the distances involved. When mum moved to ex-pit village, that gor even worse. Explain how I was to work doing Deliveroo?

A lot of the anti-claim posters can be summarised as "I live in X location under Y conditions, so everyone else must live under Y conditions too".