Page 37 | Do all 18 years old go on UC if they cannot find a job

Crystalovertherainbow · 2026-02-01T20:52:15+00:00

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

Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:00

Needmorelego · 04/02/2026 11:26

Huh?
This whole thread is about unemployed 18 year olds claiming UC (essentially Job Seekers Allowance but it's not called that) while they are LOOKING for work.
They WANT to be working.
They WANT a job.

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it is not, many people caught the meaning of my question....for some young person a bit stuck in life and at home.

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Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:04

EarthlyNightshade · 04/02/2026 11:41

It's shocking you go through life thinking that.

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I tried , believe me. I tried every possible sales career in my country hoping to stay in my country ....and never to migrate. My luck did not work, even though I literally walked into deep snow to show up to a sales promotion in some out of town warehouse adress which did not even exist. Google was just starting

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Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:04

I tried , believe me. I tried every possible sales career in my country hoping to stay in my country ....and never to migrate. My luck did not work, even though I literally walked into deep snow to show up to a sales promotion in some out of town warehouse adress which did not even exist. Google was just starting

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And even though, the post is not about me, I do see my younger self in some posters here who had hard young lives

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Lightuptheroom · 04/02/2026 21:05

Yes, 18 year old can claim universal credit from the September after they are 18. It's around £325 a month. If living at home they aren't allowed to claim housing allowance. If living away from home then the housing allowance rate is a room in a shared house (different areas have different rates) They are expected to make a work agreement with a work coach and 'sign on' weekly. They have an online journal where they have to record all their efforts looking for work. If they appear to be doing nothing then they will be sanctioned and lose benefits for a period of time. They're not really given the opportunity to sit and do nothing but it can help if the household is a low income one that they have a small amount of money. My son applied for 600 jobs when he was 19 (uni didn't work out) and then got a 12 hour contract in a supermarket, whilst being hassled daily by universal credit. So, it's not the 'easy' option.

Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:07

Vivi0 · 04/02/2026 11:44

Why are so many posters making work sound like some kind of unique hardship that only a few, lucky people have the privilege of undertaking?

It’s really weird.

Because you have not been there. I have been though

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Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:09

Bromptotoo · 04/02/2026 11:48

I cannot believe this thread has got so many posts.

Not reading them all as it's the same ideas in a hamster wheel.

eh, it has got.

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Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:13

TheOutlier · 04/02/2026 12:08

What I mean is some posters seem to be treating it as cruel that our school leavers are meant to find work. Or study. Or both.

Ok, that is now fantasy land

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RaininSummer · 04/02/2026 21:16

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 04/02/2026 13:22

@RaininSummer so how do the DWP cope with claimants that work?

You will also still get UC if not yet paid.

That's a welcome change since my last claim.

They get a report each month from HMRC if the person is PAYE. Then the earnings taper is applied and any remaining entitlement will be paid. Hence why you get UC still if your new job hasn't paid you yet.

scottishgirl69 · 04/02/2026 21:33

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:07

Because you have not been there. I have been though

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I have honestly never seen a benefits thread on here that has had some people queuing up as much as this to slate people who are trying to find work

Seriously. Before I broke my leg I was applying for any job I could get. Supermarket jobs. You name it. I applied for it. I applied for hundreds of jobs over a five year period and the number of interviews I got? One. One

And that was for working casual hours in a homeless unit - one that I would have been more than happy to take up before the leg break

Once I am off disability benefits I am probably going to go back to working in security - and the reason I gave that up was because I was working a pub door and almost got my head booted in one night due to drunken idiots - and when I raised my concerns to my bosses they basically said don't make a fuss or we will lose the contract

Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:33

Lightuptheroom · 04/02/2026 21:05

Yes, 18 year old can claim universal credit from the September after they are 18. It's around £325 a month. If living at home they aren't allowed to claim housing allowance. If living away from home then the housing allowance rate is a room in a shared house (different areas have different rates) They are expected to make a work agreement with a work coach and 'sign on' weekly. They have an online journal where they have to record all their efforts looking for work. If they appear to be doing nothing then they will be sanctioned and lose benefits for a period of time. They're not really given the opportunity to sit and do nothing but it can help if the household is a low income one that they have a small amount of money. My son applied for 600 jobs when he was 19 (uni didn't work out) and then got a 12 hour contract in a supermarket, whilst being hassled daily by universal credit. So, it's not the 'easy' option.

This is a good system to get young people to want to work and find work. Accountability

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Needmorelego · 04/02/2026 21:34

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 20:50

all i did, was asking a simple practical question

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That was a joke about how previous generations always claim things were harder in their day but they always "managed to get on with it".

scottishgirl69 · 04/02/2026 21:35

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 20:55

When I was in my ex communist country, Perestroika just came and there was some form of capitalism emerging. My father gave his contacts to my brother who always had nice jobs and to this days has well paying jobs. I was given just education, but no contacts.

When I too, ended uni and has a wobble and no money.....I wish there were benefits to help me....I suffered poverty all the way until came here and met my husband

Life isn't easy for lots of people. I think people forget that sometimes

Needmorelego · 04/02/2026 21:39

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 21:00

it is not, many people caught the meaning of my question....for some young person a bit stuck in life and at home.

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Sorry I don't understand what you mean here.
Your question was "is it normal for 18 years to claim UC?"
The answer is yes if they have no other financial support and want to get a job.
If they don't want a job they won't be able to claim.
@Lightuptheroom explained how it works.

Original poster

Crystalovertherainbow · 04/02/2026 22:18

Needmorelego · 04/02/2026 21:39

Sorry I don't understand what you mean here.
Your question was "is it normal for 18 years to claim UC?"
The answer is yes if they have no other financial support and want to get a job.
If they don't want a job they won't be able to claim.
@Lightuptheroom explained how it works.

Edited

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probably replied to the wrong post, not sure anymore. But the replies were all useful and informative

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vdbfamily · 04/02/2026 23:17

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 04/02/2026 13:31

We consider 18 year olds who have left education to be adults in their right. Their parents' obligation to support their essential needs has ended.

Even University students can claim for full student funding if they can demonstrate estrangement from their parents.

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The point is that our benefits system should be being used to support families in financial hardship. If families can afford to support their adult children still living say home, then they should do. Why should someone else be funding those young adults whilst we cannot afford, as a country, to properly look after those most in need. If my kids were job searching and living at home with me, I would feed them, and if they wanted spending money, would find them jobs to do and pay them. That is because we can afford to do so. If I could not afford to feed them, they would need to claim what they could and contribute to households expenses.

Bromptotoo · 04/02/2026 23:20

@vdbfamily would you support the same principle regarding one's aged parents?

Jiwdf · 04/02/2026 23:27

I would always feed and look after my kids. Same with elderly parents. No way would I chuck out the people who raised me and cared for me, loved me and supported me all throughout my life.

vdbfamily · 04/02/2026 23:34

Bromptotoo · 04/02/2026 23:20

@vdbfamily would you support the same principle regarding one's aged parents?

Not sure what you mean. I did not bring my parents into the world so am not really responsible for them in the same way. However, if there was a point where they needed to move in with us and be cared for I would do that for as long as I was able to yes. If they could afford to financially contribute I would expect them to pay their way. If they could not, I would do what I could afford to do and look for help if I could not afford it.
I think there is a difference to adult children living with you and living elsewhere. If elsewhere they will have food and accommodation costs but if at home, that is all covered. They are warm and fed. I have in the past, paid one of my girls to do the housework so that she had some income, but she has worked since she was 16 as a carer, all through college and Uni years, including right through COVID. I was very proud of her. My younger DD got a job in the village shop ( paying a pittance,but she did lots of shifts so it added up) and my son is at Uni and works in a local gym. That took him a year of applying for anything going.

BooneyBeautiful · 04/02/2026 23:59

Mumof2wifeof1crazytimes · 01/02/2026 22:21

Try McDonalds, they take on 17 year olds.

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There are literally hundreds of people applying for every vacancy at McDonald's. I know because NDN's son applied, as did all his friends, and none of them were successful. It's so hard for young people to get jobs these days, compared to when mine were applying 14-18 years ago.

TheOutlier · 05/02/2026 00:00

I’d agree benefits should only be for those whose parents cannot afford to support them at 18. What I was saying was that I could afford to support my kids in that transition phase and do what I could to help them into work. Many families do this. If all 18-year-olds claimed the country would be bankrupt. Some need help so leave the cash for them.

1apenny2apenny · 05/02/2026 09:02

@TheOutlierso parents who can afford to support their DC should have to and those adult DC should be barred from claiming? Really?

You mean parents who are providing for themselves, working hard, paying lots of tax, getting screwed for more tax left right and centre. Being told that the all their hard work and assets they have built now have to be used or taken by the government?

What about pensioners who can afford to support themselves? Presumably you think they should get the state pension (that most paid in for)?

What about parents whose children get taken to school in a taxi or who get 1-1 at school but who have time and resources to take/help them themselves - should they also have to support their DC?

Society tells parents that at 13 their children can go to a doctor and they don’t have a right to be told or know if anything is wrong. Tells parents their children’s uni cannot discuss their child who clearly has problems/mental health issues - I could go on.

Yet people on this thread, like you, you think parents should be forever responsible financially for their child . Fine but look at all areas.

ArtificialStupidity · 05/02/2026 09:38

TheOutlier · 05/02/2026 00:00

I’d agree benefits should only be for those whose parents cannot afford to support them at 18. What I was saying was that I could afford to support my kids in that transition phase and do what I could to help them into work. Many families do this. If all 18-year-olds claimed the country would be bankrupt. Some need help so leave the cash for them.

Agree
Benefits are meant to be a safety net not pocket money

TheOutlier · 05/02/2026 09:40

1apenny2apenny · 05/02/2026 09:02

@TheOutlierso parents who can afford to support their DC should have to and those adult DC should be barred from claiming? Really?

You mean parents who are providing for themselves, working hard, paying lots of tax, getting screwed for more tax left right and centre. Being told that the all their hard work and assets they have built now have to be used or taken by the government?

What about pensioners who can afford to support themselves? Presumably you think they should get the state pension (that most paid in for)?

What about parents whose children get taken to school in a taxi or who get 1-1 at school but who have time and resources to take/help them themselves - should they also have to support their DC?

Society tells parents that at 13 their children can go to a doctor and they don’t have a right to be told or know if anything is wrong. Tells parents their children’s uni cannot discuss their child who clearly has problems/mental health issues - I could go on.

Yet people on this thread, like you, you think parents should be forever responsible financially for their child . Fine but look at all areas.

Well student maintenance loans are means tested. Once parental household income is over £25k the full loan is not given and a contribution is expected (implied not asked for out right). I am on my seventh year of supporting student “adult” kids at uni. I had to do it. I’m a single parent. There is a government precedent for this. Under 25s are meant to be supported by parents unless there has been absolutely no contact for three years. In a divorce the non-resident parent doesn’t have to pay a penny as I know to my cost.

The state pension is a scheme paid for out of national insurance. You have to accrue the years to get it. You have to work for it!! If you had done your 35yrs like me you would know that. It’s not a benefit like UC. It’s not correctly funded of course.

scottishgirl69 · 05/02/2026 09:47

TheOutlier · 05/02/2026 00:00

I’d agree benefits should only be for those whose parents cannot afford to support them at 18. What I was saying was that I could afford to support my kids in that transition phase and do what I could to help them into work. Many families do this. If all 18-year-olds claimed the country would be bankrupt. Some need help so leave the cash for them.

The country would not be bankrupt

scottishgirl69 · 05/02/2026 09:49

vdbfamily · 04/02/2026 23:17

The point is that our benefits system should be being used to support families in financial hardship. If families can afford to support their adult children still living say home, then they should do. Why should someone else be funding those young adults whilst we cannot afford, as a country, to properly look after those most in need. If my kids were job searching and living at home with me, I would feed them, and if they wanted spending money, would find them jobs to do and pay them. That is because we can afford to do so. If I could not afford to feed them, they would need to claim what they could and contribute to households expenses.

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They don't get NI credits if they don't claim benefits