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

In answer to your question from kids leaving school at 16 and not getting employment, it comes down to parents to still keep them until they are 18 and can claim UC, unless they are in the system as homeless and then can claim. What I’m finding is a lot of 16-18 year olds are now calling up to claim pip, so that they are on the benefits from young and go into adulthood living on benefits, as it’s now become a way of life for so many. It seems paying out to get that certificate with ADHD written on it is more of a purpose today than getting their GCSE’s

You have to have paid NI for the previous 2 years in order to claim JSA.

Did you miss that DD has a p/t job. She is earning over the lower limit, so qualifies for NI credits. She is paying NI. She doesn't need to sign on.

Mine have all been in education at that age, either university or, in one case, a level 3 foundation course which “counts” as still being a child - no fees and can still get child benefit. They’ve also worked but this is partly down to luck - the job market is unbelievably shit atm - you can’t just get a job washing pots or in McDonald’s or in a care home at 16-19 - well some people can and do but there are dozens of applicants for every job and either we leave people - all of them - stranded with no means to support themselves, or we have a “safety net”. I really don’t see why unemployed 18 year olds shouldn’t claim. Why is it not ok at 18 but it is at 25 or 45 or 65? Why aren’t their parents expected to support them? Where should the cut off be? I’m not talking about taking the money and not looking for work, of course they shouldn’t, but my experience of it through my graduate child who claimed and a relative who claimed at 18 is the work coaches don’t let you do that anyway. There are also courses you can access if you claim that should help you find work and loads of help with cvs as well as getting your “stamp”.
Idk what these 1 year post a-level but still level 3 courses are that you can go on if you fail to find a job after your exams. I’m also a bit blown away that so many people don’t understand that housing and feeding another adult actually costs money that they may not have. Lots of people (most?) lose child benefit at this point - £112 a month and some will lose child maintenance from an absent parent, the child element of their own UC claim, and their single person council tax discount.

What a load of crap. Plenty of people claim benefits when they’re starting out. It’s didn’t mean they’ll claim forever

I hadn’t even given it any thought until reading this thread. My 18 year old old autistic son will finish college this summer at 19, after doing a level 2 course, then a level 3 course, and after having sat his English GCSE multiple times, with his highest grade a 3. He hasn’t applied for any jobs throughout school or college as it takes all his energy and focus to just attend college and do his college assignments. He is not academic so does not want to do university, and would not cope moving away from home and navigating university alongside living independently.

Ideally an apprenticeship would be his next step, but even those can be very competitive as not many places. He is a lovely lad, who tries his best to mask his autism, but I know there will be a struggle to get and hold down a full time job, as masking is exhausting.

We have never claimed benefits, apart from child benefit, and he has not claimed any kind of disability benefits as I have always worked around him so one of us is around to support him.

If it is likely that it will take a long time for DS to get a job then I would help him claim UC to get his NI stamp and hopefully get him extra help with applying for jobs, particularly with autism friendly employers. He costs us very little as he doesn’t leave the house apart from for college, but I really don’t want him to not have college or a job, as I think his self worth will tank.

If that reply was to me, then I should say I was talking in general, just to make people aware, that's all.

I’m betraying my kids if I don’t let them claim benefits whilst living under my roof?

I’ve heard it all now!

I have never claimed benefits. Their father has never claimed benefits. We are both high earners. Why would I ever allow or encourage my children to claim benefits? They won’t need to; it’s absolute madness!

And if you think state pension will still be around when my children are set to retire - you’re the muppet!

If it’s just you and him, I think the council tax can be reduced if the other adult in the house is on UC…

The majority of people who claim benefits have worked in the past or will in the future.

The intergenerational trap isn't caused by people signing on at 18, it's caused by building settlements around a single industry and then closing that industry down later on without providing replacement employment. In the case of your example, the closure of the Clyde shipyards is why so many Glaswegian families haven't worked in decades. In the village my mum is in, it's pit workers and their sons who are out-of-work.

Learn to tell the difference between cause and effect.

You have to have the right disposition to do care work. Not everyone can do it And its always a fucking care home that gets brought up on these threads. Funny how its never a childrens home isnt it. Its almost as if ppl dont mind the elderly being the possible collateral damage by being cared for by someone who doesnt want to be there.

It's actually a good idea if they are out of work - as they get NI credits which are more expensive to pay for if someone isn't on UC

I am sure if the 18 year is desperate for a job and can’t eat as their parents cannot afford to feed and support them whilst they got a job, they will soon find the right disposition to work in a care home.

Can’t reply to everyone but for people replying to my comment about start up grants or hiring a chair. The nail/hair/beauty business around here is saturated. She has advertised, she’s 17 and can drive, she has all the equipment to work from home - but do people deviate from their usual nail/hair/lash lady? Probably not. So she’s doing hair at college with a view to then train as cabin crew to then do all these things that she’s actually qualified in as a bit of a side hustle. So, yes I’ve supported her, but should I continue to fund/support her when I now know (which I didn’t before this thread), that in 3 months time she can claim JSA? She will be able to evidence how she’s pounded the streets with her CV. How she’s spent upwards of £2k from her glass collecting job on renting chairs in salons only for no one to walk through the door. What I’ve spent supporting her could now go into an ISA to save for a house. So whilst I kind of get the concept of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should”…it certainly makes you think differently.

You are forcing your kids to throw away NI credits because of a misplaced sense that there's some kind of shame in claiming what the law says they are entitled to. You've got no evidence at all that there will be no State pension in the future.

I stand by my assessment of you.

Who actually cares? You're too snobby to let your kids claim UC that they are entitled to. Big deal. Is it the thought of them mixing with the great unwashed at the job centre you don't like.

I hope you don't ever get made redundant

No such thing as JSA. It's universal credit

Oh do pipe down. Stop telling people if they were desperate for a job they would do care work. Not everyone is cut out for that line of work. Particularly at 18. This is just another snobby benefits bashing thread clearly.

Leave people to do what they want

I would have no trouble recommending my daughters for jobs as carers in the care home I work at, they are very practical, intuitive, caring and are great communicators. My autistic son would not be suited to it at all.

Most that are unsuited are picked up at interview and won’t get a job, others start and don’t last long. It may be poorly paid, but it is hard work and comes with a lot of responsibility. Residents of care homes need staff who want to be carers, not people who couldn’t get any other job.

The majority of our staff are over 25, we do have teenagers, but they are great at the job and want to work in care or are working towards nursing etc.

See I don’t think I’m being ‘snobby’ to not want my kids to go straight to claiming benefits as if it’s the norm. (I know that post wasn’t directed at me but I’ve said similar upthread). I think its being kind. Kind to society to not claim if you don’t need to. Leave it for those who actually do need it.

It's not bad, is it? 300 pounds a month pocket money?

I've worked in care homes with people who are there because they job centre made them. They don't find the right disposition. They do the bare minimum and make the job harder for everyone else.

She would not be able to claim JSA unless she has been paying NI credits for the past year which she would be unlikely to have done form a pot washing job. She can claim UC but if you save for her in her name then once those savings reach 16k she would have some deduction on the amount of Uc she receives each month. If savings are over 16k then UC would stop.

Hardly pocket money if they need to make a contribution to their parents for rent/ bills/ food and then pay for travel to the job centre/ interviews etc.