2k invoice for nursery pls help!

[extraordinarymachine26]

We were eligible for Tax free and 30 free hours. DC just turned 3.
I was made redundant this Mar, DP quit his job this August (so now none of us are in paid employment).

AFAIK there is a grace period for the 30 free hours, we were paying normal rate until this wk (Oct) nursery said the code doesn't work anymore and now they have send us a £2,300 bill for this month (3 days per week PLUS the shortfall for Sep now that apparently we didn't have funding then).

Am I right in there being a grace period for these 30 free hours or will we just have to suck up and pay the below and probably take DC out of nursery ASAP as this is in no way affordable for 2 unemployed ppl!

We are not entitled to UC but DP is on New style JSA (and looking for work but unlikely to find something till 2027 given the current market).

Anyone with any advice would be welcome!

Considering the emphasis you put on when your boyfriend stopped working, were you thinking that HIS work entitled you to free nursery hours? And that when he stopped work in August you hoped to get more 'grace'?

He doesn't live with you.

The dates that apply are only yours.

Did you not log that you were no longer working from March?

It doesn’t even matter about his work either way as if he was living with her - both parents have to be working

Tbh it doesn’t sound like you’ve been applying for jobs that much anyway? All while your child has been in nursery

No they don't.

A single parent living alone and working (the required minimum number of hours) can get 15 hours, or 30 hours if full time.

I know - that’s what I meant! When he left his job doesn’t matter as either a) if she was claiming as a single parent and it is only based on her hours b) if they are claiming as joint parents both parents have to be on work so the grace period started when she left her job. In her OP and subsequent posts she assumed the grace period would have started when her partner (or whatever he is) left his job. But either way it already made no difference - even if he was still working the child is not eligible

and your post is incorrect- they do not have to be working full time - they just need to work at least 16 hours per week

So you sat on your arse while your child was in nursery and made a measly attempt at only sending 40 applications in 6 weeks?! While you expect tax payers to pay for your child? What did you do for the months after that? Sweet FA, by the sounds of it.

Get off your backside and get a job, any job, rather than expecting the tax payer to fund you. I work my backside off, pay a lot of tax and it makes me mad when free loaders expect to have everything paid for them, while they sit about doing nothing. You were not working, we’re not looking for jobs for the majority of time and you weren’t looking after your child, as they were in nursery. Waste of space - you should be billed for it all, not just the £2k you owe them since September.

OP hasn't said what her work is, but I know for my line of work it can take a couple of days to properly apply for a role - tailor a cv and cover letter.
It's pretty exhausting having to keep on selling yourself and keep your confidence up while being ghosted and rejected.
That said, if I was out of work I would not send my child to nursery, I'd apply in the evenings or nap times etc. Having my kiddy with me would boost my mood.

That said, if I was out of work I would not send my child to nursery, I'd apply in the evenings or nap times etc. Having my kiddy with me would boost my mood.

I'm not saying OP has made 100% perfect choices here, but if you took your child out of nursery and then were successful in finding a role fairly quickly, then you would risk not getting them back into nursery and therefore being unable to work.

yeah i do the applications for the free hours at a nursery - i could only apply this term nearly at the end of september - so didnt notice a few codes expired til quite late! it happens a lot tbh

people saying you should just pul the child out - well then you cant go back to work when you get a job can you as you've no childcare - so thats not a great option either is it

You've misread my post.

I know they have to work a minimum of hours to get 15 hours of nursery hours.
I said 'the required minimum number of hours'. That's not full time.

I very much doubt there are many job seekers keeping their child in expensive childcare while they look for a job.
And yes....I know it's a massive problem - can't get a job w/o childcare, can't get childcare w/o a job.

i don’t beleive there is a minimum number of hours to get 15? In the term after turning 3 it is universal.

the minimum number of hours to get 30 is 16 hours. If you work under that before they turn 3 I don’t think you get anything.

the only other way I believe you can access 15 funded hours before the age of 3 is through FEET funding which is not a working benefit

40 applications in 6 weeks is an application a day , I don’t find it that low assuming she is tailoring a cv, writing a tailored cover letter, researching what is out there and the companies etc, speaking to recruiters

I would think lots do if they can afford it. If you lose your job you can’t just take them out and not have childcare in place for when you find another. Especially if you have a redundancy payout that covers several months worth of salalry.

But this isn’t the situation you are in! You are unemployed and your partner us unemployed so what’s stopping you having child free time to apply for jobs… your child’s father is unemployed and available!

it honestly doesn’t sound like you really tried very hard to find work.

I’m afraid it’s just coming across that you both want an easy life, no work, no parenting. Very entitled attitude. Most people reading this are probably struggling to juggle childcare and work.

In my field, I doubt I would find 40 vacancies in 6 months, let alone 6 weeks. Plus

If OP works in retail, then maybe there are lots of local opportunities. If she was a part time university lecturer in MFL, not so much.

There are two of you unemployed and living off us tax payers. Surely one of you could have entertained your child while the other sat at the laptop and applied for jobs? Could you not have done some after bedtime on an evening? Its not rocket science, if you want a job badly enough you will find any spare few minutes to search for and apply for jobs!
Sorry, but you both sound feckless and bone idle. I hope your children grow up with a better work ethic than their parents.

No you need both parents to be in paid work and the .gov renewal that you complete every 3 months makes that very clear. There's no way that you could have overlooked it. Ask the nursery if you can set up a repayment plan.

Sorry, but you both sound feckless and bone idle. I hope your children grow up with a better work ethic than their parents.

Saying “sorry, but” before you personally insult someone doesn’t stop it being an insult.

OP has stated that she isn’t eligible for UC so in what way is she “living off us taxpayers”?

How is she living off tax payers?

Something doesn’t add up here, you don’t live together but you are saying you don’t qualify for UC, so are you classed as living together financially or not as you maybe would qualify for the 30 free hours if you are considered a single parent family m? I’m confused as to what the situation is

But if you are unemployed you apply for every job you might be interviewed for not just your niche area.

The key thing is to be back in work and earning, then you can look for something more your preference or specialism from the position of being in a job.

Where do you think the money comes from to pay for the nursery fees and the benefits that they will be living on?

This is a reality of mothers who stay at home FT... with the kids. Plus you said you stopped applying after being discouraged after the first however many weeks, so really it was just convenient to have child in nursery and you not working. Still not sure why you have not checked the grace period straight away you lost your job and waited to be surprised. You have to reconfirm your status every something months o you have to read the questions every single time- how has it not come up that you will lose right to the funding at any point of time?

Fair enough - I appreciate it takes time to tailor applications, but what about the numerous months after those 6 weeks, where the OP said herself that she hadn’t done anything? Yet expects tax-payers money to subsidise?