Universal credit for solo parent?

[Sam97x]

I currently have a 6 month old baby who I share with my partner. We live in our own home with a mortgage, however my partner only comes home once a month as he works down south in the Navy (we live in the north west). Because of this I am the sole carer of our baby pretty much 24/7. could i be entitled to UC once my maternity allowance stops after October? Does anyone else solo parent because their partner is in the armed forces and is entitled to anything?
Thank you

It sounds like just for few months so what is the issue?

You can absolutely have more time at home with her- you just can’t expect the taxpayer to fund it.

Speak to your partner, you’re a family and a team, he would presumably be paying towards childcare so he may be prepared to support you to stay home longer. I’d also say if he’s got spotty reception then you need a joint account which you can both access rather than having to rely on him to transfer as & when.

This is my thinking, you're not a single parent and you're not a lone parent, you're a co-parent who deals with a higher percentage of the day to day care.

I'm a lone parent and I claim UC for nursery costs which is how I work full time which pays for all bills and accommodation costs etc. I'm unable to rely on my sons child maintenance for that alone as that's not guaranteed income and ds's father has no input into his care otherwise whatsoever. So there's a big difference there in terms of overall household income.

You could speak to citizens advice or use the entitledto service online to see if there's anything you'd be entitled to that you aren't already claiming but it's unlikely it would be UC.

Why not price nurseries/childminders in your area and look at how much even a part time placement would cost? I think depending on where you live you might be able to claim free childcare hours or tax free childcare grants so that would be worth exploring. It differs by location so asking an advice service near you is your best bet. Even if you were able to work a few hours during the week it might give you a social/mental boost?

You’re not in a unique position at all.

I grew up with my dad working away on oil rigs all around the world. He was gone months at a time. We were still not a single or solo parent household and didn’t not need state support because his salary was part of our household income.

My partner’s dad was a civil engineer and he also left for months at a time to work all over the world. His income was still part of the household finances so still not a single parent household.

Do you have any idea how many jobs require people to travel away from home? Often Monday to Friday but home for weekends, or they’re away for 3 months then home for 2 weeks.

Really, you’re not at all unique. Engineers, banking industry, oil rig workers, government workers… there is no point listing them because it’s literally hundreds of carers which take parents away from home for their work for long stretches or regular on/off pattern.

You are not unique. You are not a single or solo parent. You are not entitled to make a claim for UC as a single person. You are not. His income is part of your household income. You need to make a joint claim using his income and yours to see if you are entitled to anything. If you need more money then get a job, childcare expenses need to be shared between you and if you claim UC for childcare expenses then you must include both your salaries in that claim.

Ok love calm down. I said fairly unique, not totally unique. It’s all new to me, and if I’m not entitled to anything that’s totally fine - you can just say that. be kind

You can probably claim for job seekers allowance while you look for work.

The issue is she has a partner, the child's father. Why is he not financially responsible. If the partner is a low earner then they can put in a joint claim for benefit.

I am an actual single parent. And have been since I had a 6 week old and a 2 year old. And a full on single parent; he left and we didn’t see hide nor hair of him for 5 years, no maintenance paid during that time either as he hid from CMS. So I was completely alone.

To have you come on here and claim to be a solo parent who needs or deserves the same financial support offered to people in the situation I was in… it’s difficult to swallow.

You’re not a single or solo parent. You do not suffer all the financial strain yourself. You have a partner and his income supporting your household. Asking for single person benefits? No. Just no.

i apologised for claiming to be a solo parent. Which you would’ve seen if you read. I’ve said there are people in worse situations. And I’m not asking for anything, I don’t even expect anything. I was just curious. ‘Difficult to swallow’ hardly the worst thing in the world

If you report your first post you can ask MNHQ to edit your post title.

You’ve said you’re still going to speak to UC to see if you can get anything as a solo parent. Why waste their time? You’re not a special case and you’re not entitled to special treatment.

Go online to entitledto and check what you could get as a joint claim, using your partner’s salary details and any joint savings you have. That’s all you need to do. You’re a couple, you claim as a couple. You can check what you’re entitled to online. There isn’t anything special to check or ask for.

People are getting upset as your OP reads as you wanting the state to fund you not working when you're not otherwise entitled to extra support, purely because your partner works away. This aside, cutting through everything the important points are:

You sit down together and work out your expenses, which presumably you have already done before you had a baby, but it probably needs updating.

You can apply for UC as a couple. Depending on his income you may be entitled to some but it sounds very unlikely. You won't be entitled to housing benefit as you own, not rent.

You work out your incomings/outgoings, including child benefit and free nursery hours etc. If you can live off this total (his wages) you can stay at home for a while, if this is what you want. If you can't, you go back to work and your baby goes to nursery.

Either way, he gets his wages paid into your joint account or sets up standing orders to cover mortgage, bills, 'housekeeping', money for you to live on so he's not in a position of having to 'send you' money when he's deployed.

Yep, nothing to lose. It would literally be just for 3 months

And I bet you’re going to claim to be a single parent whose ex pays your mortgage for you instead of child maintenance. Then you’ll “get back together” in 3 months.

Nice idea - that’s a joke. I wouldn’t lie on anything when there are people worse off than me

If he is on your council tax, electricity bills etc then he is registered as living there and he lives there. To pretend he doesn't is benefit fraud

It's not about doing the work of childcare, it's about having someone sharing the costs of the home. You have that. I don't.

Did you not save up as a couple to pay for you to have time off with the baby? I would try to find a way to have more time with her - even if that was a mini loan to cover lost salary for those next few months

Yes. And no where have I said I’d pretend about anything?

I have a small amount of savings, that’s a good idea, thank you

I live with my husband and an on maternity Pay and still entitled to UC until I go back to work.
Apply now.

What sort of business were you running and is it something you’d like to get back to or would you prefer to work for someone else?

@Sam97x
you won’t need a magnifying glass to spot all the jealous arseholes!!!

Good grief. You’ll make the UK long jump Olympic team with that conclusion.

She thought she could claim single person benefits because her partner works away from home. His salary is still part of their household income; he is still paying for the stuff even thought he works away. She is, by no definition, a single or solo parent in benefit terms. But hoping to claim as one…. Hmm.