Staying at home

[sophiec123]

Just in need of some advice..

I'm currently on maternity leave from my retail job and due to go back in 2 months time. I really do not want to go back as I want to stay home with the baby. I do believe that I have to work 6 weeks until I hand my notice in, this is fine and is an option (can somebody confirm this please)..
Me and my partner are private tenants but when working everything out on his wage he can afford for us to stay here and still pay the bills etc. He said he would give me any money I needed for the baby etc..

I would just like to know if he will be entitled to anything? How do you make it work living-wise/costs/etc

Will I be made to find a job?

Any advice welcome

If you are in a UC area the expectation is that you will both work, it's not designed to support SAHP with a low-earning working partner. Further, giving up work when you are with an unmarried partner makes you very financially vulnerable, especially because from teh sounds of it you don't have a joint account and rely on him giving you money.

You can use online calculators, but they aren't a guarantee of benefits.

Sorry I should have given some back story.. my partner is a full time chef and I'm currently on maternity allowance. We know that we would be able to afford living however it would be tight. I just don't want to be hounded by being made to look for a job etc.. I do plan on going back to work but don't want to have to work to pay for childcare. We do have a joint account which we both contribute to- me weekly and him monthly (he does pay more than me as he earns more).. he too doesn't want me to go back to work and has said he will give me some money for me and our baby if we need it

UC isn't set up to support a SAHP for a low-wage earner. So depending on what he earns you may be 'hounded' to find work or he can increase his hours or find a better-paying job that will not require benefits. If you're not in a UC area (although UC is expected to be rolled out fully in 2019), you both might qualify for some working and/or child tax credits (earning threshold is about £20,000/pa). You might qualify for some housing benefit as well. Again, you make yourself very financially vulnerable by giving up work with an unmarried partner.

Is there any professional that I can get in contact with to go through all of our earning and entitlements etc? I've never had to do this before so really unsure. Would a welfare officer be the correct person?

There's a Money Matters section on this site I think. You'd get answers there

@MistressDeeCee thankyou very much

So on universal credit you have the following allowances:
Couple over 25 - £498.89
Child element - £231.67
Total = £730.56

Then depending on how much your rent is and your LHA you add that on and it gives you your full monthly allowance. If your rent is lower than the LHA use the monthly rent figure, if your rent is higher than the LHA then use the LHA figure.

Then do the following calculation to figure out how much you'll get in the month and use the monthly take home pay figure:
FullMonthlyAllowance - [(TakeHomePay - 198) x 0.63]

Sophiec123 - there is a bigger picture here.

Do you not want to work because you don't like your current job?
Would you rather be totally reliant for everything on your OH?
What if your relationship doesn't work out?

What if you were financially independent in a job enjoyed??

'Give' you money?

Jesus. Run back to work as fast as you can.

Really think through giving up work and becoming financially dependent on on someone you are not married to, you are putting yourself in a vulnerable position and therefore your dc as well.

As long as your partner is earning at minimum the equivalent of 35 hours a week at minimum wage you won't get pressured to work. We get a small top up of UC some months but as my partner earns enough for our contributions I've not been contacted to go back to work.

@Mama2017

Thankyou so much for the helpful advice!
My partner works 45-60 hour weeks so can cover our bills and have extra too. I don't understand why everyone is being so negative about our relationship, if things were going to go downhill I wouldn't have had his baby 🙈😂

I would love to stay at home with the baby,
It's not about money etc (although I don't want to work to have to use my income for childcare- as I've already stated) it's the principle of looking after our baby, watching her develop and grow as she is changing more and more every day. I don't want them moments to be spent with someone else. I just wanted to know if I was to go down this route would I be contacted to find a job..

I never asked him to "give" me any money however if I'm staying at home with OUR baby with £0 income I will need some money to live. I don't need a lot but odd fuel money etc. Phew!

How much does he earn?

Put the figures into entitledto and it'll give you an idea.

I'm not negative about your relationship particularly and I am currently a SAHP. But I am married so I have given myself and my dc some protection. I am old enough to have seen plenty of relationships with dc hit the wall. Your protections as an unmarried, non working mother are very poor. It is worth thinking about.