Work focused interview uc

[Hcn123]

Hi,

Just out of curiosity, I have a work focused interview with universal credit coming up. I'm a single parent and currently not working. My daughter turned three recently so assuming this is to get me back to work. My daughter was born with a condition that now affects her eating and have had regular appointments with Addenbrookes following surgery at one years old. She is doing amazingly but as her Mum I am very anxious about sending her to nursery just yet. I want to get her in at some point in the near future as I know it will benefit her but I will have her review with her team in around 6 months time. Her eating is good but not where I feel comfortable with leaving others responsible for her. I am doing a course to become a nail technician which I'm hoping will help me bring in an income and where I can work around my daughter as well. I'm certainly not work shy, I worked through my son's childhood and had every intention of doing so with little one but when health is involved then things become a little harder. Can anyone give me advice on this sort of situation please. I'm scared I will be forced to send my daughter to nursery when I truly don't feel she is ready just yet.

Ultimately it depends on any diagnosis/care needs your 3 year old has. Once she is 3 you are expected to look for & work for 30 hrs a week. If you don’t do that, then you will be sanctioned.

There is an exception to this though if your child has additional care needs and so depending on diagnosis, doctors guidance etc, you may be able to go that way.

You have to be gainfully employed, so nail tech isn’t a bad idea but if you’re just doing a couple of sets a week you will still be expected to look for work as you have to earn 30 x NMW.

Thanks for your reply. I have placed my daughter on a waiting list with the two nurseries in my area and they have no availability until September 2025!! I am looking to do nails around my daughter as she goes to her dad's one/two days a week when he isn't working, he works on the ambulance so shift work, no set days which enable me to work set days! I am also able to work evenings as my daughter is fortunately a great sleeper. I don't know how UC will take to me not wanting to send her to nursery yet although I have plenty of letters to show them my daughter's condition from Addenbrookes and also now knowing there is no available childcare. Slightly worried.

I mean I'll be able to do nails in the evenings as I'll be offering that from home. I will have completed my training before my interview so hopefully they will acknowledge I am trying to do as much as I can to earn

I think you'll struggle to avoid them pressurizing you to work more unless your child has DLA in place and therefore you can be exempt form work commitments on the basis of being her carer. Have you tried childminders as well ?

It isn’t enough to not want to send her to nursery, unless there is a medical reason (for example you are her carer, DLA) or there is absolutely no childcare (and UC mean ALL childcare, not just nurseries you like) then it is a case of you have to work or your UC is impacted.

Thanks. I have never tried to claim for any kind of DLA and haven't put myself down as a carer and they know all of my circumstances from the very first meeting I had with them regarding my daughter, they also specified I am to keep in regular contact with her team at Addenbrookes which is what I will show when I go. It isn't a case of what nursery I choose, it's a case of her safety, not every condition has a label of 'disability' and I was asking in hope that somebody may be in a similar situation,

Unfortunately UC will only take caring commitments into consideration if the person you care for gets DLA/PIP.

I don't know what condition your daughter has but DLA is awarded on the basis of "care needs" - if she needs extra care over and above what a typical 3 year old needs, you might want to look into claiming for her.

As others have said you need to be claiming DLA for your daughter to be able to then claim carers allowance on UC which will then remove your work commitments.

It's a good 4-6 months for DLA claims at the moment and it's based not on diagnosis but on needs, you need to demonstrate that your DD requires much more care than the average 3 year old.

Firstly, I am sorry that your daughter has been so poorly. Definitely look into claiming DLA to see if she qualifies for it. What you also have to understand is from the UC standpoint is that there are pressures on the staff to get people back into work, targets to meet and timeframes. I used to work in the job centre a million years ago and so understand a little about those targets etc on the people deciding whether you should be working or not.

I would also look at childminders in your area too to see if they have any spaces because if they don't I cannot see what choice you have especially as a lone parent. I completely understand why you wouldn't want your DD to go to nursery right now. I was lucky enough to be a sahp and had a very poorly baby which affected his feeding and when it is a basic as the food they eat it is such a huge part of the day to day care and always a worry.

I totally respect their job and that what they expect from people. I'm just struggling with the eating, she is under SALT for her eating. I don't want it to be that I claim extra money and that's why I'm hoping to be able to go self
employed as soon as possible and then can work around her completely, I don't have family that are able to help as they all have families and work themselves. I really want to be able to earn and hopefully they can see I have taken courses and am able to start up working from home they will be more understanding.

The earnings threshold is actually really quite low around £792 per month for a single claimant so as long as you were earning this I think they would not pressure you to look for more work. It may be even lower for someone in your situation.

If you're self employed then it's the Minimum Income Floor, and that's really high (much higher than the earnings threshold for employed people).

Sorry forgot op was self employed !

Op if your business is viable you'll get 12 months before the minimum income floor is applied.