Best jobs for single parents? (Title Edited by MNHQ)

[QuarksandLeptons]

The current thread about the hideous effect of Universal credit on women’s lives has really made me question what jobs are best for mothers.

This isn’t a comment on whether it is better for a woman to work outside the home or not. That should be a choice obviously and neither option is more or less valuable.

That said, the reality of having children is that they do require time and care and money and the work the mother does massively effects how much of this time and care she can do or pay someone else to do.

Some women are having to turn to sex work out of desperation to feed their families as the state has totally thrown them to the wolves to fend for themselves.

I have been wracking my brain to wonder is there a type of job that can be done in a flexible, freelance capacity that earns a lot (or at least enough to run a household) and allows mothers to spend time with their children.

I appreciate that if there were something obvious, then everyone would do it but wondering if there’s any avenues people can think of?

My first thoughts have been that ideally it needs to be something that can be worked on from home, so that large chunks of valuable time aren’t eaten away by commuting. The next is that ideally, the work doesn’t require constant real time interactions, so that the work can be done very flexibly when time permits. With the best planning and organisation, a parents schedule will still always be interrupted by children’s illness etc.
Finally, it needs to be relatively well paid so that the working hours are kept to a minimum, especially when kids are small.

The best job is whatever the fuck the parent wants to do. There’s no such thing as one job fits all parents,

Children have fathers as well as mothers. The father of my children is in equal partnership with me.

I totally agree, but the context I’m talking about is based on a single parent who needs to provide for her family. Sorry, I’m writing quickly while in bed with a baby so didn’t spend time being clear.

Of course, a person should choose a job that suits their personality and interests regardless of their sex.

The post is a reaction to another thread where single mothers have shared their current terrible experiences of trying to make ends meet.

I’m trying to explore possible practical ideas for them. Thought asking the hive brain could be useful

Are you asking for yourself, or just musing generally, OP? If for yourself, I'd say you could try a writing job such as copywriting or technical writing. Book-keeping is another one that can be done from home (at least I know someone who does it). Actually I think most office type jobs can be done from home at least some of the time. Obviously you'd need to train for most of them.

Thanks hackmum
I’m asking as trying to think of practical solutions for single mothers trying to make ends meet.
I have a job that meets all of the criteria I mentioned but it took almost a decade of university to get there so I don’t think it’s a useful suggestion to anyone in dire straits at the moment

Book keeping and Copy writing both seem like good options, thanks hackmum

Although, yes, obviously there would need to be a process to gain that skill

What we need is:
State funded quality childcare
Flexible/part time working for both parents
Career breaks and sabaaticals for both parents
Partial ( or full) Homeworking depending on feasibility.

The key is that this should be open to BOTH parents.

Interestingly though I think that in countries where this is a possibility- (Scandinavia) - women still tend to take the maternity leave and run the household. So policies need to reflect the fact that some/most women (although not all) have a basic urge to care for their baby in early months and years and that should be supported through flexible childcare and work patterns. It is possible but requires political will (not likely looking at Brexit)

When I was skint I worked nights in a call centre and looked after the children during the day (although they were at school) it isn’t the road to good mental and physical health though.

This is daft op

A better thread title might be “Best jobs for single parents.”

On Instagram nowadays I see quite a few people doing things like PR/digital marketing/social media management etc as a flexible job around kids, but they presumably have some previous experience and/or connections to build their business.

Most admin jobs can be done from home but employers don’t tend to allow this until you’ve been established there for a while. However, what might work is targeting companies that have more family friendly values, and also perhaps startups as they don’t always have office space yet so want people to work from home. I applied for a job once that was for a new forest nursery company that didnt yet have a proper office so needed home workers. I also have a friend who is a property manager (basically organising repairs for rented properties) and the company decided to get rid of their office and have most people working from home instead, as that job can all be done from home. Property manager also doesn’t really require experience so that could be an option.

What about working for mumsnet(!) or another online forum - I bet they have flexible family friendly jobs that can be done from home, although this is pure speculation.

I’m finding it difficult to come up with many ideas which goes to show how tough it can be for anyone in this situation.

Tax relief on wages for a nanny. I think any one who employs a carer , whether for a child or an older person, or indeed an adult with special needs, should get tax relief on the pay.

Thanks mostimproved I’ve sent mumsnet an email to change the title of the thread as you suggested as it’s currently inaccurate

Supply teacher possibly. You would get school holidays free but would still need term time wrap around care. It sure it would fit with the current be edits system though as pay varies so much with school holidays.

Good point LassWithADelicateAir

The government recently started a ‘Tax free childcare’ initiative which means that if your childcare provider is signed up, then they pay 20% of the invoice. The caveats are that neither parent / guardian can earn less than £6k or more than £100k.

I agree it should be rolled out to other caring costs

Supply teacher possibly.

Definitely not. It was what I used to do (through choice - teaching full time had shredded my mental health and I actually loved and was bloody good at supply) and we did the sums when I finally got pregnant and it didn't add up at all in terms of potential earnings versus childcare costs.

It's the uncertainty of work versus having to pay out continually for childcare that makes it fall down, despite looking OK in terms of school holidays - you're really unlikely to get anywhere near regular work for at least the first half-term in the year, will dry up again before the end of the school year when they'll just double up classes for a DVD to be put on - but even if you were using something like my own school's after-school club as childcare (£10 a session) - you have to book the days of the week you want for the entire term and pay... but with supply you have no real guarantee of working on those days.

We're actually looking at the moment if I can manage to get back into doing bits of supply (although even my long-term agency are demanding full references for the period I've been at home with the kids which I'm struggling to provide - things like child benefit letters and birth certificates don't suffice in any way, and references from voluntary work since the kids have been at school still leave this unreferenceable gap I'm fighting to get around at the moment) and the only reason it's at all viable (assuming I sort out this child-break gap issue) is if I use breakfast club (which does function on a "pay on the day and drop in" system) and DH uses his company's work flexibility to shift his work day earlier in the day those days so he can do school pickup... as a single parent with no family I could use for ad-hoc cover in the local area - it wouldn't be an option at all. I'm bloody desperate to return to the classroom!

If this is related to the UC thread, it's worth mentioning that anything on a self employed basis is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

I’ve worked in an estate agency before and lots of them employ viewings people. We had a lady who had kids, she would let us know which 3 days of the week she could do and what times, then we’d book the viewings in. She’d nip into the office to get brochures and keys then spend all day showing people round houses. I always thought it would be a great job to do around kids. New builds also often need people for short-ish periods to sit on site in the caravan taking people’s details.

Two other property related ones would be an inventory clerk for rentals or an energy assessor who puts together EPCs which all sale and rent properties have to have prior to marketing. Estate agency stuff does tend to be quite flexible, I used to work with quite a lot of mums doing perhaps shorter hours 2 days a week to cut down on childcare costs. Obviously you would need a car though.

I have heard a few times that being a dental hygenist is flexible, easy to do part-time and well paid.

I'm an editor/proofreader, as are many, many parents round this neck of the woods.

something that can be worked on from home - yes
doesn’t require constant real time interactions - yes
work can be done very flexibly when time permits - yes, though that might be midnight...
relatively well paid - ah. Oh well, three out of four isn't bad. I make more than I used to.

A lot of jobs can, in theory, be done from home. I'm a compliance officer and could easily get the work done at home at any time. My husband is a manager in financial services and could work from home probably 3 days out of 5. It's not an option in either company. If we could get rid of the ridiculous presenteeism culture in the UK it'd solve a lot of problems.

. If we could get rid of the ridiculous presenteeism culture in the UK it'd solve a lot of problems.

Agree ^^

This is an impossible question as everyone's personal circumstances and individual employers vary so much. Trying to get into a professional career of some sort would be good as easier to re-enter at same level if have to take a break or reduce hours for any reason.

I don't think the best job for a single parent has to be home based though. Getting out of the house and interacting with other adults can be really positive. Also might be easier to leave job related issues at work because of the clearer demarcation. Any job with flexi-time is a huge help as can work around assemblies, sports day and medical appointments, early pick-ups, though obviously the time has to be repaid. A good relationship with employer/ family friendly policies also a huge help.

You need childcare for any job, working from home, or out of the home. But tax credits cover 70% of this (if provider Ofsted registered) and working either 16 or 30 hours plus a week......can't remember threshold but as an LP working full time in a job earming around £30,000, I got 70% of childcare costs paid directly into my bank acount every week. The balance had to be paid from earnings (can't use the voucher scheme as woukd benefit twice from HMRC), but was a huge help with day nursery and breakfast club/after-school/holiday cost. I don't understand why childcare costs are always cited as a huge barrier to LP working or even a two adult household if overall income is low enough to claim 70% of childcare costs through tax credits.

Agree with reducing commuting time (stress) and costs if you can. The other thing to consider is that flexible home based work such as copywriting may be self-employed or zero-hours etc. As this is a post in a Feminism topic , surely we have to consider things like pension, training opportunities,, career progression......look at life as a whole, not just the child-rearing years.

I am a long term single parent and am an academic. It is flexible (just about to start marking), and pays enough to live on. You obviously cannot go straight into it, though, and it is hard to get into even when qualified. It has involved a lot of early hours working and I will not climb the promotion ladder quickly.

Another single parent I know is a teaching assistant (school hours obviously) and does proof-reading.

Not sure if that helps, single parents are people too, so ideally the answer would be a job they enjoy in a workplace which recognises their childcare needs. Which I would wish for any parent, to be honest.

Hi Mumsnet HQ, just putting my request here as you suggested in your email to me. Please can you change the title of the thread to “Best jobs for single parents?”
Thanks!

For people on a low enough income that they need to claim top up benefits, the best job offers a contract that is fixed hours and pay.
'As and when' contracts prevent them applying for that job.

Tax Credits used to be calculated as an average from several weeks pay, and the claim used to run for several months.
The claim is now recalculated every time your pay or hours change over a very small allowance.

Because of this, work advisors will not permit people to apply for jobs that are as and when. They create too much work for the tax office to deal with the constantly changing claims.

For parents, work needs to be within times that are supported by local childcare.