being FORCED into searching for work... feel extreme pressure!

[brightmoon6]

I am new to this, just registered today!

I was on income support as a single parent since dec 2008, then when my twin daughters turned 7 in September 2011, I was told I had to swap to Job seekers allowance making me available for work, whether I like it or not! Ok...so, that's fine but how does anyone find a part time job...get outside child care and be "reliable" to an employer when your children come first!!

I can manage a 10am-2pm daily, however, what happens in Half term, 2 and 6 weeks holiday?? I refuse to pay for Child care as I feel this is all I will be working for. Does anyone else feel like this? I am actually quite angry at the system the Jobcentre has in place for everyone across the board! Why should lone parents be put in a position that they must apply for 3 jobs a week and show evidence to prove it!

They really must live in the clouds because there are not many jobs that fit my criteria, so have started applying for things that I cannot actually do! what a waste of time...

I am dreading going to sign on again at 2pm today, I get angry and upset about this every 2 weeks. I would like to retrain but it seems to me, they are railroading me in to doing the same work i did before I had the children...:'(

Anyone else been in the situation?? any words support would be much appreciated.

YANBU to be concerned about the cost of childcare and the holiday cover. And there are also the days when one child is ill etc. It is tough.

But YABU to expect to never work.

If i was in your shoes i would start a different thread : 'how do othher LPs cope with holidays etc and what am i entitled regarding childcare cost?'. Or 'Can you give me ideas for flexible jobs/jobs from home?'.
i.e. childminding is a good idea.

I would also spend the day searching similar threads for ideas, visiting other sites, colleges, training schemes, everything.

Reading again, this must have been purely to provoke this sort of reaction. And s/he got it!

lol at "refuse to pay childcare".

Are you actually for real OP. I find it hard to believe that people are so entitled. I really do.

Heh, I like the little dig about how a woman can only be reliable if she doesnt out her children first. So the rest of us nobheads who have to work don't put our children first?

i dont think OP is for real at all. i think aries is right. this was exactly the reaction she/he hoped for.

If you've been on IS since your children were small, surely you were aware that you would have to find a job once they turned 7? Does your school not have a breakfast club or afterschool clubs? And unless you live miles from the school, I don't know why you need an hour's commuting time

Child tax credit will most likely cover 80% of your child care costs. Good grief. You could always stop claiming benefits if you're not prepared to accept the conditions.

It is literally unbelievable * that someone could innocently post such an irritating thread isnt it?

*Thanks to whoever used that the other day

There are plenty of things you could do, if you really wanted to work.
Here are a few jobs off the top of my head:
Childminding
Cleaning
Take in laundry or ironing
Dog walking
Selling art & crafts over the Internet
Proofreading
Exam marking and invigilation
Mending clothes
Handywoman DIY
Home baking
Cake decorating
Sewing
Making cards

Not knowing your skills I don't have a clue whether those would suit, but a perfect job won't just fall in your lap, sometimes you need to make your own good fortune. You could start any of the above as your own business with very little capital, advertise locally through schools and businesses, and show your children how rewarding earning your own money can be.

The "t" word is like He Who Must Not Be Named. I may start calling them Voldemorts.

PS Did you know that Voldemort is actually a real word? There is no red squiggly line underneath indicating a spelling error. Well done JK Rowling

You'll be getting free childcare (paid for by the state in the form of school) from 9am -3.30 pm, and paying for childcare is a factor for ALL parents - two parent families pay for it by one parent working to support the other to do childcare, or by working and paying for childcare!

I know it's hard being a single parent but you will also get loads of tax breaks towards childcare and your other costs if you are on relatively low pay.

It may be hard to find work, you may see a lot disappear in childcare costs for breakfast club, after school club and holiday clubs. But you will also get paid holiday (yes, PAID holiday when your employer pays you to stay at home and have a good time with your children - maybe employers feel the same way about holidays as you do about covering your childcare costs!)which you can take during the school holidays, and you will get experience for more and better paid work when your children are older.

Adjust your attitude, and go for it - you might very soon find that you are much better off.

Oh now I'm torn between voldemort and 'literally unbelievable'.

i like voldemort.

ooh YaMaYaMa you've posted exactly what I was going to say!

I was torn between that's literally unbelievable and OP you are having a laugh! but as you got in the first...

OP you are having a laugh!

There is only one solution OP.

Apply only for chief executive positions, or jobs paying over £300,000 a year. You will be able to afford childcare.

ChickenLickn - but then, she'd not be putting her children first... that's naughty isn't it??

If you're for real OP - I feel very sorry for your daughters.
They will grow up thinking their role in life is to sit at home moaning while their kids are in school, complaining that they can't possibly work and support themselves independently.

If you really want to put your kids first - act like a grown up and give them a role model worth following. You do realise with your attitude, statistically they too are more likely to end up as unemployed free loaders?

Cheers for the positive ones...giving me some constructive advice... and thanks to the negative ones who clearly think I am taking the Pee!! I wasn't thinking I should free load! Blimey, I worked right up until 2 days before I had the girls and actually don't like claiming! maybe i'm just nervous about leaving my kids with someone else? sorry if that sounds selfish to you. It was an innocent post in my eyes, just because i'm sure before any of you went back to work you felt the same?? nervous about starting it again?? no? Obviously looking for a bit of support in the wrong place....I clearly didn't think that through. If I wanted to free load, I would have loads more children, to get out of going back to work. I thought I had put on my original post that I wanted to retrain so I could do something more worthwhile?? Not be pressured by JC to do my previous job because it is all I know.

anyway, thanks to those who gave me some ideas on what I could do...I have made a couple of decisions today about taking a new career further, as I really didn't want to do what I used to, so thanks. I'm checking out the direct.gov website for advice now...so I wont darken your door again.

'I thought I had put on my original post that I wanted to retrain so I could do something more worthwhile?? Not be pressured by JC to do my previous job because it is all I know. '

And you can't 'retrain' as well as work why? Because plenty do this and are lone parents of school-aged children as well.

I fail to understand why you assume you're a special case who deserves to not work because you don't like what you used to do whilst retraining on the taxpayer's pound whilst the rest of us plod along paying for it.

Fair enough if they make you take out loans for it. Good. Lots of people would like to 'retrain' gratis.

Good luck BrightMoon - why not stick around? Mn is forthright - had you expressed your thoughts more as you do in your latest post you would have found loads of sympathy and support, I suspect. Your OP sounded a bit more weedy - whiney - workshy than you clearly mean to be

If you work over 16 hours, you will get quite lot towards childcare. (Normally 90%). I found this out recently as have been forced to start looking for work earlier than planned (due to joint finances) and was feeling a bit :( that I'd be leaving DS in childcare far longer than I wanted to basically so I could afford to pay for the childcare(!) - but actually found this isn't the case.

Goodness this is depressing. I have had the day from hell and come home to read this drivel. Support your kids yourself and set them a proper example. This dependancy culture has got totally ridiculous.

To be fair you didn't say you were nervous of using child care, which would be a little unusual at the age of 7, you said you 'refuse' to use child care, and seemed very indignant that the taxpayer won't pick up the tab to accommodate this preference. Not having to use any child care at all is a luxury in my view and I'd say you've done very well if you've been able to sustain that for this long. Plus as someone else said, if you wanted to retrain then using the extended period of support you've had without the pressure of being expected to look for work would have seemed sensible. Easy in hindsight I know.