Leaving work/ getting benefits

[justdeeeee]

Hi,

Just looking for some advice please.

Both me and my OH work full time, claim no benefits, LO is in full time with the childminder/pre-school. We've always been really tight with money, and it's now gotten to the point we are seriously considering the potential of me leaving work.

We've used the benefits calculators and sadly it works out as about £400 better off if I was not working and claiming benefits instead.

As far as I am aware you can't just quit your job and start claiming benefits?

How do other mums deal with this?

I would love nothing more than to get to spend everyday with my LO, I feel like I miss out on so much time with her.

Obviously we can't just quit willy nilly and hope for the best- we barely make it through living paycheck to paycheck and it's getting embarrassing repeatedly asking family for financial help.

So basically I'd like advice from mums who have chosen to leave work and then had to claim benefits.

Did you have to wait before claiming?

Saving up so that I can leave if that is the case is not an option, we really do struggle every month.

Please help, we're so stressed out.

caz but if they are currently above the tax credit threshold then they aren't low earners struggling with basic living costs

You complained about sleeping on a blow up bed. Suggest as both of you are working and need decent sleep, move back into the bedroom onto a proper bed or bunk beds. Put child into smaller bed. There must be a way that you can adjust the sleeping arrangements? Or a sofa bed, look at free cycle or Facebook. I also agree with looking for better paid jobs, if necessary working nights

Graphista it's different with tax credits. It's nothing to do with how you left work. Just what your income is.

I honestly don't believe op is just talking about tax credits and even if they are they are being unbelievably naive to think tax credits enough to cover costs of a child let alone costs of an adult (the op) AND a child. It's only around £60 a week for one child.

Plus most areas now you can't make a new claim for tax credits as almost everywhere universal credit for new claimants. Which she definitely wouldn't get for at least 6 months

How do you think you will be £400 better off if you give up work ? Where have you got this information from? Did you use a benefit calculator, as they are not always accurate ? How old is your child ?

Something else you need to consider is that tax credits are being phased out and Universal credit is being brought in . Under Universal credit, families will not be able to have a sahp and expect their income to be topped up. Once your youngest child reaches the age of 3, you will be expected to be looking for work. There are going to be tens of thousands of extra people looking for jobs as UC is rolled out over the whole country. You would be better off keeping the job you have now.

Not sure whether it has been mentioned as I haven' tread the whole thread but could you consider working around your partner so that childcare costs are reduced. Evening/ weekend work or nights. this is how we have got by for the past 16 years.

Sounds like you need to get your debts under control, find cheaper childcare and possibly move somewhere cheaper (I know there are usually loads of obstacles to that one but keep it in mind for the long term). There will probably also be some basic budgeting changes you could make that would ease the pressure straight away.

If you get some proper debt advice they'll go through your whole finances with you. They can help you get all your debts frozen for a while or negotiate smaller repayments based on what you can afford. This will affect your credit rating but TBH it's no bad thing to have limited borrowing options if you're already in heavy debt. They can help you work out where you are overspending or paying over the odds. They'll also help you work out if there's anything you could be claiming now. It could be that you're eligible for some tax credits and/or HB and CTR. Or UC if it's rolled out in your area (bad luck if it is, it's poo).

Once you've looked at all of the above, if your finances still look unmanageable, cut your hours but don't quit work altogether, as long as you're not in a full UC area (find out here). It's a short term problem, I see no issue with doing that for a couple of years if it gets you out of a hole and leaves you in a more viable position long term.

Get thee to CAB or Step Change and start exploring your options and taking control.

To The Tax Payers: If OP's partner moves out that is not cheating the system as long as they genuinely have separate finances. What it is, is a shocking indictment of the state of affairs in this country that sees ordinary working families unable to afford to live together.

The system may be fucked but that's not OP's fault. She has to muddle through it and do the best for her family the same as the rest of us. Bully for you if you've never had to weigh up these sorts of choices.

Pisses me off how AIBU mentality is bleeding over the rest of the site.

It's not 'the taxpayer' that op is screwing over. It's every genuine claimant of every benefit that is being screwed over. Because people like op are the reason they are vilified and made to struggle. It's exactly why the system is fucked, people like op taking what they don't need, and then not enough in the pot, or public support for those who do need it.

It's a shocking fucking state of affairs when someone thinks it's ok to have all the perks of a partner, and then lie to get the minuscule amount of help available to those who are on their own and have no capacity for two incomes. And exactly why single parents get so much shit.

Plus as a genuine lone parent, I'd much prefer the likes of op not to pretend to be the same as me. A work dodger is the last thing we need swelling the ranks

The system is fucked because the govt. decided to fuck it up. It suits them to have all the poor people squabbling amongst themselves about who is and isn't worthy so they don't notice the vast quantities of cash that are being creamed off by the richest few.

OP is not responsible for this state of affairs, you're a sucker and this discussion belongs on AIBU not on a thread in employment issues.

I don't disagree it suits the government agenda. But without that tiny minority of scroungers which op aspires to giving rise to the stereotype they wouldn't have managed it.

Nobody gave a fuck when it was the basic needs of lone parents, the unemployed, the disabled, low income workers etc. So you're the sucker if you think people should then come out and defend the need for a couple to have a tax payer funded sahp for school age dc.

I suggest you take your opinion on where it should be posted up with op. As for the responses, this is the employment section, not the 'agree with what I say' sector.

I agree with lurkedforever. I'm sick of getting tarred with the same brush by right wing etc for the (very few) people who abuse the system.

To The Tax Payers: If OP's partner moves out that is not cheating the system as long as they genuinely have separate finances.

Yes it is

HTH

I am sorry to say you are one of the reasons I gave up a great job but paid high level tax to a role I hate but I pay less tax and income isn't much difference....
as I pay my childcare bills as I still work fulll time and cant claim any funding as we earn
And by way we sleep on floor and live in a crap house and in a crap area
I will sleep well tonight...

Ditto graphista. And quite often those doing the tarring are claiming just as much in tax credits to be a sahp as part of a couple.

OP - are your debt repayments eating into your disposable income too much? If you think you could manage if you weren't already paying back debts then head over to moneysavingexpert for advice.
You have my sympathy, I've been in your shoes & it's hard. It goes get easier once they start school. Don't give up work though - I understand the temptation but it probably won't be the answer. Maybe start looking for something that will fit around school hrs if you are not very attached your current job?

Well safe to say the op won't be back now..

Not read the full thread, but from recollection (I used to be a defence solicitor and occasionally dealt with benefit fraud cases) the DWP rules on when you can claim as a single parent are not as simple as whether or not you just live together. They also look at the reality of the relationship. If you break up in name only, but he still stays over regularly, and provides financial support, then even if he technically has another address elsewhere that he classes as his main address then I don't think the DWP would class you as a lone parent. In other words, tread carefully.

For what it's worth, I have enormous sympathy with your situation, more so than many commenters on here. The fact that you both currently work tells me that your preference is to work, but the present circumstances are making you question whether it is cost effective to do so.

I would say you play the long game. There's many posts in other threads about how hard it is getting back into work after years out of the job market. Even if the financial benefits of you being in work now are negligible, by staying in the job market and not risking deskilling, your earnings in a few years when DC at school are likely to be better. Not much consolation now, but worth keeping in mind.

I genuinely hope things improve for you. I think some commenters are being very harsh to you. The advice to review childcare options to see if you can save some money there is very sensible in my view.

I get what you are saying. I won't pretend we've not done the calculations because we have (as have many other people on this thread, I'd guess). In our case it wasn't worth dropping our hours but even if it was, as people above have said benefits can be a nightmare and incredibly unpredictable and tbh it isn't somewhere I would put myself voluntarily. As for thinking you could just walk into a job after 12 months. Don't assume that.

Benefits are diffivuot, especially if there is the possibility of becoming a single parent.

I also get why people are getting angry at you. Lots of people would love to get money to stay at home and look after their kids instead of having to work.

I do think you would benefit from a proper budget and financial advice though. I think you said you both earn above minimum wage and had full time jobs yet struggle to pay for the basics. Something has gone wrong there. I'm not suggesting you should be rolling in it but it shouldn't be that hard with two OK incomes. You sound like you are in lots of debt, is that where the issue is?

Even if you pretend you and your DP break up, and it isn't as simple as him just living elsewhere, I fail to see how this will benefit you. If you claim benefits, your DP will be forced to pay child maintenance; this will be on top of his own separate housing costs and associated bills. Did you take all of this into account when doing your calculations?

You will have to wait a minimum of six months without any income before you are able to put in a claim and then you need to wait for it to be processed, approved and the money paid to you. Is your landlord really that sympathetic? How about your utility suppliers etc? Will they be ok about not receiving any money in that time but you still using gas/electricity/water?

I think you need to find a debt charity and ask them for help. Get them to go through all of your finances and see what can be cut back and where the big outgoings are. You say you both earn above the national average so you are in a one bed flat and your combined salary is at least £52k.

Personally I would be looking at evening/weekend or night jobs. Supermarkets etc might not pay as well but you wouldn't have childcare costs, so you would be much better off. If your credit card etc debt is just too much, consider a debt repayment plan (or even an IVA or bankruptcy). Otherwise if it is manageable and you haven't already, you can get 0% interest cards or a lower rate loan.

FuzzyOwl is talking bobbins.

Going through child maintenance is voluntary even if you are on benefits and you won't have to wait 6 months for any benefit payments you're entitled to.

I agree that your first port of call should be debt advice though, even if you don't think your debts are your main issue. This is where the funding is and they will have the time and resources to look at your whole financial situation, not just your debts.

Good luck!

You certainly always used to have go through child maintence is the PWC was on benefits PencilsInSpace. It also does not look very realistic to a claim she has broken up with her ex and is very poor but is not claiming any money from him.

fuzzy might be years out on the maintenance and wrong on the housing pencils but she's correct on the money if op were to pretend she's single. Couples get working tax credits without questions asked if one doesn't work but as a single parent she'd be on jsa with a school age child, and if you've left your job then you are sanctioned initially so no payments. And then dependent on advisor sanctioned again if she doesn't meet even the most ludicrous demands. And any debts can still be deducted from the jsa when she does get it. Plus would be paying top up rent.