Should I quit my job and claim UC instead?

[Usc]

I am in such a conflicted place at the moment.

I started my current job a month before I fell pregnant with my 2nd. Originally I worked 5 day and post baby I now work 3 shorter days. It’s a very small business and they’re very flexible and supportive of family life. I couldn’t find a better company to work for that would be so understanding and flexible whilst still paying decent and being in the right location.

for the last 18 months we’ve had a pretty structured routine. I do school run and toddler drop off at grandparents then off to work and pick them up from grandparents when I finish. My husband and I usually end up getting home at the same time ( he works full time outside of town).

it seems straightforward and like I have the ideal setup - no childcare costs, flexible boss, grandparents who love to help. But lately it just doesn’t feel like it’s working for me. Part of this is work, I’m in a sales role and there’s pressure to hit targets every month. I’ve achieved my target every month this year (more than doubled in May) but then I had two weeks holiday and now I’m really behind and struggling. This instantly induces my anxiety that I might get fired. Add to that my childcare has fallen through this week leaving me juggling childcare and wfh and I’m just on the edge. I had already been stressed as DS sleep and naps are all over the place when I work and I’m so tired with it I was starting to feel it would be easier to give up work.

my DD is nearly 7 and DS just turned 2. I was lucky with DD as I started to feel this way in my last job when she was similar age but then lockdown hit and I was furloughed for 4 months with her and never went back to that job fully. I know I won’t have an opportunity to be at home with my son like that and I’m wondering if I should just bite the bullet and quit my job.

obviously there are huge financial implications, my husband and I are both average-low earners but I did a benefits calculator and it seems if I wasn’t working I could be entitled to as much in UC as I earn currently.

I’m so conflicted as I’ve never felt like a SAHM type of person, my job means a lot and if I stop working now it could be hard to get back into it once DS is older. But I fell at the moment I just live with constant anxiety of underachieving and being fired anyway.

What should I do? Does anyone experience on UC they can share? For reference, I am married, we live in social housing and have 2 children, age 6 and 2. Would I really even be eligible for anything?

please help, I feel so depressed about everything right now.

Typically the way UC is structured is that you should always be better off financially for working, so it may be worth double checking any entitlement, taking into account your partner’s earnings etc.

It’s also worth knowing that UC will expect you to look for & work once your youngest turns 3 I think it is. So be aware that you’d be leaving this job and basically in less than a year you’d have to find another job which is unlikely to be as flexible etc as you say this one is, so you could end up in an even worse position.

I would imagine this depends on what your partner earns?

If you just quit work, can you claim benefits straight away? Would you be expected to prove you are job seeking?

On Facebook there’s a group called universal credit and benefit advice
theyll do you a calculation on what you’d get.

depends on how much your husband earns - you generally are better off in work but On uc they will
help out with child care costs etc.

Is there a benefits advisor within your local council or citizens advice - if so, make an appointment with them!!

We both quit to be SAHP due to dc with severe medical issues and SEN. I would advise not to do it unless you are really sure, or drop to PT instead just maintain something to keep your sanity ! I miss my PT job and dh misses his FT job. We just need to get through a few more years and then get back to work as honestly being stuck at home on UC isn’t fun. We get DLA and severe disability elements and no requirement to look for work so it’s straightforward in some ways but I feel like my identity is lost at the moment

edited to add I know your situation is different but I think it still applies that having time away from the home and working does wonders for you sense of purpose and self esteem

Are you definitely expected to hit the same sales target when you've taken leave? I'd clarify that with your boss, it'd be unreasonable to ask you to do four weeks' work in two weeks. Even if you unambiguously miss your target, it's very unlikely they'd fire you and go to the trouble of recruiting someone new for the sake of one poor month.

It sounds like you're in a temporary rough patch and catastrophizing (I get it, I do the same thing) but make sure you're not trading less stress now for a lot more later. Is there anything else that would help right now? DH takes night shift with the toddler X days per week, so you can catch up on sleep? CBT to help with anxiety? Getting signed off for a week?

Being unemployed is not the answer to your anxieties about work.

I am a full time carer for my youngest. I can't go back to work until she is cleared to be in childcare as she is very, very vulnerable. I had to leave my well paid, full time job to make sure my daughter is alive and healthy (any infection could kill her).

I rely on Universal Credit and DLA to survive. I have no choice at the moment.

Do you think your situation merits it?

I don't think opting for living on benefits should be a choice when you have a job which you fancy giving up to not work and have UC replace your earnings.

Your responsibility is to avoid claiming benefits unless you have no option.

Are you sure you aren’t eligible
for UC already? I wouldn’t quit your job, you’re going to have 3 kids that you need to pay for and your DH isn’t a high earner. Working on your career should be a priority, and you won’t be better off on UC. But like I say double check you can’t get any help right now.

The thing with anxiety about doing something that's necessary in life is that stopping doing the thing making you anxious doesn't address the problem, it just delays dealing with it and can make the problem worse when you have to eventually confront it. So you'd lose a flexible school hours job (which is rare) pension contributions, a reliable pay check, keeping your hand in and kick your anxiety further down the road and have to deal with that in a year or two while applying and interviewing for new jobs that are unlikely to fit into your life so well. Quitting won't fix things and may well make your anxiety worse.

You wouldn't be as well off on UC as you are working., it's designed so that for every pound you earn, UC reduce your benefits by 55p. You would also be required to look for a job when your youngest is 3.

i don’t think you can claim for the first 6 months if you choose to give up work

This doesn’t apply if it’s for childcare issues etc.

Thanks to everyone who has given a kind reply. I'm very aware that there are some people on UC who are in a worse situation than me.

I did write my post in a rush last night so just to clarify, I have no family of my own to support and rely wholly on my husbands parents who are quite elderly and have some underlying medical conditions which means they cannot always help.

I myself am also battling some health issues including a provisional diagnosis of MS which I am sure is not helping my stress and anxiety levels at the moment. I am just finding the pressure of juggling everything a bit much.

If I could be a SAHM without worrying about finances, I would do it in a heartbeat but sadly we simply can't afford it which is why I was considering applying for UC.

Can you get PIP for yourself as then being on UC will be easier as you can ask to have work commitments turned off I think you have to ask for LCWRA