Working when child turns 3

[YourCheeryPoet]

Hi All,
I'm a single mum to a just turned 3 year old. I am on universal credit, I am currently not working and my daughter is not in a childcare setting until September. Uc have advised me that I need to be working 30 hours a week, any one know what sort of jobs I can do? I have no family support and I just have no clue where to Start.

Thanks in advance ☺️ x

If you share what kind of work experience you have then people can suggest some ideas. If you haven't worked before then could you share some interests / skills you have?

Thank you. I have spent over 16+ years in a management role within telecommunications. (Vodafone) was my previous employer before leaving after mat leave. So I have sales, admin and team management experience. I'm looking for something I can do from home, that ideally doesn't involve calls as I have an autistic daughter who loves to bang everything 🤣😭

You won't be able to work with your daughter around, I'm sorry OP. Most employers say no to this from the outset. Maybe a late night call centre type thing once she's asleep (if she regularly sleeps through)

UC will probably want you to have her in childcare ASAP and then work when she's there. Could you claim carers allowance for your daughter for now? That will cover your work commitment.

Put your daughter in childcare and work? You'll be entitled to some funded hours to help with the cost

You can't work with your DD in the house, this is enormously frowned upon/banned by most WFH employers.

Surely your DD would be eligible for the funded hours?

Vodaphone has a Returners Programme.

Childminders and preschools take 3+ funding. Don't wait until September or try to keep them at home while you work.

You can get 15 hours of free childcare per week currently and from September you'll get 30 hours. If you're on Uc you can also get 85% of any additional childcare hours you need until September paid for which is all a huge help.

You won't be able to work while your child is in the home if you're the only adult in that home at the time. You need to just discount that idea because it's not realistic at all.

It sounds like you have great experience! Try to take confidence in that! Can you be really proactive with your work coach and ask them for advice? Show wiling.

Can you contact previous employers / colleagues on LinkedIn? You can set up a profile on there if you don't have one already and there's a setting you can select to show you're open to job offers. I think that setting that up would be a great place to start.