Housing benefit going down, how will I manage?

Mojisola

sueturnersmith wrote: »

Whilst I sympathise with the OP's plight, what you are really asking is for the government to support families who have split up twice - ie give both parents benefits to enable them to house and support the same child, which doesn't seem to be fair, IMO.

It isn't fair to one parent at the moment. At the very least, if the parents share care 50/50, then neither should have to pay the other anything.

The OP is stuck with the situation. Best wishes for getting a full-time job.

peggy89_2

i do keep some clothes at my place, but i want her to have decent clothes all the time, not just while shes with me, ive got her changed before and she gets upset that she cant wear her stuff home. i am looking for any sort of job, part or full time, but two jobs also means more income tax to pay. i am trying, i send cvs and rinse job centre website all the time, its not that easy unfortunately

Marisco

This just highlights the unfairness of the benefit system!! If a father has the child 50/50, then he should also be entitled to 50% of CB, CTC and HB for a 2 bed property. Then to pay child maint on top of getting nowt, even though he has her as often as the mother, just rubs salt into the wound!!

nannymiaow

Mojisola wrote: »

It is very unfair. The resident parent gets access to benefits and help with rent for a separate bedroom for the child. The non-resident parent, who has the child for almost half the year, gets nothing.

Agreed, but if we were to be discussing the fairness of the situation we'd not be in the benefits board, would we?

budgetboo

As I understand it you have the best part of 6 months (till April) before the cuts come in.

I can't believe that a determined young healthy man can't improve his situation in that time.

Not wanting to put the staff down but I don't know ANYONE who found work via a job centre. As far as I can tell employers don't even bother advertising any decent roles via this route.

Private employment agencies are the way to go. Are you registered and actively looking on the following:-
Reed
Jobsite
jobserve
monsterjobs
brookstreet
I've listed those as they seem to be the most active.

Is your CV active on all those sites, and are you checking DAILY, so you catch anything worthwhile before they have 100 applicants (they ofetn only read the 1st 10 applications and bin/delete the rest).

My skill set is a decent one but when looking for work I kinda have a set of rules, all based around a numbers game so I don't get depressed:-

1. I must apply for 10 jobs EVERY day of the week includiing Sundays - pref online as the application gets there quicker.
2. For every 100 applications I make, I expect 3-5 call backs.
3. Unless you turn up drunk or commit some other total social faux pas, if you attend 10 interviews you WILL get one job.
4. Not all these roles will I have 5 years experience or consider my dream role BUT these will all be roles I can do (e.g I'm not too posh for a menial role like cleaning, leafleting if that's all that's there).
5. Not all these jobs will be permanent - a 3 month contract doesn't totally screw up your benefits and can get your foot in the door of a big companty. Less than this and it won't be worth the hassle the benfits agencies will cause you. A temporary non-ideal role in a great company can lead to the job you DO want as internal candidates usually get priority.
6. Ask friends/family if they know of anything coming up.
7 Ring your favourite (local?) agencies every Friday just to see if anything that suits you has come in. Wish them a nice weekend and always be polite, & sound happy. That way you are always front of mind when your dream role does hot their inbox.

Sorry if that all sounds like teaching you to suck eggs, but the job centre gives really outdated advice on how to find work . In reality it's a case of the early bird catching the worm online via a private agency none times out of 10 for anything decent in combination with a pure numbers game, assuming you are decently presented and have a correctly spelt CV & no criminal record or health/childcare issues.

Do you have any skills you could turn into a part time businees to up your income. A window or carpet cleaning round might supplement your salary enough by April to keep you in your current home.

You sound defeated before you've begun.

bobajob_1966

peggy89 wrote: »

sueturnersmith.ur totally right, it wouldnt make sense. my childs mum left me for another man when she was 10 weeks old. she broke up the family but im the one who suffers financially, not her! NOT FAIR!. women can go round getting themselves pregnant, leave the father and reep all the benefits, while dads like me have to pay the mothers and get no help for our children.

You are confusing the issue - it is nothing to do with mothers having more rights than fathers, the benefits are awarded to the parent with care, which could be the mother or the father.

stroodes

I know its they way things are but why is the mum not sleeping in a camp bed in the living room, why is it the paying father who has to, way too much discrimination here.

bobajob_1966

stroodes wrote: »

I know its they way things are but why is the mum not sleeping in a camp bed in the living room, why is it the paying father who has to, way too much discrimination here.

Do you understand what discrimination is? The parents between them have chosen for the mother to claim the relevant child benefits. The state does not discriminate between men and women in this instance, they simply administer benefits according to who claims.

stroodes

no Bob the parents havent chosen between them, pretty sure resident parent always gets thet right unless declines it, unresident parent just pays up even if care is more or less shared.

bobajob_1966

stroodes wrote: »

no Bob the parents havent chosen between them, pretty sure resident parent always gets thet right unless declines it, unresident parent just pays up even if care is more or less shared.

They have chosen who the child is to reside with, have they not? I see no mention of a court order to indicate otherwise?