Is the Universal credit a double edged sword for self employed with kids?

debrag

Glad there wasn't all this when I was growing up, if I was ill I went to work with my mum (nursary + school dinner lady) obviously depending on why I was ill.. My dad worked full time shifts then just earlies, my mum worked two jobs then finally got a full time job once I was in secondary school (I think, could be just before).
There wasn't the whole OMG I have young kids I HAVE to stay at home with them.

Dunroamin

debrag wrote: »

Glad there wasn't all this when I was growing up, if I was ill I went to work with my mum (nursary + school dinner lady) obviously depending on why I was ill.. My dad worked full time shifts then just earlies, my mum worked two jobs then finally got a full time job once I was in secondary school (I think, could be just before).
There wasn't the whole OMG I have young kids I HAVE to stay at home with them.

My mum did cleaning when I was young - there's always a demand for good cleaners. She did it on the mornings I was at nursery school or I went with her.

Spendless

storytime wrote: »

How can you say the wife should get a part time job? What about child care, teacher training days, school closures due to weather and school holidays with 1 child is bad enough but 3. My husband is self employed and when our 3 children lived at home he worked 12 hour days 6 days a week. Children need one parent in their lives they are not children for long. I tried working twilight hours in a supermarket but the children didn't like me going. When I changed and tried working in the day , trying to find child care for 3 was stressful and expensive. Bringing up children is a job itself. Don't say I shouldn't have had 3 children, I adopted my children and saved the tax payer thousands.

Once the kids all go to f-time school you need to bare in mind that when working all your wages are your own during (state) school hours. Nowadays you may also qualify for help with childcare costs. You can also look for hours that are more suitable to reduce childcare costs eg when 1 employer asked me to work a 6.5 hr day and suggested 9-3.30 I asked if I could instead make it 8.30-3 as breakfast club was cheaper than the after-school club. If I worked 8-4 at my current temping job I'd have to pay for care both before and after school, working 9-5 means I only incurr after school costs.

Most councils give details of school hols in advance and many schools give advance notice of teacher training days. You certainly need a contingency plan for sickness and unexpected closure though.

Of course children prefer you to be around, not off to work, that's only natural, if they can make the correlation between you working and being able to pay for items that is only good for them. My eldest when I returned to work moaned that 'we wouldn't get to do fun things in hols' if I worked, my youngest was quicker to work out that 'we got to do more fun things' as I was able to pay for them.

dktreesea

Dunroamin wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't describe any business that pays below NMW as "thriving".

Maybe not, but net profits can be a poor indicator of real income when compared to someone in a paye job. A paye worker could have to commute a couple of hours each way to work each day, all unpaid. A self employed worker can arrange their premises just down the road, or even at home.

A paye worker may need a car to get to and from work, but will have to bear the entire cost of the lease out of his/her after tax income. The self employed worker lets his business lease the car, then just deducts some small percentage for his private usage. Yet he gets all the advantages of having a leased, brand new car at his disposal.

I agree though. "Thriving" is the wrong word. What I meant is that profitable businesses are viable. The fact that they are profitable suggests all fixed costs are covered. If the business genuinely makes a loss every year, then the self employed worker may as well shut up shop and go on the dole. But if it's profitable, if lack of capital is the excuse for not being self supporting for the owner, then maybe I could understand this. But if it's lack of effort, it's hard to be sympathetic if the government does come along and say to those people they have to look for a paye job as a condition of keeping the benefits.

PermaHeretic

I hope to have time to read through all your posts properly at some pont, but in the meantime I thought you might be interested in my blog post about how the Universal Credit rules will affect the self-employed. I am a new user and they won't allow me to post links, but do a Google search for Permaculture House in Totnes and you'll find it. Also search Facebook for Universal Credit and the Self Employed.