Would you work full time to gain £42.19 a week compared with benefits?

Elle00

Hi OP,

Can I firstly say I didn't read the whole thread because it's so long so I'm just commenting on the first page and OP really.

People are right to say it isn't a choice to be on benefits unless you are still incapable of working or have another job that IS is paying for (ie being a carer or lone parent). If you now feel you may be capable of working then you should at least try the new IB scheme that means you can try for a few weeks and see how you manage before having to make a firm commitment.

I can only guess that you're on IS for esteem issues and depression??? You haven't clarified this in the OP that I can see. If this is the case then you need to work on your attitude but perhaps not quite in the manner certain posters have suggested. As some people have said, we all have to start somewhere and it's hard but also important that we try to remain positive. Is there something you could do alongside working to further your employability factor? You also need to bear in mind that in going out to work you will find your confidence and interpersonal skills gradually improve all on their own even if you don't notice the change for some months to come.

I was very, very low when I first became a single parent and claimed IS. I felt I had no future and was subjected to some very vicious comments from one or two people who seemed to think it was somehow my fault I got dumped with a kid and couldn't work (was morbidly obese at that point with sciatica post-caesarean). I don't remember asking to have the confidence slapped out of me but there you go; I felt unable to cope or work let alone bring up my kid!

After this 6m though I decided I would have to at least do a little something to keep me ticking over and tried to have a little bit of optimism. So I took a minimum wage job in a newsagents and used the money to put my son in a nursery one afternoon a week to go to college and do a level II computing diploma (had previously worked in admin you see).

After about 6m of doing that I had my diploma and recent employment history to show on my CV. I had also lost about 3st during that period (working 16hrs a week on my feet and getting help from my GP) plus I suddenly realised I COULD do better and just needed to pick myself up a little bit.

Things weren't straight forward and I did suffer an emotional breakdown in March after something happened (whole other story) but I went on to recover much more quickly than I had done previously and started applying for jobs again in May.

Well this Monday just gone I started back at work full-time and boy do I feel GOOD. I've got a great junior role in finance and the wage is low at £14.5kpa (remember I have a child to support!) but it's not why I work. I work so that I have something to get out of bed for in the mornings that gives me more immediate satisfaction than my whiney toddler does (love him dearly but it is hard when they're this age). I work so that someday, when (thinking positively here) I am in affordable accommodation I will be able to manage to support myself and my child without benefits. Naturally this will also be helped by his starting school in 3.5yrs time. I work so that I can hopefully rise through the ranks and become a clerk in my own right rather than an assistant. I work because it makes me feel like I am somebody who matters.

Finances are going to be a big struggle for some time to come but I figure there are two important things to remember over this. One is that this situation is not forever and that I must stay hopeful. The other is that no-one has the right to look down their nose at me considering I am a productive member of society.

From a financial point of view, even though I actually have LESS than I did on IS by working full-time I do at least have the freedom to rent any flat I wanted to with a salary behind me and the ability to borrow should I have an emergency. I've always had a good credit rating so I know I can borrow a fair bit from the bank if needs be and that's a much less stressful even if more expensive way of doing things than applying for a crisis loan. I have financial control and flexibility if you like.

I hope it helps to hear a similar story from someone who's been in a similar situation. Okay, you're not a lone parent, but it wasn't just that that had me scared to work previously. My confidence was on the floor and I was scared I would get nowhere in life. You too need to realise that where there's a will there's a way and also accept that there is no quick-fix solution. As long as you are doing something (like a min wage job) to work towards a future then you should take comfort in that. Employers would rather see something on your CV than nothing if the right job comes up later down the line. If anyone asks why you did that job then you simply chuckle and say "well, I couldn't find the right job at the time so I took an easy job to pay the bills while I continued to look". You should also put your name down with all your local housing associations to see if you might someday get offered cheaper housing as rent is a huge expense in this day and age for single adults. Studios and 1 beds in my area cost only £100 less pm than 2 bed flats do and again, 3 bed houses are often the same price as 2 bed flat are!!! It's much more expensive when you live alone because you have to take responsibility for all the "base rates" of your bills. Ie the rent that covers kitchen, bathroom and lounge, water service rates, phone line rental etc. But who knows what the future holds eh?

barbie_babe

If you are on JSA they can take your money off you at any time if they think you are not looking for work. Therefore you would be the full amount you earn better off. just because you are claiming benfits today dosnt mean you will be getting them next week.

Tony_Hendrix

anewman wrote: »

Have looked but never seen any.

You could join the Freemasons,it aint what you are but who you are with that lot.

saraharrow

Hi OP,I havent read all the thread but I just wanted to say that Work can be therapeutic, its not just the extra money that you gain. Also I work to be a good role model to my children, to show them that to be part of society you have to participate in it and living on benefits means my life would be controlled by others, right down to where I shopped (I wouldnt be able to have the odd treat from an expensive shop if I didnt work as that would mean there would be something that I couldnt afford later on). And being 42 quid better off per week is just the start, you can earn promotions, bonuses etc none of which you can get from benefits.And Finally dont let what has happened to you in the past dictate your future, otherwise the bad guys have won.Good luck Sarah

ailuro2

I'd work for pennies more if it got my foot on the ladder....

nancypearl

I was in a similar situation, and could not see a way out. I was so grateful for someone who could see beyond my anxiety, and lack of self esteem and gave me a chance. I had £70 a month 'pocket money' left over as my wages weren't that much and I had bills/rent/fares etc to pay. Slowly, over time I built myself back up. I can appreciate your dilemma. BUT £40 A WEEK EXTRA IS NOT FOREVER. You will improve your life, but you have to take small steps to do so. There are a lot of people out there who HAVE to work as they have domestic committments who would love to have £40 in their pocket extra every week. It makes the difference between existing and living.

£40 a week is over £2,000 a year if it helps you to see it in terms like that, which is nothing to be sneezed at.

chocolatechipcookies

Life is what you make of it. If you're going to sit at home feeling sorry for yourself, than you will never make anything of your life. You choose to sit and do nothing. People have given you advice, somewhere to go. Call learn direct and ask if there are any courses you can take. Go to the university's counselor and ask what you can do. There are people out there to help you. You choose not to get help. You seem determined to make reasons to do nothing.

chocolatechipcookies

frugalpam wrote: »

Although the situations aren't the same, it reminds me of my brother. After being made redundant from a high powered job, he had a nervous breakdown and severe depression. He suffers from anxiety attacks on a daily basis, and finds it hard to interact in a group of people - even his own family. He is crippled by anxiety and panic attacks.
Thankfully those who understand and love him, support him. The ignorant judge him to be an antisocial ba$tard who should get off his backside and find another job.

Pam

I had depression almost my entire teenaged years, and still have it, not as bad though. I had social anxiety and didn't even leave my house for an entire school year. I got help. I've made a choice to get help again. The one thing I learned in the partial hospital program was that you have a choice. If you're going to stay home all day everyday, and not get help, it's your choice, it's not the anxiety.

My husband had anxiety attacks so bad he didn't sleep for weeks. He fell asleep, but quickly woke up of the fear of dying in his sleep. He couldn't swallow, he thought he would choke on everything. He didn't leave his house. He got help and got better.

I'm not saying he's lazy or anything like that, I just think if you have these problems, you need to get help. There are so many people willing to help, for free or a small amount. My husband had to go into a mental hospital because his anxiety wasn't getting better, and he walked home. A guy that wouldn't leave the house or sleep, walked home. It's frustrating when people refuse to get the help that's a phone call away.

chocolatechipcookies

frugalpam wrote: »

Although the situations aren't the same, it reminds me of my brother. After being made redundant from a high powered job, he had a nervous breakdown and severe depression. He suffers from anxiety attacks on a daily basis, and finds it hard to interact in a group of people - even his own family. He is crippled by anxiety and panic attacks.
Thankfully those who understand and love him, support him. The ignorant judge him to be an antisocial ba$tard who should get off his backside and find another job.

Pam

I had depression almost my entire teenaged years, and still have it, not as bad though. I had social anxiety and didn't even leave my house for an entire school year. I got help. I've made a choice to get help again. The one thing I learned in the partial hospital program was that you have a choice. If you're going to stay home all day everyday, and not get help, it's your choice, it's not the anxiety.

My husband had anxiety attacks so bad he didn't sleep for weeks. He fell asleep, but quickly woke up of the fear of dying in his sleep. He couldn't swallow, he thought he would choke on everything. He didn't leave his house. He got help and got better.

I'm not saying he's lazy or anything like that, I just think if you have these problems, you need to get help. There are so many people willing to help, for free or a small amount. My husband had to go into a mental hospital because his anxiety wasn't getting better, and he walked home. A guy that wouldn't leave the house or sleep, walked home. It's frustrating when people refuse to get the help that's a phone call away.

Savvy_Sue

nancypearl wrote: »

£40 a week is over £2,000 a year if it helps you to see it in terms like that, which is nothing to be sneezed at.

Put like that, it's probably the largest single payrise you'll ever get!