better of working or on benefits?

Danny30

nannytone wrote: »

the government needs to start 'expecting' people to do exactly what you have been doing.
living on benefit and not worrying about having another child that they cant afford to support.
everyone can fall on hard times, but people today seem to think it is acceptable to choose to make their household larger and thus more expensive whilst saying that they shouldnt have to work for the level of financial gain that they already live on via benefit.

I didn't say it acceptable to be out of work on purpose and happy to live off benefits, however if you can't see why people are doing this then I really do not know how to explain it you.
If you tempt people like the government do with this whole mess of a benefits system, then it is inevitable that people will take the bait.
People have to take responsibility for their actions but to allow people to sit on the a*s all day for the same wage as someone slogging it out at work is an absolute joke. You can't expect everyone to say "I have pride and will work for no extra money", i't just not realistic.

nannytone_2

all i can say is that in 1990 i became a single parent of a 6 year old and a 9 year old.
at the time it was allowedd for a lone parent to receive income support until the youngest child was 16.
at the time i worked, and continued to work full time even though i could have sat at home and legitimately claimed benefit.
i didnt because i believed that they were my children and my responsibility.

Danny30

nannytone wrote: »

all i can say is that in 1990 i became a single parent of a 6 year old and a 9 year old.
at the time it was allowedd for a lone parent to receive income support until the youngest child was 16.
at the time i worked, and continued to work full time even though i could have sat at home and legitimately claimed benefit.
i didnt because i believed that they were my children and my responsibility.

I commend you for doing that, but unfortunately if you give people the same choice that you had, many would pick the other route. Whether or not that is right, I can see why they do it.

I know it different situation, but look how certain people abuse the NHS system i.e they don't turn up for appointments without cancelling and other general abuses of the system, all costing the NHS a fortune. Why do they do it? again because they can and there is no losses or consequences to them. People will abuse a system if it is flawed and badly constructed. The government shouldn't tempt people and rely on them to be moral which is what this system does.

Toomuchdebt

Not all of us have kids just to milk the system-yes I ended up a single parent with 6 kids but if I had been able to see into the future I would have only had 2 and kept my job in a bank,or with the insurance centre I was with.My husband at the time wanted me to stay at home and raise the kids and so I did. Then we got divorced when my youngest was 1 year old. I hadn't worked at that point for 10 years and went onto benefits. I then tried going back to work in a bank for 6 months when my youngest was 5 but ended up stressed and worse off and struggling to pick up the kids in time from school.Then I met someone else and very stupidly had 2 kids with him-he then decided to leave and I've been on my own for 3 years. I did actually go back to work for 2 years but due to illness had to give up in January this year. I am currently looking for a job I can do and that fits in with school hours because the minute I have to get someone to look after the kids after school it no longer becomes viable to continue(maybe for someone with family support or with a well paid job or older children it would be easier-my youngest is currently 4 years old).I can't work weekends as my older children are at their dad's every other weekend and the other dad works weekends.
So it may sound like excuses but it's not as easy going back to work when you have more than 2 children and no family support(parents are happy to have us for lunch but not to look after the little ones). I actually would like to be working-I just can't find a job suitable for me.
When I was working until Jan this year I wasn't really any better off at all-I spent more on getting to work, more on food(had to do some weekends and evenings), more on makeup(never wear it at home)-and found the kids didn't cope well being left on their own.I carried on for 2 years because I felt better working rather than being solely on benefits but it was a struggle some days.
Now they are all going to be at school I can finally look for a job that will hopefully leave me better off not worse, but I haven't found anything yet.
My friends in Poland are always amazed at the benefits here and say they can understand why people don't want to work when it's not worth it for them.
Minimum wages should be raised-I don't think anyone would prefer to stay at home if they ended up £200 a month better off. When it's sometimes £10 it almost seems stupid to go out to work.

FBaby

I commend you for doing that, but unfortunately if you give people the same choice that you had, many would pick the other route. Whether or not that is right, I can see why they do it.

And yet, those people who should be grateful that they are given that choice are the one who cry outrage because they are asked to justify their entitment to these benefits, ie. they want the benefits instead of work AND not be asked to be accountable to their position. They complain about sanctions, investigations, having to go to the JC once a week.... Being able to be on benefits rather than working is still not good enough.

Indie_Kid

What sort of example does it set to your children, that you've chosen a life on benefits instead of working?

tomtontom

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

So it may sound like excuses

Yes, it does.

Indie_Kid wrote: »

What sort of example does it set to your children, that you've chosen a life on benefits instead of working?

An example that ensures another generation of benefit dependency. So sad that someone would choose that for their child

Toomuchdebt

tomtontom wrote: »

Yes, it does.



An example that ensures another generation of benefit dependency. So sad that someone would choose that for their child

Just in case you missed the part about me looking for a job I will put it again here-I am actively looking for a job that fits in with school hours as I can't afford childcare for 4 children after school,even with the tax credits that would pay for some of that. FYI my eldest daughter has had a part time job since she was 16 and is now at uni and still working part time. My oldest child at home is now 16 and looking for part time work. So, no there is no next generation of benefit dependency. They are all(well the ones old enough to know what it all means) planning on going to university and getting good jobs. They have all seen how hard it is without a job and also have seen how hard it is when I worked evenings-it really wasn't fair to expect a 16 year old to look after her 5 siblings until 11pm and she didn't get great A level grades as a result.
I refuse to make the next one suffer with her schoolwork and so I am looking for a job in school hours that will enable me to be at home in the evenings to supervise homework, get kids to bed etc in other words BE A MOTHER! I see no point employing someone to do all this for me and ending up worse off than I am now-not only would I have less money, I would have less time with the children-and a 4 year old and 5 year old really need their Mum seeing as Dad isn't around very much.Sorry you don't like it but i haven't sat on my backside my entire life claiming benefits-when I was at school I had temporary jobs at Easter and Christmas and then a Saturday job. I also had a paper round from when I was 14,I also worked all through university.When I was married I worked and then at my husband's request stayed home to raise the kids. When we divorced I had a 1 year old and no family support.As soon as I felt able to work I did but the kids suffered.
Now I have health issues but am looking for a job with hours I can do and a job that I can actually manage so please think before you lump everyone into a group of benefit scroungers.

Toomuchdebt

Indie_Kid wrote: »

What sort of example does it set to your children, that you've chosen a life on benefits instead of working?

I haven't. I have chosen to be on benefits to look after the kids temporarily. I am looking for a job that will be suitable. Once the younger ones are a little bit older(they're 5 and 4) I would hope to be able to increase my hours and go fulltime. I don't intend to stay on benefits permanently (like most people do in my area)-if you read it properly I was working but had to stop in January due to health issues one of which is only just getting better now-it started last October and I struggled(and I mean struggled in agony) on until January.
I can't return to that type of job as it will just end the same way again.

Danny30

I have another query. The company I am joining have said that they will not pay for sick days, and that I can only claim statutory sick pay. Firstly is this a normal policy? and as I can't afford to lose a days pay can I notify Housing Benefit or Working Tax Credits if this happens?.
Would HB and WTC deduct the lost days earnings from my expected income and more importantly would it make any difference in real terms?