UC, single parent of two young ones - work question

Kayalana99

Hi guys,

Currently I work 20 hours a week in a job I love and me and my Husband have decided to spilt.

We have two kids 5 / 6.

I'm under the impression UC will push me to try and find a full-time job, can I confirm this is correct when you have two young kids as well? I did the Maths a while ago and I'd actually be worse off working full-time due to the increase in childcare costs (however I guess now I would be able to claim benefits this might not be true anymore, but in my eyes it would actually cost UC more as they would be paying the extra in childcare costs too....but I guess that might be a moot point)

I have asked at work to increase my hours to 25, but any other variation of these hours puts increased pressure on myself/being able to get back to pick the kids up as I don't have any childcare support where I live and Ex works a demanding job. I work in a central city (which I live outside off) so my current hours allow me a bit of leeway with avoiding rush hour too and I can't work there full time hours anyway.

I have some ideas of how I can raise some extra side income as I used to be self-employed and could go back into this but it would cost a start up fund and take time for the money to start coming in, but I'd really like to keep my current job / house etc if possible, and as much as it's a second prioty I am also a part-time student so I would be taking on single parent, self-employed, degree and a job...

My other option atm is to sell the house and live off the money for a while until things are improved - and if I get the extra hour I wanted I would be -£100 a month so it's not totally undoable to do it that way....UC does sound like a nightmare but then I don't want to sell my house and uproot the kids....

Any advice would be appreciated anyway...

pmlindyloo

On Universal Credit allowances are made for those with caring responsibilities.

If a claimant has caring responsibilities for a child, they will generally need to show that they have reasonable prospects of finding work given any restriction to their availability. This is apart from the main carer (responsible carer) of a child under 13, who is able to restrict their availability to their child’s normal school hours, without showing they have reasonable prospects of finding work, given this restriction. Travel time to and from school to collect children should be considered for any restriction.

It is quite possible that your current work and earnings may mean that you would not be expected to do any further work.

You can also claim for childcare if needed.

Put your details into https://www.entitledto.co.uk to see how much you might be entitled to.

Kayalana99

pmlindyloo wrote: »

On Universal Credit allowances are made for those with caring responsibilities.

If a claimant has caring responsibilities for a child, they will generally need to show that they have reasonable prospects of finding work given any restriction to their availability. This is apart from the main carer (responsible carer) of a child under 13, who is able to restrict their availability to their child’s normal school hours, without showing they have reasonable prospects of finding work, given this restriction. Travel time to and from school to collect children should be considered for any restriction.

It is quite possible that your current work and earnings may mean that you would not be expected to do any further work.

You can also claim for childcare if needed.

Put your details into https://www.entitledto.co.uk to see how much you might be entitled to.

Thank you, has taken a bit of a weight off hopefully it will all come together.