What can I do?

skcollobcat10 · 14 September 2018 at 6:17PM

silly_moo wrote: »

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, I certainly didn't mean to.

I don't know much about the world of benefits, only what I glimpse through various Facebook groups for mums and my understanding is that there are a lot of families where the mother decides to stop working after having children, they claim benefits, get extra free hours at nursery etc and get along just fine. Then I compare this to our situation where we'd only need help temporarily and not long-term and can't help feeling this is unfair.

Majority of people who work do not have a clue about how benefits work. They assume they would be looked after if anything happened and they lost or had to give up work due to illness or redundancy.

I was the same 18 years ago after an accident, didn't know anybody who received benefits and didn't have a clue what I had to apply for.

When employed, you don't even think how people manage on benefits and those silly programmes on TV lead many people to think the recipients of such are f**kless and lazy, which many are not.

Hopefully this is just a short term blip and your husband will find work quickly. It's a wake up call to get yourself adequately covered for illness/accident insurance and mortgage protection cover. Try also if you can to have at least 6 months saving cover for your bills so you will not suffer next time if this happens. Good luck with what you choose to do.

poppy12345 · 14 September 2018 at 6:18PM

If your area is a full Universal credit area and you don't have more than 2 children then you won't be able to claim tax credits, it will have to be universal credit. With savings over £16,000 you won't be able to claim UC.
Check your area here. http://ucpostcode.entitledto.co.uk/ucdate

sheramber · 14 September 2018 at 6:30PM

Details here of child care help in Scotland

https://www.mygov.scot/childcare-costs-help/funded-early-learning-and-childcare/

TELLIT01 · 14 September 2018 at 6:49PM

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Majority of people who work do not have a clue about how benefits work. They assume they would be looked after if anything happened and they lost or had to give up work due to illness or redundancy.

Very true. I was shocked when I was made redundant, and was of an age where I could take my pension, that the pension was taken into account. I'd paid into it yet it prevented me from even claiming Conts JSA. I was not amused, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I worked for DWP for some years before retirement and the number of times I heard people say "I've paid into the system all my life and now can't get anything out", and they were absolutely right. Worst one was a couple where the husband had given up work through illness,who had lived off their savings because they didn't think it was right to claim, and then discovered they could still get nothing because the wife's earnings nilled Income Related entitlement. They were absolutely devastated.

What can I do?

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