Why does the DWP make things so hard?

danielanthony said:
Once the baby is born, you'll get access to all the benefits. Go to the forums on moneysavingexpert.com or entitledto.co.uk and watch the $$$ roll in once the sprog arrives.
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This is also not true

I have multiple employees who have new borns, both low to middle earners and they can hardly afford to live with both working, as you have to pay nursery fees then.

If the mum doesn't work then they have to live on one wage, which if you are earning say, £18 - £20k means you aren't eligible for much and isn't enough to support a family easily
 
Freakbro said:
This is also not true

I have multiple employees who have new borns, both low to middle earners and they can hardly afford to live with both working, as you have to pay nursery fees then.

If the mum doesn't work then they have to live on one wage, which if you are earning say, £18 - £20k means you aren't eligible for much and isn't enough to support a family easily
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Doing it wrong then as the benefit cap is £500 per week tax free, or ~£33,000 per year if you had a PAYE job earning the same amount.
 
danielanthony said:
Doing it wrong then as the benefit cap is £500 per week tax free, or ~£33,000 per year if you had a PAYE job earning the same amount.
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Yes, but that's if you aren't working, we are talking about in work benefits, and you lose those very quickly.

Most of that £500 per week 'tax free' when not working isn't money you actually see, it's housing benefit and reduction in other bills, like C.Tax etc
 
I can't offer much help but I'd say if you go for a permanent night shift job with possible chrons disease and a baby on the way it's a recipe for disaster.
 
danielanthony said:
Working tax credits
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Which tapers off very quickly

child tax credits
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Which tapers off very quickly

housing benefit
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Which tapers off very quickly

child benefit
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Which tapers off quite slowly :p (Edit : Actually I dont think this tapers, it's either on or off and the threshold is £50k income whereas previously it was universal)

council tax exemption. Seems like a lot there for people with kids in low paid jobs.
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Which....you get the idea
 
At the moment much is made by the Tories on how they have lifted X amount of people out of paying tax and have increased the living wage, what they fail to mention is for every £1 extra a person gains in one hand the government claws back 75p in adjusted benefits etc. So people are very rarely much better off.
But I certainly do not want to blame the Tories as Labour have not been any better in the past not much to distinguish them from the Tories for quite a while.

Get advice is my suggestion and not necessarily from the Citizens Advice people as up here in Edinburgh these bureau's are staffed by middle aged, middle classed ladies that really do not seem to have a clue about the real world.
 
The problem is after many years of screaming Daily Mail headlines about "benefit scroungers living the life of luxury", everyone was only too happy the Govt's implemented these benefit restrictions, only they didn't realise it was going to affect them as well.

Now, admittedly, our welfare bill is eye-wateringly huge, but the VAST majority of that goes in pensions and housing benefit, then the rest is propping up the working poor (and only hardly at that anymore) and the last little bit goes to the unemployed

Pensions - that's a hot topic, but housing benefit - that's one where it really does wind me up.

You do the right thing, work, buy a house etc etc. Lose your job, get into difficulty and there is virtually no help for your mortgage. 'Why should there be' I hear you cry 'Why should the tax payer fund buying your own house'.....good point, that seems to fall a bit flat when the tax payer happily buys the 10th house of the BTL landlord by paying all of his mortgages....
 
Kronos said:
At the moment much is made by the Tories on how they have lifted X amount of people out of paying tax and have increased the living wage, what they fail to mention is for every £1 extra a person gains in one hand the government claws back 75p in adjusted benefits etc. So people are very rarely much better off.
But I certainly do not want to blame the Tories as Labour have not been any better in the past not much to distinguish them from the Tories for quite a while.

Get advice is my suggestion and not necessarily from the Citizens Advice people as up here in Edinburgh these bureau's are staffed by middle aged, middle classed ladies that really do not seem to have a clue about the real world.
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The idea is to get employers to pay the true cost of Labour by increasing wages and reducing government subsidy via the tax credits system.

Not sure what I'd do in your position OP if you've explored all the government provided support options. Any chance you can move back in with family whilst you look for more suitable work or get your benefits situation sorted?
 
danielanthony said:
Working tax credits, child tax credits, housing benefit, child benefit, council tax exemption. Seems like a lot there for people with kids in low paid jobs.
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"Seems" being the operative word.

People in a higher than minimum but below average wage get sod all; £18-20k and you're basically above the cut off for the majority of any benefits - you may get a few £/week in tax credits, but that's it
 
Thank you for all the kind words and ideas guys I really appreciate it...

Unfortunately I don't drive but will definitely look into the job links you guys have posted. And again unfortunately moving in with family isn't an option as my mum is 70 and lives in supported accommodation in south wales and her mum and dad are separated and live in Shropshire. Not ideal when I have to see my kids every weekend etc.

I've made some bad choices in my life, given up on education when pressured to do so by the ex partner etc so have virtually nothing in the way of qualifications. Just over 16 years as a doorman and a desire to have enough money to just be reasonably comfortable.

I have been looking at selling things on Ebay but making £1 a time on Blu rays etc here and there after ebay and paypal etc take their cut isn't really helping. Could probably make some money selling stuff sourced from China but don't have any savings to invest.

Done the online calculator on the Turn2us page I think it was and tried a few different options.... me working more hours, the baby here etc and it isn't looking promising.
 
Freakbro said:
The problem is after many years of screaming Daily Mail headlines about "benefit scroungers living the life of luxury", everyone was only too happy the Govt's implemented these benefit restrictions, only they didn't realise it was going to affect them as well.

Now, admittedly, our welfare bill is eye-wateringly huge, but the VAST majority of that goes in pensions and housing benefit, then the rest is propping up the working poor (and only hardly at that anymore) and the last little bit goes to the unemployed

Pensions - that's a hot topic, but housing benefit - that's one where it really does wind me up.

You do the right thing, work, buy a house etc etc. Lose your job, get into difficulty and there is virtually no help for your mortgage. 'Why should there be' I hear you cry 'Why should the tax payer fund buying your own house'.....good point, that seems to fall a bit flat when the tax payer happily buys the 10th house of the BTL landlord by paying all of his mortgages....
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Income insurance?
 
Freakbro said:
but housing benefit - that's one where it really does wind me up.

You do the right thing, work, buy a house etc etc. Lose your job, get into difficulty and there is virtually no help for your mortgage. 'Why should there be' I hear you cry 'Why should the tax payer fund buying your own house'.....good point, that seems to fall a bit flat when the tax payer happily buys the 10th house of the BTL landlord by paying all of his mortgages....
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Yeah it's true, eye watering rents don't help that figure either. But I agree there is no safety net if you are made redundant and have a mortgage, even just for example a 3-6 month safety net.

But no worries we'll let a load of scum landlords renting out dives for extortionate amounts pocket tons of money.
 
Freakbro said:
This is also not true

I have multiple employees who have new borns, both low to middle earners and they can hardly afford to live with both working, as you have to pay nursery fees then.

If the mum doesn't work then they have to live on one wage, which if you are earning say, £18 - £20k means you aren't eligible for much and isn't enough to support a family easily
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I thought you got 35 hours child care a week now?
 
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