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Hi all,
I am new to this but am very worried about something. I am a single mum with two girls aged 7 and 10. I work 16 hrs at present inc weekends. The thing is, i am having problems as 1) it is a 50 mile round trip and i cant afford the petrol anymore 2) having problems getting children looked after at weekends now my mum cant help anymore 3) i am often kept back late and cant get to pick up youngest from after school club on time and 4) cant find a suitable after schoolclub for my ten year old without her getting public transport from her school and i still have the issue of getting back to pick her up on time. My queston is: will i get full Housing Benefit if i leave of my own accord, i.e. not sacked?? I made enquiries today and was told i would not get jobseekers and nor would l get ANY sort of HB as i voluntarily left employment. Please help someone, i am inalot of debt and could just make ends meet whilst working and on some benefits but if i get no help then i wont be able to pay the rent or feed the children. I am worried sick and sorry for rambling on.
Thank you for listening.
x
What a difficult situation to be in.
I do hope you can find some godd information. I don't know what to suggest.
If you spoke to your employer would you be able to change your hours?
Hello SEL123
Firstly I have to tell you that you may face sanctions to any benefit entitlement if you give up your job but!!!! single parents do have some concessions applied to them and their job seeking availability and the take up of employment; these concessions or conditions are around child care availability; school times; school holidays; child welfare;cost of childcare; locations of any available childcare.
I would advise that you make an appointment with a Lone Parent Advisor at your Job Centre Plus and have a talk to them about your difficulties in your present job and discuss what may or may not happen if you were to give up your current employment; make sure that you have the information you recieve put into writing and signed by the advisor.
I really hope that you find a positive solution to what is a very real and all to common problem.
Good luck, let us know what they say
Thanks so much for your input, Jean
hi there again,
Thanks for your comments. I went to Jobcentre Plus today, not really very helpful. They said i 'could' face sactions in my situation and it would be up in an independant advisor to decided AFTER the event. Other than that they can not comment until its actually happened (!)
That is VERY unhelpful of them!
Is it possible to write a letter to the manager there, asking for a reply in writing? You could ask for a copy of their complaints procedure and that would give you an address to write to!
Hi there
Unfortunately if someone gives up their job voluntarily it is up to a decision maker at the benefit delivery centre to decide on whether the reason is valid or not. There are no hard and fast rules, and your adviser who takes your claim at the jobcentre will not be able to tell you if you are eligible to receive Jobseekers. However they will get you to complete a statement stating why you left and this will be considered.
It was incorrect for someone to say you would not be entitled to jobseekers, but it might be unlikely - it has to be reviewed by someone first. Unfortunately this is how the system works.
If you do decide to leave then make sure that you write full details on your statement so that the independent advisor reading it will fully understand your situation and the reason why you had to leave.
Good luck!
SEL123 i dont know if you will see this post but just like you i was working 16hours a week i had some childcare probs and lelfed my job i had been at that job for 3 years i just explained to the jobcentre , i didnt get jsa i will be getting income support i was already getting hbenifit but paying half of my rent, but i will get it all payed now i didnt have any probs getting these benifits, i dont have to go back to the jobcentre until 6 months later and didnt have to make any statment as just handed in my notice at my old job i just applied for income support, i do miss my old job but the hours wernt working around my daughter i am already looking for another job like i said i had no problems with getting help with benifits plus i dont have to stress of worrying about childcare at the moment :)
Thanks for sharing your experience, Pinkpetal
Hello SEL123
You are welcome here, I am so sorry you are facing this worrying situation when you have been trying your best to hold down a job and look after your children.
Luckily we have a fab 1-2-1 Money Advice Service that will give you all the latest info. I will email them and ask them to reply to this thread as this information will be of great value to others too, so watch this space.
In the meatime, will you do us a favour? Go to this thead (click) where you can contribute to a survey about childcare and the difficulties for singleparents: we want our voices to be heard!