I understand why labour want to get single parents back to work but?

Question

I have a friend who is a single parent with two small children and she had to pack her job in because of the cost of child care,she was paying over £200 a week for child care and she was getting just above the Minimum Wage which meant she was really earning money just to pay for child care.
i also know of someone else who was let go by her employer because she had to take time off work when her child caught chicken pox.
any views on this.

Answer 1

Unfortunatley it's the cost of modern society. What Labour says is just lies, every day they make these great statements and then.... nothing happens. You wait and see.

Answer 2

I wonder if the Government have any clue on society, education and parenting ... One minute they are on parents backs for working too many hours, not looking after their children properly, parents not being there when their children finish school, not sitting together at meal times etc etc Then they want to send everyone, single parents or otherwise, with children under the age of 11 (Not the most mature of ages) back to work! Do they really think they can have it both ways? I am a single mum, who takes care of my 2 year old child during the day, works at nights and is studying on the side to try and build a better life for us... what support have I had from the Government none, the man a the Job-centre advised me to claim and stay at home until my child was 16 otherwise I would miss all the important things in his life!

Answer 3

I am working single parent myself.......

My daughter is of school age now (she's 6) but when she was smaller I too had to pay a hundred pound a week for childcare although WFT did pay 70% of this - so parents using this as an excuse will get blown out of the water.....

When my babe went to school I had to drop hours at work so I could take her and pick her up - obviously taking a cut in pay also.

I think single parents do get a raw deal in many ways but then some single parents are very work shy and do intend to sit and watch Trisha and Jeremy all day rather than work....I know quite a few!

And the government have said that this new initiative only applies when the kids reach 12......

Answer 4

In my opinion I think for parents of younger children then it shouldnt be an option as the child care is so expensive and working would probably not cover the costs. However, if kids are of a reasonable age and are at school most of the day, then I see no reason why parents cant get a part time job or a job with hours that fit around school drop off and pick up times. Afterall, surely any extra money will benefit the children too?

Answer 5

There are thousands of single parents working, men as well as women and this has been going on long before Government handouts, just ask an older person how did their mothers manage through the second world war when most of the men were fighting and the women took over the mens jobs.

Thousands of single parents put themselves through Uni which is a lot more difficult than working for a wage.

Your friend can claim family credit and nursery vouchers for her children, does her family not give her any support i.e babysit ? does she not know any other single mothers who would look after her children in the daytime and she could perhaps return the favour by babysitting in the evening?.
If you're friend really wants to work there IS plenty of help for her/him.

Answer 6

yeah people think they have the answers for everybody even when they know the situation. I had four kids and even professional babysitters would not watch them so I could not work.
Even when you tell people that you only make 200 a month and the child care and transportation and costs to work make it so you don't have enough to pay bills they still insist that you should work etc, etc,
Most people stereo type many single moms as having one baby after another to different guys just to collect more welfare but
that is maybe 80% of the mothers on welfare.
I was married and had four babies and then it didn't work out and he was never there for them.
It gets me too that you hear people complain about people going to work sick and running the risk of getting other workers sick
BUT try taking a day off because you are sick you have to worry
about being fired. It is a catch 22.

Answer 7

It is not an uncommon problem and it is not going to get any better in the short term.

Labour want people working, but dependant on benefits because any other party that threatens to reduce or remove benefits would lose all the benefit claimants votes.

Single mothers, old age pensioners and young workers are kept trapped in a pool of poverty by political design.

Labour to keep their votes, and the Conservatives to keep the votes of the employers paying basic minimum wages.

As cheap labour flood into the country the situation for people like your friend just gets worse.

What we need is a new system of ethics, where employers pay a percentage of their companies profits to the workforce.

A system that stops paying benefits to people who have never contributed to them. If the EU say we must pay them, then they should fund the payments, and not the British taxpayer.

Vote for a nationalist type government is the long term solution.

Answer 8

The pressure on single parents to return to work is immense. Youre right about the cost of child care and really the only person who should be looking after her children is the Mum. I returned to work when my son started full-time school and can only say that it was the worst thing I ever did. I didnt think about school holidays, inset days, sick days and the enormous effect it would have on my son. When I left my job for a new one, I was told on the grapevine that my old employer had made a new company Policy never to employ single parents again as they were a liability and not reliable. In the long run, I dont think it is worth it, its a full-time job bringing up children and much more rewarding that any paid employment.

Answer 9

I had my doubts about Tony Blair from the beginning, however once he introduced top up fees for university students it confirmed what I already suspected. The man is not labour. He's a tory who felt he had more chance of getting into power with labour. To be fair, he was right about that.

Consequentally the fact that the new initiative to get the long term unemployed back to work included single parents is not surprising. Right wing politicians don't generally appreciate that caring for children is a job and is a critical role within society. Somebody has to do it, it's the view of the UK government that parents should foot the bill. You shouldn't have children unless you can afford them, same as you shouldn't be allowed to go to university unless your family can pay for it. A return to good old fashion tory values eh.

Answer 10

I think the British labor party and those who worked on Welfare Reform in the United States were hoping that single parents would get job training for jobs that made well-over minimum wage.

Answer 11

i think its ridiculous, the government pays 75% of childcare costs through family tax credits for people on low income so there really is no excuse.
i think that most parents would like to stay at home with their kids, but most normal people have too much pride to let the taxpayer support their kids.
the obvious thing is to raise minimum wage! i dont know how anyone can live on it.