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Should I quit work?

NAS79457

Hello everyone,

I would really like some advice on what everyone thinks I should do.

My son is 8 and his behaviour is becoming increasingly worse as he is getting older. 

I already claim disability living allowance which he gets a lower rate as when he was awarded I didn't put all in information in and he wasn't diagnosed. He has had his assessment and we are waiting to hear back from that.

My question is, if he gets diagnosed and I can get more help financially would it be worth me leaving my job? 

I am currently working at my sons school working 30 hours a week as a 1:1 with a child in a different year group but working with a special needs child and then parenting my son is becoming too much and I am finding that I am really starting to struggle to get up for work everyday. 

I already get universal credit for my son and daughter, I was just wondering if financially we would break even if he got a diagnosis and we were awarded higher rate. 

Please no judgement, I'm not a money grabber or greedy. I am just trying to get by mentally and financially. 

  • I’m not entirely sure, but I think you’d be better off if you were still working. If you were able to cut your hours down to the bare minimum, perhaps 16 hours you can claim UC on top of everything else, including carers allowance.

  • I agree with the others you will need to go to a benefits calculator and fill it in as though you have  no job to see what you are entitled to then compare to your current income. The amount you get won’t necessarily be the same as others even if the circumstances seem very similar. With my own dealings with the benefits system I doubt you will get as much as you earn unless maybe you’re at minimum wage but there may be costs you’re cutting back on as well if you’re not working

  • Hi.  You seem to have already answered your own question, if struggling with parenting your son and also 1:1 with a special needs child at work.  Only you can know if you can keep that going mentally and physically.  As for how you would cope financially then you can use a benefits calculator to check what you'd get overall, and then work out how you could manage with that, may mean cutting back but if that helps you manage better then that's better your family.

    It might take weeks, or months, to get his DLA increased though, so bare that in mind.

  • If you put Benefits Calculator into a search engine there are government calculators to help you work out your entitlement. Wondering if that would help you.