A single parent who works as a teaching assistant has said that she will have to give up her job and rely on benefits as flaws in the Universal Credit system mean that she can no longer afford to stay in work.
Katrina Lear-Parkes, 36, from the West Midlands, is a single parent to a 3-year-old boy. She was in care as a child, spent time homeless during her teenage years, and says she has no family to rely on for financial support.
She earns the minimum wage and claims some financial assistance through Universal Credit to help support herself and her son. However, the government’s new benefits system has left her worse off in work than when she was claiming benefits, she said.
Under Universal Credit, benefits are paid in a single, monthly amount, with a set monthly “assessment period” over which a claimant’s entitlement is calculated.
Lear-Parkes told BuzzFeed News that her assessment period for Universal Credit runs from the 28th of one month until the 27th of the next. Before Christmas, she was paid on Nov. 30 and then again on Dec. 21, and so was assessed as having being paid £2,000 in earnings from her teaching assistant job during one assessment period.
“They confirmed yesterday [Jan. 3] that this impacts on February’s Universal Credit payment and I will receive nothing from Universal Credit,” she told BuzzFeed News. “Bearing in mind my UC payment yesterday was just shy of £700, they expect me to pay two lots of nursery fees out of that £700. They said this will happen a few times a year whenever there are two pay dates in one assessment period.”
Her problems are compounded by the fact that she also has to pay a total of £130 per month back to the DWP, because of an administrative error that led to an overpayment of her first Universal Credit payment, as well as money she owes for an advance she had to take out to cover nursery fees.
“Of course I am now very worried when I get UC payments — I am worried about them asking for it back,” she said.
Before she started working, Lear-Parkes was getting £943 every month as well as free prescriptions, full council tax reduction, and no child care costs. Since going back to work, she has seen her travel costs increase by £50 and her council tax increase from £15 per month to £95; she pays nursery fees of £585 per month, which she was told 85% would be covered by Universal Credit payments, but she has not received a payment. She also says she is not receiving the free prescriptions for her asthma that she thinks she might be entitled to.
“It says that you get free prescriptions if your Universal Credit is lower than £800, however, I receive fine letters through the post and it really isn’t clear who is eligible for the free scripts,” she said. “Once the fine process has started it’s very scary, so I just cannot even attempt to claim them due to my Universal Credit payment fluctuations, and I am unsure of how the prescription service is updated as to your income. It’s not worth the worry of court and fines.”
Lear-Parkes told BuzzFeed News that she wants to be in work, but the government’s new benefits system makes it very financially difficult for her to do so.
“I simply wanted to go back to work,” she said. “I wasn’t threatened with sanctions or anything, my son is only three — although they did tell me I needed to start looking. I have always been trying to get back into work since my position was made redundant three years ago. I had a decent job at £27,000, since then it’s been a nightmare.”
Lear-Parkes tweeted her story out in the hope of drawing attention to problems with the system. She told BuzzFeed News that the government needs to reconsider how Universal Credit is implemented.
Dear @AmberRuddHR and my local MP @margot_james_mp . I am tweeting to implore you to look further into the awfulness that is #universalcredit And the impact it is having on people like me. In 2018 I successfully secured a job as a teaching assistant and this is where the (1)
“They need to actually live in the shoes of people like me and understand this isn’t a choice for us, we are vulnerable and do not have savings,” she said. “I am a single mother and have a very difficult life as a care leaver, I do not have family to fall back on or any savings to get me through this.
“All I want is to work, provide for my child, and be able to buy items myself or my son need without feeling anxious about paying bills. I work really hard and leave the house at 6:45 every day to get to work on foot and public transport. I don’t get home until 5:30pm.
“It’s an exhausting day for my son, but when I first started I thought it would be worth it and improve our lives, but it is actually negatively impacting our lives due to the debts for Universal Credit and increase in outgoings.”
Lear-Parkes told BuzzFeed News that she now sees no option but to take her son out of nursery because if she pays the fees, she will not have enough left over to last until the next payment arrives. Even with the 30 hours of free child care offered by the government, her costs are still in excess of £500 per month.
“I have had to inform the nursery today that I cannot pay for January’s fees as I will have no Universal Credit payment in February, so I have to cancel his placement today,” she told BuzzFeed News.
She added: “I will have to inform my employer on Monday I cannot come in due to child care issues as I have had to end his placement. Meaning I will have to go back into Universal Credit only, but they have threatened to sanction me for 13 weeks if I do this. I do not see I have a choice.”
After sharing her story, other people on Twitter asked how they could help, and more than two dozen people have since donated to a crowdfunder to help her get out of debt.
“I am so grateful to everyone that has reached out, shared messages of support, given us donations, and shared our story,” she said. “It’s made such a difference knowing people really do care, and how kind people are to a total stranger. I know people are helping without any expectation of anything in return and that is utterly humbling and has felt so warm.”
After BuzzFeed News contacted the DWP, Lear-Parkes said she received a call from the Job Centre offering her £200, which she said would not be enough to keep her in work, so she declined the money.
A DWP spokesperson said: “Jobcentre Plus staff have been in touch with Ms Lear-Parkes today to provide financial assistance to help her meet her immediate childcare costs.
“And going forward, she will be provided with ongoing budgeting support. Universal Credit offers parents tailored support, taking into account their childcare responsibilities.”
CORRECTION
Katrina Lear-Parkes pays £130 a month back to the DWP. An earlier version of this post said it was £70.