Summer holidays are a nightmare – people treat me like a scumbag because I claim UC
FOR some parents, the summer holidays are the ideal opportunity to spend time with their children.
But that doesn’t apply to single mother Amy Rose Jackson, who finds the six long weeks stressful.
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The brunette beauty – whose only family is her father – recently took to TikTok to vent about trying to work while her daughter was off school.
“God forbid my wages are £1 below Universal Credit [threshold] – because then I’ll be treated like the absolute scum of the earth.”
Amy, who claims to have been working since she was 14, says she never intended to “have a child with someone and it didn’t work out.”
“I’ve worked my whole life — and you know, life happens. I work as much as I can and it’s still not considered good enough, all the time,” she bravely opened up in the video.
Amy added that she also didn’t fancy having a ‘stuffy’ nanny look after her daughter while she was at work and that her ex-partner ‘can do whatever he wants whenever he wants’.
Unlike the child’s father, who she says can also work without any problems, Amy always has to think ‘twice’ and consider all aspects.
According to the single woman, even the ten-hour shift she works once a week is “hell”, because “nine times out of ten” she has to leave early.
Although her employer is accommodating, Amy admitted she didn’t like having to drive half an hour to pick up her daughter — and then having her school-age daughter wait at work.
When asked for advice on how to make money from home, the frustrated mother admitted she was living from week to week and had no savings to fall back on.
“Sometimes I feel like crying because it feels like it’s too much,” said Amy, who insisted she deserved help.
“I’ve worked all my life, never borrowed money – everything I’ve done, I’ve done on my own, and I still do.”
The young woman – who said she was willing to “sell pictures of feet” – claimed she had applied for six cleaning jobs in the past week but had not heard anything back yet.
The stress was only compounded when Universal Credit reportedly deducted around £500 from Amy’s benefits because she missed a phone call.
“I’m down again, I’m in debt again, I’m suffocating again.”
Since the clip was posted online, it has been viewed over 15,000 times, with dozens of people responding en masse to give their opinion and offer their help.
One mother wrote: “The only way to do this is to become self-employed, or find a job that is flexible/has school hours, and then UC will pay 85% of the cost of the holiday club at an OFSTED registered location. I totally get you.”
Everything you need to know about Universal Credit
Another parent in a similar situation wrote: “The only solution I found is to use my annual leave for childcare 😩.”
Someone else advised: “Are you entitled to free meals? If so, Google FSM holiday club – often free or very cheap.
“My youngest isn’t entitled to it and I haven’t looked into it, but my older children used to get £4 a day I think!”
A parent chimed in: “There are clubs you can sign your kids up for, I think. It might depend on where you live?
”In Hertfordshire you get a code from the school and you can book free clubs for your kids. They get food too.”
