Advice, possibly quitting work

mumtothree

hi I have a recently diagnosed 17 year old, he hardly leaves the house and just sits in his room, my query is I work 30 hours a week this appears to be increasing each week and I’m struggling with childcare for my younger child as my 17 year old looks after him. I’m thinking about giving up work completely to care for my autistic 17 year old as I feel he is needing me more and more each day, also to take the pressure off him, will I be entitled to do this and how would I get the ball rolling? I just don’t know what else to do, I’ve always worked but as a single mum it’s becoming more and more difficult to arrange childcare, my 17 year old says he doesn’t mind babysitting but I feel it’s becoming too much for him, any advice on this would be great. 
Thank you

Threesticks

Hi and welcome , I'm no expert on this, but maybe this is a starting point for you. I'm sure there are far more qualified to answer your question than myself.

https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim

poppy123456

Hi,

It's not as simple as giving up work. Universal credit is the only benefit possible to claim now and a sanction could quite possibly be given if you quit work, even to look after your children.

Does your 17 year old claim PIP or DLA?

mumtothree

He gets high rate pip for his autism and hyper mobility 

poppy123456

Is that daily living or mobility part? If it's the daily living part which will allow you to claim the carers element of universal credit, you can still be sanctioned for 6 months for giving up work and you'll most likely need to send some evidence to support your reasons for quitting your job.

If you do claim UC then any housing benefit and tax credits you claim will transfer to UC. Housing benefit will be paid for a further 2 weeks once you claim UC. It takes 5 weeks to receive your first UC payment.

I would visit your local CAB for a full benefits check and further advice before quitting your job.

mumtothree

Brilliant thank you I am on the hunt for something with less hours so I can be at home a bit more... thanks for the advice 

mikehughescq

You do not do anything until you have 

a) sought face to face advice about your benefit choices, and,
b) spoken to your employer with regard to your options.

Threesticks

@mikehughescq Sound advice.

poppy123456

poppy123456 said:

I would visit your local CAB for a full benefits check and further advice before quitting your job.

Which is exactly what i advised here.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @mumtothree, how are you getting on? Have you come to any decision?