Research by Action for Children reveals why parents on sickness benefits struggle to get back into work. With welfare spending on disabilities and sickness projected to reach £100bn by the end of the decade, the charity carried out a survey and in-depth interviews with parents in sickness (incapacity) benefits to better understand the pressures they face and the solutions to getting more of them back into paid employment.
Among parents who felt their health or disability didn’t rule out work completely in the future, Action for Children found the most common barriers to returning to paid employment included:
- Being too unwell to work or work more right now (35 per cent);
- Not getting the treatment they need from the NHS (23 per cent);
- A lack of suitable or flexible jobs (23 cent);
- A lack of remote jobs (20 per cent); and
- A fear of losing benefits if they try work (20 per cent).
Only 8 per cent of parent claimants reported to Action for Children that stress or anxiety is their primary health condition. Overall, 29 per cent of parents reported a mental health condition as their primary health condition.
Financial impact on families
The research highlights the financial impact of living on incapacity benefits is having on families, with nearly three in ten (29 per cent) falling behind on bills.
Among parents reported experiencing difficulties, a third (32 per cent) said their child had gone without new clothes or shoes when they needed them, while three in ten (30 per cent) said their child had not always eaten as nutritiously as they would have liked. One in seven (14 per cent) said their child had not always eaten three meals a day.
One of the parents the charity interviewed said, ‘I use foodbanks. I try to eat just two meals a day rather than three. The local reverend has an unofficial foodbank, and sometimes he has food vouchers for Aldi, so when we're desperate for stuff we ask the local reverend. No, we don't have money. Forget new clothes. We don't have money for anything.’
Emotional impact
When asked how their work and health situation had affected their own emotional wellbeing in the past month, half of parents (50 per cent) receiving incapacity benefits felt worried or anxious about meeting bills or costs. Nearly half (48 per cent) of parents felt down or depressed.
More than four in ten (44 per cent) were worried about the Government making changes to their benefits; and about their children missing out on things due to their financial situation (45 per cent).
Solutions for returning to work
Among all parents on incapacity benefits, when asked what could help them to return to work in future, more than a third (36 per cent) wanted investment in NHS mental health services.
More than a quarter (26 per cent) argued the public sector needed to create more flexible jobs for disabled people, and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) called for more specialist advisers in jobcentres.
Parents taking part in the research said they were also frequently unhappy with their interactions with the DWP and the quality of support on offer for those who wanted to explore a return to work.
Action for Children’s chief executive, Paul Carberry, said, ‘Trying to give your children the best start in life while managing a health condition or disability can be an incredibly difficult thing in itself. Add to that the daily battle to make ends meet on benefits that barely cover the basics and it’s clear why so many families are in such a precarious position.
‘Parents relying on these benefits routinely face real insecurity, juggling bills and debts while their children miss out on things most would regard as necessities. Our findings show many of these parents may never be well enough to work and it’s vital they are supported to live in security and dignity.’
The charity says it wants to see the Government chart a ‘new course’ at next week’s Budget, calling for:
- Investment in specialist advisors in the new Jobs and Careers Service to lead all contact with those who are out of work due to disability or ill-health;
- Abandonment of proposals to abolish the Work Capability Assessment that would mean generalist work coaches decide what work requirements are applied to sick and disabled incapacity benefit claimants;
- The rules on flexible working for employees with health conditions and disabilities to be strengthened, and bring forward proposals for increasing the supply of highly flexible and remote working opportunities; and
- The two-child limit and benefit cap policies to be scrapped, and increase the child element of Universal Credit to address the high levels of poverty and hardship in low-income families with children.
