Valerie's reality
I am a mother of two and I have fibromyalgia. In 2024, I started receiving Universal Credit after could no longer work due to health reasons
Applying for benefits took a long time and was very difficult. I sought advice from the Jobcentre, the Universal Credit phone line, Citizen's Advice and various other sources, yet I still found it confusing and stressful. The system is largely automated, and the website you use to apply provides next to no relevant information pertaining to the stages of application.
During the process I made a mistake that delayed my families first payment and temporarily plunged me into debt because I was forced to borrow money from a family member. A simple explainer on the website could have prevented this mistake and the debt we fell into.
Despite frequent communication and requests for the problem to be resolved swiftly, I was met with little leniency from the Jobcentre who seemed to see no urgency in looking into it. It felt like they didn’t treat us like real people.
While applying me and my partner went to the Jobcentre and sadly this experience was nothing short of excruciating. We both left feeling humiliated, demoralised and dehumanised. It felt like an interrogation, and it was highly insulting to be treated like a fool just because things have happened in my life that were out of my control and prevented me from reaching my full potential. It was made clear to me that I didn’t look like what the Job Centre staff assumed someone with severe anxiety and chronic pain should look like and behave.
My partner's experience during the interview was difficult for different reasons. He is self-employed and has spent close to fifteen years building his own business out of nothing, entirely under his own steam. This business has supported our family for almost twelve years; we are so proud of it, and invested in it, but of course it is only one job - hence the requirement for extra help. My physical and mental inability meant I had to forgo a stable career. It was a knife in the back when the Jobcentre staff said that if my partner couldn’t meet the required financial targets for self-employed people, he would be forced into 'paid work' and the business would have to become 'more of a side hustle'. The Jobcentre staff member then proceeded to make it clear that he felt this was the most likely outcome. I am proud to say my partner met the targets and kept his business.
It felt like the rug of security being pulled from under our feet. To add insult to injury, the language used in ALL avenues you go down with the Jobcentre/benefits office borders on threatening - this includes the people you are required to meet or correspond with, the websites, the online portals, and the phone line. As a result, you end up terrified of making a mistake or getting something wrong. I still feel anxious when I have to log into the portal to make monthly reports, in case I mess it up.
Before all this happened, I felt like I may have been in danger of subscribing to the general attitude I feel exists in the UK about people who receive benefits. Now my opinion is very different. Anyone, from any walk of life, can find themselves in trouble financially, and it is not always poor choices or poor attitude that leads to that end. Anyone's mental health can flip. Anyone's physical health can fail. There is stigma to being on benefits and I am reticent with information about my situation for fear of judgement. In that respect, being on benefits in the UK can feel almost taboo- something to keep private and feel embarrassed about. This is sad, because in reality, the vast majority of us are just normal people trying to live life the best way we can, raise our families and find whatever happiness there is in life despite the hardships we face.