The decision about
whether to return to work is a difficult one, no matter what age your
children are. From October 2008, if your youngest child is aged 12 or
over, you'll move onto Jobseeker's Allowance. From October 2009, that
age will be lowered to ten, and in October 2010 it will be seven. If
your child is younger than seven, it's your choice whether to return to
work or not. Here we look at what to think about before returning to
work.
Consider the pros and cons
It's
a big decision whether to look after your children full-time or go back
to work and arrange childcare. It's all about finding the right balance
between bringing up your children, supporting yourself and getting
enjoyment from life.
Being a full-time parent can enable you to focus all your energy on
bringing up your children. If you go back to work you'll probably have
more money and the opportunity to progress in your career. This is very
much your decision, but you can get help from organisations like the
ones at the end of our FAQs section.
Part-time work
If you want to go back to work you could consider taking a
part-time job at first, especially if you've been off work for a number
of years. It's normal to feel that going from full-time homemaker to
having a full-time job and caring for your children is a big step to
take.
A part-time job can help you to ease your way back in, fine-tune
your skills and get used to the working world again. You'll be able to
keep in touch with the world of work but still spend plenty of time
with your children. You might want to think about getting advice before
changing your situation because it could affect your benefits. Your
local Jobcentre Plus or Citizens' Advice Bureaux should be able to help
with this.
An action plan for returning to work
If you want to return to work but don't know where to start, you could try our step-by-step approach.
You could start by assessing your skills. This will give you an idea
of what your strengths are and which skills you might want to work on.
Our skills and interests assessment can also give you ideas for which
jobs might suit you best:
If you'd like to talk to somebody, one of our careers coach can help
you choose the right job for you. You can call free on 0800 100 900.
They can also help you to:
- find courses
- look into volunteering as a way of developing work skills
- consider which jobs would fit around your parenting
- draw up an action plan.
If you'd like advice on your childcare options, you can read our section on finding and paying for childcare.
If you're not ready for work just yet, you could try these steps to ease your way back into the working world:
- do a 'return to work' course
- volunteering to help your local community
- do a short course in something you're interested in – family history, creative writing, arts and crafts etc.
You can get more advice on easing your way back into work in our section on returning to work or learning. You can read about the range of courses on offer in our choosing the right course section.
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