You don’t have to look for work, go to work-focused interviews or prepare for work.
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Our community membership is open to all single parents in England and Wales and gives you access to local and online support, news and events.
Register nowPart of claiming Universal Credit is agreeing to spend a certain amount of time each week either working or looking for work. This could be up to 35 hours, depending on the age of your children and your circumstances.
You’ll have to agree to this in something called a claimant commitment – and it’s important to make sure this works for you as a single parent. Your Universal Credit work coach will talk to you about how you can move into employment. This is called a work-focused interview. Depending on your situation, you might have to look for work, go on a training course, do some work placement or update your CV. This will be recorded in your claimant commitment.
If you don’t do what you say you will in your claimant commitment, your payments might be reduced or even stopped. This is called being sanctioned.
This page explains the rules around working and looking for work that apply to most single parents claiming Universal Credit. The rules will be different if:
Note: The government introduced changes to the rules around work for single parents with children between 3 and 12 on 25th October 2023. We have updated this page with information on the new rules and will add to it when more details are known.
You don’t have to look for work, go to work-focused interviews or prepare for work.
You might be told to go to work-focused interviews – your work coach will let you know how many. It’s important to go to these to keep your Universal Credit payments.
You don’t have to prepare for or look for work, but you can if you want to.
You might be told to go to work-focused interviews – your work coach will let you know how many. You might also be asked to prepare for work. It’s important to do this to keep your Universal Credit payments.
You’ll usually be expected to look for work and take any job that’s offered to you. You won’t be asked to spend more than 30 hours a week working or looking for work.
If you take a job, let your work coach know as soon as possible. You can claim help with your childcare costs for at least a month before you start work.
You might also be asked to go to work-focused interviews and prepare for work. It’s important to do what you agree to keep your Universal Credit payments.
You’ll usually be expected to look for work and take any job that’s offered to you. You won’t be asked to spend more than 30 hours a week working or looking for work.
If you take a job, let your work coach know as soon as possible. You can claim help with your childcare costs for at least a month before you start work.
You might also be asked to go to work-focused interviews and prepare for work. It’s important to do what you agree to keep your Universal Credit payments.
You’ll usually be expected to look for work and take any job that’s offered to you. You won’t be asked to spend more than 35 hours a week working or looking for work.
If you take a job, let your work coach know as soon as possible. You can claim help with your childcare costs for at least a month before you start work.
You might also be asked to go to work focused interviews and prepare for work. It’s important to do what you agree to keep your Universal Credit payments.
It’s important to take action if you feel you’re being asked to do too much as a single parent. If you think your claimant commitment doesn’t reflect your circumstances, you can ask for this to be changed at any time.
You can also talk to us or ask Citizens Advice for advice.
The circumstances your work coach should take into account include:
Date last updated: 9 November 2023