Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘It’s like I’m stuck on a hamster’s wheel’
SINGLE mum Hazel Ratcliffe works part-time as a personal care assistant.
The 37-year-old has looked after sons Daniel, 17 and Steven, 15, on her own since their dad walked out when Steven was one.
She said: “Since then I’ve either struggled on benefits or I have been working. But with just one income it’s never been enough.
“I have worked full-time for a good, decent wage and then I have worked part-time for minimum wage and there’s never been much difference. Life can feel like a hamster’s wheel. I am working and pushing myself so hard but feel like I’m stuck.”
Hazel, from Fife, works 20 hours a week for minimum wage and is studying sociology part-time, hoping to find better-paid work. Her income of £700 a month is swallowed up by her rent and she relies on tax credits and child benefit – both of which have been frozen by the Tories – to make ends meet.
She said: “Every week I have school dinner money to give the boys, diesel for my car, food for the house. Most weeks I manage, but it involves rigid meal planning.
“I live in private rented accommodation. Benefits should loosen the constraints of low pay and high rents. The Government needs to increase benefits to match inflation.
“The minimum wage needs to be more like the living wage and make sure work is a route to a decent quality of life.”