Help with the costs of finding work or changing job

One of the things that may be worrying you about going for interviews or returning to work is childcare. 

Childcare options

There are lots of different childcare options open to parents, from childminders, playgroups and nurseries to help from friends and family, so it’s worth having a think about what will best suit your family.

Our section on Early Learning and Childcare has lots of advice on finding the right childcare for you, funded provision, help with costs and how you and your wee one can get to start nursery. Our page on returning to work after having a baby also has advice and information to help.

Childcare for interviews

If you’ve been invited to an interview and can’t leave your child with family or friends, you may be able to find a childminder in your area who can look after them for you. Visit the Scottish Childminding Association website to find someone near you. 

Childcare for school age children

If your child is at school, they may be able to go to breakfast and/or after school clubs, plus some schools may offer clubs and other childcare during the holidays. Our page on school age childcare has more information.

Help with costs of childcare

A range of support is available to help working parents meet the costs of childcare. Our page on getting to grips with childcare costs and benefits has more information on help to pay for childcare costs, including free funded hours, Tax-Free childcare, and help through Tax Credits and Universal Credit for childcare.

If you have a 3 or 4 year old, they’ll be eligible for 1140 hours a year of Early Learning and Childcare. This is free to you, funded by the Scottish Government and local authorities. Some 2 year olds are also eligible for funded ELC – you can find out about more about this here.

If you're accessing local authority employability services, speak to your key worker as they may be able to help with costs too.

If you need to arrange childcare in order to attend an interview, you may be able to get help with the costs from the Flexible Support Fund. If you need to make an upfront payment to a childcare provider when you start work, the Flexible Support Fund can meet up to 100% of these costs.

In addition, if you need to arrange childcare in order to attend an interview or if you need to make an upfront payment to a childcare provider when starting work, you may be able to get help with the costs from the Flexible Support Fund. Speak to your Jobcentre Plus Work Coach or employability key worker for more information on the support that may be available to you.

If you’re concerned about the cost of getting to interviews or travelling to a new job before you’ve been paid, then help is at hand.

If you’re claiming Universal Credit and getting support from a Work Coach, talk to them about the support they can offer for interviews and starting work. Your Jobcentre Plus Work Coach may also be able to offer you help from the Flexible Support Fund, which can help pay for things like travel, including bus journeys and even taxis.

You may be able to apply for a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card. This card gives you 50% off some rail and bus travel. You should speak to your Work Coach or contact your nearest Jobcentre to find out more about the card, what travel discounts are available, and how to apply.

ScotRail are also offering people engaged with Jobcentre Plus support free travel to interviews and a Monthly Season ticket for their first month at work. You can find out more about the scheme on the ScotRail website, or by speaking to your Jobcentre Work Coach.

And remember, if you’re under 22 you can travel for free on the bus with a Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme pass. Find out how to apply for your pass here.

You can use the Traveline journey planner to plan your journey.

If you have a physical or mental health condition or are disabled, the Access to Work programme can also help to pay for things like taxi fares or a support worker if you cannot use public transport to travel to work.

The thought of everything you might need to start work may be putting you off, especially if you know you won’t be paid for up to a month, or you may find that you no longer have suitable clothes for work. But there is help available. Your Jobcentre Plus Work Coach may be able to offer you help from the Flexible Support Fund, which can help pay for things like clothing for interviews or to start work, childcare and travel.

If you’re currently unemployed and have a job interview coming up, you can get your interview outfit dry cleaned for free at your local Timpsons.

If you’re disabled, the Access to Work programme can offer practical support for interviews and starting work, for example, paying for a BSL interpreter.

You may find the idea of interviews daunting, but your Work Coach can help you prepare. You can also find lots of practical advice and tips on the My World of Work website about the structure of interviews, what to wear, phone and video interviews and lots more.

If you start a new job or change jobs, this may well affect any benefits or tax credits you’re claiming. You may stop becoming eligible for some benefits and become entitled to others instead. It’s a good idea to chat to your Work Coach about this, as they’ll be able to help you work out what you’ll be entitled to when you start your new job. You can also talk to an adviser at the Money Talk Team. It’s free to contact them, and chatting to them won’t affect anything you’re already claiming.

You can also check using the entitledto benefits calculator, which helps you find out if you’re eligible for benefits from both the UK and Scottish Governments. If you create an account, you can save your information and come back to it later, which is great if you don’t have time to do it all at once.

If you have debts you may be concerned that when you start a new job you’ll need to start paying them off straightaway or your repayments will go up, or if you’ve recently lost your job you may be worried about how you are going to meet monthly repayments in future. 

If you’re in this situation, it’s a good idea to talk to a debt adviser. Worrying about debt can really get you down – but you don’t have to cope alone. Our page on help dealing with debt has advice on what to do if you have debts and where you can get help.

Since the pandemic, more and more people are now working remotely from home. This can be very convenient for parents, but can also bring challenges, especially if you’re starting a new job or have never worked from home before. You may also have concerns about doing interviews remotely, via phone or video. But try not to let it worry you – your Work Coach or key worker will be able to give you advice around remote working and help you prepare. You can also find lots of useful tips on My World of Work and in this article on the S1jobs website.