Jobs for Single Mums in the UK

Being a single parent is a difficult juggling act, particularly when you’re parenting younger children. You’ve got all the usual stuff that goes with being a parent, but none of the support of parenting with a partner. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t work. Yes, it might be more difficult to find something that fits in with the kids, but there are lots of jobs for single Mums in the UK that could fit in perfectly.

If you make the decision to parent alone, it can be super scary. Not only does it often mean that you need to acknowledge the situation and begin to understand what is the difference between violence and abuse before you can move forward, you need to prepare yourself. But the good news is, you can create a life, living, and income for yourself in order to do this.

Parenting on your own can be financially difficult, so being able to work as a lone parent can make a real difference. It’s a horrible feeling to not know how you’re going to be able to pay your bills, or how you’re even going to be able to afford to eat, so finding a job that works for you and your kids is hugely important.

Careers for Single Parents That Offer Flexibility

One of the key issues as a single parent to young children is that it can be a real struggle to find a job that fits in with taking care of the kids. Many jobs these days offer flexible hours which can be a real lifeline for anyone who needs to fit work in around looking after the children.

As the children get older, things become a little easier as you can usually manage to leave them home for a few hours after school whilst you’re working. But this doesn’t help if your children are still primary school age or even early teens. If you have to pay for childcare, then you may wonder whether it’s financially viable for you to go out to work. If all of your wages are being eaten up by childcare costs, then what’s the point? Thankfully, there is support available to help with childcare fees, or you may be able to ask a family member to help out, but it can still be tricky to find work that fits in.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, lots of jobs that were once office-based are now home-based which makes them much more accessible for a lone parent struggling for childcare options. Many businesses realised that allowing their employees to work from home cut down on their costs and their staff were just as productive if not more productive when they worked from home.

I’ve put together a list of jobs for single Mums and Dads in the UK. Hopefully, there’s something here that will fit in with your personal circumstances and get you on the right track to getting back out to work.

Phone Interviewer

Telephone interviewers these days usually work from home and many companies offer flexible working hours. The type of work you would be doing varies from company to company, but there are lots of telemarketing positions which involve calling people and asking for information.

This job needs somebody who is confident on the phone and you will need to have a quiet space in order to make the calls. But the flexibility means that you might be able to work when the children are at school or in the evenings after they’ve gone to bed.

Childcare Provider

When our children were younger, I trained as a self-employed childminder. This meant that I was able to stay at home with our children whilst also earning money by looking after other people’s children too.

Being a childminder definitely isn’t easy, and it won’t suit everybody. The hours can be long as you may have parents that start work early in the morning or don’t finish until late in the evening. I had one young boy who would get dropped off at 7am some mornings. Fortunately, this little boy was a similar age to my daughter who was an early riser, and the two of them got on brilliantly, so it worked really well for us.

If you do want to become a childminder, there are certain criteria you need to meet and you will need to register with Ofsted.

Cleaner

Being a cleaner can often fit well around school hours as many people like cleaners to go in their houses when everyone’s out at work and school so they can give the house a really deep clean.

You could look for jobs for existing cleaning companies, or even start your own cleaning business which would give you complete control of the hours you work.

Care in the Community

When I was at university, I had a part-time job doing care in the community. I only had a few clients and they were ones that I could fit in around my lectures. I had one lady I would call in to every day on my way home. I would make her something to eat, have a tidy round and just generally chat with her. I loved that job and it worked really well for me.

Being a carer isn’t for everybody, but it is an incredibly rewarding role and taking on just a few clients can work well for single-parent families.

Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant works from home helping with various admin tasks. Virtual Assistants may work in a similar role to Administrative Assistants with large businesses, or they may work with professional bloggers. The tasks a Virtual Assistant may be asked to do can be extremely varied. Some may just focus on specific areas, whilst others may take on more varied jobs.

Here are some of the tasks that a Virtual Assistant may do:

• Managing social media accounts
• Responding to emails
• Answering calls
• Typing
• Writing content
• Sourcing work

Data Entry Clerk

Data entry jobs are often home-based and all you’ll usually need is a laptop or computer and internet access.

These jobs usually involve entering data into an online system. They don’t usually need any specific qualifications and people are able to learn on the job.

Blogger

Blogging is now my full-time job and it works perfectly around my three children. I can work when I want to and I love what I do. In my opinion, blogging is up there with the best of the jobs for single Mums in the UK. Many bloggers actually start their blogging journey by sharing their lives as parents so it fits in really well with family life.

Blogging isn’t a quick money-earner though. It’s taken me 7 years to get to the point where I blog full-time and I run multiple blogs in order to make a full-time income. But, if you enjoy blogging, and you’re willing to put in the hard work and learn all about things like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) then the sooner you get started the better.

But how do bloggers make their money? For me, it’s mainly through paid posts, but there are a few other ways too:

• Sponsorships
• Adverts
• Affiliate income
• Paid guest posts

Bloggers who blog full-time have worked hard to be in that position, it’s not easy, but if you enjoy it then it doesn’t really feel like work.

Freelance Writer

If you’re gifted with words, then you could work as a freelance writer. This is another job that can be fitted around the children as you can work as and when you want to.

Freelance writers earn their money by writing for other people. This might be writing for online magazines, writing for bloggers, or writing articles for businesses. The job can be incredibly varied.

Initially, you will need to build up a reputation, so you might need to be prepared to work for lower fees whilst you build up a portfolio.

Proofreader

After I had our youngest child, I decided I didn’t want to continue childminding. With three of my own children, one being a newborn, it felt like too much to bring any more children into the house every day. Some people manage to do that, but for me it just felt like a step too far. I landed a job working from home as a proofreader and that worked really well for over five years. Initially, I was taken on for 16 hours per week but eventually I was working 36 hours per week. I loved the job and I was able to work mornings and evenings. I had family to help me out with my youngest in the mornings until he started school, and I worked in the evenings when my husband came home. There was some scope for flexible hours with the evening shift so this worked really well for us.

Proofreading is pretty self-explanatory. You are paid to read through articles, books or other text and check them for errors. You need to be pretty alert and have a good grasp of English language and grammar but you don’t really need any specific qualifications in order to get started.

Some proofreaders are employed by a company like I was, whilst others are self-employed and seek out their own work.

Graphic Designer

Graphic Designers design the images and print for all kinds of things including printed brochures, websites, adverts, and even instruction manuals.

Graphic Designers are often recruited on a per project basis meaning that they’re not tied to any one job in the long term. This might allow you to take on just a couple of hours work at a time rather than committing to long projects that might be difficult to work around with your childcare responsibilities.

Graphic design isn’t difficult to get into, but you may need to build up a portfolio of work as evidence of your capabilities in order to get paid work.

Teacher, Teacher Assistant, or School Admin Role

One of the biggest benefits of working in a school is that you will get school holidays off so you won’t need to worry about childcare arrangements when the children are off school.

There are lots of different roles based in schools, but they are mainly – school teacher, teacher assistant or school office work. You will need to be qualified as a teacher in order to work as a school teacher, but you may be able to find work as a teaching assistant or office staff without any qualifications.

Customer Service Representative

Customer Service reps are there to answer queries and complaints from customers. This is usually done either on the telephone, online via live chat, or by answering emails. Since Covid-19, many businesses have moved their customer service roles to home-based making them a good option for lone parents looking to work from home.

Social Media Manager

Social media is absolutely huge for businesses and it’s only going to increase in popularity over the coming years. Many businesses hire people purely to run their social media accounts. This involves creating new posts, building up follower numbers and getting followers engaged in your content.

Web Developer

Web Developers use computer programming to build websites, build online tools, and fix problems with websites. This job can be quite involved and you do need to know what you’re doing!

Online Seller

There are all kinds of different ways you could make money by selling stuff online.

You could start re-selling which involves buying things at a discounted rate and selling them on for a profit.

Or, if you’re crafty or arty, you could start making products to sell online. Take a look at Etsy for some ideas of the kinds of products that people love to buy.

If you do love to craft, then take a look at this guide for setting up your own craft shop.

Bookkeeper

If you’re good with numbers, then bookkeeping can be a great job for a single parent to work during school hours.

Fitness Instructor

If health and fitness is your thing, then you could work as a fitness instructor around your children. During Covid, many fitness instructors took their classes online, and many still do that today. These virtual classes mean you can film your tutorials at home around your children and other single parents can join your classes in their own homes too. It cuts out the need to find childcare and if you enjoy keeping fit this has to be one of the best jobs for single Mums you could find.

Uber Driver

As an Uber Driver, you can work as many or as few hours as you like. Uber Drivers are self-employed meaning you can don’t have to work set times or a certain number of hours. If you need jobs for single Mums, then this could be a great role for you as you can fit it in around school hours. You will need your own vehicle and you will be responsible for maintaining your car. There are other expenses too including the Uber service fee, so make sure you do your research before diving in.

Deliveroo Driver

Another potentially great job for single parents is working as a Deliveroo driver. Again, you can pick and choose the hours you work so you could just work when the kids are at school, or work on the evenings when your children are with their other parent.

Getting Back into work as a single parent

As the primary caregiver for young children, many single parents have taken some time out of work in order to look after their children. This can make getting back out to work quite daunting, particularly if you have responsibility for the children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

But, jobs for single Mums can be about more than bringing in money. Obviously being able to afford to keep a roof over our heads and put food on the table is one of the most important reasons for going back out to work, but it’s also good for mental health too. Working can give you a sense of achievement from something other than just being a parent. It can really make you realise your worth and can also add a social element back into your life that doesn’t revolve around childrens’ playgroups too.

But taking that first step can be pretty scary.

Getting support from others

Firstly, it’s really important to realise that you’re not on your own. Being a single parent can feel very isolating, but there are organisations that can help. Check out the single parent groups through the Gingerbread charity. They work really hard to help single parents and just talking to others going through similar things can be really valuable. You can get first hand advice about jobs for single mums and dads from people who have been there themselves.

Financial Support – Benefits You May Receive

Many single parents wonder whether going back out to work is actually worth it. If you know you’re going to have to pay childcare fees then the average salary for some roles may make you question whether you’re doing the right thing or not.

Depending on how much you’re going to earn, there are some benefits that you might be entitled to, so it’s worth looking into so that you can make an informed decision:

• Universal Credit
• Income Support
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit
• Council Tax Reduction
• Housing Benefit
• 30 Hours Free Childcare

Is it worth me looking at jobs for single mums?

Only you can decide whether now is the right time for you to start working as a single parent. But, for me, working is about so much more than just bringing extra money into the house. Working can be just as important for your mental wellbeing as it is for your bank balance. These jobs for single Mums in the UK could be just what you’re looking for.