Issues at work

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  • Seriously check some of the OP's other threads, particularly in the child support forum.
    I was about to walk away from this thread but now you have got me really interested again.
  • I think this whole notion of "assumed shared finances" is becoming a bit old fashioned as more and more people now have totally separate finances.
    No it isn't, if people want to claim benefits then they have to accept that these are the rules.


    If people could declare their finances as being separate from their partner's finances then basically if one partner had a good job earning say £30,000 a year and the other was unemployed by your reckoning the unemployed partner could put in a claim for JSA and claim HB / LHA for their half of the rent.


    I am sorry but this just wouldn't work.


    If two people live together then they should actually claim as a couple as to not do so is committing benefit fraud and it is one of the most common types.


    For example, two people have a child together but only one of them has a job earning £30,000 a year and they rent a property which costs £150 a week.


    If this couple lives together and shares their household income then the only benefit that they would receive on top of the £30,000 salary would be £20.70 of Child Benefit a week.


    The couple would be expected to pay their £150 a week rent, council tax of £1,142.52 a year and everything else.


    Now what people have been known to do is for the couple to make it look as if they don't live together, for example by the working partner to say that they live with their own parents and then meanwhile the partner with the child would claim benefits as if they were a single person.


    So in this scenario, they would not only receive JSA of £73.10 a week, Child Tax Credit of £64.02 and Child Benefit of £20.70 but also LHA of £150 a week to cover their rent and £20.10 Council Tax Support to cover 91.5% of their Council Tax Bill.


    NOT forgetting of course that apart from giving their parents a few quid a week or not the working partner still has most of their £30,000 salary to spend on whatever they choose as all of the essential living costs have already been taken care of.


    Do you still think that it is not right to work out income as a household as opposed to individually??
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
    I just feel for the child. Adults can be as selfish and egotistical as they want on their own, but to subject a child to such paternal "care " is saddening. Whatever happened to responsibility?
  • I just feel for the child. Adults can be as selfish and egotistical as they want on their own, but to subject a child to such paternal "care " is saddening. Whatever happened to responsibility?
    It all seems like a very strange set up to me.


    They are living together now but in two months she is moving out, I could understand that because relationships do break down and people have to move on but then I read this -
    "When she leaves I don't see why I have to include her on the form? We're together though"


    So I take that as meaning that she will be in a flat with their child and he will be living alone BUT they will still be in a relationship, what on Earth is that all about?


    I am confused by this whole situation and it makes me wonder how confusing it will be for their child.
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite

    I am confused by this whole situation and it makes me wonder how confusing it will be for their child.

    FYI - the other thread is http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5462422 - the one you looked at yesterday was a repeat of an earlier one.

    As I said, one can only feel for this poor child. Being a parent is about so much more than genetics. And I can say that with confidence because both my children are adopted.
  • Mersey_2
    Mersey_2 Posts: 1,679 Forumite
    Not everyone wants to discuss their personal finances with their girlfriend - I have always been a believer in totally separate finances unless you are planning on marriage.
    Sorry but in the eyes of the law a couple living together is exactly the same as a married couple for the purposes of benefits.

    Basically the DWP will look at the total household income and work hours and decide what the household is eleigible for.

    If the OP was to claim for JSA or UC as a single person, he would actually be committing benefit fraud.



    That's nonsense if a claimant claims contributions-based JSA.


    They are entitled to it based on their NICs (hence it's name).


    [But true for means-tested benefits]
    Please be polite to OPs and remember this is a site for Claimants and Appellants to seek redress against their bank, ex-boss or retailer. If they wanted morality or the view of the IoD or Bank they'd ask them.
  • boliston
    boliston Posts: 3,012
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    I just feel for the child. Adults can be as selfish and egotistical as they want on their own, but to subject a child to such paternal "care " is saddening. Whatever happened to responsibility?
    It all seems like a very strange set up to me.


    They are living together now but in two months she is moving out, I could understand that because relationships do break down and people have to move on but then I read this -
    "When she leaves I don't see why I have to include her on the form? We're together though"


    So I take that as meaning that she will be in a flat with their child and he will be living alone BUT they will still be in a relationship, what on Earth is that all about?


    I am confused by this whole situation and it makes me wonder how confusing it will be for their child.

    Some people get on really well but just not so well living together - you can easily have a relationship without living together. Some people even marry yet live apart!
  • SkyeKnight
    SkyeKnight Posts: 513 Forumite
    tomtom256 wrote: »
    She is currently living with you, ergo you need to declare her as your resident partner.

    When she vacates you then declare she has vacated, it's really not that hard or complicated to tell the truth.

    That won't make any difference to the claim though. If you are a couple, you are still a couple when you live apart. Eg. if someone has a flat in the city near where they work but their family lives in another house in the country they still have to claim together.
  • ffacoffipawb
    ffacoffipawb Posts: 3,593
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    I hope you mean you are in a relationship and have a child rather than in a relationship with a child!

    Depends if his employer is the BBC or not?
  • tomtom256
    tomtom256 Posts: 2,208
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    SkyeKnight wrote: »
    That won't make any difference to the claim though. If you are a couple, you are still a couple when you live apart. Eg. if someone has a flat in the city near where they work but their family lives in another house in the country they still have to claim together.

    The clue is in the "resident partner" if they do not live together she is not a resident partner!

    It all depends on whether the partner has a main/sole residence different to the claimant, not all partners live in a flat for work purposes!
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