Would I be better off out of work and on JS?

fawd1

Hi,

i'm just wondering as I'm 3 months pregnant with my first child and have only just started a new job. because of this, I'm only entitled to maternity allowance not SMP, so I'll get only 117 a week, whilst i currently earn 400 a week in my job. Now, what I would like to know is, if I take MA can I claim housing and council tax benefit as well? Because if not, surely I'd be better off not working, and then claiming JS, housing and council tax benefit, which would leave me with some money left every week. About £5 (wooohooo), but with only MA, then I will be left in minus figures every week. Surely this is ridiculous? How can it possibly make sense that the best thing I can do for my family is not work??? Forgot to mention, my OH makes about £18k basic a year, so with both our salaries we are not allowed any working tax credits or anything like that either. It just seems so stupid to me that the government helps you more to do nothing.

mitchaa

You are aware SMP rate is also only £118pw?

The difference being the 1st 6wks by law has to be paid at 90% of your weekly earnings. After 6wks its only basic SMP @ £118pw.

So by you not being eligible for SMP you are only losing out on 6wks at 90% as thats all the difference there is with SMP.

How can you claim JSA if you are not job seeking and due to your partners income its very unlikely you'll be eligible for HB/CTB. In some expensive areas of the UK you would probably get a little help but for the vast majority of areas then its unlikely.

£18k is above the threshold for WTC.

This is what happens when you have a baby, welcome to the big bad horrible world;)

fawd1

I'm fully aware that by being in work i wouldn't be entitled to JS, hence why the title of the thread is Would I better off OUT OF WORK. regardless, I don't think that poverty is "what happens when you have a baby". Being that what I would be entitled to now would mean that our rent and bills wouldn't be covered, i live in London, so to expect a family of three to survive on just over 1.5k a month is virtually ridiculous. rent, bills, transport and council tax alone come to about £1450.

Soubrette

fawd1 I'm not sure if you can claim jobseekers allowance if you voluntarily leave a job?

Sou

misscomickat

You can, but it depends on the circumstances, AND you have to be jobseeking.

mitchaa

Living in London, i would presume you may get a little help with HB. I doubt very much CTB.

fawd1

I'm pretty sure you can, but I get on pretty well with my boss so I think that if it helped me out he'd claim he fired me (sounds odd, he does actually like me). In terms of having to be jobseeking, doesn't that just mean that i have to set up a certain number of interviews every once in a while. From my experience working in a recruitment agency, Job seekers were the worst as we'd get them an interview only for them to not show up. I believe that to claim, you only have to prove you got an interview, not that you made any attempt to get a job. regardless, even if i went to the interview, when I'm 7 months pregnant, whether legal or not, no one is going to give me a job anyway.

misscomickat

I'm fairly sure that if you live with a partner who works, that you're not entitled to JSA anyway (as said partner is expected to support you). Not entirely sure, someone may know.

calleyw

misscomickat wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that if you live with a partner who works, that you're not entitled to JSA anyway (as said partner is expected to support you). Not entirely sure, someone may know.

Depends if they have made enough NI contributions they can get contribution JSA that has nothing to with the household income.

If it was income based and they had a partner who was working then no they would not get it.


Yours


Calley

SuziQ

Being that what I would be entitled to now would mean that our rent and bills wouldn't be covered, i live in London, so to expect a family of three to survive on just over 1.5k a month is virtually ridiculous. rent, bills, transport and council tax alone come to about £1450.

It appears you are falling into that category where you are not quite entitled to any more benefit as your income is just a little too high whilst having to pay all the usual outgoings-this doesn't just happen to couples or families,ask Graham0devon as it's one of his great gripes and I agree with him.I know they have to draw the line somewhere but all the utilities are so high now and going higher,and council tax-like me as a londoner we will get hit with increases due to the olympics too! I can't get help with my mortgage of £600 a month whilst on benefit,yet to rent in this area for me and 3 kids would be just under £1,000 minimum-that would be paid but not mortgage help.
Will your normal ctc go up after having the baby,especially as you get double the £545 for the first year? It is (or should be) a considered decision to have kids now,although of course up to a point if you are on benefit totally it just goes up when you have a child.If you have the chance to return after maternity leave I would hang onto your job though-much easier to return to what you know than start afresh when you also have to cope with a little'un and new childcare arrangements.

Sorry just saw that this is your first child so don't forget to factor your ctc into your income once baby is born.

DaisyFlower

The weekly SMP rate and MA rate are the same so you are not better off on one than the other so I dont see the point in quitting and trying to qualify for JSA.