how i can work less hours and be better off!

helen_vasey

by doing some careful maths i have realised that i can work 2.5 hours less (from 20 to 17.5) which means i wont pay any tax and also means that my daughter can get £10 ema as we will then be £500 short of the upper limit. i have asked my boss who has agreed in principle , it just has to be approved by h r (county council, who are all about "flexible working"), they had better agree now! i feel that i have a very valid reason and it means that i can avoid the rush hour madness, cutting at least 15 mins off my journey time, and most likely saving petrol too! positive thoughts please?

CIS

How much is your hourly wage ?

helen_vasey

its £5.63 ,why have i missed something?

CIS

No, I was Just curious how much you would save on Tax and NI.,

From what I estimate, using 05/06 rates;
At present you get £112.60 Gross and pay around £1.80 tax per week and £2.00 in NI per week, around £108 NET

If you cut to 17.5 hrs, you will get 98.53 per week Gross , about 50p per week Tax and 50p NI, leaving about £97.50 NET.

You'll loose about £10 per week in wages in return for the £10 EMA for your daughter

Another point, are you contributing to an employer scheme as a % of your wages ?, if you are and you reduce your wages, you will reduce your pension contributiobs.

helen_vasey

i see your point about losing £10 to gain £10 ema but my daughter will also get bonuses and i will have far less stress in getting to work, which is worth much more than £10 as i hate driving. the reduction in my pension contribution will be not even a fiver a month if ive worked it out right.

chinagirl

What is the upper rate ema?

helen_vasey

the highest ema is £30 then £20 then £10 depending on earnings, if your family income is above £30k, you get nothing. also interesting to note , it is your taxable income,ie. after pension contributions that count, a point not widely publicised. probably to deter a few people from applying.

camper

Yes Helen, you are correct. Several folk I know had the same maths!! (and reduced their hours to suit)
Don't forget you may also be entitled to more CTC or WTC too.

Stonk

What a ridiculous system we have that allows this to be true! I'm not disputing it - I'm sure the maths is right, so go for it!

It's just the system is fundamentally wrong. Look at it the other way round ... Until now, you had effectively been working those extra 2.5 hours, and being taxed at a rate of 100% on them. Ouch.

ManAtHome

Why do you think the employment rate is at record highs - loads of people are better of working 16 hours (ish) than 30+.

wazza

helen_vasey wrote:

by doing some careful maths i have realised that i can work 2.5 hours less (from 20 to 17.5) which means i wont pay any tax and also means that my daughter can get £10 ema as we will then be £500 short of the upper limit. i have asked my boss who has agreed in principle , it just has to be approved by h r (county council, who are all about "flexible working"), they had better agree now! i feel that i have a very valid reason and it means that i can avoid the rush hour madness, cutting at least 15 mins off my journey time, and most likely saving petrol too! positive thoughts please?

erm what does ema stand for?