A fresh start

pelirocco

Seaxwyn wrote: »

Thanks Taxi! We couldn't do a DMP as we don't have regular income. Definitely the solution is for OH to get a job but somehow he can't, or won't, see it. He is as furious as me about the recent pay c*ck-ups though, so he might be coming round to seeing things differently.

I've just arranged to do a paper round for the next 3 weeks - so that will be £60 cash income.

The kids and I are off to a festival this weekend, so OH will have the house to himself and I hope he will use the time well, doing some paid gardening, listing more stuff on ebay and other useful things.

You do now though?

Seaxwyn

Well I have regular part-time income up til March, but the bulk of my income is still freelance and the regular bit wouldn't be near enough to do a DMP on. If we can avoid a DMP I would like to - and we have always managed to meet all payments. I hope this latest failure will shock OH into reconsidering his options.

taxi73

Here's hoping for you Seaxwyn.Sure it'll all sort itself out in the end.

Seaxwyn

I'm staying at home today as the project I'm managing has hit a lull and I feel like a day off.

I've just phoned the Tax Credits people to make our annual declaration. Our earnings last year were 9k less than the estimate they'd been working on - am I likely to get a rebate, does anyone know?

I'm feeling more anxious about money than ever. I think the freelance contract I've got will end early - maybe Sept or Oct rather than Dec. My take-home pay from my p-t job is only £1018, far from enough to live on - yet I've had no freelance offers for a month or two. I think I could get a full-time job there if I wanted, however the salary is only 28k and that wouldn't be enough to live on either.

OH has rung the college and formally complained about the pay c*ck-ups, and they said they would pay him the missing pay from this month. But nothing about the previous months. One good sign is they are changing the way sessional lecturers are paid from next term onwards - but he has lost several thousand pounds this year and I don't know what the likelihood is of ever getting it back. OH is really frustrating me with his failure to do anything to climb out of the deep rut he's in.

taxi73

I don't know the answer to the tax credits.Up until last year I would've said yes but they changed them to that they could only backdate them 3 months...maybe you could ask on the benefits board.
Glad the college is changing the way they pay. Perhaps they have loads of complaints from other employees in the same position as OH.I can really understand your frustration.
Sorry to hear about the freelance work ..keep my fingers crossed that something comes along soon.

tyllwyd

I agree that when you are self-employed tax credits are a bit of a nightmare. I can't work it out at all, but if they have a system where you don't have to decare your actual earnings until so long after you have earned them, surely they then have to take into account the final figure, whether it is more or less than the estimate they are working on.

We are in the lucky position where my OH earns enough that with my money on top we are are right at the top end for claiming tax credits and to be honest I can't wait until it goes down to zero because I hate having to remember to give them figures & the feeling that they could turn around at any point and ask for the money back again.

It is pretty shocking that your OH should be owed thousands in back pay - I guess you don't want to go down the employment tribunal route in case he loses his job? But if they aren't paying him for the work he is doing, you'd have to wonder if losing his job would be such a bad thing - difficult.

Good luck with picking up some more freelance work. Maybe it would be a good idea to get in touch with some of your contacts to let them know you will be available again soon. But if you could get a full-time job at £28K maybe that isn't such a bad option - at least you'd know where you were, instead of like last year where you earned so much less than you'd expected.

I'm having a quiet week - I was expecting work to arrive so I've arranged childcare etc, but it is all delayed which is very frustrating. It's all going to come at a rush at the wrong time, I know it! My OH is working at home as well at the moment (he had a major op earlier this year, and they are letting him go back to work slowly) so I'm having to adjust to having someone else around when I'm working, which is a bit odd.

Karmacat

Seaxwyn, this sounds *such* a difficult time. We keep reading about the recession turning, but nowadays they always say about the employment situation getting worse before it gets better. I guess thats what we're all going through. Lots of hugs, and I hope you can find your way through.

kissjenn

Sorry you're having such a carpy time. We've been given tax credits but they're withholding the arrears until the end of the year and doing a reconcilliation against what we've actually as opposed to estimated we might earn. I think they recalculate based on your actual and if it means you should have got more you get that as a one-off payment AND they use that income figure to pay you for this year.

But given we're both self-employed it's a minefield. Do to well and it's hanging there like a Gordon Brownian Sword of Damocles.

buddiebabe

Hey Seaxwyn

Hope your ok and feeling a bit better about things... just read the last few posts... your part time pay is more than my full time wage wish i could find just one better paying job than having to work full time and part time... but am just counting myself lucky i have both jobs at the moment.

Hope things get better soon

Buddiebabe x

hypno06

When I gave my "actual" figures for self employment, which were less than expected, I got a rebate of tax credits through, even though my real earnings for the current year were much higher, so I would expect you will get a rebate. You can always ask for one if it is not forthcoming automatically.