benefit reduction?

norfolkshops

i am married working part time 16 hours per week have 2 children aged 12 and 13.

just found out i will be better off on unemployment benefit ,if i packed up work will there there be a reduction in mt benefit,if so how long and it can only be reduced on mt benefit not my familys is this true thank yoy

Savvy_Sue

I'm struggling to follow the final paragraph, but it would be worth putting your situation into the entitledto website. You might be entitled to more than you're getting, but also you could put in the details of you giving up work and see if you really would be better off.

Without knowing more about your family situation - are you a lone parent, if not is the other adult working 16 hours or more etc - no-one here can say whether you'd be better off giving up work.

However, giving up work with the intention of claiming unemployment benefit isn't without its risks: you can't always claim as soon as you give up work, if you do so voluntarily. There no longer any such thing as unemployment benefit, it's Job Seekers Allowance, and you are expected to Seek A Job, jumping through their hoops as you go.

Also there are two kinds of JSA: contributions based and income assessed. If you haven't paid enough NI in a previous set period, you can't get contributions based, so your family income is considered. And contributions based only lasts 6 months, after which you're moved onto income based.

You should be better off if you increased your working hours - is that a possibility?