Daughter now 12 ..stopping my benefit ?

skint,single_mum_of_4

Hi
can anyone help ?
Ive just recieved a letting saying the covernment has changed the rules for lone parents recieving income support.New rules mean when my youngest child turns 12 my benefit will change to job seekers and i need to reclaim ?
Firstly i do want to work but i'm having trouble finding work to fit in with school hours not because of my 12 yr old but because of my 14 yr old who's causing me no end of trouble !

what does these changes mean ?
whats the difference between income support & jobseekers ?
will they understand i can only work certain hours ?
Is my benefit going to stop because my daughters 12

i'm sorry ,i'm just worried !
any advice please !

Oldernotwiser

These changes have been made public for many months; both in the news and on MSE; I'm surprised that your lone parent adviser hasn't discussed them with you. To be eligible for JSA, you need to be available for work and actively seeking it so you'll need to sign on regularly, showing the steps you've made to look for a job.

You need only look for work of over 16 hours if you wish. Your adviser will be able to discuss the different financial options with you and run potential figures through the computer to give you an idea of income.

Edit: I thought you were already working part time - how are you still claiming IS?

skint,single_mum_of_4

I'm only working 10 hours aweek just 2hrs aday so still getting income support !
so do i go once a fortnight 2 sign on or do i go once aweek ?

sammyjammy

Once a fortnight, you'll have to declare the work you do each fortnight as well.

oldmotherreilly

As I understand it, your lone parent advisor should make you an appointment to come in to make a new claim. At this interview the advisor will go over everything with you and draw up what is called a Jobseeker's Agreement which details the sort of work you are looking for, any agreed restrictions (how far you can travel etc) and the hours you can work. As ONW says you can say that you are looking for 16 hours plus per week but any job you state must be available during those hours and you must stand a good chance of securing it-so,if say, you are looking for retail between 9am and 3pm there shouldn't be a problem. You will need to attend fortnightly but there are various courses that you will be required to attend whilst claiming JSA at different stages of your claim. Your claim will be switched over to JSA (IB) but your advisor should time your interview so that there is hopefully no disruption to your payments.

skint,single_mum_of_4

i already work 10 hours so if only i could get another 6 hrs work then i would qualify for working tax credits.i was thinking about advertising for a couple of cleaning jobs but how does this work as they tend to pay cash.how would say my housing benefit be worked out etc if i earned cash ? so it would be part wages which get paid into my bank and the rest would be cash.do i register as part self employed for this ? its just so confussing

Oldernotwiser

skint,single_mum_of_4 wrote: »

i already work 10 hours so if only i could get another 6 hrs work then i would qualify for working tax credits.i was thinking about advertising for a couple of cleaning jobs but how does this work as they tend to pay cash.how would say my housing benefit be worked out etc if i earned cash ? so it would be part wages which get paid into my bank and the rest would be cash.do i register as part self employed for this ? its just so confussing

Paying cash in hand is illegal;I'd leave it well alone if you're claiming benefits as well. Perhaps you could get some cleaning through an agency to bring you up to 16 hours.

Js_Other_Half

A lot of people find things like Avon helpful for upping their hours?

McKneff

Is there any reason you cant work more hours, are there any after school clubs or a friend who could take her for a little while after school

Anthillmob

if you do find work you can still claim HB na d CTB based on your new income.

1sue23

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Paying cash in hand is illegal;I'd leave it well alone if you're claiming benefits as well. Perhaps you could get some cleaning through an agency to bring you up to 16 hours.[/QUOTE

My daughter gets cash in hand doing cleaning jobs in private houses ,she was asked to get a letter from the people she worked for declaring the amount she was earning and this was taken into account when calculating her benefits .