Unemployed & No longer Entitled to anything.

dktreesea

The DWP is by and large, in my experience, unhelpful. I suggest you set up as self employed, register with the HMRC and then apply for working tax credit. It's not quite as much as JSA, but the flip side of that is that you can earn quite a bit before they start to cut it. The best thing though is that it is administered by the HMRC. They are polite and business like and don't hassle people. You don't have to deal with any "attitude" with them, because they know the score i.e. today's small business is tomorrow's employer of thousands.

My husband is a self employed chef. He would never go back to being an employee. You have to work 16 hours a week, so I recommend going to car boots/markets and maybe selling a few second hand items but also take a tray or two of home made muffins.

Once the working tax credit comes through, my advice would be to then apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit. And yes, these cover the interest on the mortgage, if you own a place, after 13 weeks. They're worth having.

It's magic not having a boss. Did I say mere "magic"? I meant MAGIC.

wishface

HannahIOW wrote: »

I did say that mostly in jest however the cold truth is that a large number of people these days simply don't bother to work, instead they have children at a young age (usually teenagers but I don't want to generalise) and are then given housing for free along with many other benefits... when the child is old enough for the parent to be expected to return to work, they simply have another baby and so it continues...

That is an urban myth.

wishface

dktreesea wrote: »

The DWP is by and large, in my experience, unhelpful. I suggest you set up as self employed, register with the HMRC and then apply for working tax credit. It's not quite as much as JSA, but the flip side of that is that you can earn quite a bit before they start to cut it. The best thing though is that it is administered by the HMRC. They are polite and business like and don't hassle people. You don't have to deal with any "attitude" with them, because they know the score i.e. today's small business is tomorrow's employer of thousands.

My husband is a self employed chef. He would never go back to being an employee. You have to work 16 hours a week, so I recommend going to car boots/markets and maybe selling a few second hand items but also take a tray or two of home made muffins.

Once the working tax credit comes through, my advice would be to then apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit. And yes, these cover the interest on the mortgage, if you own a place, after 13 weeks. They're worth having.

It's magic not having a boss. Did I say mere "magic"? I meant MAGIC.

Surely you can't just declare yourself self employed, without actual employment of some kind, and receive WTC. I can't see them just paying people who aren't working!

wishface

rao wrote: »

The FreelanceSwitch site you mean? It is geared mostly for freelance designers yes but please don't let that put you off as its a pretty useful site like many others.

What others?

I was put off that site because I don't have those skills. So unless you do that site doesn't look like it will be of any general help. Unless that's what the OP does.

plane_boy2000

wishface wrote: »

That is an urban myth.

Not in my experience - my mates daughter just got knocked up at 17. Council had her & BF in a flat in no time.

My mate is livid over it as he has always worked hard to support his family and because she now has a baby everything is being handed to her and her BF on a plate. The BF openly admits that he has no intention of working as he has no hope of finding anything that will come close to the handouts they get now.

They were given £500 to decorate the flat they were given when they moved in......only it was fine and didnt need decorating, so that was an easy 500 quid etc etc

wishface

plane_boy2000 wrote: »

Not in my experience - my mates daughter just got knocked up at 17. Council had her & BF in a flat in no time.

My mate is livid over it as he has always worked hard to support his family and because she now has a baby everything is being handed to her and her BF on a plate. The BF openly admits that he has no intention of working as he has no hope of finding anything that will come close to the handouts they get now.

They were given £500 to decorate the flat they were given when they moved in......only it was fine and didnt need decorating, so that was an easy 500 quid etc etc

One instance of a girl (apparently in a relationship which is hardly the steroetype being perpetuated) getting pregnant proves nothing, and I see no indication she did it solely to get a flat and upset the Daily Mail. Can you honestly tell me they decided to have a child just to get a 'free house'.

Council's, and therefore society, support vulnerable people - such as newborn children and their parents. Would you have then do otherwise? Such people move up the housing ladders because they are deemed vulnerable cases.

How do you know the flat was genuinely fine and didn't need decorating.

Your mate may well be livid, but better to be compassionate and caring. Unplanned pregnancies happen all the time, and not just to the lower classes of the world either. Would you rather the couple were on the streets?

Sounds to me like the father has actually the right attitude: he knows his kid needs supporting and so if he can claim more money then better for the child surely? Is it his fault that wages are so low in this country and work so meaningless and damaging that people would rather a different option? This way he gets to be at home with his child supporting his family emotionally. Money is just money; the relationship between parent and child is irreplaceable.

So it seems to me that this stereotype remains just an urban myth. Besides anecdotal evidence is really no evidence at all.

rao_2

wishface wrote: »

What others?

If you felt there was a site more relavant to the OP I was hoping you'd pitch it in but here's a general listing of some other blogs:
http://www.odesk.com/blog/2009/04/top-100-freelance-blogs/

I was put off that site because I don't have those skills. So unless you do that site doesn't look like it will be of any general help. Unless that's what the OP does.

I can understand but not having design related skills doesn't make a site about a self-employed field all irrelevant to those in a self-employed situation. Its easy to skip more focused articles. Over half the topics on the frontpage at my time of posting hold general topics. I listed some topics discussed elsewhere on the website that would be of general help in the rest of my post which I hope would be of use to all. They also extend to other fields of expertise such as writing etc.

I personally feel if I found a self-employed blog about running their own restaurant business I would find their views on how to find clients, how to keep records, dealing with billing/taxes, marketing and so on useful. Things cross over a lot. If your point is its less relevant rather than irrelevant then sure. But the OP hasn't picked a field yet. However I would feel other sites are still useful and possibly more active either way. Its fair enough if you're not keen on the site though. You're entitled to your opinion and I make no money reccomending the site so I really have no investment in it, you're welcome to never look at it again.

wishface

I think you are missing the point: a site that's advertising work for people with specific skills won't be much use if you don't have those skills.

I don't know of any helpful websites. The problem people who are out of work have is that such information is never made available to them, least of all through the JC+ whose own site is a mess. But then those unemployed will still get criticised for not finding the answers themselves. It's a dreadful catch 22 that frustrates a lot of people for no good reason.

What people need, and don't (IME) get is proper individual support. Every unemployed person is an individual and is different. But none of them - including all the new deal victims - have unreasonable demands. Ask any of them what they want to do and you are 100x more likley to hear 'p[lumber' than 'premiership footballer' or 'formula 1 driver' or 'supermodel'. Yet where is the support for such a person to be a 'plumber'? It's not available from any of the parties in or wanting power, despite their claims to be THE party of opportunity.

That is where we are failing people.

Amber_Sunshine

I agree with most of what Wish says, except the bit I've highlighted. If the lad's old enough to be a father, he should go out and support his child. Of course, that's in the ideal world, where you can earn enough to live on, but he should at least try.

wishface wrote: »

One instance of a girl (apparently in a relationship which is hardly the steroetype being perpetuated) getting pregnant proves nothing, and I see no indication she did it solely to get a flat and upset the Daily Mail. Can you honestly tell me they decided to have a child just to get a 'free house'.

Council's, and therefore society, support vulnerable people - such as newborn children and their parents. Would you have then do otherwise? Such people move up the housing ladders because they are deemed vulnerable cases.

How do you know the flat was genuinely fine and didn't need decorating.

Your mate may well be livid, but better to be compassionate and caring. Unplanned pregnancies happen all the time, and not just to the lower classes of the world either. Would you rather the couple were on the streets?

Sounds to me like the father has actually the right attitude: he knows his kid needs supporting and so if he can claim more money then better for the child surely? Is it his fault that wages are so low in this country and work so meaningless and damaging that people would rather a different option? This way he gets to be at home with his child supporting his family emotionally. Money is just money; the relationship between parent and child is irreplaceable.

So it seems to me that this stereotype remains just an urban myth. Besides anecdotal evidence is really no evidence at all.

JennyJewell

Hi Hannah
Would party planning be of any interest to you to keep you tiding over while looking around for a job? You can work when you want and some people actually become really successful with it It could actually turn out to be the thing that you love to do
Jenny

HannahIOW wrote: »

Hi everyone

I have a post somewhere on the forum about my situation with leaving my job back in july, i was then on contributions based JSA until november when it was cancelled (due to them concluding that i didn't have valid reason to leave although i did - long story) Anyway I was advised to try for income based jsa after it ended but alas I can't get it. So, no job, no nothing. Does anyone know any ways I can make a few quid online? I've signed upto the Valued Opinions, and I do it's your view now and again when it says I qualify.

They take forever to pay out anything though. Does anyone know anything else I could do online? thanks