Will I be worse off?

wingobins

(Sorry if this has been asked before).

I've been training to be a teaching assistant and have now been offered my ideal job which I immediately accepted. I am currently receiving CTC and my husband is on JSA after getting made redundant last year. He has also just got a job (37 hours) but starting in 4 wks. Mine is for 18 hours a week. Both jobs will be round about £6.00 -£7.00 hour.
Does this mean I will lose the CTC now? I seem to have worked it out that I will be worse off now working than on CTC. I don't want to lose the job either but I was told you can work up to 16 hours and still get CTC. I was thinking of asking if my employer can make 2 hours voluntary if possible, i'm not sure how we will manage otherwise. Can someone please advise? Sorry for the long post.

Fiver29

At £6ph for 55 hours you'd be on £17,160 pa, plus CTC and WTC. Are you getting over that now on benefits?

pebbles88

wingobins wrote: »

(Sorry if this has been asked before).

I've been training to be a teaching assistant and have now been offered my ideal job which I immediately accepted. I am currently receiving CTC and my husband is on JSA after getting made redundant last year. He has also just got a job (37 hours) but starting in 4 wks. Mine is for 18 hours a week. Both jobs will be round about £6.00 -£7.00 hour.
Does this mean I will lose the CTC now? I seem to have worked it out that I will be worse off now working than on CTC. I don't want to lose the job either but I was told you can work up to 16 hours and still get CTC. I was thinking of asking if my employer can make 2 hours voluntary if possible, i'm not sure how we will manage otherwise. Can someone please advise? Sorry for the long post.

hello,

congrats on the job!

to get an idea of how the wages go as your DH is signing on you should go and get a better off calculation done at the jobcentre. at least that will give you some idea.

wingobins

Fiver29 wrote: »

At £6ph for 55 hours you'd be on £17,160 pa, plus CTC and WTC. Are you getting over that now on benefits?

No, I get £138 wk ctc, but if I was getting £6 hour its only £36 day, I dont get paid for dinner hour. This makes me worse off (£118 pw). Husband gets £81 wk jsa but we had mortgage protection so currently get it paid for. He also gets £151 monthly from mortgage protection allowance & also dont need to pay council tax at the mo. Once he starts work he will be paying mortgage/council tax again and lose the £151 monthly too.

karenx

You will still get some tax credits and possibly working tax credits too

andyandflo

Hi, I would seriously take some advice from experts on this. CAB etc. Also there are quite a few good sites that have calculators that will give you an idea of your entitlement.

It is good that you have found employment, but you must be sure that it is worth it. There is very little point in working 55 hours between you and having LESS than what you currently receive. No doubt I will be 'sanctioned' in saying this, but in my working life I have found people to take up employment at any cost and regret the day later.

You must also take into consideration the 'costs' of working!!

I waited until I was 60 then resigned to claim benefits and start up a small business from home. With Tax Credits, Pension Credit and Disability Benefits, not forgetting no Council Tax to pay and the mortgage interest paid, I am over £40 pw better off than when I was worrking 37hrs pw on a salary of £20,000 pa. Best thing I ever did, with no more stress and early mornings/late evenings!

Good luck, and I hope that you make the right decision.

wingobins

Thanks andyandflo. I think I will seek more advice on this. I didn't want folk to think I just wanted to claim benefits, it's not like that at all. I've got 3 young kids too so its hard to juggle between looking after them & working enough hours to pay mortgage.

andyandflo

wingobins wrote: »

Thanks andyandflo. I think I will seek more advice on this. I didn't want folk to think I just wanted to claim benefits, it's not like that at all. I've got 3 young kids too so its hard to juggle between looking after them & working enough hours to pay mortgage.

Hi,
It's a pleasure. Some folk may think that - but - so what, it is your life and with a family to bring up you do have to look after No.1. Nobody else will!! As long as it is legal, you are quite entitled to use or take advantage of any benefit that helps improve or maintain your family life. Government passed the laws, and if people have any objection to that school of thought they should be looking to their MP to lobby for a change in the law.

Good luck in your quest.

LizzieS_2

wingobins wrote: »

No, I get £138 wk ctc, but if I was getting £6 hour its only £36 day, I dont get paid for dinner hour. This makes me worse off (£118 pw). Husband gets £81 wk jsa but we had mortgage protection so currently get it paid for. He also gets £151 monthly from mortgage protection allowance & also dont need to pay council tax at the mo. Once he starts work he will be paying mortgage/council tax again and lose the £151 monthly too.

Whatever you decide bear in mind the above items are only paid for a fixed period.

You may qualify for mortgage interest relief if you go onto income support later, but you will still have to make the capital repayments yourself before the mortgage expiry term otherwise your bank could repossess your home. Also the mortgage interest payments are of a fixed value so they may or may not cover the interest due & you can only claim interest against the original loan value.

Oldernotwiser

What a waste of your training, not to take a suitable job when offered.

Do your calculations take into account the fact that you lose the mortgage protection anyway, because your husband is starting work?

kingfisherblue

LizzieS wrote: »

Whatever you decide bear in mind the above items are only paid for a fixed period.

You may qualify for mortgage interest relief if you go onto income support later, but you will still have to make the capital repayments yourself before the mortgage expiry term otherwise your bank could repossess your home. Also the mortgage interest payments are of a fixed value so they may or may not cover the interest due & you can only claim interest against the original loan value.

The OP is unlikely to qualify for IS as she is not a single parent and does not have any disabilities or care for somebody who has.