Self-employed with no work - benefits?

ManicMum

Hello

I was out of work (self-employment) for over 3 months from end of March til beginning of July. I never called anyone as assumed i would be entitled to nothing. Maybe I should have, but have done that sort of thing before and sick of being told I can not get anything either because I have a partner with a job or have more than 3p in the bank. My hubby does not earn a lot (£20 something K) but we do have 3 children to support. Was I right in thinking I would have got nothing? I have paid class 2 for about 2 1/2 years. Could I have got my class 2 contributions paid? I know I should have addressed this before.

thanks:beer:

The_Pixie_2

Hiya,
It really all depends on your joint income, but with 3 kids I would consider claiming Working Tax Credits....it's worth a try, they can only say no.
The website has an easy click and tick box to see if you qualify.

Hope this helps a little,
I'm sure there will be people more experienced and more knowledgable on here that can help you further.

BTW - Self employed, just becasue you don't 'do' 40+ physical work a week include the hours you spend marketing, on the phone, researching etc.

DX2

ManicMum wrote: »

Hello

I was out of work (self-employment) for over 3 months from end of March til beginning of July. I never called anyone as assumed i would be entitled to nothing. Maybe I should have, but have done that sort of thing before and sick of being told I can not get anything either because I have a partner with a job or have more than 3p in the bank. My hubby does not earn a lot (£20 something K) but we do have 3 children to support. Was I right in thinking I would have got nothing? I have paid class 2 for about 2 1/2 years. Could I have got my class 2 contributions paid? I know I should have addressed this before.

thanks:beer:

Class 2 National Insurance contributions

You pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions at a flat rate of £2.40 a week if your earnings are above £5,075 per year (2010-11).
Class 2 National Insurance contributions count towards certain benefits, like the basic State Pension, Maternity Leave and Bereavement Benefit. But they do not count towards the additional State Pension, Statutory Sick Pay or Jobseeker’s Allowance, so you might want to think about making other arrangements like a personal pension and income protection insurance.

ManicMum

oh well, worth an ask!

Thanks for your answers.

Hammyman

Surely as self employed you should have been out looking for more customers?

ManicMum

Hammyman wrote: »

Surely as self employed you should have been out looking for more customers?[/QU

I was.

Hammyman

ManicMum wrote: »

Hammyman wrote: »

Surely as self employed you should have been out looking for more customers?

I was.

So you're not unemployed. To be unemployed, you'd have to cease being self employed but you'd not get anything if you've insufficient Class 1 credits due to paying Class 2 because your husbands income excludes you from income based JSA. You still have to pay your Class 2 NIC until you finish your self employment and notify HMRC.

So as you can't get anything, you might as well stay registered as self employed, avoid all the aggro involved in claiming JSA and proving you're looking for a job and continue to look for new business. Do a new projected profit forecast for the current financial year, which should be considerably less than last years, and notify tax credits of the change in income which should result in a fairly immediate increase in working tax credit.

babycakes80

Hammyman wrote: »

So you're not unemployed. To be unemployed, you'd have to cease being self employed but you'd not get anything if you've insufficient Class 1 credits due to paying Class 2 because your husbands income excludes you from income based JSA. You still have to pay your Class 2 NIC until you finish your self employment and notify HMRC.

So as you can't get anything, you might as well stay registered as self employed, avoid all the aggro involved in claiming JSA and proving you're looking for a job and continue to look for new business. Do a new projected profit forecast for the current financial year, which should be considerably less than last years, and notify tax credits of the change in income which should result in a fairly immediate increase in working tax credit.

I don't actually see anywhere in this thread ManicMum saying she was unemployed.... And being on the look-out for more clients goes without saying... If there were more clients, then there wouldn't be a problem!!!