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Should I accept this job?
Comments
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Reading the OP's first post, it looks like the ESA is income based, so would lose it. ("I currently do not work as my fiance (who I live with) claims ESA, DLA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
The issue is that after tax/national insurance, it'll be £9723 a year whereas the 3 'income related benefits that my fiance gets add up to £10,582 per year so we would be slightly worse off.")
I guess the OP can clarify - that's definately how I interpreted it, too.
Then I thought the OP had subsequently found that he would get at top up of either £90 or £128 per week, depending on whether the contract is 28 or 30 hours.
If there is also a subsequent loss of ESA that reduces it by £50 then then the OPs household income would still be greater than what they get in benefits - £11803 or £13779.
I know the OP is also factoring in travel costs when making their 'is it worth it?' calculations and I can see why he has done this but this type of expense is pretty much an unavoidable employment related expense that should just be accepted and swallowed.
Despite his employment only making him better off by a grand or two, it will hopefully lead to longer hours or a better paying job in the future.0 -
By doing exactly what you are doing, working out how much you can maximise how you can get the most benefits.make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
and we will never, ever return.0 -
Yes, the ESA is income based. I will sit down tonight and work this out properly and post back here (if that's not too offensive to McKneff)
Actually, it does offend me. My OH is nearly blind, he has not been able to work for 10 years and got IB, no help with anything else. £6. odd for a tiny bottle of eye drops once a month. No help because i worked.
I have osteporous, pernicious aneamia, arthritis and still manage to work full time up to last October and part time since i hit retirement age, never gave a thought to giving it up, even though i could have done, and got nearly as much on benefits. I suppose Im old school, with parents who worked their socks off ill or not.
So now you know why people like you offend me.
Rant over, I'm off.make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
and we will never, ever return.0 -
My OH is nearly blind, he has not been able to work for 10 years and got IB, no help with anything else. £6. odd for a tiny bottle of eye drops once a month. No help because i worked.
I have osteporous, pernicious aneamia, arthritis and still manage to work full time up to last October and part time since i hit retirement age, never gave a thought to giving it up, even though i could have done, and got nearly as much on benefits.
I hope this post is taken in the spirit it is intended - it is strictly down the line of benefits entitlement possibilities, not the morality or otherwise.
Based on the info given about the circumstances of yourself and your OH, there appears to be at least a possibility one, or even both, of you may be entitled to either Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance (depends on age). Neither of these benefits is means tested. Both are about assistance that is needed but there is no requirement that such assistance is actually in place.
If you decide to apply for either of the above, it will probably be sensible to try and get help from a benefits advisor (e.g. CAB or local welfare rights organisation) to complete the form - many of the questions are ambiguous and, in my view, positively misleading. For example, one question asks whether an applicant needs reminding to take medication. Most people, understandably, instantly answer "no" without thinking. But, if you turn it around to ask "Have you ever forgotten your medication?", many will quite truthfully answer "yes". If you have forgotten, how do you know when you need reminding? In turn, depending on the individual, it may be entirely appropriate to answer "yes" when claiming DLA or AA.
Just to be clear, I am not for one moment suggesting untruthful answers should be given - that would be fraud. The purpose of setting out the "medication" example is to make the point that answering the questions is not necessarily as straight forward as may be initially apparent.
Apart from the (er, considerable) time to complete the form(s), there is nothing to lose. If you and/or your OH decide to apply, a letter from your GP about your respective medical conditions may be helpful in support of the claim(s).
Finally, depending on your overall financial circumstances, the award of AA or DLA (care component at either middle or higher rate) *may* have the effect of bringing you into entitlement for means tested benefits (or increasing any you currently have). If you both apply and BOTH obtain AA / DLA (care), this may open yet another door to claiming Carer's Allowance in respect of each other. HOWEVER, the latter open's a potential Pandora's box of booby-traps - feel free to repost at the time if you both get AA/DLA (care) and I'll *try* to explain it.0 -
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It's for getting benefits advice but the way the OP is coming over it sounds as if they are asking "I get x amount now, shall I bother working as I would be still be on roughly x amount on benefits" and hasn't really considered that there are other reasons for working other than just for money.Isn't this what the forum is for?0 -
MSE acknowledge that there are flaws in the system (one that springs to mind is that its possible for a household to enjoy little or no increase in their household budget when they find employment...) but ask for posts on this forum not to be judgemental - blame the system, not the claimant.
I doubt many of us would be incentivised to take a job where we had the potential to be worse off.
It's a real shame the OP has a dilemma in accepting a job but the reasons why this happens are beyond the control of the OP, such as
-high rents caused by a failure of successive governments to implement a housebuilding programme to keep up with household and population growth
- increase competition for jobs caused by one of the largest influx of migrants in decades
- few job opportunities because the govt mismanaged public spending and caused a housing price bubble which has now led to a recession
- the tendency of employers to offer part time jobs
- etc, etc0
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