not entitled to any benefits?

swatton46

I am moving in with my partner to rented accomodation (private) soon, and have been checking up on what/if any benefits we will be entitled to. So far it's not looking good, both me and my partner are between 25 and 30, because of the nature of my work and the fact I am a part time student I only earn between £300 and £450 pcm (approx 16 hrs a wk) and my partner earns between £700-£800 pcm (approx 24 hrs wk) I have used the calculator at turn2us.org and the direct.gov working tax credits calculator whuch say because we work more than 16 hours a week BUT less that 30 and have no children that we are not entitled to any help, i find this quite astonishing. Are there any other benefits/allowances we may qualify for?

Sam____2

Why do you find it astonishing? is there a reason neither of you can work more hours to up your income?

swatton46

yeah there is, I spend a day studying a week and a day unpaid in work placememnt (attatched to my study) the company i work for provides training within schools, and because of contract limitations cannot offer me more hours a week (apart from the very occasional weekend work i can provide) My partner is in a similar situation and has a 0.5 teaching contract until the end of this current term. OBVIOUSLY we have looked for jobs elsewhere/extra hours but because of work/contract and study situations have had no luck thus far. I understand that our combined income is not desperately low, however during ALL school holidays we make NO money, and have been unable to find an employer which will take take on staff for summer holidays etc - knowing we WILL leave when the new school term begins.

Sam____2

loads of places take on extra summer staff, and Christmas isn't far away, places are recruiting now for this too

AnxiousMum

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

If your partner is teaching could he do teaching from home? There are children at school whose parents would pay a good hourly rate for extra tuition.

Going rate for a private tutor right now is between £25 and £30 for secondary school students.

Indie_Kid

Can neither of you get second jobs? Surely you both get money from student finance?

thorsoak

If you are not earning during school holidays - what about working for some of the summer schools?

Or, do as we did when we got married, moved into our new (mortgaged) house with no furniture - get bar jobs for two or three evenings a week!

swatton46

sh1305 wrote: »

Can neither of you get second jobs? Surely you both get money from student finance?

Neither of us receive money from student support my partner is no longer a student, and I work too many average hours to receive any help. The current situation is that I work for a company that teaches cycling in schools between 12 and 18 hours a week which erns me approx £400 a month.
My girlfriend teaches at a primary school on a 0.5 contract (10 days out of a 20 day month)
Although I do appreciate all of the advice i.e. summer schools, private tuition we are doing ALL we can in that regard but there is not a massive demand for that in our location - that type of employment is just not that common in south west county durham. In the past we have worked on evenings and weekends, bar work and delivery jobs - but in the past year have not even been able to find a job doing this. Like i said i do appreciate all of the practical advice @ thorosoak, that is our plan, we own a chair and a mattress lol. To make my query a bit clearer I was wondering if anybody knows of any funding/benefits that we may be unaware of or may have overlooked.

Thanks

RAS

I think the tirgger point for WTC is 30 hours per week. it does not have to be with the same employer and it does not have to be every week, but averaged over a period of time.

Regarding the furniture bit try www.freegle.org.uk or freecycle, although I appreciate that in your area the picking may not be great.

Hammyman

swatton46 wrote: »

however during ALL school holidays we make NO money, and have been unable to find an employer which will take take on staff for summer holidays etc - knowing we WILL leave when the new school term begins.

Thats down to choice. I live near a seaside town and plenty of people have no problem finding summer jobs. Also being in a rural county, there's plenty of farm work as well. Employment agencies have stacks of work in summer covering employee holidays although it'll tend to be in unglamorous work like factory work.

Is it a case of you can't find ANY job or, being honest, just ones you are prepared to do?

dmg24

I agree with Hammyman, the reason you have a limited income is through your own choice, there is nothing stopping you doing more. If you can't find any work over the summer you could work at Butlins/ Pontins/ any big holiday park and even get accom provided. Problem sorted!