To work or not to work......pls help

lil_me

£1400 seems a lot, do you have a lot of children ? Are you sure this has been worked out correctly ?

Contains_Mild_Peril

In theory, the tax credits sytem is supposed to ensure that all employed parents of under-16s are better off than if they were unemployed. I'm not sure if that always works though.
Benefit entitlement calculators don't always tell the whole story. For instance, work may involve expenses like travel which may be omitted from the calculation. Inaccuracies can also happen the other way: it may be assumed that the full price of school meals is something you'd save if unemployed, but if the children take packed lunches or come home for lunch, you can feed them much more cheaply and provide better meals if you shop carefully. There are also occasional expenses such as prescriptions which are not normally factored in.
You will not normally receive any unemployment benefits if you leave a job voluntarily. Getting yourself fired is also inadvisable, since that would obviously be detrimental to your future prospects, and the BA could still get stroppy if they think it's your own fault.
Frustrating though it may be to work hard and effectively receive no financial reward for doing so, all you can really do is stick at it. If you like the job and it offers good prospects, you will be likely to be much better off in the long run. Think of it as an investment for the future.

Fran

I'm not sure what you want as on one hand you say you're in a great job and then say you don't want to work and can't wait to take a career break.

Are you sure these calculations are correct? Are you a single parent? Are you claiming Tax Credits?