Help with returning to work please

Claire1985

Morning..

Hope someone can help me out with a question about going back to work..

I'm a single mum of an 16 month old little girl.. Currently I'm on IS and also get help with HB, CT, CTC

My plan is to find part time work and put the little one in nursery..(2 or 3 days a week) depending on job.

My question is Obviously I cant afford to be worse off so what benefits would I lose by going back to work part time ?

Will the benefits be related to hours worked or income or both ?

Also would I get any help with nursery costs, That's going to cost £120 a week..

Hope someone can give me a rough idea so I can prepare myself when I call the relevant benefits people.

Thanks
Claire

LL30

If you do 16 hours a week, you will get working tax credits, along with child tax credits and help with childcare. My lo is one and I'm going in the opposite direction to you as I've just been made redundant so applying for IS (I keep telling myself it's a temporary measure!) Depending on how much you earn you may get HB and CTB too.

To give you an idea (although everyone's sums are different) I was earning £725 a month for 16 hours. I got £177 a week in CTC, WTC and childcare help, but also got half my rent paid too! Crazy! No CTB though (damn right too!) Obviously tax credits go on your last year's income though, so it does change yearly. Tbh, it's swings and roundabouts until you earn a fair bit anyway, what you lose in tax credits, you 'get back' in HB/CTB etc. I honestly can't imagine how anyone would be better off on benefits, it doesn't add up to me! Any tips for surviving on IS? I'm getting in a right state about it! I have a car to run and I just don't know how I'll do it. Fortunately, I've been topping up my gas and elec all summer (just in case) so I have a good £100 on each which should help (was going to get rid of meters as were here when I moved, but I had an argument with British Gas and never got round to it!) xx

Claire1985

Hi LL30

Thanks for the advice. Makes a bit more sense now..

My ex only left me 4 months ago so I Havant been on IS very long. He pays for all our daughters things so I'm not coping to bad. ( I haven't got a car to keep ). I've always worked so now I just want to get back to it, start paying my way and get a bit of normality back in my life... For me the worry is just balancing the finances and being able to pay the bills..

Do you know what happens if I work over 16hrs? I was hoping to go back 3 days or even temping work to start with..

Good luck with your job hunting. I'm sure you'll find something soon..

Oh yes and get rid of those pre pay meters, there a rip off.

LL30

16 hours is the minimum you need to work in order to get working tax credits and thus help with childcare, any less and you get nothing. If you work more than 30, you get an additional bonus too I honestly think you'll be fine, I've coped brilliantly. My lo's Dad doesn't contribute anything at all (due to his circumstances at the moment) so it's all down to me! Make sure that you have given the correct income figure to tax credits as well, to work out your annual income for lat year, you have to minus £100 for every week you were on SMP (36 weeks for me, so £3600 taken off my annual income - yay!), and if you were on MA, you don't count any of it! Sorry if you already know this, I just know so many people who didn't and didn't benefit from it!

The biggest issue with temping is making sure that you average 16 hours a week - tax credits don't mind fluctuating hours, as long as you're doing a minimum of 16. I'm in a right pickle as I only have my lo in nursery on the Thurs and Fri (which I won't be able to do for much longer) so my hours of availability are limited, I just don't know what I'm going to do. Once she's out of nursery, she's lost her place and there won't be any availability until Sept! It's just a nightmare. My friend's a childminder, but her spaces are filling up quickly, so I feel like I'm working against the tide so to speak!

Going back to work is brilliant, and even more brilliant when you pick up your lo at the end of the day for big cuddles!