Kicking me off

sophiaw

I have just started claiming working tax credits in October as I work 17 hours a week. so I made a cliam for woking tax as my partner is unemployed due to been made redundant and we have one child, but last week I receive a letter saying from April we must be working 24 hours to claim working tax credit so will only be able cliam child tax as we do now.I have asked my works to up my hours but its not psssible.My partner is finding it hard to find a job and is looking everyday but what will happen with my Job if I can't get 24 hours and we lose working tax credits.Its a £70 a week lose.There will be no point working and would be better off on benefits.Does anyone have any advice as I am worried to death about these new rules coming in April HELP.

Vejovis

you could look for a part time job as well as your current part time job. someone who is working is more likely to find work than someone who isnt

Oldernotwiser

Your partner could get a part time job so that your hours total at least 24.

sophiaw

yeh its possible but it took me a year to find this one.What if we can't find one by them? Can he sign on? Will we lose that money or will there be another benefit in place? I know this is quite new so people may not know the answer to these but any advice is greatful.Thanks again

marywooyeah

7 hours is really only an extra day a week at work. I'd suggest either looking for a different job which would give you 24 hours or a second job one day a week, or of course your partner could get something for one day a week so you have a 24 hour total. From now til april that seems pretty achievable.

Mara69

Funny how many people only manage to work the bare minimum hours required in order to claim tax credits. Also odd how they cannot POSSIBLY get another job or more hours. Odd that.

bestpud

I don't think there will be a benefit in its place as that would defeat the object! They want to prevent families from working the bare minimum in order to claim tax credits.

One of you needs to find a part time job, as said. What work do you do?

Your partner may not be receiving NI credits if he isn't signing on at the moment - he won't get any money but it would protect his pension.

Lou76

Mara69 wrote: »

Funny how many people only manage to work the bare minimum hours required in order to claim tax credits. Also odd how they cannot POSSIBLY get another job or more hours. Odd that.

I totally agree - and I'm benefiting from full tax credits this year. :eek:
I, through ill health/disability, whatever you want to call it - basically I was bed bound and work gave me up, had to stop working.

Started work again in May (from home, which is all I can manage for now), but fully employed, and I receive full tax credits. I was shocked at how much I get :eek:. Granted, I didn't refuse it (it's paying off a lot of debt I "earned" through not being able to work, my pension at last), but it's silly the amounts being paid 'to work'. My Tax credits must be 10x my tax payments.

I had a 7 year gap in my CV (gulp), so of course I was scared to job seek again, especially as I had barriers now that I didn't have before, but I managed it.

If I didn't have restrictions (i.e. working from home - my illness hasn't dissapeared, I'm just able to manage it better) I'd be doing cleaning etc to earn my way, not relying on TC, why do people do this?

Surely we all gain some sort of acievement from knowing we actually worked for our money? :rotfl:

Failing that, surely we all know that TC won''t be around for ever more... ?

exprog

What's really odd is how many employers cannot possibly offer jobs of more than the bare minimum number of hours sufficient for people to be eligible to claim tax credits. That's really funny.

sophiaw

Mara69 do you have a job? Have you looked for work in the past 2 years theres hardly anything going.Yeh my employers said they dont have the hours right now.All there staff are contracted to 16 hours a week, now and again they may give us a few more hours but they can't guarante it every week.So I cant tell tax credits some weeks I will get it and some I wont can I.You have to do 24 hours every week to get it.They are uping child tax but it wont cover how much I get now for working tax. I will be honest even finding a seperate job of 7 hours will be hard.So I think I will look for another job at 24 hours or above and leave this job that a I love and go into one I wont like hay and it might push me back on benefits.This country is a utter joke and tax credits isnt half a scam.You can't work over a certain amount as they will over pay you but now in the next tax year they want you to work more.It dont make sense to me that.

bestpud

sophiaw wrote: »

Mara69 do you have a job? Have you looked for work in the past 2 years theres hardly anything going.Yeh my employers said they dont have the hours right now.All there staff are contracted to 16 hours a week, now and again they may give us a few more hours but they can't guarante it every week.So I cant tell tax credits some weeks I will get it and some I wont can I.You have to do 24 hours every week to get it.They are uping child tax but it wont cover how much I get now for working tax. I will be honest even finding a seperate job of 7 hours will be hard.So I think I will look for another job at 24 hours or above and leave this job that a I love and go into one I wont like hay and it might push me back on benefits.This country is a utter joke and tax credits isnt half a scam.You can't work over a certain amount as they will over pay you but now in the next tax year they want you to work more.It dont make sense to me that.

Benefits aren't there to keep you in a part time job just because you love it.

And you are on benefits now so won't be going 'back on them'.

Problem is, there is not enough money to keep paying two healthy adults to work a measly 16 hours between them.

You would not have considerd changing your situation if not shoved into it and you're far from alone, so you can see the problem the government has.

It is proposed that both parents will have to work 35 hours or prove they are actively seeking more hours under universal credit rules, so it's only going to get worse.