Am I entitled to any help (short term)

bloolagoon

Evening all

Long time lurker - first time very nervous poster especially in this area.

My husband was made redundant after 20 years of working for the same company and due to the work he did (very specialist) he is struggling to find work in the UK. Overseas is a possibilty (last resort) as we have very ill family member who we care for and don't want to be too far from.

He is on contribution based JSA (coming to an end soon) and I work part time.

I was put at risk last month and expect to be made redundant next week. Once my notice period ends I can't see that we get any benefits.

I will be lookng for work but I have recently had tests that mean I will need hospital treatment for a period of time and so job seekiing may be problematic till chemo ends.

We do have some savings and can sell the car but wondered if paying taxes for 20 years gave us any beathing space to get over this blip?

We don't get Child Tax Credits at the moment so all I can see on this horizon is my JSA which can't feed a family of 5.

maria777_2

Sorry to hear about this - sounds lik eyou have had an awful run of bad luck!
You mention that you don't get child tax credits at the moment but would you not be entitled to them now due to your drop in income? Best wishesx

kingfisherblue

Is there any reason you think you won't get JSA for yourself?

Do you have savings?

Do you have any idea how much redundancy you expect to get?

Instead of JSA for yourself, you might be eligible for ESA if you are unable to work because of chemo.

You should also consider contacting child tax credits to apply. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are possibilities as well. If the only income is JSA, your children should get free school meals (not sure of savings are taken into consideration for this)

bloolagoon

Bad luck yes (but have now had my 3 so onwards and upwards).

I will get contribution based JSA - but only that according to the calculator.

I rang the Tax Credits - but they use last years wages so no we don't get it, we asked when hubby was made redundant as I was part time. They said I can apply but it is unlikely to be granted because if he gets a job we'd need to repay - which we will because otherwise.

I think it is the savings that are stopping it (but they are mainly our childrens savings so I guess I could use them). We have approx 17K in savings - £14K are the childrens.

bloolagoon

My redundancy payment is approx £2450 - so not a huge amount as part time and been there 7 years.

xylophone

If the savings in the accounts are indeed your children's ( you/your husband) are only "bare trustees",(Mr/Mrs X re ....) then the money belongs beneficially to your children and you cannot use it as though it were your own?
http://www.nwacademy.nhs.uk/downloads/documents/microsite_ests/a2_1722011_job_centre_plus_-_redundancy_support_pack.pdf
http://www.redundancyexpert.co.uk/about-child-tax-credit.html
http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=7613

daviecol

I had a similar experience 5 years ago. After being in continuous employment for over 20 years and paying well over 100k in tax I discovered after being made redundant that this entitled me to £57 per week whilst unemployed.

The words 'not fair' spring to mind. I really feel for you, I hope you can both find work soon.

zagfles

bloolagoon wrote: »

I rang the Tax Credits - but they use last years wages so no we don't get it, we asked when hubby was made redundant as I was part time. They said I can apply but it is unlikely to be granted because if he gets a job we'd need to repay - which we will because otherwise.

I think it is the savings that are stopping it (but they are mainly our childrens savings so I guess I could use them). We have approx 17K in savings - £14K are the childrens.

OK, tax credits are a bit of a nightmare in this situation, but if you need them you should apply.

Savings are not taken into account, except that interest over £300 counts as income which you need to declare - but that won't make much difference to the claim.

When you apply, they will ask about your income last year. If that was too high they'll send you an award with a zero entitlement. But if you expect your income to be much lower this year, you can phone them with an estimate and they'll pay you based on that estimate. So at least you'll have some money coming in.

If you/your husband did find work later in the year - you should tell them straight away. Your tax credits will then be reduced (possibly to zero) and if the job is well paid it's possible that you'll have an overpayment. But as you're earning you'll be able to set some aside to repay the overpayment, they should send you a new award notice which will tell you the likely overpayment.