better off working?

thelroc1947

i am asking for information on whether i will be better off working.I am single parent, i have 1 child, live in private rented property and claim housing /council tax benefit. i have been told to take employment for 16 hours at the N.M.wage. i know i will get some tax credits but if i lose Housing/ council tax benefit am i going to be better off? or would it be better if i worked 30 hours or more? thank you.

Caz3121

Depending on the LHA rate for your area you could still be entitled to housing benefit on 16 hours
if you check the LHA rate for your area then you can use one of the benefit calcuators such as turn2us to try various scenarios

poppasmurf_bewdley

Of course you will be better off working instead of having other people working to support you.

Getting a job of 30 hours will mean more income for you and your child and reduce your dependence on others. It will also make you feel better and give you more pride in yourself. As your child gets older, they will be much more proud of a mum that works instead of sitting on their ****.

Additionally, staying on benefit instead of working will soon not be an option for single mums (or anybody else) so you might as well do it sooner rather than later.

Good luck.

chocdonuty

If you can get free childcare from parents ect then yes go for 30 hours plus otherwise your extra pay may go straight to childcare and the travelling to and from.
Unless of course working extra hours will lead to more pay in the future, depends on your circumstances, proffesion and pay really.
If you work between 16-30 hours then you will get housing benefit.
It's definatly worth doing a calculation with the jobcentre or on directgov to work out what kind of hours would suit you best, Sometimes it's not worth doing the extra as you are no better off, stupid really but thats the way the system works!

thelroc1947

many thanks for your help here, i'm glad you understand where i am coming from. I'm not afraid to work but as you say it's no good if you're worse off working. I didn't know if i would lose housing /council tax benefit. i'll certainly look into doing a calculation. thanks again.

pmlindyloo

How old is your child? Under 5 years?

Are you claiming JSA or IS? Are you claiming CTC?

nicky7

It depends on if you can fit 30 hours work around your child as childcare is not cheap and it might make you worse off in the end so you maybe better off working 16 hours instead.

I don't see benefits as other people supporting you it is meant as a safety net when people need it and you need it atm.

If this country paid a decent salary to single parents and others and jobs were easy to come by then benefits wouldn't be needed to suppliment incomes but unfortunately most are paid minimum wage so they are needed.

You will be better off working with tax credits, your rent wil be subsidised.

sarahg1969

nicky7 wrote: »

If this country paid a decent salary to single parents and others and jobs were easy to come by then benefits wouldn't be needed to suppliment incomes but unfortunately most are paid minimum wage so they are needed.

I was paid a decent salary when I was a single parent. I guess it depends on what qualifications and experience you have, and what you do for a job.

Some single parents may get themselves a decent education while they are at home while their children are young, if they decide not to go to work. That means that when they do decide to go on to the job market, they can look for jobs that pay more than NMW.