FT student transfering to PT & self employed. Benefits? 30 August 2012 at 8:57PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Tax credits & benefits for work 2 replies 2.1K views

CANDYTROOPER1922

Hello All,


I am currently on a FT course at uni. There is a possibly that I will not be able to continue with this uni. I am awaiting some resit results.


I have applied for a PT course at a different establishment in case I can not return to my current course.


I am wondering where I would stand with benefits and being a PT student as I will not be entitled to the student loans.


If I successfully enrol on a PT course and receive JSA and have a self employed job earning around £30 – 40 per week would this be deducted from my JSA? I believe you can earn £5 per week and then everything after that is deducted.


Also would housing benefit & council tax benefit be decreased because of the self employed work ?




Thanks in advance for any replies

Caz3121

If you are entitled to IB JSA (eg not living with a working partner) If you claim you need to be prepared to give up your part time course for a job. There may also be work programs etc to attend that will require you to not attend your course.
re part time earnings, this will be deducted £1 for £1 after the first £5

CAB_Birmingham_representative

samhor wrote: »

Hello All,


I am currently on a FT course at uni. There is a possibly that I will not be able to continue with this uni. I am awaiting some resit results.


I have applied for a PT course at a different establishment in case I can not return to my current course.


I am wondering where I would stand with benefits and being a PT student as I will not be entitled to the student loans.


If I successfully enrol on a PT course and receive JSA and have a self employed job earning around £30 – 40 per week would this be deducted from my JSA? I believe you can earn £5 per week and then everything after that is deducted.


Also would housing benefit & council tax benefit be decreased because of the self employed work ?




Thanks in advance for any replies

Dear Samhor,

Generally, part time students can apply for income - related benefits (e.g Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance, Housing benefit and Council Tax benefit) if they are on a low income and meet the conditions for the benefit in question.

To qualify for Job Seekers Allowance whilst studying part time, you must be available for work, actively seeking work and have a valid jobseekers agreement. However, as you are self employed – it is unlikely that you will satisfy these criteria’s. You may wish to contact your local Job Centre for further advice.

For Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, £5 of your earnings from self employment will be disregarded if you are single. This is the basic disregard. The main levels of disregard range from £5 to £25. The amount of ‘disregard’ will be dependant upon your personal circumstances for example, if you have a partner, are a lone parent etc.

We hope this information has been of some use.

Kind regards,

Birmingham CAB