Any help available for self employed if partner earns decent wage?

faustus

Currently I live with my parents and am on ESA in the support group, however I am subject to frequent ATOS assesments and it seems inevitable I will be removed from ESA sooner rather than later. I have a fluctuating condition which is very unpredictable and leaves me in huge amounts of pain. Due to this I would find it very difficult, if not impossible to hold down a normal job.

Looking to the future I see my only option as some kind of self employment, working from home which would allow me to accomodate my condition and work around it as best I can.

If I were to continue to live at home and go self employed I believe I would be entitled to WTC with the disability element however at my parents home I have no space to work. I have a boyfriend and I would like to move in with him and he has the space to accomodate my home business idea but if I were living with him his income would be taken into account and as he earns about £28,000 a year before tax etc I don't think I would be entitled to any support.

This is difficult as while he is my boyfriend and supportive he does not wish to support me financially. His elderly parents are financially dependent on him at the moment and he can't actually afford to cover my living costs at present.

I don't need a huge amount of money just a few hundred pounds a month to cover my living expenses while I try to make enough money to live on from a home business. I don't think I would make much at all for the first few months or even year especially as I would need to reinvest money made to cover materials etc.

As far as I can tell if I were to move in with my boyfriend he would be expected to pay for me by the DWP regardless of weather or not he actually wanted to.

As it stands and I am not able to return to work I will have to stay on full benefits for the forseeable future and in addition I run the risk of losing my boyfriend which is devestating as it is so hard to find and establish a relationship when you are ill. It feels like all hope a a semi normal life is beyond me.

Is there anything I could apply for which might help boost my income even for a little while which wouldn't take my partners income into account?

bestpud

faustus wrote: »

Currently I live with my parents and am on ESA in the support group, however I am subject to frequent ATOS assesments and it seems inevitable I will be removed from ESA sooner rather than later. I have a fluctuating condition which is very unpredictable and leaves me in huge amounts of pain. Due to this I would find it very difficult, if not impossible to hold down a normal job.

Looking to the future I see my only option as some kind of self employment, working from home which would allow me to accomodate my condition and work around it as best I can.

If I were to continue to live at home and go self employed I believe I would be entitled to WTC with the disability element however at my parents home I have no space to work. I have a boyfriend and I would like to move in with him and he has the space to accomodate my home business idea but if I were living with him his income would be taken into account and as he earns about £28,000 a year before tax etc I don't think I would be entitled to any support.

This is difficult as while he is my boyfriend and supportive he does not wish to support me financially. His elderly parents are financially dependent on him at the moment and he can't actually afford to cover my living costs at present.

I don't need a huge amount of money just a few hundred pounds a month to cover my living expenses while I try to make enough money to live on from a home business. I don't think I would make much at all for the first few months or even year especially as I would need to reinvest money made to cover materials etc.

As far as I can tell if I were to move in with my boyfriend he would be expected to pay for me by the DWP regardless of weather or not he actually wanted to.

As it stands and I am not able to return to work I will have to stay on full benefits for the forseeable future and in addition I run the risk of losing my boyfriend which is devestating as it is so hard to find and establish a relationship when you are ill. It feels like all hope a a semi normal life is beyond me.

Is there anything I could apply for which might help boost my income even for a little while which wouldn't take my partners income into account?

He'd be expected to support you.

Alarm bells would be ringing for me:

He is supportive but not financially.

He would dump you if you can't move in and/or support yourself.

He sounds a right catch!

How about you look into benefits for his parents if they really are dependent on him?

midnight_express

Dump the boyfriend.

LunaLady

I agree, he sounds like a jerk. The clue is in the name - Partnership.

You deserve better.

Dunroamin

Whilst I agree with all of the above, why can't you stay living with your family and just run your business from your BF's house? You could afford to pay him a small amount towards any bills from your benefits.

busy_mom_2

you are either a couple or not, if you were to have children would he not support them either?

BigAunty

There is no exemption from the principle embedded in the benefits system that partners should assist and support each other - your business requirements and his family commitments are irrelevant.

However, perhaps his parents should have a benefit check-up to see if they are getting their entitlements - get him to run their figures through the Turn2us online benefit calculator. Generally, pensioners of retirement age are better off than many other social groups dependent on benefits.

If it's just storage requirements that you need for your business for stock, perhaps a local storage/lock-up facility will be cheap?

If you are under 30, look at things like the Princes Trust that give grants/loans to those setting up employment. There's also a new enterprise allowance scheme run by the Job Centre but I don't know the criteria for acceptance on it.

dseventy

Sounds like a catch!

You are in huge amounts of pain and thinking of living with him, yet he wont support you? Without getting all romantic, have you had a chat with him and explained how it looks?

I would not be in any rush to move from home with that kind of person, can you not explore other options? What "space" do you need?

D70

Mojisola

faustus wrote: »

This is difficult as while he is my boyfriend and supportive he does not wish to support me financially. His elderly parents are financially dependent on him at the moment and he can't actually afford to cover my living costs at present.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt - if it really is can't as apposed to doesn't want to, then he needs some help with his parents' situation.

Perhaps if you explained their situation, we could see ways to helping them become financially independent - if he/you don't want to, at least try to get them to see an advisor from AgeUK for a benefits check.