Benefits advice please? If anyone can help?

phyllis_stein

Hiya, Been advised to pop over here and ask if anyone can give me some help or advise, I would be really really grateful as I'm in a bit of a state at the moment over this.

my predicament is that I work 16 hours a week, earning £100 a week. The council assessed my rent and council tax benefit, and basically the award they gave me meant I would be paying my whole wages out in rent and council tax.

So i asked for a re-assessment which I got back today, and instead of increasing my award, thy have reduced it a bit more and asked for an overpayment back. I'm literally going to be working for deficit plus paying back on an overpayment. This has been going on for 6 months, so I have quite a bit to pay back.

I can ask my boss to give me 12 hours and go back on income support, which would at least guarantee my rent and council tax get paid, as I have been issued a notice to seek possession from my landlord (social housing) I'm really really scared I'm not going to be able to afford to keep a roof over our heads.

We are a family of 4, I am the sole earner and also a carer for my son, in receipt of carers allowance.

My two eldest children are not counted as dependents as they are over 20, the only child who is counted as dependent is my daughter aged 12. My eldest is in reciept of income support, my second oldest is in receipt of disability living allowance for learning difficulties and ESA for chronic kidney disease.

Does anyone know if it's possible to reduce working hours at a job I already have to claim income support, or do you already have to be on income support and then find a job for under 16 hours?

Thank you in advance, I would be most grateful for any feedback or help at all

LunaLady

Do your children contribute to the rent?

phyllis_stein

No, and it says (and I quote)

NON DEPENDENTS
Eldest child's name
middle child's name

The inclusion of these non-dependents does not affect your benefit claim for this period.
there is no deduction from your benefit for these non-dependents

LunaLady

But do they contribute any rent? If they don't then maybe they should?

phyllis_stein

Hi there thanks, Maybe they should - but that isn't the issue I'm asking for advice on. Thank you anyway

shop-to-drop

Could your employer increase you hours rather reduce them?

phyllis_stein

Hi shop to drop, there are only 2 full time contracts at my place of work - I have been offered one of them to cover ,maternity - but that doesn't start until November and will be temporary for 1 year (not that I mind that)

I am looking for full time jobs elsewhere but I live in a very rural isolated area, jobs are very thin on the ground and I don't have any qualifications either. It took me 8 months to find the job I'm in now.

paulineb_2

I was in a similar situation to you last year, I dont have kids and I was working 13 hours a week and it was my travel costs that were crippling me. I only paid £6 a week in rent though, although my rent is set at £55 a week as I live in a council house and rents are fairly low in my area. I am not at expert in housing benefit although Ive worked in jobs where Ive had to help people claim, but on £100 a week I dont think theres any way you should be paying out all your wages in rent. The thing is about claiming income support, if your wages are still over what you would get on income support if you werent working, you wont get any benefit. I signed on for a while last year while I was still working because when I started the job I was only on 9 hours, but as soon as I got any overtime that took me over the 71 pounds a week that I would have got on JSA, my entitlement to benefit stopped. You would basically, depending on your earnings, be signing on just to get your stamp paid. Although I understand what you are saying, if you got a few pounds in income support, you would get a rent rebate. I dont understand why on an income of £100 you are having to pay it all out in rent and council tax, have they given you a detailed breakdown of why? Im self employed just now and Im still on a low wage and I found it very hard to get a rent rebate the last time I was self employed, but my income at the moment is around £100 a week and I get my entire rent paid and all my council tax apart from the water charge.

The only thing I believe you could do is ask your boss to change your contract to what would take you just under the threshold for income support and then make a claim for benefit. But I would in the meantime be appealing the decision to award you very little rent and council tax rebate. Or as someone else said, if they dont already, ask your kids to make a contribution to the household budget, particularly if your home is at risk. I would seek advice from CAB and also the job centre, because they can do a benefit check up because they say no one should be worse off in work than on benefits, but thats not always the case.

phyllis_stein

Hi there pauline, thanks for the reply. I'm not paying out my entire wages on rent, but rent and council tax combined. Plus now an "over-payment" as well.

They have given me a detailed breakdown but it is (brb counting) 10 pages long, and is as clear as mud.

I think the confusion is that I get paid 4 weekly, 4 weekly, 5 weekly - but they regard my 5 weekly payslip as a 4 weekly one.

I have supplied them with TWO letters from my employer explaining the pay schedule, a printout from head office of the pay schedule inculding dates and every payslip I've had since I started working here. Someone I work alongside said the same thing happened to her, and she even went to court but they never found in her favour and persisted in regarding the 5 weekly payslip as a 4 weekly one.

paulineb_2

Ah ok, so it looks like you are getting more income in than you actually do. There must be some way you can appeal that. Id be asking for a meeting with someone in housing benefit. The last time I was self employed I had to basically give it up and go back on the dole (Im a self employed fitness instructor), because they wouldnt take my cash deposits into the bank as proof of how much money I made, they wanted details of everyone who did all my classes and in the end, having waited about 3 months, they awarded me a fiver in a rebate. This time it was much more straightforward, although I didnt know how much Id get or if Id get one at all.

Ask for a sit down meeting with someone and perhaps get your employer to work out what your average earnings are per week. Also give them copies of your bank statements, Im sure you have already, but surely someone will be able to see from that when you get paid.

When I was claiming HB last year, in work and not self employed, all my housing benefit office asked for was an average of my first 3 I think it was payslips. If your wages go up or down you can ask for a re assessment although youve already done that.

Is there a CAB in your area? Also, re the notice of possession. Landlords really dont want to evict people particularly with kids as it would cost them more to re house. Even if you are paying a pound a week to your rent arrears you are keeping a roof over your head.

I know what its like to be in part time work and broke and I also tried everything I could to get a second job and after a long saga (my job wasnt the happiest to say the least), I decided to go back self employed again.

Surely your p60 that you get yearly will show a breakdown of what you have earned in the previous tax year? It cant be that difficult you would think to get someone to understand that once every 3 months you need to make your wages last 5 weeks and not 4 weeks?

Cab or a money advice centre/first stop shop maybe. Or get your MP on board if you can, or local councillor, sometimes if you have someone fighting on your behalf its easier for people doing the sums to actually see sense.

pmlindyloo

As far as I am aware you can reduce your hours to below 16 and put in a claim for Income Support. Then you should be entitled to full HB (up to your local housing allowance) and CTB.

You would lose your working tax credit but retain your child tax credit.

You could put the 2 different scenarios into the benefit checker on www.turn2us.org.uk to see how it would work out.