Income support & students

Rachel85

No, she won't be able to claim benefits! The reason for this is that her Student Support entitlement will have been worked out based on yours and her circumstances (and the fact that she is living away from home) and designed to cover the entire year. The payments are weighted towards term times as students tend to have higher overheads during this time, and less ability to partake in paid employment. But the idea is that they ensure finacial support over the whole year.

Most students work over the summer. Its a great opportunity to get in nearly 3 months of full time paid work. The money can then be used to subsidise the following year. People who choose not to work because either they don't need to financially or can't be bothered tend to find it very hard to get a job after graduating so its definitely worthwhile.

Oldernotwiser

sue311 wrote: »

Can I please ask Oldernotwiser what you meant by that last comment.
I have only been on benefit for twelve months after suffering with the same illness for 19 years so I do still indeed feel a bit of a novice where the benefit system is concerned.

Yes my daughter has friends who work but firstly, they stayed at a local University where as my daughter had to go away for her course and secondly, their parents are not on benefits, so it wouldnt have affected them.

You say that she has been eligible to work for a couple of years now, I take it that you mean from the age of 16, well I am sorry but I havent encouraged them in the past (before I was on benefits) and I wont encourage them now to get a job while they are studying for A levels.

My eldest daughters best friend started a course at a sixth form college and then dropped out after getting used to earning money during the holidays, she is now selling mobile phones, another lads ambition all through school was to join the army, he is now working full time in a sandwhich bar, a great career move that was.

So thank you for your comment but I think I would prefere to struggle on, I dont want my kids to end up on the scrap heap thank you.

I don't know why you took offence at my post; it seems normal to me to work in the holidays and also to have a Saturday job as well! I went to a very selective grammar school many years ago and everybody worked like this and got excellent results. I know some people don't work in term time, particularly if they have many interests but I can see no reason why any student over the age of sixteen shouldn't work in the holidays, particularly during the summer. What on earth do they do with themselves otherwise?

When your daughter finishes university she'll find that her lack of paid work experience is a definite handicap to her future career. Employers expect people to have developed good work habits and to be used to working, even if in not very exciting jobs. I really feel that your attitude could be a problem in the future. I'm a Careers Adviser and I know what employers look for; however good the degree, they want to see well rounded people with good employment skills and experience of the world of work.

sue311

Thanks for your replies, they were a help. My eldest daughter will look for something im sure when she comes home but no offence was intended to anyone who does or did work at 16 (dmg24) but I would still not encourage any of my children to work before they get to Uni, I would be too worried about them doing the same as their friends and ending up in a dead end job.

Oldernotwiser

Many people find that working Saturdays/ holidays in a dead end job spurs them on to achieve better qualifications. Once they see how boring these sort of jobs can be, they realise that they need to work hard to avoid this in the future!

liney

I work at an employment agency where we employ many students for manual work throughout the summer months. Many of the students come back each year as we managed to place them for the whole of the summer. Working in holidays certainly doesnt encourage them to drop out: i have had many conversations along the lines of 'Thank god i dont have to do this full time' or ' I wish i didnt need the money lol'

Part time work will enchance her CV. If she, at 21 leaves university with no work experience, she will be at a disadvantage when competing with other candidates.

kelloggs36

You wouldn't be able to claim for her just for the fact that she is over 18 and is not longer classed as a dependant - she is an adult and responsible for herself, so no, you won't be able to claim for her whilst she is with you in the holidays - she can't claim for herself either as the rules changed years ago on this one, so she lhave to get a temp job if she wants any money. Sorry. The rules state that you can only claim for a dependent if they are under 20 (for tax credit purposes) and in full-time non-advanced education and uni is ADVANCED education so that excludes her. She will also be getting a loan which is her 'income'.

Bennifred

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Many people find that working Saturdays/ holidays in a dead end job spurs them on to achieve better qualifications. Once they see how boring these sort of jobs can be, they realise that they need to work hard to avoid this in the future!

This was certainly the case with my bright-but-inclined-to-be-lazy DS1, who is currently at Uni................:p

I worked weekends and holidays from the age of 13, all three of my children work part-time as well as studying - I think that as long as it is in moderation and suitable for their ages then it teaches them independence and the value/pride of earning your own money. Also, we are not in a position to fund their higher education so being in the habit of earning stands them in good stead.

buff-tom

We are coming up to one of the busiest times of the year for the Jobcentre's as many students claim JSA during the summer months. People can claim whilst they are at uni as per my earlier post!

Oldernotwiser

buff-tom wrote: »

We are coming up to one of the busiest times of the year for the Jobcentre's as many students claim JSA during the summer months. People can claim whilst they are at uni as per my earlier post!

Your original post was quite correct in that students can claim JSA when they finish their course. Unfortunately your second point in the above post rather undermines this. Students cannot claime JSA "WHILST" they are at university. As the OP's daughter is finishing her first year she is not eligible to claim.

dmg24

Yet again, Oldernotwiser is spot on with this!

buff-tom, perhaps you misunderstood the first post?