Self Employment/ESL Teaching in UK

I_Can_Haz_Job?

Hello

Just a little background - I was made redundant in April and have been on JSA with Council Tax support and Housing Benefit ever since.
Through a lot of pretty-pleasing and a rare beast in the form of a sweet, supportive Job Centre Advisor I was given leave to take a 4 week intensive teaching course over the summer. I simply signed on over the phone and then had to provide evidence of passing the course at the end.

I'm now looking for teaching jobs but want to stay in the UK.
My whole motivation for teaching English is to help support non English speakers, often stranded in the UK with no prospects.

I had an interview today and another tomorrow - the latter seems ideal. I would be started out as a part timer, working evenings and weekends with scope to go full time if I perform well.

The one point I'm unsure about is this role requires me to be self employed. I haven't a clue about this and will get through the interview before I start making calls to the relevant bodies - I just wanted to see if anyone knew the impact this would have on my existing income.

I'm aware that the job security is diddly squat should I become self employed but I'm also constantly paranoid about JSA sanctions and other horror stories. I would be on barely more than JSA so am happy to lose that and the aggro that goes with it.

Can you still claim Housing Benefit if you are part time self employed (on very low income)?
As the work would be nights/weekends, is there anything to stop me doing a part time McJob along side this?

I've been doing voluntary teaching work and have a CAB volunteer interview coming up so my days will be pretty full, but extra income would be valuable.

Any advice would be greatly received - feel free to tell me if these schools are glaringly 'taking you for a ride' too!

Thanks
x

bridgend_girl

if you were made redundant in wales you may apply for react funding which may pay for training in CELTA for teaching tefl

I_Can_Haz_Job?

I did get it all fully funded due to being on JSA - it's VERY hard work on the course but I'd definitely recommend it to other jobseekers. If you have a degree it's pretty much a route back into work.

tyllwyd

The first question is whether you would be genuinely self-employed if you only have one client?
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/empstatus.htm
How about looking for some private tutoring as well?

Registering for self-employment with HMRC is easy, and you will also need to register for self-assessment and start keeping records for when you fill in your tax return. You will need to pay Class 2 NI (or claim exemption for low earnings), but that all gets sorted out when you register as self-employed.

There is no problem having an employed job as well as a self-employed one - you will need to include that information on your tax return, and your final tax bill will be calculated from your total earnings.

Housing benefit - I don't have any personal experience but there are a few threads about this on here. I would guess that the situation is that you are entitled to claim, but it is going to be more difficult if you don't earn a regular amount each month.

I_Can_Haz_Job?

thanks very much for this

I was offered a role at a local school covering a few hours a week - I sign my contract tomorrow and start teaching that evening! I have to sign on first thing so I'll see what the Job Centre say with regards JSA. I'm prepared to basically work for free - the most important thing is building my teaching portfolio. If I perform well in the role, there's scope for it to be full time which is good to know. As long as I get my Housing Benefit, I should survive for a little while.