How does son's apprenticeship affect my benefits?

cute_but_annoyed

fallenangelhorses wrote: »

Hello there... Ive sent you a PM ok. xx

Hi my son too is wanting to start an approved aporentership through the college. He will get £110 a week. I'm really worried as I've cut back to the bare essentials with him in education and if we loose child benefit, tax credit that alone puts me in trouble but the worst is that I loose my ex husbands CSA payment which means we will have to move as I carnt afford the rent. The aporentership is an NVQ level 2 so he's still being educated and still wants to proceed to university. Surely if my son has stayed at college we would have still had all the benefits and CSA and he could have got a part time job around college without it affecting anything, yet if he does the aporentership then we loose everything? Is that fair? I am also lead to believe that the funding doesn't come from the place that he will be working at but through the college as they secure the funding. The employer pays nothing at all. It is only when he does the level 3 that the employer gets charged around £350 a year so I was told by the aporentership lady? Any help here as I'm really worried. It's such a grey area. I'm tempted to not tell anyone just to see if this is right or not, as benefits will do anything just not to pay. As for loosing CSA, then that really grates on me as my ex has done everything he could possible not to pay it. CSA have had to chase him. He settled in court to pay the boys school fees and then didn't, but because he'd taken everything and I mean everything and even came after the no claims bonus on my car insurance and my car I had no money to go back to court to argue this. He took the house, the money, broke in and took everything of value. We ended up in rented accommodation and the boys lost their school which they adored, resulting in my bright son who was predicted ten A/B grades in his GCSE ended up with depression, considered and investigated hanging himself and dropped out of school with no qualifications at all. College life proved too much for him as he was with kids that just disrupted the entire class so no one could listen to the lecturer. Luckily he did get four GCSEs there but a grade C which isn't like him at all. This a boy that's shy, worries terribly, panics and never speaks up in class. He used to be the most popular boy in the school, happy go lucky and always smiling but always studious and wanted to do well in education just so he could get a fabulous job in IT and take the pressure of me as he's well, aware what damage his dad has done and how I'm working every hour possible just to pay the bills. I was in a well paid job but had to leave as my ex had an affair with the girl in my office so now I'm on minimum wage job ....it all stinks really! But I want my son happy as it breaks my heart seeing how much he's changed, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders! It's really worrying

specialboy

cute_but_annoyed wrote: »

Hi my son too is wanting to start an approved aporentership through the college. He will get £110 a week. I'm really worried as I've cut back to the bare essentials with him in education and if we loose child benefit, tax credit that alone puts me in trouble but the worst is that I loose my ex husbands CSA payment which means we will have to move as I carnt afford the rent. The aporentership is an NVQ level 2 so he's still being educated and still wants to proceed to university.
Not one iota of the rest of your post is relavent

specialboy

You won't lose money, he will have £110 that he can contribute towards your living costs.

carmina_piranha

You don't know how much she will lose though. My sister gets £75 per week from the CSA, so if her lad left college and took an apprenticeship she would lose a lot more than £110 per week - although I reckon her ex would continue to pay it.

I personally think that an apprenticeship should still count as education for the purposes of CSA, although I can see why the other benefits stop.

Poppie68

carmina_piranha wrote: »

You don't know how much she will lose though. My sister gets £75 per week from the CSA, so if her lad left college and took an apprenticeship she would lose a lot more than £110 per week - although I reckon her ex would continue to pay it.

I personally think that an apprenticeship should still count as education for the purposes of CSA, although I can see why the other benefits stop.

Specialboy was referring to benefits as the op has posted on the Benefits board

In regards to CSA still being allowed for a 'child' on an apprenticeship... why on earth should that be seen as in education... Some apprentices spend no time in college and most only a few hours a week, in return they receive a wage as they are in employment which happens to provide training.... if the parent wants they can charge rent.

carmina_piranha

The parent can charge rent, yes, and I would. But if the parents 'loses' income of more than £110 per week then the young person can't make up for that loss, and my worry would be that some young people may not be 'allowed' to take a useful apprentice that they would love, simply because their parent can't afford to support them. They are not paid minimum wage, so it's harder for them to pay their fair share like a young person in full time work could.

It's like going back to the system that was in place when I was a teenager, and many of my friends weren't allowed to go to 6th form or college but could do the YTS which was our version of an apprenticeship.

Poppie68

An apprenticeship is employment, what would the parent do if their child(who is now an adult) claimed JSA or only had part time work?

carmina_piranha

I didn't think 16 year olds could claim JSA?

My teenagers go to college full time. If they only worked part time and nothing else then I'd tell them to go to college until they could find full time work. I wouldn't want them to work part time when this is the best opportunity to get a free education - I'd insist on either full time work, an apprenticeship or full time college - for their own good.

But what I'd do isn't relevant in this case, because I don't get CSA, etc. so if one of mine took an apprenticeship they would be able to compensate me for the loss of CB comfortably. Not every parent is in the fortunate situation of CB being the only thing they claim though.

oriaca99

Hi, I am also having this dilemma at the moment....
I have been told that I will lose Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits and CSA...
However, from also doing my own investigations, it seems that I will also lose Working Tax Credits also as I currently am working just 20 hours per week. However, I do need to get some advice and confirm this

Caz3121

you would need to work 30 hours to qualify for WTC unless you have a disibility