Is working more worth it?

BigAunty

Yes, there are quirks in the system which mean that some households are not any better off working extra hours because of the steep withdrawal of benefits. This can also be compounded by expenses like travel to work, child care and greater taxation. In work benefits that pay a top-up to encourage people into part time or low paid employment can mean some are not much better off at all, even if they double their hours of employment.

I once came across DWP figures that suggested that a family of 2 parents and 3 kids with identical housing costs, with one earning around 9k and the other around 35k had only modest differences in disposable incomes due to one household being propped up by HB and tax credits while the other was not (if I remember rightly, the household earning nearly 4 times as much only got a few hundred pounds more over the course of the month). That's changed a little now due to HB/tax credits reductions but does show you either how generous in work benefits can be and how those trying to earn extra income find it swallowed up in other ways.

duchy

I found I was better off as a single parent working sixteen hours -it was the "hidden expenses" like more fares, more work clothes, less time to cook from scratch that moved it from "about the same" to "worse off". It seemed to be the more hours I worked the worse off I actually was when I number crunched the various scenarios for my particular circumstances-which was crazy !

joeyfreak

Thanks for all of the replies. I have made an appointment to speak to my work about possibly increasing my hours in the term time but then dropping them back down in the holidays to reduce my childcare costs.
The childcare costs are high because of the area I live in having only two childminders and fierce competition for spaces, I had to wait a long time to get a space with one of them, as such they know they can charge more because it is the only option we have

I am on an access course at the moment which finishes in June, I am well aware of the competition for places, and I can assure you I am not one of the new breed, I completed my A levels 6 years ago with the intention of this uni course however I fell pregnant before I could apply (I was much more financially stable then). but due to this I don't qualify for funding to complete my NVQ's. I have considered attempting to pay for them myself, which is another reason I wanted to increase my income by working more, but this doesn't seem possible.

Thank you all again for your input.

sh1981

joeyfreak wrote: »

Sorry for the title, I know working more should be worth it but it seems maybe in this situation it is not?

I currently work 16 hours a week and am a single parent claiming tax credits and housing benefit.

My youngest goes to school in September and so I was looking to work full time. This would make my childcare bills HUGE as in the school holidays I would have to pay £350 a week for childcare and £150 a week in term times.

I have been on entitled to and entered so many different scenarios and it all comes out that I will be no better off working more???

It seems that every pound more I earn will come straight out of my tax credits/housing benefits...

Am I missing something? I want to work more, I work now despite being fully aware I don't need to, I want to know that I have earned my own money as much as I can; but is it really worth working an extra 20 hours a week for less than £10 more?

I'm hoping someone will point out something I have missed as I really hope this isn't right, but I have a horrible feeling that I am trapped now unless I can get a very well paid job

You're absolutely right, do not work. Never ever work. Have fun living a life where you will never progress. Your life will become stagnant, time will stop. BTW out of curiousity, what calculations have you done, mind sharing them? I thought tax credits get adjusted by earning bands and hours, dont you get 'more' tax credits if you work more hours? I thought you did!