Single mum on IS - can earn £20pw? Does she need to declare it?

Surama

Hi

My sister is a single parent - she has a five year old and a eight month old. She gets Income Support and Housing Benefit. She's also studying part-time so she's pretty busy!

She'd like to earn some money, more for her CV and so she has a reference for when she starts looking for work FT than anything. She's been told that as a single parent she can earn up to £20pw without her benefits being affected, is this the case?

The job she's interested is a sms answering service, where people ask questions (like at pub quizzes etc), and she finds out the answers and replies. The company who do this need to know her NI number so I am assuming it's all above-board.

She thinks she can earn this money and not tell the benefits people so long as it's under £20 but this doesn't sound right to me! Surely they'll be able to tell she's been earning money anyway if it goes through her NI - I don't know how much access to that sort of thing the benefits people have though. Presumably even if it's less than £20pw and they find out she hasn't declared it she'll still get in trouble?

She just doesn't want the hassle of forms I think but I am sure if I could point her at something legal I could persuade her!

ukdickie31

Hi

Yes it must be declared.

If the money is £20 per week and can be verified (bank statements, wage slips etc) then it won't affect IS.

In any benefit week that the money earned goes above £20 per week (remember benefit week, not just a Monday to Friday week etc), any money earned over £20 will be taken off IS £ for £.

The Jobcentre Plus will advise your friend in greater detail when she declares it, which I strongly suggest she does !

Surama

Thanks for that.

What's confusing me is how they know if she goes above the £20 or is indeed earning at all - presumably through the NI somehow?

ukdickie31

There won't be NI on £20.

There will however be fraud if she doesn't declare it.

Yes, there will be form filling.
Yes, there will be a need to supply wage verification.
Yes, it's a pain.

But

It's better than looking over your shoulder every minute or thinking 'what if'.. etc.

At the end of the day, it won't affect the benefit, but it will make her sleep better knowing that she has done things properly.

Surama

ukdickie31 wrote: »

Yes, there will be form filling.
Yes, there will be a need to supply wage verification.
Yes, it's a pain.

But

It's better than looking over your shoulder every minute or thinking 'what if'.. etc.

At the end of the day, it won't affect the benefit, but it will make her sleep better knowing that she has done things properly.

So true, I think I might quote that at her verbatim! Thankyou!