Any tax credits experts need help

blunthayley

Because I asked to be paid that way because it's easier for me by doing my budget of what I'm spending weekly ie food shopping n bills etc as most are weekly so I can keep a better eye on what I'm spending an as im paid weekly I get the same money each week

shegirl

Icequeen99 wrote: »

I was the person who posted on your last thread and told you to record the name.

I have dealt with tax credit cases for the last 10 years and I can tell you that things are rarely as straightforward as the helpline say.

Accept what they have told you, but keep a note of the call (date, time and adviser name).

If compliance were to check they MIGHT query whether your hours are 'normally' 24 with that pattern.

There is no right and wrong answer here because the legislation doesn't give any more guidance other than it is the hours you normally work. So it is left to interpretation.

The recognised cycle of work rules only apply to people who have a recognisable cycle over a year - generally people who work in schools. It doesn't allow averaging as such, you just ignore the periods they are not working.

The claim form notes do have one example where they average over a 2 week cycle.

I would therefore suggest you accept what tax credits say, but make a note then it covers you for the future.

However, i think you are also saying that your employer is paying you 24 hours a week but you are in fact working 23, 23, 23, 27 so i doubt that tax credits would ever know anyway as looking at your payslips it is going to show 24 hours work. I don't understand why your employer is doing that instead of just paying you 23, 23, 23, and then 27?

IQ

Because that payment pattern has been requested to enable the receipt of tax credits It happens quite often from what I've seen people suggest

blunthayley

The week of 27 I work is variable to what week in the month it is they only give me a week notice of when it is I work in a pharmacy so some weeks are busier than others so if there is a work overload from a busy week I go in to help that week so being paid at 24 hours weekly is better for me because I don't know what week I'm going to get the extra hours in n at the moment 4 hours a month is all they will offer me as I told them I'd have to leave if I dont average 24 to claim tax credits and find a job that can offer me better hours

blunthayley

Well yes of course it does they can't offer me the hour weekly they have given me 4 hours monthly why is it wrong that I'm paid that way to claim tax credits when I can still claim them even if I was paid 23 23 23 27 I have asked the tax credit helpline twice about it n it's fine according to them so whichever way I'm paid it is fine

blunthayley

Ice queen So in your experience have you seen a case similar to this where they have rejected this pattern of work under a compliance check I suffer from anxiety and I constantly worry about if I'm doing this right I don't want to be getting into trouble with tax credits

blunthayley

I didn't take the advisors name but I have recorded the time and date of both calls

Icequeen99

blunthayley wrote: »

Ice queen So in your experience have you seen a case similar to this where they have rejected this pattern of work under a compliance check I suffer from anxiety and I constantly worry about if I'm doing this right I don't want to be getting into trouble with tax credits

Not exactly the same. I have seen cases where the hours aren't in a fixed pattern that have been queried. For example on a 16 hour threshold case - 14, 19, 15, 15, 15, 20, 15, 15 compliance said that the normal hours were under 16. More likely to do that if the person is under the hours threshold for 4 weeks or more.

In employed cases compliance ask for payslips normally and a contract of employment. I haven't seen them ask for more than that in employed cases. If they are going to both show 24 hours a week then i can't see a problem (even if technically your work are not doing things correctly because they are basically saying you are working 24 hours every week when in fact you are not).

I understand you have anxiety but no-one here can say one way or another what a compliance officer might do. An even if you are compliance checked, it doesn't mean they would decide against you. As I say they are unlikely to look beyond your payslips.

You have asked them, you have noted the calls. You are probably a borderline case.

I would be uncomfortable with the way your employer is doing things, but if you are ok with that part then I wouldn't particularly worry about tax credits.

IQ

blunthayley

Thank you for your advice this is the only job iv ever had since I left school I'm quite naive when it comes to things like this when I asked to work 24 hours weekly so I can claim tax credits they suggested that they would give me a 4 hour variable day a month as it wasn't possible for me to do any more hours each week at the moment and pay me the same each week which I wanted and as they agreed I never believed it was wrong because surely if they could get into trouble for it they wouldnt agree or so I thought.i scare myself silly over the whole thing I have 2 young children n I think of the worst scenario like I'm going to get carted off to prison for fraud it's just making my anxiety issues worse

Icequeen99

blunthayley wrote: »

Thank you for your advice this is the only job iv ever had since I left school I'm quite naive when it comes to things like this when I asked to work 24 hours weekly so I can claim tax credits they suggested that they would give me a 4 hour variable day a month as it wasn't possible for me to do any more hours each week at the moment and pay me the same each week which I wanted and as they agreed I never believed it was wrong because surely if they could get into trouble for it they wouldnt agree or so I thought.i scare myself silly over the whole thing I have 2 young children n I think of the worst scenario like I'm going to get carted off to prison for fraud it's just making my anxiety issues worse

Honestly, you are not going to get carted off to prison for fraud.

IQ

blunthayley

I'm going ring them again tomorrow after work ask the same question again and ask the advisors name because I didn't ask their names the last 2 times I rang