Benefits, self-emplyment, "gainful employment" and "minimum income floor"?

Naf

bloolagoon wrote: »

I don't get you. Your wife is surely expecting her business to be profitable otherwise why bother you'd just work. Maybe not now as it takes time but you appear to be expecting it to fail before it's had a chance

Yes, we expect that it can be profitable. Very profitable in terms of profit percentages. What we don't think it will do is make actual minimum wage for actual hours worked for a while yet.

tomtontom

I can claim benefits for baking cakes? :T

bloolagoon

Naf wrote: »

Yes, we expect that it can be profitable. Very profitable in terms of profit percentages. What we don't think it will do is make actual minimum wage for actual hours worked for a while yet.

Well stop worrying they allow time for businesses to grow.

However I understand WTC are clamping down on hobby businesses. As she's not one it surely won't affect you.

PasturesNew

It all comes down to this. There is a difference between the following two bakers:

1] I bake two dozen cup cakes each week and take them to a bring and buy stall at the farmers market and I sell them for £60. This takes me 20 hours/week ....

2] I bake two dozen cup cakes each week, I did take them to the bring/buy stall but that didn't yield any profit, but I did get speaking to others there who put me onto a couple of other contacts and now I bake two dozen cup cakes for another stall holder there and they buy them from me for £40 (collecting them on the morning). That takes me 2 hours/week. I door knock for new commercial customers for 10 hours/week, this is yielding me 2 new regular customers each week, who have placed standing orders for 50 cup cakes/week, growing the business by £100/week each week.. I spend 5 hours/week selling my branded "Shake It, Cake It" cake mixes online through 3 online marketplaces, this is growing as I obtain repeat customers and I am currently selling 20 packs of my mixes/week. I am hoping to run a monthly Cupcake Workshop at the local Vintage Emporium shortly.

Mersey_2

Naf wrote: »

How new are the rules? She's only been going a couple of months, so presumably whatever the new ones are?
But ultimately, I expect, UC is going to take over sooner or later - how different are the rules?
We just want to make sure we can live, without her going out to work and earning less than nothing after childcare costs. Working from home makes things much more flexible around the kids.

The new rules came in for the self-employed in 2015/16.

So they will not apply to her if she started eg in March 2015. New businesses also have a period of grace/transition before the minimum rules kick in.

A couple of sites now have a decent guide to the new regime, eg www.revenuebenefits.org.uk

Many DWP/JCP and Council staff are still getting used to the new system and the UC Contact centre often gives out incorrect information, so it's best you know the position rather than asking the DWP.

Naf

PasturesNew wrote: »

It all comes down to this. There is a difference between the following two bakers:

1] I bake two dozen cup cakes each week and take them to a bring and buy stall at the farmers market and I sell them for £60. This takes me 20 hours/week ....

2] I bake two dozen cup cakes each week, I did take them to the bring/buy stall but that didn't yield any profit, but I did get speaking to others there who put me onto a couple of other contacts and now I bake two dozen cup cakes for another stall holder there and they buy them from me for £40 (collecting them on the morning). That takes me 2 hours/week. I door knock for new commercial customers for 10 hours/week, this is yielding me 2 new regular customers each week, who have placed standing orders for 50 cup cakes/week, growing the business by £100/week each week.. I spend 5 hours/week selling my branded "Shake It, Cake It" cake mixes online through 3 online marketplaces, this is growing as I obtain repeat customers and I am currently selling 20 packs of my mixes/week. I am hoping to run a monthly Cupcake Workshop at the local Vintage Emporium shortly.

We're definitely operating more like the 2nd. We're searching out as many people and places to sell as we can; trying to encourage repeat and referral business. We're off leafleting around the neighbourhood next week. We're constantly giving out business cards to people we meet, and looking up table top sales and fairs to get a table to sell at, but more to try & get orders and get our name out. With me being at uni and on campus daily, we're offering student deals as there's no need to factor delivery costs in that way.
We're definitely treating this like a real business and not just a hobby-turned-loophole

missbiggles1

tomtontom wrote: »

I can claim benefits for baking cakes? :T

But can you claim benefits for eating them - that's what I want to know!

missbiggles1

lyrical_gangster wrote: »

Ignore this poster he has no idea about business.

Because I think businesses should be profitable?

(At least I don't go round thanking people I disagree with.)

Naf

Mersey wrote: »

The new rules came in for the self-employed in 2015/16.

So they will not apply to her if she started eg in March 2015. New businesses also have a period of grace/transition before the minimum rules kick in..

She actually started trading in March, although there's some costs going back to December while we got set up to be able to register as a food business with the council.
So what applies to us?

Icequeen99

Naf wrote: »

She actually started trading in March, although there's some costs going back to December while we got set up to be able to register as a food business with the council.
So what applies to us?

As I asked above - are you talking about tax credits or universal credit.

The new tax credit rules apply to all self-employed working tax credit claimants from 6 April.

The UC rules will only apply when you are moved onto that benefit which could be in 6 months or 3 years - who knows.

IQ