Turning down wage increase to maintain benefits

SmokieJoe

Hi, wondered if anyone here can answer this. Small number working in an office and the employer has offered a pay rise. The staff have declined the rise as it would cause them to miss out on other benefits, and the rise doesn't make up for the shortfall. Could this affect the benefit entitlement if DWP or Tax Credits were made aware of the decision to decline an offered pay rise?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

Deliberate deprivation of income with a collusive employer.

What happens if the employer continues to freeze wages until the national minimum wage or living wage forces them to increase the wages?

The employer should just increase the wages.

stevemLS

Wow. That's all.

rogerblack

For tax credits, can't one simply make voluntary pension contributions, and the income is entirely disregarded?
So if 1 pound rise, put in 1 pound more to the pension, and you're back in the same position.
Apart of course once you start to cash in the pension, when you're better off.

tea-bag

This is one of the things wrong with this country! My wife works in a large retail shop and many of the other workers REFUSE to work a minute more than 16 Hours a week as they lose too much in benefits. It is wrong as there are lots of hours going my wife could work 50 hours if she wanted.

rogerblack

tea-bag wrote: »

This is one of the things wrong with this country! My wife works in a large retail shop and many of the other workers REFUSE to work a minute more than 16 Hours a week as they lose too much in benefits. It is wrong as there are lots of hours going my wife could work 50 hours if she wanted.

The wrong is often the benefits, not the workers.
Consider for example people on carers allowance - they may be unable to work >>16 hours due to having to care.

meer53

SmokieJoe wrote: »

Hi, wondered if anyone here can answer this. Small number working in an office and the employer has offered a pay rise. The staff have declined the rise as it would cause them to miss out on other benefits, and the rise doesn't make up for the shortfall. Could this affect the benefit entitlement if DWP or Tax Credits were made aware of the decision to decline an offered pay rise?

How do you decline a pay rise ? Where i work there is no option to do this.

TELLIT01

tea-bag wrote: »

This is one of the things wrong with this country! My wife works in a large retail shop and many of the other workers REFUSE to work a minute more than 16 Hours a week as they lose too much in benefits. It is wrong as there are lots of hours going my wife could work 50 hours if she wanted.

Interesting admission from a poster who regularly berates others to increase their working hours.

SmokieJoe

The original question was put to me by someone who had listened to the Welfare Reform debate, where an MP stated "My hon. Friend might be interested to hear that as a small business owner, I share his experience. I have offered pay rises and additional hours to members of my staff, and they have turned them down because of the tax credits that they would lose as a result." Considering the MP is in favour of cutting benefits, seems strange they didn't simply pay the increase as the rate for the job!

tea-bag

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Interesting admission from a poster who regularly berates others to increase their working hours.

How? My wife works 35 hours a week she could easy do 50 if she wanted due to the amount of overtime hours going at her work!

SnooksNJ

tea-bag wrote: »

How? My wife works 35 hours a week she could easy do 50 if she wanted due to the amount of overtime hours going at her work!

The mindset is your wife should work 50 hours to support the people who won't work a minute over 16 hours.