Starting a Business on Benefits

nik106

teddysmum wrote: »

Could you not use your mobility allowance to employ someone to accompany you to hospital, thus giving your husband more job opportunities ?


Also, though the courses are official ones would an internet qualification , without practical experience checked by a professional , allow someone to legally work in what is potentially a dangerous field ? It would really worry me if someone, qualified in this way was free to work on the electrics in my home.

Please don't worry, it's not an internet course. It's run by a training college. They have their own practical/assessment centers and work in partnership with some local (to them) building firms who will provide them with the practical experience they need to complete the qualification. It's just the theory that is done through distance learning. A lot of local colleges do the theory and practical exams so they NVQ's but in order to work in the field you have to supervised and signed off experience on a work site, which thankfully this course includes.

My mobility part of the PIP already goes towards my car, so I don't actually see any of it in my bank account. I have looked into whether I could get the carers allowance paid to someone else whilst he works, but I can't think of a single person who is willing to spend 35 hours with me (because my husband would still end up doing the night shift) for just £62. I found it hard enough to find someone to cover 13hours a week at £7.50 and hour and in the end had to increase the wages to £8.50 and fund any holiday pay out of my care budget so I just don't get personal care when she's on holiday.

nik106

Fishybusiness, thank you so much for your response. Using the calculators, I had pretty much run through the numbers you've come up with and was seemingly confident on it that we could manage it until things are settled, and hopefully thriving. But I didn't want to jump into it without someone saying "yes, he can work those extra hours without being paid for it", of which the tax credits call center confirmed.

At the moment, I am trying to establish whether we would actually be entitled to the tax credits. All the online info seems to suggest that we wouldn't be entitled to them because his income would be more than £2500 higher than last year, which would obviously be the case, since he didn't work last year. If this is right, it seems particularly stupid, because it's not exactly encouraging him to go back to work as we would be a lot worse off.

Darksparkle

What was the taxable household income last year and what are you estimating it to be this tax year?

pebbles88

Hi, just food for thought...... Universal credit is coming through in different areas, which may change what you receive. Apologies if you have already looked into it.

Also, all the calculators are estimates only at the time you complete them - as the benefit policy/amounts/rules can change at any time.

dktreesea

With your husband claiming carers allowance, it might be an idea to look up how much he is allowed to earn a year before he loses it. From memory it's quite low, just over £5k a year.