Can I Claim Benefits?

evans3l

Good Evening

Just after a bit of advice from anyone in the know or has been in the same situation please....

I’ve recently come to the end of my maternity leave so sent a request to my employer for flexible working to accommodate life with two babies but this was refused. After meeting with my manager to discuss this, it became very clear that there was absolutely no chance of negotiating any sort of flexible working arrangements and with the costs of childcare, it’s no longer viable for me to do that job as I just can’t afford to put my girls in to full time child care and to be honest, they are still so young I’d be really sad to miss out on the time with them.

Therefore I feel like my hand is being forced to give up my job, my question is if I gave up work, what benefits would I be entitled to? I do have a partner, he works full time but only earns £16500 a year but does recieve PIPs and £750 a month military pension.

I’ve done a couple of the benefit checker calculators and they say all we are entitled to is child benefit, is this correct as wouldn’t I be entitled to job seekers or other benefits??

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

poppy12345

evans3l wrote: »

Good Evening

Just after a bit of advice from anyone in the know or has been in the same situation please....

I’ve recently come to the end of my maternity leave so sent a request to my employer for flexible working to accommodate life with two babies but this was refused. After meeting with my manager to discuss this, it became very clear that there was absolutely no chance of negotiating any sort of flexible working arrangements and with the costs of childcare, it’s no longer viable for me to do that job as I just can’t afford to put my girls in to full time child care and to be honest, they are still so young I’d be really sad to miss out on the time with them.

Therefore I feel like my hand is being forced to give up my job, my question is if I gave up work, what benefits would I be entitled to? I do have a partner, he works full time but only earns £16500 a year but does recieve PIPs and £750 a month military pension.

I’ve done a couple of the benefit checker calculators and they say all we are entitled to is child benefit, is this correct as wouldn’t I be entitled to job seekers or other benefits??

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

You wouldn't be entitled to any means tested benefits like JSA because you have a partner that works. However you maybe entitled to Contribution based JSA if you've paid enough NI in the last 2 tax years. You also need to be actively seeking work to be able to claim JSA, if this is not your plans then no you won't be able to claim it.


Do you claim tax credits? As your partner claims PIP he may also be entitled to the disability element of tax credits because he works. We have a couple of people who post regularly who are very knowledgeable with this, i'm sure they'll see this and help you further.

Darksparkle

Will you actually be job seeking if you can't afford childcare and would rather be with your children?

Based on what you've posted there may be some entitlement to tax credits. How much would depend on your specific circumstances though eg working hours, rate of PIP, last year and current year income:

That's assuming you aren't in a UC area.

Sncjw

I would also check if you have to pay any money back to the employer for maternity leave.

TELLIT01

I can't help with any answers to the benefits entitlement question, but this does go to emphasise the fact that everybody is entitled to request flexible working / reduced hours but companies are not obliged to grant the changes. Many people come to the site in the clear belief that employers have to grant requests but they do not.

evans3l

Thanks for replying to my post. I did a lot of research before I requested flexible working and am fully aware they are under no obligation to accept a request, however, they do have an obligation to explain the decision and give a valid business reason as to why the request was rejected, sadly this didn’t happen. I’ve done the job for 13 years and know it like the back of my hand, it could easily be done from home as with others in the same job role have done in the past. I even have an office at home ready to use!! Very disappointing and a sad end to my time with that Organisation!!

evans3l

poppy12345 wrote: »

You wouldn't be entitled to any means tested benefits like JSA because you have a partner that works. However you maybe entitled to Contribution based JSA if you've paid enough NI in the last 2 tax years. You also need to be actively seeking work to be able to claim JSA, if this is not your plans then no you won't be able to claim it.


Do you claim tax credits? As your partner claims PIP he may also be entitled to the disability element of tax credits because he works. We have a couple of people who post regularly who are very knowledgeable with this, i'm sure they'll see this and help you further.

Thanks very much for the reply. I am currently actively looking for jobs that can be done from home, so I’ll look in to contribution based JSA, thank you. I don’t claim tax credits as I really wasn’t sure what I qualify for. I’ll talk to my partner about tax credits too as not sure he’s explored his options either. Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to me.

evans3l

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I can't help with any answers to the benefits entitlement question, but this does go to emphasise the fact that everybody is entitled to request flexible working / reduced hours but companies are not obliged to grant the changes. Many people come to the site in the clear belief that employers have to grant requests but they do not.

Thanks for replying to my post. I did a lot of research before I requested flexible working and am fully aware they are under no obligation to accept a request, however, they do have an obligation to explain the decision and give a valid business reason as to why the request was rejected, sadly this didn’t happen. I’ve done the job for 13 years and know it like the back of my hand, it could easily be done from home as with others in the same job role have done in the past. I even have an office at home ready to use!! Very disappointing and a sad end to my time with that Organisation!!

evans3l

Darksparkle wrote: »

Will you actually be job seeking if you can't afford childcare and would rather be with your children?

Based on what you've posted there may be some entitlement to tax credits. How much would depend on your specific circumstances though eg working hours, rate of PIP, last year and current year income:

That's assuming you aren't in a UC area.

Thanks very much for replying to my post. I’m actively seeking jobs that I can do from home, with flexible hours to fit around my girls. Is UC area Universal Credits?? Thanks again

evans3l

Sncjw wrote: »

I would also check if you have to pay any money back to the employer for maternity leave.

Thanks for your reply This was something I was aware of as did explore the costs of not returning at the beginning of my maternity leave.

poppy12345

Check if your area is a full UC area by putting your post code into this link.
http://ucpostcode.entitledto.co.uk/ucdate