Leaving a job and benefits

diystarter7

A friend is unhappy where he works.
He's been there for about two months and because of work slowing down, he is last in first out and out this Friday.
His wife does not work as she has depression and getting the higher rate DLA as she can't go on public transport etc.

He has a mortgage and the interest rate is about 700 per month he reckons

He has two kids aged 5 and 7.

He has savings of less than 16k.

Question

Will his wifes DLA be counted?
Does the government still pay the interest on the mortgage?

He is fed up and wants a rest for a few months and a change of work type

He feels he may be better off out of work as no fares etc and no stress.

How much approx a week or month will he get. And how long could he keep on getting these benfits if he could not find another job as he is 52 years old.

Thanks

calcotti

DLA is ignored as income when calculating other benefits.

The government will not help with the mortgage. After 36 weeks on UC if he had no earnings in that time you can apply for Support for Mortgage Interest but this is a loan on which interest is charged.

He can use a benefits calculator to check entitlement https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

For Universal Credit they  would both have to claim. The couple allowance is £525.72/month less deductions for any capital over £6000.

For two children he will get £534.58/month.

If the wife gets at least middle rate Care part of DLA then he should declare that he cares for  her. This means he will get the carer element of UC £168.81/month. As a carer he will not be expected to work.

She should declare her health condition supported by a Fit Note. She will then have a Work capability Assessment. If found to have LCWRA there would be an additional entitlement of £354.28/month.

He may also be eligible for Council Tax Reduction claimed from the local authority but different councils have different rules and he may not be eligible if he has capital over £6,000 depending on the rules for the local authority.

There is no time limit on how long UC can be claimed.

Note that if he currently receives Child Tax Credits these will stop if he applies for UC.

diystarter7

Many thanks @calcotti for the very detailed easy to understand response.
I'm going to email him a link and suggest he joins MSE.

TELLIT01

If your friend signs on for Universal Credits or JSA (if he qualifies) he will be expected to look for work.  He can't just decide he wants to take a few months out and expect to get benefits.

Spoonie_Turtle

TELLIT01 said:

If your friend signs on for Universal Credits or JSA (if he qualifies) he will be expected to look for work.  He can't just decide he wants to take a few months out and expect to get benefits.

Not if he is classed as his wife's carer, as calcotti pointed out.

Edit: though the amount of benefits paid might not be enough to survive, especially with a mortgage, so he might decide he needs to work again sooner rather than later anyway.

Alice_Holt

TELLIT01 said:

If your friend signs on for Universal Credits or JSA (if he qualifies) he will be expected to look for work.  He can't just decide he wants to take a few months out and expect to get benefits.

        Not if he gets the carers element of UC.

Explained here:
 https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/what-youll-need-to-do-on-universal-credit/claimant-commitment-what-group/

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Claimant-commitment-Universal-Credit

lisyloo

Not judging, but someone who is depressed may not need a full time carer.
i guess there are ways they decide these things, but it seems an assumption to me that she needs full time care.

Spoonie_Turtle

lisyloo said:

Not judging, but someone who is depressed may not need a full time carer.
i guess there are ways they decide these things, but it seems an assumption to me that she needs full time care.

The assumption is that if someone on a joint UC claim needs enough assistance to meet the threshold to receive a qualifying disability benefit (specifically care/daily living for DLA/PIP), their spouse may very well provide enough care to qualify for the carer's element.

Realistically what UC would check is whether the disabled person receives a relevant disability benefit.  It's then up to the claimant to be honest about whether they provide enough care to qualify or not.

TELLIT01

Spoonie_Turtle said:

TELLIT01 said:

If your friend signs on for Universal Credits or JSA (if he qualifies) he will be expected to look for work.  He can't just decide he wants to take a few months out and expect to get benefits.

Not if he is classed as his wife's carer, as calcotti pointed out.

Edit: though the amount of benefits paid might not be enough to survive, especially with a mortgage, so he might decide he needs to work again sooner rather than later anyway.

Fair comment, but I was responding in a more general way to the comment about the friend being fed up and wanting to rest for a few months.  Without other factors involved, that is not acceptable if the friend wishes to claim 'unemployment' benefits rather than anything else.

calcotti

TELLIT01 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

TELLIT01 said:

If your friend signs on for Universal Credits or JSA (if he qualifies) he will be expected to look for work.  He can't just decide he wants to take a few months out and expect to get benefits.

Not if he is classed as his wife's carer, as calcotti pointed out.

Edit: though the amount of benefits paid might not be enough to survive, especially with a mortgage, so he might decide he needs to work again sooner rather than later anyway.

Fair comment, but I was responding in a more general way to the comment about the friend being fed up and wanting to rest for a few months.  Without other factors involved, that is not acceptable if the friend wishes to claim 'unemployment' benefits rather than anything else.

If they claim UC as a carer they are not claiming an unemployment benefit (although the wife will be until she has been assessed via a WCA).

tomtom256

They could potentially face a sanction though, for giving up paid work without a good reason.

They could argue owing to their partners care needs increasing, but that would then go to a decision maker.

All depends on whether they get asked about the reason for leaving as part of any interviews as part of the application process/initial evidence appointments.