Job centre registered me as not gainfully self employed, is this wise?

textbook
textbook Posts: 771 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
edited 19 April at 2:00PM in Benefits & tax credits
My transistional protection/first year start up help ends in two days and I just had an interview with a work coach at jobcentre.    As I've been working paye for last three months 37 hrs and getting no money off dwp whilst doing this job I said from now (hopefully today it will be recorded) that my dominant job is paye not self employment?   I heard when the year ends of first year transistional protection you're entitled to nothing self employed but if you lose your paye job you can still claim universal credit.  Was this a smart move?

I'm concerned that if I get ill or have surgery I will need to claim it.

Comments

  • NedS
    NedS Posts: 4,295 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 19 April at 2:54PM
    When someone is both employed PAYE and are also self employed, the job centre must decide which is your main employment. As you are currently working full time PAYE, it sounds like they have decided this is currently your main employment, not your self employment. How many hours per week are you currently working on your self-employment and what is your monthly self-employed income at present?
    If your circumstances change, they will reassess this as and when that happens. For example, if the PAYE full time job ended, and you were again working on a self employed basis, then they may decide this is now your main employment and you are gainfully self employed.

  • Newcad
    Newcad Posts: 1,590 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Just another question that may be relevant here.
    You mention 12 months TP,  that's a savings/capital disregard for those migrating from Tax Crefits - so do you actually have savings/capital of above £16k? (Or have you misunderstood what the 12 months is about).
  • Spoonie_Turtle
    Spoonie_Turtle Posts: 10,011 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Pros: no Minimum Income Floor

    Cons: if your PAYE income drops below a certain threshold (e.g. if you lose your job, or cut down hours) you'd be treated as a jobseeker and required to attend appointments and look for (more) work.


    Although if your earnings are nilling your UC claim it'll close after six consecutive months of no payment anyway.  If things were to change then upon reclaiming they'd have to decide again whether you were gainfully self-employed or not - if yes then the MIF would apply (unless we're talking 5+ years down the road with a different form of self-employment), if no then you'd be treated as a jobseeker as above.
  • textbook
    textbook Posts: 771 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Pros: no Minimum Income Floor

    Cons: if your PAYE income drops below a certain threshold (e.g. if you lose your job, or cut down hours) you'd be treated as a jobseeker and required to attend appointments and look for (more) work.


    Although if your earnings are nilling your UC claim it'll close after six consecutive months of no payment anyway.  If things were to change then upon reclaiming they'd have to decide again whether you were gainfully self-employed or not - if yes then the MIF would apply (unless we're talking 5+ years down the road with a different form of self-employment), if no then you'd be treated as a jobseeker as above.
    But after the 12 months transistional protection period you get nothing from government apparently if self employed and earn zero.  The government doesn't like self employed people.   BUT if you lose your paye job u can claim the dole or top up if low income.  This is why I registered paye as my main job when only 2 days left of my one year transistional protection. 

    Someone mentioned I might not understand one year transistional protection.  They might get right
  • NedS
    NedS Posts: 4,295 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 21 April at 1:16PM
    textbook said:
    Pros: no Minimum Income Floor

    Cons: if your PAYE income drops below a certain threshold (e.g. if you lose your job, or cut down hours) you'd be treated as a jobseeker and required to attend appointments and look for (more) work.


    Although if your earnings are nilling your UC claim it'll close after six consecutive months of no payment anyway.  If things were to change then upon reclaiming they'd have to decide again whether you were gainfully self-employed or not - if yes then the MIF would apply (unless we're talking 5+ years down the road with a different form of self-employment), if no then you'd be treated as a jobseeker as above.
    But after the 12 months transistional protection period you get nothing from government apparently if self employed and earn zero.  The government doesn't like self employed people.   BUT if you lose your paye job u can claim the dole or top up if low income.  This is why I registered paye as my main job when only 2 days left of my one year transistional protection. 

    This is not technically correct. It has nothing to do with transitional protection. After 12 months (referred to as a start up period), a gainfully self-employed person is expected to be earning the equivalent of minimum wage. This is referred to as the Minimum Income Floor (MIF). If someone is gainfully self-employed, earnings equal to the MIF amount will be assumed in each assessment period and any entitlement to UC will be calculated based on these assumed earnings. If after making deductions for earnings equivalent to the MIF, you still have some entitlement to UC then you still receive UC. Whether this is the case will depend on your circumstances. If these earnings NIL your UC award, then the claim will close after 6 months of NIL UC entitlement.
    If you are genuinely self-employed and unable to earn minimum wage after a 12 month start up period, you are free to terminate your self-employment and look for a regular job that does pay minimum wage.

Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 349.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453K Spending & Discounts
  • 242.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 619.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.4K Life & Family
  • 255.7K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.