Finished college - not sure on next steps - working part time

racquel75

possibly not the right subject, but looking for any guidance for my child.

they've finished college, not sure what they want to do long term, taking a year off from education, may go to uni next year, may not. 

Currently working part time (stayed in the job they had alongside college).  Hours / earnings aren't high enough to tax / NI.    hear a lot about NI gaps.. and people losing out later in life.

should they be talking to the job centre about signing on for something?  to protect themselves later.

if so, what?  

any guidance appreciated.

Emmia

If they've just left college they're ~18? 19? Lots of time to get NI credits.  I'd focus on perhaps finding them a full time job rather than "signing on".

singhini

racquel75 said:

possibly not the right subject, but looking for any guidance for my child.

they've finished college, not sure what they want to do long term, taking a year off from education, may go to uni next year, may not. 

Currently working part time (stayed in the job they had alongside college).  Hours / earnings aren't high enough to tax / NI.    hear a lot about NI gaps.. and people losing out later in life.

should they be talking to the job centre about signing on for something?  to protect themselves later.

if so, what?  

any guidance appreciated.

If they are working and earning above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) and below the Primary Threshold (PT) they won't pay any Income Tax or NI but you do build up qualifying years for your State Pension.
I'm not sure if your child is paid weekly or monthly but the figures are:

LEL = £125 a week or £542 a month
PT = £242 a week or £1,048 a month

So lets say they are paid monthly, if they earn more than £542 but below £1,048 then no NI is paid but you do build up qualifying year for your State Pension.

So during a whole tax year (6th April to the following 5th April) if your child earns 52 times £125 which is £6,500 they get a qualifying year (why 52 times, because there are 52 weeks in a year).

Hope that makes sense. 
Link here might help Navigating National Insurance Thresholds 2025/2026| Crunch

racquel75

Emmia said:

If they've just left college they're ~18? 19? Lots of time to get NI credits.  I'd focus on perhaps finding them a full time job rather than "signing on".

thanks.  its not about signing on to get benefits, pretty sure they wouldn't get any.  its simply understanding paper trail

Marcon

racquel75 said:

possibly not the right subject, but looking for any guidance for my child.

they've finished college, not sure what they want to do long term, taking a year off from education, may go to uni next year, may not. 

Currently working part time (stayed in the job they had alongside college).  Hours / earnings aren't high enough to tax / NI.    hear a lot about NI gaps.. and people losing out later in life.

should they be talking to the job centre about signing on for something?  to protect themselves later.

if so, what?  

any guidance appreciated.

Maybe encouraging them to work full time would be no bad idea? There may be reasons why that isn't possible, but if they are fit and healthy, they could start building up some cash ready for their next step in life.

Emmia

racquel75 said:

Emmia said:

If they've just left college they're ~18? 19? Lots of time to get NI credits.  I'd focus on perhaps finding them a full time job rather than "signing on".

thanks.  its not about signing on to get benefits, pretty sure they wouldn't get any.  its simply understanding paper trail

So what are they going to be doing when they're not at their part time job? Sitting around on the sofa watching TV? Gaming? 

It would be best to get them into employment -,that will give them money to save for the next step, and NI credits. Going down the job centre should mean they are actively encouraged into work.

Uriziel

OP you seem to be out of touch. Going to uni is no longer a magic trick to become rich. At my company we get a lot of placements every year which I have spoken to and getting a job as a graduate today is very difficult. The pay has not changed in the last decade. New hires now get the same pay I got when I started. You are also expected to actually work whereas back then people would spend most of their time chatting while being paid a fortune for sending an email or two once in a while. Everything is tracked now and judged.
Get your kid a full time job if they don't want to get into uni now. If your kid does not learn to do actual work now they will never learn and always think that they can take the easy option.

Savvy_Sue

it is the question of what they're doing with their non-working time which would have had me asking questions if any of mine had gone down this route. Fine if they want to keep just working part-time, as long as they are exploring other possible options for the future, which it might be possible to do through volunteering - and if not, through either another p/t job, or getting a f/t job in the chosen field. At that age it really won't matter if they job-hop!

For example, if they think they might want to work with animals, see if there are rescue charities nearby who need dog-walkers / kennel cleaners / cat cuddlers. If it's working with children, then they'll need experience, so listening to school readers / local toddler groups / uniformed organisations. Medical? Hospitals use volunteers. Legal profession? Our local courts use volunteers to be with witnesses in certain cases. Computer game developer? they need to be writing and developing games in their spare time. Artist? Producing 'stuff', whether sellable or not. Or maybe they want to run their own cafe / cake making business / top end restaurant - get a job, any job, in catering and see what the reality is like. 

I'd be worried about the 'drift' which might go on. Fair enough, they might not have found their 'passion' yet (I'm not sure I ever did, and I'm retired ...) but they're always going to need money. I took an unintended gap year (had ME in 6th form, didn't get the best grades, was offered a deferment which I accepted as long as I didn't have to resit!) I kept on my holiday job for most of the year, and my mum kept me busy when I wasn't working ... but having that cushion of money I'd earned was very helpful.