To think referring to certain benefits as unearned income is wrong and insulting

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

The benefit in mind is carers allowence.

I have noticed on a few different LA's housing benefit letters that carers allowence is listed under unearned income,and it has made me very cross.

It is not unearned (obviously with the normal my next door neighbours hairdressers dog has a neighbour whose sisters best friend claims it fraudulently and belly laughs about it so much she wets herself exclusion) and I think not acknowledging that

A. It is earnt and
B. how hard it is to earn

Is really wrong?

Then I think HB should follow hmrc's lead

Yanbu, this has actually made me quiet irrationally angry!

To all those saying 'its not earned as it isn't from employment' and 'you're making an issue out of nothing', try actually being a carer and then tell me how you feel!

When someone tells you that you haven't earned that measly £61.35 a week because it doesn't come from an employer, despite all the effort you put in, all the hours, all the literal blood, sweat and tears, you'll feel quite angry too.

No one (society wise) seems to realise exactly what goes into being a carer unless they have had personal experience, carers are completely undervalued and this is just an extension of that, it's like saying all your work doesn't matter :(

That's exactly what I mean extreme

Add on to that just how much it would cost if someone who was treated as an employee did it

I know Sock it's completely ridiculous! I mean, I can only speak from my own experience of caring for my son but in order to care for him I have:

Given up my job and most likely the option of any kind of meaningful/well paid employment in the future (unless the system changes or I suddenly can access a lot more help than I do currently)

Given up virtually all of my friends/social life

Worry constantly about what would happen to him if I was no longer able to care for him

And then have someone, even if it is only a government letter, tell me that I don't earn that money?

If I broke down and said I couldn't do it anymore, how much would it cost them to replace me? The more they cut funding for things like respite care or make us have to fight continuously for things we and the people we care for need the more it erodes at our own mental health and the less likely we will be to continue to provide a caring service for a pittance!

Apologies if that doesn't make sense, this is quite an emotive subject for me :)

It's not just an insult in terms of what you put in to get it, CA also fIls to take into account that you are on call 24/7.

Don't get holidays or lunch breaks, can't be sick, no working time directives.

You can be needed for two hours from 3am and then have to be available all the following day.

I'm not an expert on carers allowance but 'earned' income is normally subject to national insurance. If NI isn't due I would think this is just a terminology thing to make the tax ('income') and NI ('unearned') position clear.

Agree that the terminology is probably inappropriate, but the use of a deliberately vague term such as 'earned' helps HMRC to ensure income is classified appropriately where tax dodgers are concerned. Tax dodgers have resulted in a system that is complicated/misleading for a lot of innocent people!

Exactly lefty, most jobs with those sort of conditions and work hours would come with a reasonable pay check attached, but not carers :(

It's not enough to attract NI payments.

If You did a few hours NMW work and got paid £61 You wouldn't pay NI but it would be classed as earned income

Incidentally I have not registered it as being called unearned before so it appears to be a recent thing. A colleague of mine says she first noticed (in a different LA) 2 years ago