WIBU for dh to take a big pay cut and for us to claim more tax credits?

[balenciaga]

I was going to nc for this as I think I'm gona be told we are being v v U. But fuck it am on my phone and can't nc on it and CBA to put laptop on to do it

Anyway. Dh has a new job. It's 32k, on that, we get 48 a week tcs with 3 dc (believe it or not that's ok money where we are)

However dh hates his new job, it's stupidly long hours and very stressful with no sign of letting up. I know it sounds pathetic but he has been in tears over it. we have a new (ish) born baby as well and he's never bloody here. And when he is, he is a tired mess and no good to any of us. He has a contact that has offered him a job working for him but it's only 20k

However it's a huge drop. And we initially thought he can't possibly take it as we would be skint. But then we did a calculation on hmrc site and worked out that if he took the new job we could claim higher tcs which would take us up to around a similar income, a bit less but not much

New job dh could do with his eyes closed and it's much less hours and easier work. So he will have a better work life balance and not be making himself Poorly with stress

But the idea of claiming more tcs doesn't sit right with me, and I also worry that soon they'll be put a stop to anyway

So I'm putting this to the mn jury...ps: fwiw I will be going back to work in a few months so we would not claim them long term

Of course they are the same thing - TC's come out of tax and national insurance contributions just the same as the NHS and Education,the only difference is people don't get on the moral high ground when people use the NHS or choose state education.

Rightly or wrongly everyone in the UK Is entitled to access to the NHS and state education. Not everyone is entitled to TC's - they are to provide support where you are unable to sustain your family on your income.

Deliberately choosing to reduce your salary in order to increase your benefit, before exploring all other options, is a lifestyle choice which is morally reprehensible

TrueGent Thu 05-Jun-14 13:42:20

For what it is worth, Tax Credits are actually part of the problem, not the solution. The Government 'topping up' people's incomes to some arbitrary level that it deems appropriate have depressed people's wages simply because employers know they do not have to pay competitive wages in the way that they used to.

Pre tax credits in the mid to late 90s I remember walking into the Job Centre and seeing jobs that were paying 50p an hour and £50 a week!

So if the tax credits disappeared tomorrow I think these days would be back again.

They already are really in the form of zero hours contracts. TrueGent if what you say is true these contracts wouldn't exist.

Also is it any different than the (not all) self employed people who pay their wives as 'secretary' or fiddle expenses and claim maximum TC.

jelly - how does someone fiddle their expenses? your accountant needs to sign everything off.

and if HMCR think your profits are lower/costs higher than your industry norm, they inspect you. so how does fiddling work?

unless you are a cash business of course. but few businesses are cash based.

Do it. Don't stay working for such a shit employer.

And don't pause to give a shit about some people on the internet harping on about playing the system, either.

Not too U if it's making him ill / miserable.
However beware that TC's and the like are vulnerable to being cut and that could leave you in trouble if you aren't prepared for it. Election next year too so taxes / benefits might well get re jigged!

Well I get up before I have gone to bed, then walk 25 miles uphill both ways work for 16 hours shovelling shit, before going to my evening job, cleaning pub toilets. I have had 3 breakdowns and am now lobotomised, but if I have to do it, why shouldn't your husband OP? Eh? WHY!!??
TaxpayersmoneyjustdisgustingmytaxeswhocaresifthericharelaughingatmeasIkillmyselfforshittywagesihavemyPRIDEmygrandparentsDunkirkSpiritcscroungersoffthestateWinstonChurchillaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Y'all know that Tax Credits are a benefit to employers dontcha?
It's the government propping up employers and allowing them to pay un-livable on wages, while at the same time putting the blame on the people that need to claim them. Clever.

IfNot if there was a like button for that post I would be clicking it.

Me too! I was hoping for an appropriate emoticon but couldn't find one. Am laughing and cheering at the same time!

there, that'll do.

@ IfNot

For crying out loud- the whole point here is that the OP's DH isn't on an 'unliveable wage' he just doesn't like his job.

I know the OP has since implied that he is regularly working 15 hour days but in an earlier post that happened once. Yes- 7am until 6pm is a long day, especially if there is travel on top of that but it's no more than many on minimum wage do.

The OP is clearly reaching the end of her tether but unless there's absolutely no alternative, choosing to take such a big salary drop and rely on hand outs for the shortfall probably won't help them in the long run anyway.

bearbehind no one said he was on an un-livable wage
20 k is pretty un livable on with a family these days though. I should know.

Oh I thought we'd moved on to giving all on tc a hard time!

I thought op came back to say her dh was going to do his best to stick at it.

Er, you said tax credits were propping up employers and allowing them to pay unliveable wages

Yes £20k might be unliveable but £32k is not and you shouldn't opt to receive an 'unliveable wage' when you have other options.

You know what? I just never get the whole "why should I pay you to stay at home" shtick. I have no problem whatsoever paying taxes to enable a lone parent, for example, work fewer hours so they can spend more time with their child.
Is raising happy, well adjusted children who occasionally see their parents not of benefit to the whole of society?
Because I thought it was.

Yes bear, but the point is that the reason Tax Credits exist, is so companies can keep wages unrealistically low. It's a general point, is all.

I thought op came back to say her dh was going to do his best to stick at it.

She did but that's not a great option either. If it really is making him feel so bad he needs to try and discuss it and make it better or look for another, similar salaried role.

Trying to soldier on doing some he hates and is making him ill isn't going to help anyone.

Also if he did take such a huge salary drop it will have a big impact on future potential earnings as it will look bad on his cv.

Am glad some have realised the false hope and paltry support that Tax Credits provide. They suppress wages. They should go.

I kind of took it to assume he'd be looking for another job. Have you any idea how tough it is to challenge a culture of bad practice and be a whistle blower? That's how places get away with it for so long. People basically end up putting their health first.

I'm slightly confused?? Is the OP saying that her dh currently earns £32000 and they currently get £48 a week in tax credits?? I thought that if you earned more than some ridiculously low amount £17/18000 you were not entitled to anything other than child benefit. £48 pw on top of £32000 is quite a sum about £2,400 net. How can this be?

there is a lot of sentiment along the lines of 'do whatever is best for your family.'

do the same posters think that legal means of minimising tax as similarly ok? people are entitled to use them as much as someone can choose WTC.

personally I disagree with both routes.

I agree that legally maximising benefits/minimising taxes are morally equivalent. I think there's nothing wrong with either. I'm disgusted to see even conservative politicians now climbing on to the bandwagon of raising taxes via peer pressure rather than rule of law.

The time for worrying about morality is when you vote. Morality should only come into our personal financial interactions with the state in the sense that it generally prompts us to comply with the law.

If you allow (your personal version of) morality to overrule the law, when doing so favours the state, you are probably not the kind of person who would break the law when morality indicates the state owes you more money than the law says it does. Taking moral considerations into account amounts to signing up to the worst of both worlds: you always get the lower of what either morality or the law dictates.

Morality is also a matter of opinion, if anyone thinks law and morality aren't perfectly aligned than they should campaign to get the law changed. In the meantime they shouldn't bully people who have different opinions.

Exactly hoopy - dh and I discussed that re the "culture" ...everyone just accepts it and no one dares say anything against it

Tbh, I've had a friend go to hr about an awful mgr and eventually cited him as her reason for leaving, he said someone else had done the same. Did it do anything? No. The mgr was making lots of money for the company. If Dave myself and my cv personally, you unfortunately also need a good reference so hard to stick your neck out even when leaving a place.