Carers allowance and doing a bit of work.

[Greaterwaterparsnip]

Hi - I claim carers allowance and I started some work this week. I will have gone over the £139 for one week limit.
I won't work every week. I thought that you are allowed to have it calculated across the month but when I rang them today to inform them of the change, all he could tell me was that I was to ring them and let them know when and what I've been paid. I really couldn't get him to tell me what to expect.
Will they automatically calculate it across the month? Will they stop the payments? Do I have to pay back the carers allowance for the month?
I know I won't work at all for 4 straight weeks from mid March. I'm not sure what to do.

Bmp

Are you paid weekly or monthly?
Could you spread the hours out more across the month?
Could you pay more into your pension to reduce your pay?

I will be paid weekly.

I can't seem to find out through googling or ringing helplines how they go about calculating what I've earned longer term.They would only tell me I must let them know if I go over.

I did go over this week but I know that over the month I will earn below the £139 per week overall.
I just can't find out whether this will naturally sort itself out or whether the benefit will stop.

I've had no pension information yet.
Thanks

I can aim to spread the work out but it's possible DD might need more care some weeks and so I don't work - then she's better and I can do more.
I'm not clear if the system is flexible enough for this though.

My experience is that it is not at all flexible. I was self employed though so maybe it's different if you do some work that they get reported about. I waited 18 months to be given a back payment then went round and round for another 18 months before finally realising the problem and giving up my self employed job simply so o could have a steady and ongoing CA payment.

Sorry to hear that.

If I remember rightly, when I claimed it, it was based on monthly salary.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will have to wait until I get paid for this week and make my confessional phone call. Maybe the new person will be allowed to explain. Today he just kept repeating you need to ring up and tell them you've exceeded the limit when you get paid.

It's a shame as it will do us all good to try to get back to a more normal life but things are not yet regularly stable enough for me to do bits as and when. If it's going to be hugely complicated then I can do without the trouble.

You can expenses and average your pay.
It

www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility

Thank you for that.😊

It's the use of 'may' or 'might' that is confusing me.

'If your earnings are sometimes more than £139 a week you might still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance. Your average earnings may be calculated to work out if you’re eligible. '

I was trying to get the man to tell me how that might be arranged and if it was possible for me but he wouldn't tell me.

I was hoping someone might have done it themselves. Not that I don't appreciate the help so far thanks.

@Greaterwaterparsnip I went through this a few years ago. I do occasional freelance work which means some weeks/months I go over the carers allowance limit (but averaged out over the year, I'm nowhere near the limit).

After several phone calls to DWP I finally managed to speak to someone who seemed to know what they were doing and they sent me a form to declare my quarterly income. The idea being that they would do this for four quarters over the course of the year to average my earnings. But I think they only ever sent me two forms and then it just.... stopped!

This was pre-Covid too, so nothing to do with that. I didn't bother chasing DWP as I know my annual earnings aren't enough to put me over the limit, despite occasionally being paid (much) more in a particular week than the carers allowance limit.

I find it ridiculous that the carers allowance system isn't easily set up for freelance income as there must be loads of freelancing carers because of the flexibility.

Just an update for anyone who might look at this thread for answers which are not easy to find.

I did the two days work at the end of February, mistakenly thinking from what I'd read that it could be averaged out somehow. That took me over the limit.

I think I did another full day and two half days over the next two weeks which was within the limit and I let them know. However they froze my carers allowance and I have not had any for more than two months.

My daughter then went back into crisis and I have been unable to leave her to work for 6 weeks anyway.

I rang a few weeks ago and I had to post -POST!- a payslip showing I was within the limit but I still did not get any payment.

I rang yesterday and he said that someone should have done something or other which had not been done and I probably could now be logged as an irregular earner as I requested when it had all gone wrong. He said he would send an urgent email and I should be paid arrears and receive forms to be an irregular earner. This guy was better and was able to speak to me normally rather than from some script. Not sure how long to leave it before ringing again though since what they say will happen, never does.

My takeaway is that yes you can have earnings averaged out but this needs to be agreed first. Think carefully about letting them know as their first response is to cut off your payments and it's hard to get them back even if you know you won't have gone over across the month. Don't think they are getting on with sorting it out while you wait - nothing is happening - it seems you have to keep calling.

It's crap. It would be better for me - better for my daughter's independence - if I could pick up a bit of work but I'm not sure it's worth the financial difficulties we've had to face.

I'd like to think that we are working towards my being able to work again and my daughter to be well enough for this to happen in which case I won't need the benefit but the administration around it inhibits our attempts to take these tentative first steps.