Can we get housing benefit if I resign? DS is 10 months

[Books1979]

Hi, advice appreciated please:
My DS is 10 months old, I'm married, my husband works 30 hrs pw but on a low salary. After mat leave I went back to work 15 hrs pw. We rent a 2 bed flat in private sector inner London as queue for social housing here is 12 years long. We already qualify for partial housing benefit on our joint income.

I don't qualify for the childcare element of working tax credit as I only work 15 rather than 16 hrs pw. So my husband has been trying to work flexible hours so he can look after DS but it's not working and I want to resign so I can look after DS full time.

If I resign, can we claim for more housing benefit or would I be sanctioned because I gave up work?

Thanks v much

I don't think you would be sanctioned, I'm pretty sure you would be eligible to claim for more (but you may not get more depending on the threshold)

Yes you'll get more HB,but I'd look at whether that will change under universal credit.

You could try making your hours up to 16 hours by doing an extra hour of self employed work, ironing or dog walking etc to qualify for childcare?

Thanks all.

Even if I did 16hars we would still have to find an extra 240£ per month towards the childcare as tax credits doesn't reimburse it all. We can't find that much extra because we also send support to my step daughter who lives with her family, but the money we send for her isn't taken into account for any of the benefits we get.

Can you explain the u inversely credit thing please? How does that change it?

Thanks v much all

UC with child under 13, you and your dp between you need to earn the equivalent of national minimum wage and a half. Actually numbers of hours worked don't matter. When your youngest dc turns 13 it will be NMW x two.

If you don't earn that much your UC will be reduced as if you did earn that income unless you comply with conditions similar to JSA.

Sorry am tired that post made no sense. NMW x 70 hours for child 13 or over NMW X 52.5 hours for child under 13.

Thanks Six ... I'm horrified by the notion that theoretically my partner could work full time hours in a minimum wage job but we would be penalised if I stayed home to raise our kids. It's barbaric. At least with current regs you can be at home til your child is 5, that seems reasonable. What a horrendous mess our country is becoming.

Can I just check (-if you know!) - nowadays if you're self employed and claiming benefit, do you have to earn the equiv of NMW in your self employment? Thanks v much

Not currently under tax credits no. However under UC you will have to earn NMW to meet conditionality. There will be a grace period for new business I think it's 12 months.
Yes the country is a mess, they would rather pay you more money in tax credits to give to a nursery/ childcare, than support you with less money to look after your own pre school children.

I feel for you and many others in your predicament especially now we have a Tory government. I would urge you to wait until Osborne's emergency budget in July before making decisions based on current benefit entitlements as I suspect it's all set to change.

Thanks Gooshka, that's worth thinking about.

Want to hear some irony? My husband works as a nursery school caretaker for our borough, so he's a council employee. His job is only 22 hrs a week split into morning and evening lock up. It's hard to find another job to fit into the middle part of the day so he's also doing some self employed odd jobs. His monthly salary literally doesn't cover the rent on a 2 bed keyworker flat in the same borough he works in - how messed up is that?! And we can't afford to send our son to the nursery he works in for 2 days a week so I can work!