just returning to work and think i may be worse off can this be right?

[itshappenedagain]

about to return to work (f/t but term time) for the first time since i graduated. i have just sat down and worked out my finances and i seem to be worse off by about £150/ week can this be right? £60p/w of that is the 30% of childcare cost i will pay on top of WTC.
have i calculated wrong will i get any help?

Are you sure you've got tax /ni correct ?

Doesn't sound right to me, unless you have high travel costs. Would ask the benefits office or CAB.

Make sure you've worked out your income on the average over the whole year not per week if it drops during the holidays, as that is what the tax credits will do, so maybe they're higher than you're calculating?

i put it in as the whole year...have booked to see someone in the job centre on thursday. although speaking to fiends it appears i may be right

i work part time and due to childcare costs im worse off working!i obv have a larger income than on benefits but have more outgoings!

It's quite common to be better off not working than working. It's not what you earn that counts, it's what you don't have to pay for.

Things will stay this way until wages rise and the cost of living (in particular housing and childcare) fall.

It's extremely unlikely, unless you have lots of children (3+?) or are going for an extremely low-paid job! You know you can still get some level of housing benefit if you are low paid, right? Most people who get HB are in paid work. You have to be paid really low wages (below min wage) to be worse off in paid work if you have one child and are in social housing.

I was worse off being in work. It's not just the actual income you get in salary and tax credits, but also the costs of working - travel, more convenience food, work clothes and work social events. On paper I was better off but I found it harder to make ends meet. Had to stop working last year due to childcare falling through and have found it much easier to manage, especially as I have more time to cook from scratch, shop around and take advantage of things like off-peak fees.

I was worse off when I returned to work after being on maternity leave, and from what I've worked out I wouldn't be any worse off if I sat on my arse watching Jeremy Kyle all day.
Unfortunately the benefit system (especially since recent changes to tax credits) often doesn't favour those who work, it's wrong, very wrong but that's the joys of living in the uk.

If you own your own house then you are definitely worse off as you only get help towards your mortgage if you don't work, if you are in work you don't get help towards your mortgage but you can still claim housing benefit. Unfair in my eyes as I've got friends who are in much worse paid jobs than me but are better off as they get their rent paid and i get nothing towards my mortgage

Can you imagine if the government paid towards mortgages?!

Op.... You will benefit long term with pension/holding down a job long term etc

I am about £100 worse off now I am not working, however life feels a bit more comfortable as I am not racing around, trying to run the house (even though DH is hands on)and spend quality time with DD. I was working 16hrs a week with one child at the CM.
It wouldn't surprise me at all that you would be worse off especially with childcare capped at 70% and not eligible for working tax credits if you earn more 17500! However I have only just this week sorted out the money so we will see long term if it is sustainable.

olympia the government DO pay towards mortgages, they'll pay the interest on your mortgage if u are on income support or job seekers allowance. As I have an interest only mortgage it means I would get the whole mortgage paid if I chose not to work (I'm a lone parent with a 2yo) so if I wanted to sit on my arse the govenment would fund it.

But as I chose to work I don't get any help, despite the fact that I'm financially no better off for working.
So is it fair that other people in the exact same circumstances to me (lone parent who works part time) should be about £400 PCM better off than I am just because they rent their house than own it?
I don't think so.
That's why I would be better off not working whereas somebody who rents their house is probably better off working.
It's stupid tho cos the govenment are actually encouraging people to not work.

hello..just thought i would come and let you all know how i got on at the job centre. i was right i am about £150 worse off per week, mainly due to low wage and childcare cost. even the adviser did it twice just to check! she did advise me that i could turn down the job and stay on benifits! but to progress in my field i need experience and that means the sooner i start the sooner i can progress. plus my DD is only 1 so in a couple of years childacre will drop when she gets 2.5 days a wek for free.
i have however now gone into panic mode..not sleeping and generally worrying about how i will manage financially.
anybody else been in a similar situation? but on the plau side i am one of the every lucky ones who has found a job in the current shitty economic climate!

Is that full time hours ?

yep full time but term time, so works out at about 85-90% of full time i think.