If you only work term time how does it work with tax credits etc?

[movingonwardsorsidewards]

I am currently looking for jobs. I was wondering if you work part time say 16 hours but only term time, what happens with tax credits during holidays? Are you still considered to be working during that time? And will you still receive tax credits? If so will that be at the same rate or different?

You still receive tax credits during the school holidays and at the same rate. (I'm sure it's a loop hole that the coalition will be looking at soon!)

If you work term time in a school, what usually happens is you only work 40 weeks a year. The pay for those weeks and your holiday pay (maybe 2 weeks, I'm not sure) is added up and divided by 12 so that you get a pay check every month of the year.

Good luck with your job search.

Although... if you work through an agency during term time only (for example) and you only get paid during term time (so you don't get a pay cheque each month) I think it works a bit differently.

I rang WTC up and I think they said that you average it over a month or something, which would probably work out that the only holidays that it made a difference were the summer holidays. However, to add confusion to the matter if you do work for an agency all kinds of strange things seem to be happening, like mine just told me that because of the new Agency Work Regulations I would be paid a lower dailiy rate, but also get (an even lower) rate of pay during the holidays. So I guess we've come full circle and it's basically what Corlan said. That was a bit of a long winded way to say - it probably depends on lots of different things, so worth ringing and asking. The tax credit helpline seems to have not been too bad when I've phoned - I was pleasantly surprised that the staff all seem to say the same thing as each other... maybe they've actually had some training (unusual for most helplines!) Good luck with the job hunt!