A job dilemma - would it be worth it?

[PurplePumpkinWitchyOne]

There's a job going in the local chippy for 9 hours a week for £54.

I only get £26 a week Income support, owing to repayment of a social loan and a already declared cleaning job (£20 a week, 4 hrs work)
I can fit both the jobs in quite easily, but I won't be entitled to Working tax credit.

Would I lose my Income Support? entitledto.com says I wouldn't.

And re Housing benefits / council tax benefits...how much do you have to be earning before they start knocking it down pro rata?

Any advice greatfully appreciated!

9 hours plus 4 hours cleaning comes to 13 hours. You only need to do 16 hours to be entitled to claim WTC and CTC. Can you get yourself another cleaning job for 3 hours a week? Or any other job for that matter. Ask at school and local nurseries, they may need a part time cleaner or something.

You wouldn't loose income support but you would only get to keep the first £20 of what you earn, so it doesn't really seem worth it. And yes housing benefit and council benefit start to be reduced as you have more money coming in. Phone your local job centre and ask to speak to the lone parent adisor there for more info on your options and the financial impact of them all on yourself.

Also bear in mind that even cash in hand cleaning you will have to declare the income and pay tax on it most likely if your income rises significantly and you start earning enough to pay tax. So you might need to ask the tax office about self assessment if you have jobs that go over the 16 hours a week.

Gilly

I would check with the benefit section as they are already letting you keep the £20 cleaning money, so the £54 added to the £26 will take you over the IS rate of £60.50 so they may reduce your IS even further.

I spoke to the LP advisor on the phone this afternoon.
She said to me (her words) 'oh, I wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for that as you will lose everything'!!! She said I would be worse off.
I would lose all Income Support. I already claim CTC.

Can't work out how I would be worse off though. I'd get £28 extra wages each week, plus I'd get to keep my maintenance too.
That job has my name written all over it. The bloke even knows me by my first name as we get our fish suppers in there sometimes. No transport costs and wouldn't even need childcare as it's 5 mins walk from my front door.

I can't see how the LPA was so darn negative, wouldn't be entitled to any run ons either. Want to improve my life and am trying hard, but to get out of the dole trap is nigh on impossible!

I'm not sure but when you get income support you get free school meals and free school uniform. You lose all of these, but if you have a few kids free school meals adds up to quite a lot.

I can still get free school meals and free prescriptions with CTC, as long as I earn under £15,000 a year, so that's really no issue to me right now.
Can't get free school uniform anymore here as the government took it away this year. (£74 per child) so told the school if there's any issue with 'logoed' uniform, to go and speak to Gordon Brown about it. Stunned silence from head of year...

I honestly cannot see what the issue is with the DWP about me doing an extra 9 hrs work a week? I only work 4 hrs a week and am fed up with talking to the walls all day. Even my social worker told me it'd be best if I had more social interaction...

If it is going to benefit you mentally and emotionally then go for it, especially if you have worked out your figures. Sorry, I'm not any good with IS and other beefits as I work 30 hrs per week and get WTC and CT. It really helps tho. Hope it works out tho.

I said this on the other thread.
I don't know this as fact but I was sure (heard from somewhere, can't remember where) that if you worked under 16 hours, you keep everything you are currently getting plus the first £20 of your wages so you would be £20 a week better off.
I don't think you'd keep your maintenance, I think you need to be on WTC for that but you'd still get the first £10 of it.

Are you sure the LP advisor is right? I ask as mine was worse than useless!

what about housing costs? When I had my Better off calculation a few weeks ago the "figures" made it look like I would be £100 a week better off (working 20hrs a week minimum wage) - however it didn't take into account my housing costs (which are currently £400 a month.....)

You would lose your IS, but not work enough hours to get WTC, and your HB may be decreased

only Income support and Jobseekers allowance are taken into account for maintenance - don't think you have to get getting WTC to get your maintenance paid directly to you.

PO go and see your lone parent advisor in person, get her to do a full caluculation on the computer and print it out for you, it should show a sliding scale from full benefits then decreased amounts deepnding what other income you have coming in, you really need to boost yours hours to make a total of 16 so you can claim wtc.