Zero hours contact and working tax credits?

[Bexicle22]

I currently work for a primary school doing catering. I am employed through a company who did give me a contract of some kind, saying I am contracted to work 7.5 hours a week. However due to the nature of the work and the lack of staff, I actually do double that. I will usually work 11-2 but more often than not I will work until nearer to 3 as it is busy. I also only get paid for when I work and not during the holidays which is a pain because it's not like they are personal holidays I'm choosing to take, I can't work because the school isn't open. For example, I just had two weeks off for Easter but that means I will only get two weeks worth of wages however in the months there are no holidays, I'll get more so I don't have a set income per month.

I'm trying to sort out my working tax credits and I'm just wondering how it will work? i can't give them my monthly income because one month it might be £500 the next it might be £200 and the hours they have me contracted for is half of what I actually work. I didn't know that they were putting me on this contract when I started, I was led to believe I would get a set amount spread over the year including the holidays so I'd get less per month but still have a regular income.

If you are working term time only then your income for the weeks you are working is what tax credits are interested in, you can ignore the school holiday weeks for working out your average income / hours.

15 hours isn't enough for working tax credits. Are you a lone parent? Can you sign on and just keep them informed of hours you have done? I did this until "my store" was open and I was just picking up shifts. The job centre disregard I think the first £20 of a lone parent's weekly wage. It sounds a horrible situation to be in. Unless you can pretty much guarantee 16 hours or more, I'd look into signing on and keep your hours under that. Just to minimise the fagging about. If you could explain to the school that you need 16 hours a week (more probably, because it would have to cover the holiday weeks) that would be ideal.

I think you need some proper advice on this (ie, from someone more knowledgable than me), but you have my sympathy because it sucks. Also, universal credit will have different rules.

Thanks for your replies. I turned down a job previous because they wanted me to work on a zero hour contract. I'm not single as I do have a long-term partner but he doesn't live with me due to his work being quite far away and he can't afford the petrol to go back and forth every day so stays with his mum a lot. Is it worth trying to get a joint claim? Although, he works 37 hours a week he is also on a zero hours contract and so if it's not busy, he can often go for a week or two at a time only working 16 hours. I hated signing on, it's so demeaning which is why I wanted a job so badly. I suppose if you kind of put together all the extra work I do e.g. Instead of 11-2 I might do 11-2.45 a few times in the week, it would add up to 16 hours+ but again, I don't get paid for that, I only get paid per hour, even if I was working until 2.55, I would still only get paid until 2.

Can you have a joint claim with someone who doesn't live with you? I'm not sure you can. If he lives somewhere else and can prove that (or at least, can prove he doesn't live with you) then you are a lone parent.

You wouldn't get paid for working an extra 55 minutes? Is that even legal? I work in retail so often work a little over, but I'd be pissed if they got almost a full free hour out of me!

I'm not sure, he will be moving in with me full time as soon as he finds a job nearer and he stays here a few nights a week. And nope, I get paid per full hour. They've really ripped me off big time, no job security, a contract stating I work 7.5 hours when I work 15 (more if you count the time I go over) and I don't get paid during holidays like most school employees nor do I get paid for anything under an hour. There's only two of us working in the kitchen where usually a school would have at least 3 so our workload is massive. We have to work until we're finished which is at least half an hour over 99% of the time.

I'd be looking for a different job. Do you get minimum wage? Because if they are ripping you off to the tune of half hour a day, surely then you are being paid less than minimum wage?

My contract states 4 hours, but I work 18 and get paid for all of that.

They pay me for the 15 hours I work, I get a little more than minimum wage. They just don't pay me the way most places do which is if you get paid for every 15 or 30 mins you work over