Universal Credit - worth taking this job?

[JulietteLeGall]

I have just been put onto universal credit after leaving my abusive husband. They have given me a 6 month 'easing in' period where I don't need to work or look for work for 6 months. However, I have been offered a little cleaning job that will pay £200 per month, if I take it, will they reduce my benefit by this much? I guess what I'm really asking is if it is worth taking it?

If you have kids and you rent then the first £287 that you earn is disregarded and no deduction to your Uc made. So yes definitely worth taking the job if you have kids as you will have your wages and keep all the Uc you currently get. Of course you do need to bear in mind that it may cost you to get to the job. If you don't have kids on your claim then each pound you earn would reduce your Uc by 63p. Good luck.

Thank you so much for replying. That is so reassuring!

Do you know if it will remove the easing in period and they will expect me to look for more work?

I'm not sure but I don't think they will expect more hours as the easments should be on record. How old are your children?

8, 11 and 14

Of course it’s worth taking the job, for many reasons. You may in a few months be able to build up more cleaning work, domestic cleaning and charge per hour or other cleaning such as in offices or hospitality

I understand that element, but in the short term I'm trying to balance my mental health, the children's well being and my finances, so if at the moment there was no monetary gain then it wouldn't be worth the sacrifice.

So with a child still at primary school the maximum you would be expected to work or earn is 25 x national minimum wage, but with easements they would likely not bother you too much hopefully.

Just remember that if you’re claiming council tax reduction that you’ll need to alert them to you starting work & how much you’re earning - as this may affect the amount of tax relief you get and your council tax could increase / councils set the reliefs in different ways, some put you in banded earns and other don’t so it will vary on where you live.

Do you mean 25 hours?

With your youngest child being 8, when you do go back to work, they will expect you to earn weekly the equivalent of 25 hours x 8.21 (national minimum wage), which is £205.35 per week or £821 per month.This is called an earnings threshold. If you earn less than this, they'll likely push you to find a better paid job or work more hours.
I think taking this job officially might open up a whole can of worms for you.

'I think taking this job officially might open up a whole can of worms for you.'

That's what I'm worried about

My GP has signed me off work and I'm still getting used to meds but this little job seems manageable. 25hrs a week not so much.

You could talk to your work coach about it, they can often exercise their discretion, but the fact is that you don't have to work at all during the first 6 months, so any work is a bonus and I strongly doubt they would make you work more.

As PPs said, £200/month will not affect your UC at all, but it will probably affect your Council Tax Reduction. You could visit/contact Citizens Advice and ask them to work it out for you.

Thank you