Working PT and receiving UC

[bigbarbie]

I have a 19 month old DD and a 7 month old DS who has a rare genetic disorder. I’m currently still on maternity leave however I’ll be leaving this role as it’s full time (no one on the team is allowed to go part time or reduce hours) and it’s based in Kent and I now live in London. I spend most of my days taking DS to his hospital, physio and OT appointments as well as taking DD to two toddler groups a week but I’d like to try and work part time. I just have a question about how part time work impacts UC.

I know I don’t have any work commitments until my youngest turns 2 but I’d like to go back to work even if I work a few shifts at the weekend or something. So my UC entitlement amount is £1934. I get an amount for being a single parent, having two kids and the majority is for my rent which is £1180. On the ‘what you’re entitled to’ page it says that I can earn £344 and that will not impact my UC amount. But then for every £1 that I earn on top of that, 55p is deducted from my UC amount.

Does it seem to be in my best interests that I don’t earn more than £400 a month? I don’t want to earn over a certain amount which will have a knock on effect on my UC amount for the next month if you know what I mean. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to earn as much money as possible without it leaving me in an awkward position financially. This is my first time claiming UC and I can’t say that I 100% understand how it works so I wonder what other people do/would do in this situation? Thank you

The council tax reduction is, as you say, tapered. And help towards prescriptions and dental treatment is also tapered - if someone isn’t automatically entitled via UC they may be eligible via HC2 or HC3 certificate.

OP’s DC are far too young for FSM to be relevant, but even if it was a consideration due to the current rules they would remain eligible for FSM even if OP’s earnings go above the threshold.

I'm entitled to £1909 in UC. From my part time job I earn £968.

I get paid £1650 from UC. And then get paid my £968.

So definitely better off working!

I hope that helps x

Thank you for responding! That’s so good that you still get so much UC on top if your wage, that’s about £2600 that you get monthly. I assumed that the more you work, UC will say ‘well you’ve been earning X amount for X amount of months, so we’ll now be reducing the amount you’re entitled too.’ But it seems the amount you’re entitled too won’t change unless your circumstances (like living situation etc) changes).

I’ve been paid £1576 for the annual leave I’ve accrued whilst on maternity pay and I’ve worked out that I should still receive about £1257 in UC which is great. I’ve started to apply for new roles so I’ll see what happens🤞

@Babyroobs do my calculations seem about right?^

Set up a pension scheme that will accept small contributions of varying monthly amounts.
Any excess income above the threshold invest straight into the pension.
100% disregard for UC on pension contributions, plus you will receive the 20% tax relief government top up into the pension.

@Kaffiene Hi, just saw your comment. And wanted to ask, so even if you only work a few times a week you still get paid up to 85% of childcare? Do you know if there is any limit for working hours and hours you child attends the nursery? I mean for example I iVe two children, nearly 3 and 5 months old. I found a job but it’s only 3h a week sometimes more. And one week it could be Tuesday and other week the 2 hours work would be on Friday. So do you have an idea how it works in this situation? The 5 months old would only go there 2x a week morning or afternoon season(which is the nursery minimum) and the older one I wanted all day however I don’t know how it works because obviously UC won’t pay up to 85% of the nursery when I only go to work for 3 hours so how is it calculated? Do you know? Thank you

@Sabina93 There are no hard and fast rules for how many hours you need to work vs how many hours you can claim as long as it’s “reasonable” Don’t forgot you also need to include travel time to get there and back. I would book them both on on a Tues and a Friday (half and full days) and tell your work you are available during those times. As long as you work some hours each month you should get the 85% back. I would need to double check but fairly sure there is a 1 month carry over too. So if you don’t work one month they would still pay your childcare that month to give you time to find a new job for example.
It’s the same for people on 0hours contracts.

This is simply not true. Her DS has a rare genetic disorder and she will have plenty of evidence to back up her claim.

Did you mean to be so rude? Which bit exactly is untrue?

Haha yes I’m so rude. The bit where you said she won’t get DLA until her child is more likely 3. She can and it would be awful if she waited until her child was 3 off the back of your post.

Submit your DLA forms asap, even if they aren't perfect, to get your case logged.

I stand by my comments. Just because someone has a rare genetic disorder does not automatically entitle them to disability benefits. In order for a child to be eligible for a disability benefit you need to be able to prove that they need substantially more help than another child of their age, because all 7 month old babies all need a lot of help with their personal functions it is hard to prove a baby needs more help. and therefore be eligible for DLA. As the child gets older it is easier to show the differences as the gap between them and their peers potentially widens.
OP has only said she attends a lot of appointments this by itself it not enough.
Having a diagnosis is not enough either, 2 people with the same diagnosis or condition can have very different needs.
Hope this helps OP

@Kaffiene thank you very much for your help