HELP!!!!! Looks like DH out of a job tomorrow...

[Dropdeadfred]

DH came home tonight very sad and depressed...after having numerous assurances that his job would be safe it seems as though it isn't and he is 99% certain he will be given notice tomorrow....
I am trying to prepare ourselves by loking at what we could be entitled to in the interim period before he (hopefully) finds another job...he works in the oil industry so this could be very difficult at present...
I went on entitledto.co.uk but i am confused. It is asking my what he earnt last year and when i put that in it sates that we would not be entitled to any tax credits...we have 3 dcs aged 16,14 and 3. the eldest is in fulltime education still and will be for the next year or two.
We pay rent at present...
Can anyone tell me what ballpark figure we could be entitled to???

anyone? please?

your credits should go up tbh, but can't give you any figures,

you should also get JSA assuming that you don't have a redundancy package of sorts. it's approx £60.50 per week, paid fortnightly as i believe.

you'll keep the CB and may also qualify for housing benefits as well and council tax benefits but how much depends on your housing authority.

tbh the best advice I can give you, is if this happens tomorrow, then get to the job centre asap and also your local council offices best to get the ball started ASAP I feel.

we don't have any tax credits at all...DH earned too much

surely we'd get something for the dcs too...it only mentioned £95 js allowance...? and c/tax fully paid and about 2/3rds of the rent..?

OK - as soon as you get the news tomorrow you need to get straight on the phone to the tax credit people - they should be able to sort a claim out for you there and then. Then you ring your mortgage provider and explain and ask for a payment holiday - ours offered us 3 months but we decided to go onto an interest only mortgage instead. Send you dh to the job centre to sort jsa - dh gets £60 per week (he lost his job in Oct)
Have to go now as tea is ready but will be back later.
Don't panic!

Don't make the mistake my dh made - he thought he wasn't entitled to JSA because of his redundancy package - but he was entitled to it.

On entitled to it will have a box saying "Income for 2008/2009 lower than income for 2007/2008?" If you tick that, it will then ask for THIS year's income.

Work out how much your DH has earned so far, and add on whatever his notice period would earn him, then enter THAT into this year's box. That will tell you what you would get for the rest of this year.

Obviously, to work out what tax credits you will get on JSA, simply pretend that your DH was not working, and on JSA, and it will give you that figure also.

LLS is correct, there is two types of JSA - contribution based & income based.

Info here

Very sorry about this

i don't understand though..sorry i know i'm being thick...but are you serioulsy saying that we could have less then some people because of what dh used to earn???

We are in same position.

DH lost his job in the summer, was paid for 3 months which has now stopped. We ONLY get £60.50 JSA and my part time wages because he WAS earning a lot.

Our trouble is, he has been out of work before so savings rapidly diminishing

If you are renting you can get housing benefit if your savings are below a certain amount (is is £16k?)

Miliways..seriously??? do you have dc?

Well sort of, DDF, because taxcredits work on an annual income basis.

For example, if the annual income threshold for tax credits was £15000 per year, and your DH's salary before he lost his job was £20,000, you wouldn't normally qualify for tax credits.

If your DH lost his job at this point, 3/4 of the way through the tax year, then he would have annual earnings of £15000, because he didn't earn for the last 3 months.

Therefore, when you phoned tax credits, they would look at his ANNUAL income, and work out that for THIS year, his income would be £15000, so until April, you would not be entitled to tax credits.

However, in April, the new tax year starts, so then your husbands projected earning for the new tax year would be NIL, because JSA is recorded seperately, so you would get Tax credits based on your nil income.

okay, thanks for that..i understand the principle but never really knew they would calculate it like that!!! if you've lost your job you've lost your job..and if you earned more you paid alot more tax!! But why only £6.50 income support...is there nothing for children??

CountessDracula is right, that you will qualify for Housing Benefit, as that is worked out on a weekly basis, and the fact that you USED to earn lots is irrelevant, it is what you earn now.

However, the amount of Housing Benefit you get is based not on your rent itself, necessarily, but on what is deemed a fair rent for your area, according to your family circumstances.

Visit LHA Direct to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to. It is likely to be either 3 or 4, depending on whether you have girls or boys or both.

Then on the same site, you can look up your Local Authority, and see how much they allow towards rent for that size of house in your area.

If your rent is less than that figure, you should find that they will help you with full rent costs. If it is higher, you will have to find the difference between what they deem reasonable and your actual rent.

Thanks Lou..that's very helpful...
is there no income support for your children though??? neither of us will be working...

oh thanks Countessdracula and everyone else who has posted, I'm forgettng my mannersin this shock...

No, support for children is entirely via tax credits now.

Well, according to the jobcentreplus site, www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_015272.xml.html you should get £52.40 for each child, also?

So check that out. Keep forgetting to say how sad I am for you at this time of year, especially.

But, as CD says, there is a sentence on there that indicates that TC should deal with supporting children.

I have 2 Teenagers so no Childcare costs. DD can't get EMA because DH earned too much last year and they will NOT look at this years earnings until next year when she will have left school so not qualify.

Will get DH to get a Tax credit form from the Job Agency place this week, but until we have spent all savings unlikely to get anything. We pay Mortgage so no rent help either.

so who would we apply to first income suport or tax credits? all the forms seem to want to know if you are receiving each benefit but we are not receiving either at this point

thanks for your kind thoughts...

if we have earnt too much so far this year for tax credits does that mean we get no benefits for the dcs until april????

Having looked again, there is no other mention of income for children other than Tax Credits.

I am so sorry there is no hidden exception for people in your situation

DDF, always go to the Jobcentre first. But you normally have to make the claim over the telephone.

"
Making a new or repeat claim for benefit

You can now ring us on our new number to make a benefit claim.

Phone: 0800 0 55 66 88

Text phone: 0800 0 23 48 88 if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech difficulties.

Please read the current information regarding Call Charges.

Phone lines are open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

The call will take about 40 minutes. You should call from:

• home, if possible; or
• from somewhere where you are comfortable and where other people cannot overhear your personal information.

You will speak to an operator who will guide you through making a new claim or renewing the details of a claim that has recently closed. During the call you will be asked to provide information including:

• Your National Insurance number;
• Details of your rent or mortgage;
• Details of your past or present employment; and
• Details of other income and savings.

Please make sure that you have this information handy when you call.

The operator will tell you what will happen next with your claim. For example, they may make you an appointment to see an adviser at your nearest Jobcentre Plus office to help with your search for work. They can also tell you who to contact if you have a question about your benefit.

We can only accept calls from the person who is making the claim, unless you have made previous arrangements with us for someone to act on your behalf.
Claim Online

You can claim Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or Incapacity Benefit online

If you are claiming Maternity Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or Bereavement Benefits, or Carers Allowance you do not need to meet a personal adviser unless you want to or you are claiming other benefits through Jobcentre Plus."

Alternatively, you can claim online at www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice/

Unfortunately, I think you might be right regarding your children. No credits until April.

The way I read it, you would get All Council Tax Paid, All Housing costs (unless renting a bigger more expensive property than LHA allows), and £60.50 cash per week, plus obviously your child benefit.

Dropdeadfred - so sorry to hear about DH job

The trouble with all the tax credits is they look at the last financial year (as does job seekers if you have not paid NI for some reason like being at University!). Please beware if they pay you that you need to declare straight away if he gets a job, if you forget they will come after you later and send stroppy letters demanding money you might not be able to afford.

Please go and see the job centre, they have (or used to!) a person to discuss these claims with. If not the CAB is fantastic.

Good Luck - and try to have a good Christmas X worry about it in the New Year