So, under the new TC rules we will be reclassified as a non working familly eh?

[ImGideonsMumAndIHateHimToo]

So I am a carer, twice over as have 2 disabled ds's. I am also studying so I can get a job that will cover a Nanny (only childcare we can access).

DH was made redundant from a specialised field that then relocated; he is now retraining 40 hours a week. When he gets back he starts work on his own business, does every hour someone needs his kit, about 20 p/w ATM.

Non working? Really?

Are they- sure?

At the very least couples where one is a carer or disabled should surely be exempt from this rule in the way single parents are? The Government talks about us being important to teh economy and we do save them a small fortune- so why isn;t that acknowledged in this very simple way?

Pre- ASD we each worked FT hours. We will again, but no idea when this odd change comes in.

It's bollocks

ImGideon - on a purely practical note, if your husband is self-employed, he is presumably declaring his own hours. With a bit of rounding up, counting travel time, allocating a couple of hours a week for business development, can he not make them up to 24?

HappyMummyofOne - yes if you look at their take home pay it is - but if you look at the housing benefit, the working tax credits, the child tax credits, the childcare element of CTC then it's a lot less than someone working a full week would get -

uyter - yes it is less than 5 hours a day. But if you've lost your job and can't find work over 24hrs a week then you're going to be right royally stuffed - either you'll be stuck on benefits until you find something 24hrs+, or you'll be running up massive debts as your out going won't cover your income as you'll lose many of your benefits - but won't get WTC to help you.

MaMoTTat, at £350 a week it equates to £18200 tax free - that means a person would have to earn over £21k to get the same income - at £21k the chances of HB are slim and tax credits would not be that much.

• yes but someone working a 40hr week on minimum wage would get their take home plus MORE - taking them well over £18200 tax free.

For example - me - single mum of 3.

Working 40hrs a week minimum wage I would take home £194(ish) a week PLUS £418 (tax free) in benefits. Some of this obviously is the childcare element (though it will be slightly less due to the 10% drop) - but it's double what a single parent on benefit will be capped to.

And I'm in a LOW rent area. (£500pcm for a 3 bedroom house)

Can someone explain this 24 hour a week change thing for childcare...

Im in Scotland though. This means the whole social housing rent increse may not effect us...I think anyway

so is it staying as a 16 hour cut off for single parents and 24 hours for couples? i have just had a quick skim through the speach and can't see any mention of single parnts?

girly - the 24 hour a week thing is separate from childcare.

The childcare element of CTC is being reduced to 70% - so if you're currently getting 80% of your childcare paid for you'll have to find the other 10%

The 24hr a week thing is for WTC, and is for couples - they have to work at least 24hrs (between them) a week to be able to claim any WTC.

MaMoTTat- you are wrong, i'm a single mum of 4 and even with my child tax credits i don;t have an after tax income of £350 a week. A working single parent would most likely need to pay full time childcare and the tax credits doesn;t cover it all, even if that takes the income up to an after tax income of more than £350 a week, they will be paying childcare from that income, whereas a non working single parent won;t so will be better off. I know this from experience, my non working single parent friends have more disposable income than i do and laugh that i'm 'mug enough' to work to provide for my family.
i really do think people need to get some sense of perspective aboout what the average working one wage family really receives.

ok - how about this then - I pretend that I have 0 childcare costs - (exH suddenly turns into a useful father for example ).

I would still get £305 a week working 40hrs a week minimum wage ON TOP of my take home pay.

Working 16hrs a week minimum wage I would get more

Don't forget that the amount of extra benefits you get depends on your housing costs in your area as well.

LHA here of £126 for a 3 bedroom house, other areas it will be much less, other areas double that amount - and even though once you start you don't get the full amount of LHA - this can vary across the country.

We get a little bit of wtc will we still get it as I am a sahm and my partner works 40 hrs a week ?

Really confused by all of this

Thank you for explaining,

I work 16 hours and go to uni and DH works anywhere between 30 and 60 so thats fine.

The3 it's unclear, but my guess is no

A lot needs clarifying

I think you need to wait for all the details to come out in due course

Well, there go all the part-time jobs that I would potentially be able to do then. sigh

I have a huge dilemma people - if I work full time, my seizures will return to such a frequency that I will be signed off sick. That's assuming anyone gives me a job at all, what with there being so many more completely healthy people out of work too. If my DP works at all, the DC will have to either go into childcare or we will have to have someone supervising me. I'd love to say we could both work, but there just aren't the jobs - or at least, there aren't if you own up to having health issues.

The more DP works, the more we have to spend on childcare; the more I work, the greater the chance I'll lose my job anyway. Realistically, a sustainable amount of work for me is 16-20 hours p/w. I guess that all that soundbiting about people being better off in work was just that then. Of course, I imagine that the cutoff for benefits such as ESA will still be when you work 16 hours...

Oh, and all that is leaving aside DP's clinical depression, which is probably bad enough for him to qualify for DLA himself, if he could only get his head round the stress.

Yay for the conservatives shitting on the poor. They really have no fucking idea, do they.

Tott, I sympathise. I have uncontrolled epilepsy - but I lost my DLA in July. I have been out of work for 3 years. In that time, I have applied for over 200 jobs. And not been offered ONE interview. DP works FT, all DC at school. From what I can make out from the new WTC rules, if I don't work for at least 8hrs a week as well as DP working, we will lose our £320/month WTC.

Tott- sympathies; DH almost died from severe depression (attempted suicide, thank goodness police rsponded to my concerns and went looking). He wouldn;t even consider benefits, kept forcing himself to work, never claimed DLA etc. What i woudl say though is that was a good many eyars ago now, and it can get better- best wishes to your DP, severe depression is a horrid thing and often taken less than seriously by people in general.

WRT to the epilepsy for you and LL, be aware of new changes to equality law that mean you don't actually have to disclose it. now, my own personal inclination usually would be to be kind to potential employers etc but there does come a stage when I (you, whoever) has to put their family security and rent before all else doesn't there?

Anyway, there are details about teh changes about, last month or so, so hope it helps.

Lougle ? Tott- also remember there is time and self employment counts; 8 hours a week doing ironing, making and selling crafts on ebay, whatever would cut it nough to hit the target for WTC.

Sole tradership isn;t ahrd to set up, and then you go around hassling Tories who aptronise going 'I'm an entreprenuer dontach know? You worship me'

Really? I no longer have to declare? That might actually give me a fighting chance of getting a ruddy interview at least! Could you link to the new rules please?

Hang on LL and I will look

there were a few big news items on this but all very recent; DH ahd MH issues for a while and it really made finding a new job hard so I remember it.

Will see what I can find.

comes under this new bill, as of the first of the month- said it was recent LOL

Have noticed the last few application forms I have had no longer came atatched to a health questionnaire.

I really hope it helps you.