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Original poster

Working more than 16hrs? Help please!!

10 replies

Watermelooooon · 01/09/2021 22:18

So been working for the last six years as part time 16 hours (single parent).
I have been made redundant and looking for new job my question is if I work 24 hours will i be in a worse situation? I've heard i should stick to 16. I privately rent and a big portion of my wages before went towards the rent and my understanding is if you earn more they take more. I haven't moved on to UC as I'm too scared to so right now I'm surviving off my redundancy pay but it is running out fast :( please can someone help or point me in the right forum etc. Thanks so much!!

OP posts:
Original poster
Watermelooooon · 02/09/2021 00:07

Anyone?

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 04/09/2021 22:00

How old are your children? On UC if they are primary school aged you would be expected to look for work earning 25 x nmw. It is not as lenient as tax credits.

Babyroobs · 04/09/2021 22:12

On Uc if you earn more they deduct more but it is on a taper, so for each additional pound you earn you lose 63p off your total UC amount, so you still end up better off by working more hours. Also Uc pay more for childcare costs . On Uc the first £293 of your earnings are completely disregarded before deductions are made for earnings. Many working people are significantly better off on Uc if renting especially if they didn't receive housing benefit on the old system.

Original poster
Watermelooooon · 04/09/2021 22:36

My children are 11 and 2. I haven't a clue how UC works. I was 16 hrs NMW. And had to pay a top up of rent and full council tax but i did receive working tax credits which helped. But as i understand you don't get that if on UC is that right ? Thanks for your replies

OP posts:
Original poster
Watermelooooon · 04/09/2021 22:38

All I've heard is the horror stories of it tbh. If i could work more hours and still be better off I would choose to go on to UC and work more hours than 16 but the entitled to calculators are confusing me. Not great with those things :(

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 04/09/2021 22:44

@Watermelooooon

My children are 11 and 2. I haven't a clue how UC works. I was 16 hrs NMW. And had to pay a top up of rent and full council tax but i did receive working tax credits which helped. But as i understand you don't get that if on UC is that right ? Thanks for your replies
If your youngest is only 2 then you wouldn't be expected to work more than 16 hours on UC. If you are no longer working then WTC will end after four weeks of not working. You could potentially stay on child tax credits and claim New style JSA until you find another job if you have paid enough NI contributions to qualify for this.
Original poster
Watermelooooon · 04/09/2021 23:46

I didn't think there was JSA any more just the UC which is all rolled into one. Would the job centre be able to help with these queries or is there another place that i could ring? I'm actively looking for work. My WTC has stopped already so I'm getting CTC and CB currently and using my savings but it's not an awful lot just getting by but it is slowly going down. And I have a lot of bills next week which is worrying me more 😖

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 05/09/2021 00:04

@Watermelooooon

I didn't think there was JSA any more just the UC which is all rolled into one. Would the job centre be able to help with these queries or is there another place that i could ring? I'm actively looking for work. My WTC has stopped already so I'm getting CTC and CB currently and using my savings but it's not an awful lot just getting by but it is slowly going down. And I have a lot of bills next week which is worrying me more 😖
There is contributions based Job seekers allowance ( called new style JSA ) which you could claim if you have paid sufficient NI contributions over the past 2-3 years. It is income related JSA which has been replaced by UC. If you qualify for new style JSA, you can claim that with child tax credits, now that your WTC have stopped.
shazzz1xx · 21/09/2021 22:09

u need to put a claim in for UC now cos it’s from the day u start it and it’s 5 week from a pay, glad I did so much better off :) x

shazzz1xx · 21/09/2021 22:10

Oh and I have a 2 year old and not expected to work :)

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