Income Support etc

AndyCroft1982

AndyCroft1982

AndyCroft1982

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Joined
1 Sep 2013
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914
Location
Darwen
HI all, im after some advcie as this sort of thing is all new to me and i havent a clue.

My gf has been unemployed for nearly 2 years and we have struggled on my wage (about 25k which is not bad at all). She has been told she can claim 6 months job seekers but thats it and they have said we cant have anything else as i earn too much. Recently after applying for over 500 jobs has finally got a job but its only 12 hours p/w. I know im on a decent ammount but ive been struggling to pay for rent bills etc for both of us for nearly 2 years and was hoping we could top her wage up.

Ive heard people talk about income support / working tax credits etc and we havent a clue about any of that as we have always had jobs. Sometimes i feel she would be better off living on her own as she would get more help lol
 
Re reading this the word struggle i guess is strong, i can pay all the bills etc and we arent starving, i just meant there is never any money left over to go out or buy clothes etc. Infact i feel embarrssed even asking as i know there are people far worse off than us.
 
You income alone is too high for working tax credits, as it is just yourself and partner, there isn't much available really.

As you live together your partners income is also tied to your own so again no help available when it comes to tax credits.

You could try the tax credits calculator and see though, but if you do get something its likely to only be a few quid.

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
 
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Thanks for your reply, i guessed as much. I get a bit resentful at times when i pay a big chunk of my wage goes to tax, then i have to pay for our prescriptions, dentists etc etc but i guess everyone who works feels like that lol
 
estebanrey said:
Why can't your missus get a job?
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Wish we knew the answer, agencies ring to ask to put her forward then we never hear from them. She went for a job at a supermarket 30 mins drive away to be told she didnt get it as she lived too far away. We have asked countless agencies for help but they arent interested. She wants to work in design, has had a few interviews but there is always someone who has more experience etc and a lot of the retail jobs she has applied for say she has too much experience blah blah. TBH i always thought it was easy to walk in to another job but when you see it first hand (and believe me she has been trying) and now she has got one its only 12 hours p/w contract.

Since i earn over a certain ammout we arent entitled to any help and im fed up of feeling worse off because i earn a decent ammout for 1 person but to cover 2 people its a struggle at times.

And yes we have joked about having kids but that seems so wrong to me that its the only way to bump up the house hold income?
 
we hope so tbh and we are grateful that she has finally found something lol even at 12 hours. Its in retail so i would be very suprised if there wasnt over time. I just feel sorry for her as she really wanted a job in design/cad area but alas she will have to make do at a craft shop for the time being.

On a side issue the job centre were next to useless and i pity anyone that has to use them on a regular basis. You would struggle to find a more inept bunch of civil servants tbh
 
Would your salary be appropriate for your role/experience/qualification? Would it be worthwhile researching other jobs out there for yourself, and seeing if you could better your own salary? Might be worth considering.
 
AndyCroft1982 said:
we hope so tbh and we are grateful that she has finally found something lol even at 12 hours. Its in retail so i would be very suprised if there wasnt over time. I just feel sorry for her as she really wanted a job in design/cad area but alas she will have to make do at a craft shop for the time being.

On a side issue the job centre were next to useless and i pity anyone that has to use them on a regular basis. You would struggle to find a more inept bunch of civil servants tbh
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Job centres are useless tbh but then again IF they did their job correctly and actually made sure the scroungers/life-time dole scum were actually looking for work then it'd probably be better.

I found myself out of work Jan '13 and unfortunately for the first time in my life (at 32) had to go. I was told I need to look at a minimum of SIX job vacancies per fortnight. Now they stated I had to have evidence of my job searching, in my case it was far in excess of their minimum but not once was I asked to produce this evidence. At each appointment I was at the desk no more than 60 secs, asked one question "Any changes in circumstances?", signed a piece of paper and out the door, paid.

I am back in work now, thankfully. Not the job I want but it pays hella more than £70 a week (actually it's about that a day lol)
 
Resident said:
Job centres are useless tbh but then again IF they did their job correctly and actually made sure the scroungers/life-time dole scum were actually looking for work then it'd probably be better.

I found myself out of work Jan '13 and unfortunately for the first time in my life (at 32) had to go. I was told I need to look at a minimum of SIX job vacancies per fortnight. Now they stated I had to have evidence of my job searching, in my case it was far in excess of their minimum but not once was I asked to produce this evidence. At each appointment I was at the desk no more than 60 secs, asked one question "Any changes in circumstances?", signed a piece of paper and out the door, paid.

I am back in work now, thankfully. Not the job I want but it pays hella more than £70 a week (actually it's about that a day lol)
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I know exactly what you went through, i even wrote to my MP complaining that as civil servants they should be accountable to the tax payers. I got a letter from the DWP MP but it was a fob off. I had an issue were i was unemployed for a couple of weeks, went in to ask for help. Then was told i wasnt entitled as my ex employer hadnt replied to them by fax. WHilst there i phoned my ex employer who, whilst on the phone, said they would fax it there and then. Job centre said they could accept that as now they would have to send them a letter and then respond to that !!! fuming wasnt the word. By the time it was all sorted i had found another job luckily
 
AndyCroft1982 said:
On a side issue the job centre were next to useless and i pity anyone that has to use them on a regular basis. You would struggle to find a more inept bunch of civil servants tbh
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Job centre is there to manage unemployment, not to help people find work - a subtle distinction but still :S I swear they actually end up keeping more people unemployed through inflexibility.

I was in a similiar position where I used to live after being made redundant - had to move to another area (with different opportunities available) before I found work - agencies and myself just don't seem to get along for some reason (probably because I can see their BS for what it is more readily than the average person), so often I'm in that situation where I made it to the shortlist for a job but theres always someone who is just a little better fit and supermarkets, etc. won't take me as no matter how much I try to dumb down my CV, etc. they see me as over qualified blah blah. If I was still living where I was before this I would probably still be out of work tbh.
 
Rroff said:
Job centre is there to manage unemployment, not to help people find work - a subtle distinction but still :S I swear they actually end up keeping more people unemployed through inflexibility.

I was in a similiar position where I used to live after being made redundant - had to move to another area (with different opportunities available) before I found work - agencies and myself just don't seem to get along for some reason (probably because I can see their BS for what it is more readily than the average person), so often I'm in that situation where I made it to the shortlist for a job but theres always someone who is just a little better fit and supermarkets, etc. won't take me as no matter how much I try to dumb down my CV, etc. they see me as over qualified blah blah. If I was still living where I was before this I would probably still be out of work tbh.
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This is exactly the same siuation my girlfriend has had. Im just grateful that we have managed to get by on my wage but even though its not a bad wage its still a struggle to make it spread over 2 people.

Now she has got a job I will start looking myself for a better paid / promotion
 
AndyCroft1982 said:
HI all, im after some advcie as this sort of thing is all new to me and i havent a clue.

My gf has been unemployed for nearly 2 years and we have struggled on my wage (about 25k which is not bad at all). She has been told she can claim 6 months job seekers but thats it and they have said we cant have anything else as i earn too much. Recently after applying for over 500 jobs has finally got a job but its only 12 hours p/w. I know im on a decent ammount but ive been struggling to pay for rent bills etc for both of us for nearly 2 years and was hoping we could top her wage up.

Ive heard people talk about income support / working tax credits etc and we havent a clue about any of that as we have always had jobs. Sometimes i feel she would be better off living on her own as she would get more help lol
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6 months job seekers? My missus gets 14kpa and I was told i get nothing because apparently she can support me.

Lol
 
BunnyKillBot said:
6 months job seekers? My missus gets 14kpa and I was told i get nothing because apparently she can support me.

Lol
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Maybe didn't qualify for contribution based JSA? I'm assuming the OP's partner gets 6 months contribution based but doesn't qualify for income based after that :S
 
BunnyKillBot said:
6 months job seekers? My missus gets 14kpa and I was told i get nothing because apparently she can support me.

Lol
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Everyone is entitled to 6 months NON means tested job seekers, after that period it is then means tested which means if you live with someone who has a paid job thenusually you wont be entitled anything (even if you have paid taxes most of your life)

We found trying to get information out of people to what help we could get was very difficult and still to this day no one at the job centre will tell us. It seems to be a constant fight to get anything, even advice which is supposed to be free lol
 
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