Benefits Query

[Ric.ror]

Here's a scenario -

If I was to be made redundant and then re-employed on a casual 'as and when' basis what would be the position regarding benefits

Also -I work part time - if I was made redundant where would I stand again regarding benefits

[bednobs]

It's impossible to say. Most out-of -work benefits are means tested - if you worked 3 hours a week but earned £1000 perhour, you probably wouldn't be entitled to any mean tested benefits. In principle though, if your wages fluctuate because you are employed ad hoc, if yoiu were also receiving benefits, you'd have to tell them about every change in circumstance

[Ric.ror]

Thanks for your help
If I am made redundant I am hoping to find a role with in the organisation as a casual but I want to be assured that, if there is no work, I will be able to make ends meet

[bednobs]

well i suppose it depends how long your piece of string is as to whether you can make the ends meet. OOW benefits are nowhere near a minimum wage job. Lots of organisations would think hard about giving someone redundancy, then re-employing them. also, on a casual contract, you have none of the benefits of a permanent member of staff

[Buenchico]

I spent several years unemployed but with casual work coming in from time to time. Here's how it worked for me:

If, during any 'signing week', I worked for fewer than 16 hours I simply had to declare that work on the next occasion that I 'signed on'. The amount that I'd earned (less £5) was then deducted from my JSA. So, for example, If I earned £60, £55 would be knocked off my JSA. (In practice though they sometimes seemed to forget to do it; I didn't complain!)

If I worked for more than 16 hours in a 'signing week', I had to 'sign off' and then, after completing the work, 'sign on' again. JSA would be paid up until the day I signed off and then from when I signed back on. The really irritating thing though was that every time I 'signed on' I had to go through the same interview procedure that new applicants have to go through. So (because I would sometimes sign on unaware that I'd be offered work in the very near future) I sometimes had to go through the whole process three or four times each month.

As with all JSA claimants (with a recent full record of National Insurance contributions and irrespective of whether they're getting any casual work or not) you need to remember that you get 'contribution-based' JSA (which is NOT means-tested) for the first 6 months but 'income-based' JSA thereafter. That IS means-tested and if, for example, you've got a partner in full-time employment, you almost certainly won't get anything at all.

The other benefit which you could probably claim would be a discount on your Council Tax. I claimed it but it was a pain in the posterior to do so. That's because I notified the local council about my regular income (from JSA) but then had to write them a letter, to explain my change in circumstances, every time I got a bit of casual work. They would then write back to demand that I send them my bank statements for the past 6 months (despite the fact that I might already have submitted them several times over the past few weeks) and generate mounds of paperwork to reassess my Council Tax bill. I could well be writing to them about my 10th period of temporary employment while they were still calculating the figures after my 6th such period!

[Peter Pedant]

It is just about still what BC says - but ..... ( or, AND)
RTI is with us
Real Time Information.

For Housing Benefit for one of my tenants - it varied every week depending on how many hours she worked - and the info was from the employers (RTI) as far as I could see.

So her contribution for the monthly rent varied from month to month.

[Ric.ror]

Well thanks for that
Not sure about the council tax benefit as I get a reduced rate anyway due to be being a one person household
I also own my home so no rent benefits