Benefits advice - working tax credit?

[Staten]

I am a student nurse but am taking a break (again) from my studies as of the end of this month. My husband has been in hospital since the beinning of April and it's still not looking as though he will be coming home anytime soon.
My son has a lot of health needs due to being born 4 months early and juggling everything alone has proved too much for me.

I have had an interview for a part time job but am finding the whole benefits thing a nightmare to navigate.

My student bursary was our main income. On top of that was my husband's and son's DLA and child tax credit. No carers allowance.
I am trying to figure out how many hours a week I should be working in order to benefit my family the most.
The shifts are 12 hours long so I can either ask for a contract for 12 hours and then do bank work on top of that or work 2 shifts a week?

How many hours do I need to work in order to qualify for working tax credit and would I be able to get help toward child care fees?

[Staten]

I had a call this afternoon to say I have the job and have been down and signed a contract for 22.5 hours a week. It is minimum wage so I am paying the childminder more than I earn.
I have not even begun to think of how I am going to pay the bills and mortgage.

[malc]

staten,i don't really understand whether your asking what hours you need to work to receive wtc,16 by the way with kids on ctc claim or would you be better off on income support and have no council tax and wait 13 weeks to get mortgage interest payments and any other passporting benefits kick in ?,you can get help with childcare costs by the way.

[SeasideDeb]

I think you need to get some advice on this. If I recall correctly, last year that the minimum working hours for couples was raised to 24 (I could be wrong) in order to qualify for working tax credits. If one of the couple is on carers allowance it is 16. If I am right then you may end up in a worse financial situation than you are at the moment. Why not ask the job centre for a benefits check to see if it is worth you taking this job?

[bowlingbun]

The Carers UK helpline should be able to guide you through the maze of benefits. Even just the Carer's Allowance rules are complicated, you are not entitled to it once you are earning a certain amount, BUT certain costs can be deducted. If you give up the job because you can't cope, would you then be entitled to any benefits at all for a while? I'm just posing the questions, genuinely don't know the answers, but there is so much to consider, especially when your husband is in hospital, that you really do need to ring the CUK helpline (or email them if the phone is busy, they'll ring back soon). Alternatively, they might be able to find a way of getting more support to help you continue your studies, if that is what you would like.

[malc]

working hours are 16 when your partner is on dla,i assumed he was still entitled even though he would not be receiving it at the minute under the 28 day rule.

[Lucy Carers UK]

The Carers UK helpline should be able to guide you through the maze of benefits.

I think you'd benefit from speaking to our adviceline too - the experts that run it will be able to tell you what you're entitled to based on your individual situation and also how many hours you can work etc. The contact details are (free phone) 0808 808 7777 or email adviceline@carersuk.org

Hope this helps,

Lucy

[SeasideDeb]

Thanks Malc - I knew it was less for people on carers allowance but didn't know about DLA. I did go & double check about the carers allowance & there was no mention of the DLA ruling - typical lack of information out there! What a minefield for people.

Hope you have found someone, Staten, who can tell you all the ins & outs of the ridiculously complicated benefitss system.

[malc]

debra i don't think it's less for people on carers allowance,that's the joke,kids grow up you lose child tax credit so have to work 30 hours even though you get carers allowance and the caree on dla so you have to make the choice of losing working tax credit or work 30 hours then earn too much to keep carers allowance unless self employed and your expenses keep you at the £100 threshold.

[SeasideDeb]

I may have misread this but I am sure that it is less hours for a couple where one is in receipt of carers allowance -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17446884