Hi I was just wondering....I have been offered a new job around my studying hours at college, it is 14.5 hours per week, so I know im not entitled to any working tax credits or help with childcare. But I am still better off than on benefits as it is more than my income support. Will I be able to claim a 4 week run on for housing benefit as I will only get so much housing benefit? I went to my local jobcentre on tuesday and they werent much help they used a calcualtor on the computer but couldnt really understand the results...they said there not used to doing calculations under 16 hours and dont know anything about what i will be entitled to. i just filled in a change of circumstances form and left. Does anyone out there know....or been in this situation? Thank you. Also I just wanted to ask, i know if i got a job over 16 hours i would get some help from the jobcentre until i get paid i.e back to work grant or somthing. but because my job is under 16 hours do i just have to manage on ctc until i get some wages?

Is there any way you could pick up another 1.5 hours of work, even doing something like Avon?

can you do that? can i just say im doing 16 hours? do i have to prove it?

No, that wasn't what I said; I said can you get another 1.5 hours of work and suggested somewhere you could do it.

Doesn't work like that. Avon is self employed and the DSS / Job Centre are sure to mess that up so avoid. OK, first you need to get to speak to someone at your Job Centre who can put you on the New Deal for Lone Parents. This is the first step. Then, you need to find out exactly what taking a job at XYZ income level would do to your Housing Benefit and your Council tax Benefit. The Job Centre say they can do this for you but you cannot accept Mickey Mouse calculations which could screw up your circumstances. I would contact the council HB office and ask them how they decide what HB to pay for working people. At the moment you'll be getting Child Tax Credits - you need to know how these change. There is In Work Credit which gives you up to an extra ?60 per week for up to a year. You can get advance child care paid for. HB and CTB can be paid for an extra 4 weeks after you start work. The Job Grant is ?250. You are clearly nowhere near the position to say yes or no to a job. You need to work out the net effect of a PT or FT job and don't forget to include the extra costs of going to work.

IVE done the calculations for housing benefit ect, they have told me my childtax credits wont change. And the lady at the jobcentre told me she dosent think i can get in work credit ect because the job is under 16 hours. As for acepting the job it done i start today, i sign a change of circumstances form on tuesday, like i said the job centre was usless, maybe i should ring them again today and check again. Cant i just do some extra work like cleaning for 1.5 hours im always seeing little jobs advertised in the paper for people at someones home, then im doing 16 hours, i think il look today.

I think that you're very wrong to discourage the OP from taking a job which will fit in with her existing commitments! Don't forget that unless her youngest child is very young she may not have long before she has to come off IS anyway and go onto JSA, which could mean that she has to stop studying. Many people pick up an hour or so of self employed work (Avon/cleaning) etc and there's no reason why JCP shouldn't be perfectly happy with this.

As you'll see from my crossed post, a morning's cleaning would fit in very well with your plans, so I would go for it.