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• Employment Credit. You may get £60 a week, tax free, for up to
52 weeks, if you earn less than £15,000 a year.
• Training Grant. You could also get a grant of up to £750 to help
with training that is both directly relevant to your job and helps
develop skills for future work.
❚ New Deal for people aged 25-49
• Subsidised Employment. The JobCentre can offer employers
£75 a week to take you on if they can’t find you an unsubsidised
job.
• Jobseeker’s Grant. If you are 25 or over, and have been
unemployed for 18 months or more you may be able to get a
discretionary payment to pay for the costs of looking for work,
for example clothes for interviews.
❚ New Deal for people aged 18-24
• This is a compulsory scheme after you have been unemployed
for 6 months but you may chose to go on it early if you are at a
disadvantage in the job market. Speak to your Personal Adviser
at the JobCentre about this.
❚ The New Deal for disabled people.
• This is a voluntary scheme and in Newham it is run by the Shaw
Trust, see the useful numbers at the end of this leaflet for their
address and phone number. You can talk to them about the help
you need and get advice about work and training. If you start a
job they will support you while you are working.
What help and advice is available?
❚ For lone parents. You can get help and advice, about training,
childcare and benefits, as well as fares to job interviews from the
Lone Parent Advisers at your local JobCentre.
❚ People interested in being childminders. You can call the National
Childcare Recruitment Helpline on 0800 996 600, or the National
Childminding Association Freephone on 0800 169 4486, or check
their website www.ncma.org.uk. You can also call the Children’s
Information Development Service on 0800 074 1017 for local
information.
❚ Help and advice. You can get advice from your local JobCentre,
agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and other local groups.
See the Useful Numbers at the end of this leaflet, and the "Welfare
Benefits, where to go for advice in Newham" leaflet and, other leaflets
in the "How to" series, which are available from the Town Hall, Local
Service Centres, libraries and other council offices.
JobCentre (East Ham) for
surnames A-K
Heron House
Heigham Road
London E6 2JR
Tel: 020 8210 5600
Benefits Agency (Canning Town)
197 Freemasons Road
London E16 3PG
Tel: 020 7599 8899
JobCentre (East Ham) for
surnames L-Z
473 Barking Road
London E6 2LL
Tel: 020 8210 5700
Benefits Agency (Plaistow)
760 Barking Road
London E13 3PH
Tel: 020 8532 3000
Benefits Agency (Stratford)
Jubilee House,
2 Farthingale Walk,
London E15 1AN
Tel: 020 8532 3000
Children's Information
Development Service
Stratford Advice Arcade
107 – 109 The Grove
London E15 1HP
Tel: 0800 074 1017
Citizens Advice Bureau
Stratford Advice Arcade
107-109 The Grove
London E15 1HP
Tel: 020 8536 1710
Disabled Person’s Tax Credit
Helpline: 0845 605 5858
Early Years Unit
Unit 12 Stratford Office Village
London E15
Tel: 020 8430 6814 or
020 8430 4954
East London Small Business
Centre Assist Programme
88-94 Wentworth Street
London E1 7FA
Tel: 020 7377 8821
Futures Newham Careers Service
Unit 5-6, Broadway Chambers
The Broadway, London E15 4QP
Tel: 020 8227 1500
The Into Work Centre
St Marks Community Centre
Tollgate Road
Beckton, London E6
Tel: 020 7474 8791
Community Links
105 Barking Road, E16
Tel: 020 7473 2270
JobCentre (Plaistow)
3-9 Balaam Street
London E13 8EB
Tel: 020 7506 4200
JobCentre (Stratford)
1 Tramway Avenue
London E15 4PN
Tel: 020 8918 5200
National Childminding Association
Tel: 0800 169 4486
Website: www.ncma.org.uk
National Childcare Recruitment
Helpline
Tel: 0800 996 600
Newham Rights Law Centre
285 Romford Road
London E7 9HJ
Tel: 020 8555 3331
Reed Employment
Station House
London E15 1AP
Tel: 020 8555 0313
The Shaw Trust
New Deal for Disabled People
Stratford Advice Arcade
107-109 The Grove
London E15 1HP
Tel: 0800 018 4600
Working Families' Tax Credit
Helpline: 0845 609 5000
Child Tax Credit
Helpline: 0845 3000 1036
How to make
part-time work pay
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This leaflet is for people who would like to do some work, but
are worried that they might be worse off if they lose some of
their benefits.
How many hours can I work, and still get benefit?
❚ If you work 16 hours or more a week or your partner works 24 or
more, it counts as full time work for benefits. If you work full-time you
can’t get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or
Incapacity Benefit apart from the following exceptions:
• Childminders can work 16 hours or more a week and still get
Income Support.
• You can do unpaid voluntary or charity work for over 16 hours a
week. If you get Jobseeker’s Allowance you must be able to
start a paid job in 48 hours.
❚ If you get Incapacity Benefit you can do work that is part of a medical
treatment programme or sheltered work scheme, and earn up to
£60.50 a week.
❚ If you work 16 hours or more you may get Working Families’ Tax
Credit if you have children and your savings are £8,000 or less.
❚ If you are disabled, work 16 hours or more and your savings are
£16,000 or less you can claim Disabled Person’s Tax Credit. Disabled
people with children can choose the benefit that is better for them.
❚ Your partner’s working hours won't affect your contribution-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance.
How will my earnings affect my benefit?
❚ Benefit you can keep. Your Disability Living Allowance shouldn’t be
affected by starting work, provided your care and mobility needs
remain the same.
❚ Ignored Income. If you get Income Support or income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance you will lose all of your earnings from your
benefit except for a small amount. The amount you can earn, before
losing money from your benefit is:
• £20 a week for lone parents, disabled people and carers.
• £5 a week for other single people.
• £10 a week for couples.
What about my Housing Costs?
❚ Housing, or Council Tax Benefits. If you get these benefits but
have earnings above your Income Support level, your benefit will be
reduced for every extra pound you earn, the rates of deduction are:
• 65 pence in the pound for Housing Benefit, and
• 20 pence in the pound for Council Tax Benefit.
• Mortgage Interest payments. There is no allowance for
mortgage costs in Working Families’ Tax Credit or Disabled
Person’s Tax Credit. If you work less than 16 hours a week and
get mortgage interest payments as part of your Income Support
or Jobseeker’s Allowance, it stops when your benefit stops. If
you start a full-time job that will last 5 weeks or more it
continues for another 4 weeks.
What about my child maintenance costs?
❚ For Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit. If you get money to
help support your children from a former partner or other absent
parent, the first £15 that you get will be ignored for these benefits.
❚ For Working Families’ Tax Credit & Disabled Person’s Tax Credit.
If you get regular child maintenance payments from a former partner or
other absent parent it is completely ignored for both Tax Credits.
Extra help for childminders.
❚ Income Support. Only one third of your childminder earnings, after
tax and National Insurance, will count as income for working out your
Income Support. From this £20 will be ignored if you are disabled, a
lone parent or a carer, £5 for other single people and £10 for
couples.
❚ Working Families’ & Disabled Person’s Tax Credits. You may be
better off claiming a Tax Credit instead of Income Support. You can
ask an advice worker, or Personal Adviser at the JobCentre to do a
calculation to show which is best for you.
❚ Childminder Start up Grants. This is a grant of up to £300, to help
with the costs of setting up a new childminding business. Contact the
Children’s Information Development Service on 0800 074 1017 for
details of this, and other help for childminders.
Extra help for lone parents.
❚ Help with training and education. If you do work focused
education or training with the agreement of the Lone Parent Adviser
at the JobCentre, you can get an extra £15 on top of your Income
Support.
❚ Help with childminding.
• While you train The Lone Parent Adviser may also agree to pay
your childminding costs of up to £20 a day for one child and
£30 a day for two or more children out of a Discretionary Fund.
• While you work Your local JobCentre can pay for childminding
for your first year in a part-time job. You normally get £50 a
week for one child and £75 for two or more, to pay for
childcare costs while you are working, but the Lone Parent
Adviser may agree to a higher figure if registered childminding
services are not available at that rate.
Extra help for disabled people.
❚ Therapeutic work. This is work that will help your
medical condition. You need a doctor’s letter to say the
job will benefit your health or stop it getting worse. If
you get Incapacity Benefit you will be able to earn up to
£60.50 a week and keep your benefit, if you get Income
Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance with a disability premium you can
keep £20 a week of your earnings. It must be less than 16 hours a
week unless it is part of a sheltered work scheme or medically
supervised treatment programme.
❚ Access to Work scheme. As part of this scheme the Disability
Employment Adviser at your local JobCentre can talk to you about
what help you need to get some work and keep it. They can also
work out if you will be better off working or staying on benefit. The
sort of help they can arrange for you includes:
• Communicators and readers if you have hearing or sight
problems.
• Support workers to help at work.
• Special Equipment and Adaptations.
• Alterations to buildings.
• Help with travel to and from work such as adaptations to a car,
or taxi fares.
❚ New Deal for disabled people. This is a voluntary scheme for
disabled people who want to work full-time, see the next page of this
leaflet for more details of this scheme.
What if I want to work more than 16 hours a week?
Benefits for people on Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance who
start a full time job that will last 5 weeks or more, and tell the JobCentre
or Benefits Agency when they start work.
❚ Back to Work Bonus. If your benefit is reduced because of part-time
earnings you could get this payment which is worth up to £1,000
when you start a full-time job.
❚ Child Maintenance Bonus. If your benefit is reduced because you
get child maintenance payments you may get this payment which is
also worth up to £1,000.
What else is available?
❚ The following are available to people who come off benefits to work
full-time:
• 4 weeks extended payment of your Housing Benefit and Council
Tax Benefit, after you start work.
• 4 weeks continued mortgage interest payments from Income
Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
• 2 weeks Run-On of Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance
for lone parents.
• Job Grants of £100 for people over 25 but not lone parents.
You must tell the Benefits Agency or JobCentre when you start work to
get these grants and benefits. This is only a brief summary, see the
leaflet "How to be better off in full-time work" for more details.
New Deal Schemes
❚ You can get help and advice from your local JobCentre. Phone them
and ask for your Personal Adviser, who can advise about applying for
jobs, interview and job search skills, work related training and help
with fares to work. There are also a number of voluntary agencies who
can help you, see the useful numbers at the end of this leaflet for details.
❚ This is a brief summary of the help that is available through these
schemes, for more information you can speak to an advisor at the
JobCentre or voluntary agency, or see the leaflet "How to be better
off in full-time work."
❚ New Deal for people over 50