how old does a child have to be

[rozia]

for mums to HAVE to go to work? just looking at my options now..:'-(

[ummmm]

It was 10 but there was mention of it being lowered to 7.

[hc4361]

Is it 7 now?

[gina32]

have to go to work?

[hc4361]

Benefits stop, gina, and mum goes on to JSA.

[ummmm]

Gina - You won't be entitled to income support. You'd have to claim JSA and be looking for a job.

[nailit]

Presumebly you are a single mum?
A case of the government making a generation of latch key kids.

[ojread2]

It is 7 - then you must sign on every 2 weeks

[ojread2]

Rozia, think long and hard about leaving your job volumtarily
Look at this
http://www.direct.gov...alasset/dg_199994.pdf

Its a leaflet and it says to be able to claim JSA you must be able to work at least 40 hours a week

And on page 7 it says if you leave your job it may take 26 weeks for you to get anything, if indeed they decide you will
Anyway, its all there for you to peruse

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure I understand the question. Mums don't have to go to work, irrespective of the child's age. Do you mean in what situations can a mum claim JSA etc without being expected to seek employment?

[ummmm]

Factor...If you have a child under the age of 7 you are not expected to work and can claim income support. Once they turn 7 you're expected to look for a job and have to switch to JSA.

[factor-fiction]

Thanks ummmm. I was just checking that that is what she meant to ask because her question wasn't clear to me

[EDDIE51]

There is NEVER a time when a Mum HAS to go to work !!
rozia has told us she has 2 children and a partner who works, therefore they as a couple can claim Working tax credit and Family tax credit.
Tax credits are based on the total income of the family from all sources , wages , benefits , savings and any other form of income (lodgers etc)
If the total income drops , as would be the case if rosia stops work, then the tax credits rise to cover the lost income. If a couple are claiming housing/ council tax benefit as well as tax credits the benefits drop by 95pence for every extra £1 earned.
On the other hand in the same situation the tax credits RISE by 95p for every £1 lost ! I know this this for FACT it happened to me , my son is now in the exact same situation. He was earning £160 a week, he was offered a job at £350 a week BUT if he took it the tax credit / housing benefit would have dropped by £180.25 per week , he would also have had to pay £35 a week train fares .Work it out !!!
Unless rosia is earning well over £200 a week the family will be less than £5 a week worse off if she stops work and they claim tax credit as a couple. If she has transport cost to work they will be BETTER off by her giving up work.! FACT !!
The problem with all this is that Family tax credit stops when a child reaches 19 or leaves full time education. So then it pays for both partners to be in work.
rosia, if you leave work DO NOT claim JSA as they will just deduct JSA £ for £ from your family tax credits ! FACT !
rosia you can do as much charity work as you like and it will NOT effect the tax credits as long as you only get paid expenses.

[boxtops]

Rozia's already got a job - not one she likes, but she's got a job, and that's worth its weight in gold at the moment. NHS jobs are really hard to come by at the moment - I wouldn't chuck it in just because things aren't going well with her current manager (and I have said this to rozia already).

[ojread2]

Edd, I believe you have misinterpreted the replies
As far as the DWP are concerned once your youngest child is 7 and you are claiming benefits, then you must start looking for work and cannot refuse any job offered or benefits may be deducted or stopped all together
Once that child is 7 the parent, if in a partnership will not likely be entitled to JSA anyway, cancelling out the above statement

There is a time a mum HAS to go to work, or at the very least actively seek employment. It is when they are a single parent, collecting benefits and their youngest turns 7

The confusion has come in because the question 'do mums have to go to work' was answered form the single parent perspective not the married one. It was misinterpreted some what
The question should be, 'can me and my partner claim WTC and CTC if I leave my job'?
To which the answer will be yes. Just fill out the form on line to see if you are entitled although it will depend on what your partner earns

[ojread2]

I agree boxtops
I hate going into work at the moment (low staff moral, bad wages etc) but I have a job and other jobs that suit the hours I am able to work are like gold dust

[EDDIE51]

Sorry, I should have made clear that my reply was directed at WORKING families, defined as having one of the couple who works a minimum of 16 hrs a week.
We know rosia is part of such a family, so she and her partner are eligible to claim family tax credit and working tax credit. I should also have made clear that it could just as easily be rosia's partner that gives up work and becomes full time 'house husband' and dad, again in this case the tax credits would increase to cover the drop in total family income.
Not that it applies in this case, but even same sex couples with children can claim working/ family tax credit.The only qualification is that one of the couple has to work 16 hours a week, it is not possible for each of the pair to work 8 hours to make up 16, it has to be one partner doing 16 hours a week.
I know a family where the man was the full time carer for 2 children and a lesbian couple where one of them will give up work after the birth of their first child .
(they have not decided yet, which will be the worker and which the 'home mother' it took them 2 years of arguments to decided which of them was going to get pregnant and how the conception was to be arranged ! long story !)

[ojread2]

We need a like button

*like*

[starone]

It's at the top by the advertisement and only the OP can use it (I think)

[ojread2]

Thats a best answer button

I meant where other posters could say like as in agree without have to hit reply then type then post