back to work

[havinmysay]

hi all
i am wanting to go back to work after havin my baby a year ago so need childcare i am currently on benefits iv been told i can work up to 16 hrs and get help with childcare costs (im a single parent by the way) also housing benefit is anyone in the same position and where do i start
thanks x

[jodie1982]

Hi, you can get up to 80 percent of your childcare costs paid by Child Tax Credits if you are on a low income. I am married and get quite a lot of mine paid for me. You do have to use a registered childminder or nursery though.

If you look on the child tax credit website, you can do a sort of test where you enter your earnings and other details like marital status and age of children and it will give you an estimate of the sort of amount you will receive. I pay 600 pounds a month to my chilminder and i get 450 towards it so it makes going to work worthwhile.

Let me know how you get on x