what benefits is my sis entitled too?

[joko]

my sister has a 6 month old baby, and her boyfriend lives with her and earns up to 21K a year.
she doesn't get working tax credits and gets �21 a week child tax credit and �17 child allowance, but nothing for herself.
she is not allowed inc support.
(the boyf is really stingey and doesn't see that as a couple with a child he is expected to support her until the baby is older)

is there anything she can claim for herself?

she wants to go to see them with some information as she feels she has been fobbed off before

thanks

[redcrx]

if she is actively seeking work then perhaps she may be entitled to job seekers allowance.

[joko]

thanks but shes not, baby is only 6 months old

[bednobs]

nothing springs to mind.
was she working before giving birth? is she getting maternity pay? is she looking for work?
to get housing benefit/council tax benefit i think you have to be entitled to income support.
i guess someone must be paying the rent bills and food so it seems a bit unfair to imply the b/f is not supporting her.
She might be better off if she got a job, or she might find that she is better off as she is now, once child care is taken into account

[redcrx]

just because baby is ony 6 months old doesnt mean she cant work. Has she perhaps thought of getting a part time job and getting her boyfriend to look after baby in eves or at weekends?

I assume her boyfriend isnt leaving her to pay all the bills on �38 a week?

[B00]

i'd be far more concerned that the boyfriend in question doesn't feel that it is his responsibility to provide financial support for the mother of his child.

[bednobs]

isnt he though? or is she paying for rent/food.gas.electric/council tax on 38 quid a week?

[bednobs]

also up to 21000 a year isnt all that much in terms of monthly take home pay for 3 people, so if he isnt giving her money for herself, it might be because he cnt afford it

[joko]

of course he is paying rent etc, as I said i meant she has nothing in her pockets for herself and has to argue with him whenever she wants anything.
she doesn't want to work yet, and he works odd hours then falls a sleep in evenings, and saturdays.
she will get a job eventually, but she thinks its too soon - besides most of what she earnt in a part time job would go on a baby sitter.
he also drinks too much and spends ''his'' money on that.

so there are no benefits she can claim?

[redcrx]

not to allow her to have personal money in her pocket otherwise everyone would want some. Sorry, shes either going to have to put up with it, confront him and explain how she feels or get him to pull his weight and babysit for her to work a few hours

[xhxmxsx]

she is best of ringing her local job centre they will tell her what she is entitled to and send her out forms if she is entitled

[redcrx]

by the way, family tax credits do pay towards childcare facilities, this is to help mums return to work after maternity leave.

[bednobs]

as far as i know, no. As i said, IS is a gateway benefit - ie if you are entitled to that then others come automatically, but you've already said she cant get it. i suppose the only thing to do if she wants an income for herself is to earn it. clearly we dont know the b/f but i would be inclined to feel a bit sorry for him if he supports his wife and child and cant have a few drinks into the bargain out of the money he earns without being disapproved of, after all she did chose him as the father of the baby and her partner, so he can't be all bad
I can completely understand that she dosent want to work yet, with a six month old baby

[joko]

its not a few drinks, its every night coming home drunk after work, falling asleep.
she would not trust him to look after the baby.

[bednobs]

well i'm afraid that is just poor judgement on her part then, and showing poor judgement shouldn't entitle someone to benefits.

Sorry joko, but i really dont think there is anything she would be entitled to. I would like some designer shoes, but dont have enough money in my pocket for them, but i am not going to claim benefits cause i dont have any money to spend on myself. if you think about it it used to be very common for the partenr/dad to go out to work, and for the mum to look after the kids and have no money for themselves except child benefit, so it's not like shes in an exceptinal situation. She is clothed, housed, fed, and has a minimum standard of living by the sound of it

[joko]

bednobs, i didn't ask for your judgement here, i asked a question. a very simple one.

her ''bad judgement'' is none of your business, it is just the situation she has found herself in and is struggling with it.
i agree he is a waste of space, but thats none of your business.

and your facetious comment about designer shoes is unneccesary - she just wants some money she can buy general items with, not luxuries.

jump to conclusions all you like, but please do it elsewhere

[redcrx]

if she doesnt trust him to look after their child then is there anyway she can find a job whereby she can work from home? or something like avon selling where she can take baby out in pram with her and get some fresh air and exercise at same time.

That really is the only way she can get money for herself. The baby is what matters and as long as he/she is fed, clothed and has roof over its head then thats all the government need to provide.

[joko]

fair enough redcrx, she just wanted to know if there was anything available.
i will mention the avon, thats not a bad idea
cheers

[~Wingnut~]

Hi joko :o)
Could she prehaps look towards working in a school or nursery? not now but she could start the training now or at least look into it so when the baby is older and attending playschool, she could see if she can get a job within that playgroup and train at the same time.
I know how she feels although our money is put into one account and I am the boss of it all (lol) my husband is on a very low income and works long hours so I got a job in our daughter's school when she started so that I have the school holidays off when she does. If it wasn't for that I would need to get a full time job just to pay for childcare in the school hols.
Is there anyone who could have the baby for an hour a day? She could look into being a mid-day supervisor at her local school, the pay isn't that great but it's a little bit of her own money and they do get some holiday pay and a retainer. As the child gets older she could look into prehaps working in the kitchen (which is what I do) or train to be a Teaching assistant (which is also what I have just done).
Good luck to her, as the baby gets older a lot more options will be available to her and hopefully she will gain a bit more independence as well as her own money :o)

[mickeybroad]

If you go to www.directgov.co.uk you can look up what benefits are availabel.

1. Working tax credit is claimed for by the person who is the main carer of the child. It tops up the wages of whoever is working: partner or self, but would be payabl to who ever is the main carer of the child, so herself, paid in addition to child tax credit,

2. Regardless of his income if she has worked for the required minimum period of time (direct gove will tell you) and she has paid enough tax she is entitled to jsa for a period of time, unfortunately it is only available for those who previously work and paid tax

3. housing and council tax benefit are payble to help with those to anybody on a low income + those on income support. If she is entitled to working tax credit or child tax credit she will almost definitely get something toward rent/council tax. Ring or vist your local authority office and ask for housing/council tax benefit form, follow the instructions, done. They do require all proof to be origninal, bank statements (proof no savings over fixed amount, but it's quite high), other benefits she receives: child benefit etc. it will tell you what they need.

4. I was previously in her situation with a hubby (yes, stupid enough to marry him) and eventually i got out and am sooo much better off now emotionally and financially! But, she has to come to that decision on her own and it can take time, meanwhile she can contact AL anon for family/relations of those who drink, hopefully they will help her whilst in the situation.

Hope this helps

[bednobs]

sorry if i upset you joko, i went out and forgot to check back on this post till now. I dont think i really meant it to come out like you have taken it. I didnt mean to imply she was sponging or anything, just that it's not an exceptioal circumstance she is in (however crappy) for the mother to be not working and not have an income
from what you say the b/f sounds like a knob but you (and we) only get one side of the story As for judging her, i suppose people have to make judgements everyday to get by , but i wasn't judging her as such, just pointing out that she chose him to be the father of her baby., and continues to chose hm to live with every day, so despite your judgements, he cant be all bad! if shes unhappy in her situation, she might even find shes better off financially leaving him.

again, i didnt puposefully mean to upset you, and hope you dont bear me a lasting grudge