selfemployed signing on

[mattster]

ive had no work for a few weeks so enquired at local job center to see what benefits im entitled to i was employed for 14yrs and self employed last 8 yrs paying all taxes with no breaks
because partner works parttime im entitled to you guessed it zilch


any one else had similar ???

[grumpygrouter]

The fact that you are "self employed" excludes you form being classed as "unemployed". if you want to sign on,you will need to inform HMRC you are no longer self employed and take it form there.

[LM Ceramics]

i got told that you had to wait 6weeks of having no work before you can sign on probably wrong though

[Alan.P]

i got told that you had to wait 6weeks of having no work before you can sign on probably wrong though

I think thats six weeks if you leave your job, straight away if you get sacked, but being self employed and saying I have had no work just means ( to them ) your in a slack spell, I suppose ??

I also could have it wrong

[LM Ceramics]

I think thats six weeks if you leave your job, straight away if you get sacked, but being self employed and saying I have had no work just means ( to them ) your in a slack spell, I suppose ??

I also could have it wrong

ye suppose you re right but there should be a rule for self emplyed people to claim money if there slack if all the crackheads are claiming it why shouldnt we

[mattster]

LM you took the words right out of my mouth

[LM Ceramics]

LM you took the words right out of my mouth

great minds think alike

[Alan.P]

It's just one more thing wrong in this country

[whitebeam]

The other half works part time and earns to much for me to sign on if I needed to

[Scott the tiler]

This is one of the many reasons why I left the UK 5 years ago. Makes you wonder why we pay into a system that doesn't look after you.
Hope you find work soon!!

[Grace'sDad]

Makes you wonder why we pay into a system that doesn't look after you.

It's obvious innit: we pay into a system which looks after those that won't pay into the system!

Even those "in charge" are fiddling / playing the system (housing expenses and MPs anyone?!)

Bankers have done some very "creative" accounting and were/are rewarded with multi-million pound bonuses, even after collapsing the financial system.
If you or I were even slightly "creative" with our accounts we would be rewarded with a jail term.

The system - fair it is not - broken it is.

Seriously though - if things are THAT bad, call HMRC and say you are no longer self-employed as you have no work. Then go back to the job centre, they will sign you up for contribution based job seekers allowance (JSA) worth about £70 a week. You can then also likely claim for other bits like council tax assistance / working families tax credits etc.
You have to be pidgeon-holed in order to receive state help, self-employed peeps don't fit into the pidgeon holes too well!

Afraid too you will have to sit through the whole "looking for work" interviews and such utter cack, but play their game and in the meantime keep looking for jobs.

Word of advice though - keep it honest. If you do start tiling jobs again, keep track and let the job center know. It's just not worth the risk not doing IMO.

Hope things pick up for you soon!

[lawrenso]

ive had no work for a few weeks so enquired at local job center to see what benefits im entitled to i was employed for 14yrs and self employed last 8 yrs paying all taxes with no breaks
because partner works parttime im entitled to you guessed it zilch


any one else had similar ???

Don't forget about your working families tax credits - notify them of the change in income and you will get more from them (if you have kids that is)

Steve

[mikethetile]

not so im afraid

if your self employed and paying the self employed stamp you are not entitled to contribution based jsa

you have to claim income based jsa

if your partner works 16hrs or more you are not entitled to income based jsa

those are the rules plain and simple

these rules exlude the majority of self employed

if you do not have a partner working 16 hrs or more and have paid no stamp you will still recieve income based jsa or income support

this is the anomoly i am using against them

since running out of work on the 20 dec 08 i have divided my time between drumming up work and fighting the system

after making several claims , each one rejected under the above rules, i have managed to get my case before a special commitee , im expecting to be refused again so im already preparing my first appeal.

when thats rejected i will appeal again and again, as many times as it takes to get my claim accepted

or not

if i can get my claim accepted it will set a precedent for self employed, im not doing this alone i have involved my local mp as this may need to go the commons

these are exceptional circumstances, its not through any actions taken by the self employed that we are stripped of our ability to make a living and the government need to take responsibility and provide a safety net that includes the self employed

the problem i have now is that i am a first class tradesman and the work is coming in , i am now booked into mid march and still quoting.

i will have to declare this but my appeal is for the period between 20/12/08 and 15/1/09 i shall persevere as i want a precedent set

may i ask that those that have found themselves refused under the above rules demand their case goes before a special commitee to highlight the numbers of self employed that are being treated unjustly by the system

[mr tile art]

hiya...eye 2 got told that yesterday......been self emp 4 9 years,been out of work since new year apart from bits and bobs.and cos my miss has a good job,sweet f.a...thing iz we r overpopulated now and things r getting harder and harder 2 understand why we all put up with it!!!!!!,,,but enough of all that,if any one iz out off work and lives near peterborough,,i no of a contract starting soon(having a site meeting next week hopefully)...site work,so 110,,2 years work, ,,,i get Bord working buy myself on long contracts and cos my private works dried up,,I'm going back 2 site work...so ill keep who ever iz interested posted.......hi ho hi ho its off 2 work we go..,(why iz he leaking blue fluid?????iz he allright.

[mikethetile]

im pleased things are moving for you mr ta

to be honest i was glad of a break after xmas as it was the usual pre xmas rush to get jobs finished

but i was gutted with the benefits system................i couldnt believe what i was hearing.................ive always worked...............never signed on before

the self employed tradesman is the what keeps this country afloat not the big companies, collectively we pay more tax than them

the problem with you , me and a lot of others is tthat we thought it would be a good idea to go out and earn a few quid as believe it or not the world doesnt owe us a living

too many people in this country believe it does

the system should be there to give the workers of this country a few quid back when we need it................after all we pay enough in over the years


work stops......................tax income stops

benefits bill goes goes up

goverment cant pay the benefits bill

tax goes up to cover defecit

who pays the extra tax

we do ..............most of us @40%

what do we get when we need some help ...................nothing

im angry and wont let this go

i know what their going to say...................ok we didnt give you money when you needed it but your working now so you dont need any so were not going to give you any for the period when you wernt working

[lawrenso]

The same is true for a lot of other areas of business - I am in IT and the same happens for me - I was without work over the past 13 months for 3 months. Not entitled to a penny as I have a LTD company and work for that and to get anything I would of had to fold the company and make myself redundant....

In my game you can't be a sole trader as the government does not acknowledge knowledge workers, and even LLP's are often not even considered for work so the government gets Corporation Tax, PAYE, Employers and Employees NI, battle through IR35 regulations and SS660A - Pay loads to accountants who can cock up but you are lumbered with the costs....and entitled to ZIP


Steve

[alib103]

What Mike says is correct, its not fair but its correct. The reason the government looks at it like so is becuase when you become self employed you choose to pay class 2 national insurance contributions,these cost less and therefore you get to keep more of your money. You can pay class 1 and therefore be entiteld to 6 months Jobseekers Allowance (contribution based) but it will cost you more each month.
It is unfortunately true that if you have never worked, have never saved, start having kids with your girlfriend who has never worked or saved etc you will get everything available to you. Its just the system

[keraldine]

You could get your mrs to apply for working tax credits (you dont have to have kids to apply for this ) Also get down the council and see if they can help with rent or mortgage etc , they will backdate too .
Couple of websites ie- entitledto.com
Also try local citizens advice they can generally find something you will be able to claim.
All else fails get yerself a habit then you can claim disability