Working and carers allowance

brilliantj

Hello everyone, I have a question please.  I am shortly due to be made redundant and I currently earn too much for carers allowance for my son. He is on higher rate PIP.  However I have seen a zero hours contract job with the local authority which pays £9.24 per hour.  It is term time only, so if I get any work, I will only be paid for 38 weeks of the year not 52.  I think if I claim carers allowance, I could just about manage with working a few hours.  However does anyone know if carers allowance is paid on an average salary over 52 weeks (because I wont be getting any wages for the school holidays) or is it paid on a monthly basis?  I know you can't earn over £123 per week, so by my reckoning that means I could work 13 hours a week and still claim carers allowance?  Can someone please explain if I've got that right?  I won't be contributing to a pension and as family look after him when I'm not there, I'm guessing I can't take off their costs (which I pay them) for looking after him?  Thank you  

atlas46

Hi @brilliantj

I have checked disability rights UK and provide the following.

You have to provide 35 hours of care each week.

The earnings limit is your nett salary, not the gross amount.

Fluctuations in earnings, can lead to reduced/loss of CA the following month.

The DWP has discretionary powers to look at your employment situation, in say your future employment in term time only.

As you have not applied for the job yet, you have time to investigate further.

I would suggest you need to phone Carer’s UK on their helpline on 0800 808 7777.

You could also speak to DWP Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297, I have found them very helpful.

You could ask your future employ if you can be paid on the basis you salary is paid monthly, based on your salary for a given financial year, even though you would be not working in school holidays.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

brilliantj

Thank you I’ll look into it further. X

poppy123456

Hi,

For any weeks you earn more than £123 after deductions you won’t be entitled any carers allowance for those weeks. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to take the cost into consideration for pay anyone to care for him while you work. 

brilliantj

Thank you x

Joanne_Alumni

Hi @brilliantj,

When you claim Carers Allowance your income has to be less than £123 per week, after tax, NI and expenses.

If you pay a carer to look after the disabled person while you work, you can treat care costs that are less than or equal to 50% of your earnings as an expense.

e.g you earn £100 (after deductions) and spend £60 on care while you work. You can treat £50 of this as an expense.

The catch is that the carer must not be a family member. 

brilliantj

Thank you Joanne