help please

Replies

By loopy

Re: help please
Sat 17 May 2008 19:58

i know that i wouldnt be able to claim carers allowance (and i wouldnt claim it) but what i want to know is when the job had finished (its for a fixed term) would i be able to reclaim carers?i am trying to weigh up pros and cons,
this government certainly dont make it easy for carers to go back to work do they!

By kerry.

Re: help please
Sat 17 May 2008 20:10

Hiya Lisa,
if you are not going to be bringing home 95 quid after the job ends then i dont see why u cant reclaim.

i think its disgusting we gotta give it up on 95 quid anyway- i mean i do that in bloody tescos every week with my lot!
most of it on washing powder!!!!!

good luck gel

By Gingatossa

Re: help please
Sun 18 May 2008 16:44

Hi Loopy!

I see no reason why you couldn't reclaim Carers Allowance once the fixed term employment is up. I studied for a degree a couple of years ago, with my last year being Full Time - resulting in me losing my CA!! However, once i had finished my degree...... i reclaimed CA! I now do voluntary work to keep my skills in check as i wouldn't be reliable for paid employment because of my responsibilities for my daughter and also because it would have to be a very well paid job with the right hours in order for it to be a financially viable option! Hope that helps! xXx

By kerry.

Re: help please
Sun 18 May 2008 19:44

hi gingatossa
I do a full time degree but i still get carers!
how comes you got stopped?
fullt time is only 12 hours supervised study- the other 24 are unsupervised so they dont count.

how many hours did u do FT supervised- if you do over 21 hrs supervised then i know u lose it but u shouldnt have lost it otherwise.

sorry, just got me a bit puzzled and curious!
Hope someone didnt do u out of it when they shouldnt have!

By Michele

Re: help please
Mon 19 May 2008 16:20

Hi loopy,

I've asked a contact at the Carers Allowance Unit on this one and they have given the following advice:

With reference to Loopys comments regarding her employment, there would be no reason why she could not reclaim CA once her earnings fell below the earnings limit again. I would however recommend that Loopy telephone the Carer’s Allowance Unit with further details as depending on the circumstances of the fixed term employment, it may be that we could keep her claim open and suspend her payments until the fixed term has ended and her earnings were under the £95 limit again. This way we could reinstate her payments once the fixed term appointment has ended without the need for Loopy to complete a new claim form. The telephone number for Carer’s Allowance is 01253 856123.

Further to Kerrys comments about full-time education. For the purposes of Carer’s Allowance a person shall be treated as receiving full-time education for any period during which he/she attends a course of education at a university, college, school or other education establishment for twenty-one hours or more a week. For further details about full-time education it would be advisable to contact the Carer’s Allowance Unit on the telephone number as above.

Claims to Carer’s Allowance are looked at on an individual basis and anybody with a query regarding CA can contact the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 01253 856123 (9am-5pm Mon – Thurs, 9am-4.30pm Fri).

Hope this helps, Michele

By loopy

Re: help please
Mon 19 May 2008 19:42

hi michele,

thanks for your help, it was much appreciated. I hope that they didnt think my name was 'Loopy' though!! . Made me laugh because when i read your message it sounds as if my name is 'loopy'....

By kerry.

Re: help please
Mon 19 May 2008 21:17

you are right Michelle on the education statement: this is what i was told upon enquiry with my university, but they only classify 21 hrs (or more) as supervised study- in other words being in lectures/seminars/workshops etc. anything else is your own time and is discluded (although they expect you to study for double the supervised hours!- I wish i had enough time to do that lol)

I have heard of some who's college/uni get a bit confused with this and do not realise it must be supervised to count as education.

By Gingatossa

Re: help please
Wed 21 May 2008 16:47

Hi Kerry

Just seen your post!
I did 12 hours supervised study but apparently, they count time at home too.

I appealed against the decision stating that i only studied for 12 hours supervised and that my studies were seriously compromised by my caring responsibilities as Danika is like a 3 month baby in all ways apart from being 12. My course director wrote in on my behalf too.

We lost the appeal, even though we took Danika although the judge said that he completely agreed with me but was unable to use his discretion to reinstate it!

This government sucks, huh??! I am unable to work due to the level of care Danika needs and money is very tight as all us carers know. I do voluntary work for 3 different organisations to keep my skills up to date as Danika is life-limited............. the studying was a great way of bettering myself...or so i thought.... but was penalised all the same! Grrrrrr xXx

By kerry.

Re: help please
Wed 21 May 2008 19:57

They got that very wrong then GT cos i still get it like i said- i havent had a problem. it was the student support who told me about the 12 hrs supervised.
i would be well peed off if they turned round and took it away from me.
as it is i now pay full council tax (apart from my 25% as a student) even tho my partner is a ft carer for the boys too and doesnt work outside the home.
if we were living seperate we wouldnt pay it, so we are penalised for living together under one roof.
also now pay full mortgage whereas my uni mates who live in council accomodation or HA get housing benefit!

we obviously slipped thru the net somewhere!

but thats made me cross that they took your carers away=- for goodness sake they give u no incentive to get out of the benefit trap do they or out of the poverty trap either,

and now youre doing voluntary work... well fair play to you GT- id like to see some of those bloody bureaucratic nobs caring for a life limited child and still thinking of others lol.

be a cold day in hell when that happens!
theyre all too busy popping valium and prozac and taking time off work for stress!

Ha they have no idea.

By Gingatossa

Re: help please
Wed 21 May 2008 23:32

Ha ha Kerry, loving the last paragraph..... so bloody true!!
I have to say, i wasn't too thrilled at having CA taken off me...it was a struggle financially before, let alone afterwards!!
I know how you feel about being penalised for living under the same roof...... i would be £600 a month better off on my own!! My partner works full time, although he isn't my children's (i have 3) father (my ex-hubby and i are still good friends) and i am worse off for it!. Apart from Danika, i have a Gifted/Talented 13 year old son who has ADHD (takes Ritalin for school as they striggle to cope with him - at 6ft 1 ins in year 8, i'm not surprised) and i have a 9 year old son who is currently under assessment for some kind os social communication disorder.... very likely to be Asperger's!! Would the beuracrats be able to do my caring jon aswell as volunteer?? I think not somehow, lol!! So, what are you doing your degree in? I graduated in September 2006 with a Ba (Hons) Behavioural Studies degree....ooooh, with my kids, the irony!! ha ha ha! xXx