does anyone else on here find the tax credit system annoying my friend is a widow and is living of benefits at the moment she is desprete to get a job but her kids arent old enough to look after themselves but a job has just come up where i work at a school but the job is only 15 hrs aweek so if she took it they would take what she earnt off her income support and she would be worse off but if the job was for 16 hrs aweek she would be entilted to tax credit and would be at least £150 a week better off the thing that is infurating us is why should it mater how many hrs you work to get family tax credit they should be happy she wants to get a job and its means tested so why cant they work it out accordingly then a few more people might be willing to come of benefit and work! any on else experinced these problems ( rant over)

I hate it too, i used to work 24 hours at royal mail, then they reduced my hours to 15 hours so i made myself voluntary redundant cos im a single mum and wouldnt have been able to manage, i even said to royal mail that i would work the extra hour for nothing, as that meant i would still be gettin my tax credits so that hour meant another £60. Maybe u should ask your friend to do the same, see if they will let her work an extra hour!

I get disability tax credits because I can only work part time due to ill health.  I've always found them very helpful when I've phoned up but I think the system is a bit unfair as when my partner gets a pay rise later this year, I will lose the benefit.  So for him earning another few pounds a week, I will lose 150 pounds a month.  I would also lose other benefits such as free prescriptions which cost over 40 pounds a month. The benefit has been very useful though since I've been granted it.

CG

just an update my friend has got the job she cleans 1 hr a week for her mum so she has declared that and with 15hrs at the school she has got her 16 hrs so she is thrilled to bits she can finally start to move on with her life its still annoying though the goverment who work out the benefit and how much u get want to try living of the measliy amount they say you can live off and then they might revise it ( heres hoping !!!)

I totally agree. And whats the point of putting the minimum wage up when everything else has gone up? If it wasnt for tax credits though i wouldnt be able to work but i do think everyone who works, no matter how many hours, should be able to get something if their income is low! Glad your friend got sorted x