Claiming benefits inbetween contracts

[Jubber]

£75 week @ 10 weeks would make a nice holiday week end which you may need to give you a break after looking at jobserve all day.

You pay unemployment insurance so claim it. Just because you are rich does not mean that you should not claim.

Do you not claim from your house or car insurance because you are rich.

That is fine if you are working through a brolly or have taken all the money out of the company through salary/divs and paid the appropriate tax. That money is then yours and I agree, I would make a claim.

If on the other hand you are an employed director of a company that still has funds to pay your salary, then if you claim benefits (IMHO) you would be committing fraud. I wouldn't risk it. I would get the money out, by paying a salary while I was looking for work. If no further contract could be found and the money ran out I would then make a claim.

If the benefit people found out you were claiming while a company that you run still had 1000s of pounds knocking around, what do you think they would say?

[NotAllThere]

Forget the nutters who say that you've no moral right to claim because you've only be paying minimal NI. You've been paying what's legally correct, and when it comes to taxes, legality is morality. Anything else if fudging the issue. Do you know how difficult it is to draft tax law, so that it doesn't fall foul of demanding money with menaces?.

In Switzerland, if you're claiming unemployment benefit, you get two years of 85% of your former salary - but a company director has to give up their position to get it...

[Flopsy]

Buying a house is fine as long as you ensure that your total savings is less than £16k. Houses are not assessed but I'm not sure about other assets cars, gold etc.

The DWP will ask for your bank statements and go through a years worth. They will ask about any missing withdrawals and payments to (for example) family members.

My opinion is that you pay taxes and deserve benefits like anyone else who is unemployed. Obviously others feel differently but that's normal in life.

The problem with the "buying a house" scenario is that with house prices falling you may lose more money that way.

[Mr.Whippy]

Forget the nutters who say that you've no moral right to claim because you've only be paying minimal NI

He has no moral right to claim when he's got 1,000's stashed away in his business account regardless of how much NI or anything else that's been paid imo.

[contractor79]

He has no moral right to claim when he's got 1,000's stashed away in his business account regardless of how much NI or anything else that's been paid imo.

that's why I'm asking where I can shift it to claim

[Jubber]

that's why I'm asking where I can shift it to claim

Just pay yourself a dividend with the money that is in the business account or pay it to yourself as salary. Then go and sign on. Whether you buy a house or rent a house doesn't really matter. Why is this such a problem?

Am I just feeding a troll here?

[Mr.Whippy]

that's why I'm asking where I can shift it to claim

Shift it all over to me, then you'll legitimately have no money and therefore a right to claim support.

[Andy2]

that's why I'm asking where I can shift it to claim

under the mattress ?

[Grinder]

I really don't think its worth going through the hassle of buying a house for £60/week is it? Fees alone would come to several months worth of benefits. Then you have the risk of prices falling as already mentioned.

I toyed with signing on for a while (been benched since January). Do you really want to hang out at the DSS every week to sign-on? And get paid the same amount for the whole week that you'd get for an hour or 2 when under contract!

[hugebrain]

I really don't think its worth going through the hassle of buying a house for £60/week is it? Fees alone would come to several months worth of benefits. Then you have the risk of prices falling as already mentioned.

But if you buy the house with an IO mortgage the tax payer will pay it for you.