About contractors & benefits

[psychocandy]

Can't be bothered for this £70 per week (or whatever it is) to claim JSA however it has crossed my mind after contracts in finance where you have to account for every gap in your CV and provide personal references for these periods. Claiming JSA is seen as an acceptable gap filler and no personal referees are required.

Would agree if you get a gig after two weeks you'll think why did I waste my time doing that crap for £150.

BUT, 3/4 months down the line do you want to be thinking wish I'd claimed that £1000 would come in handy now.

[MercladUK]

If you're genuinely a business, then your income is going to fluctuate and you justify your high fees and tax scams because of that risk. If a business makes no money in one month, it still has to pay its employees; it doesn't (or at least shouldn't be able to) lay everyone off and send them to the dole office. So if you are genuinely a business just because you're out of a contract doesn't mean your company can stop paying you and therefore you shouldn't be getting benefits.

If there's a point where YourCo has genuinely run out of money (and not because you've extracted it all as tax free dividends), then fair enough. Time to sign on. But you can't claim to be taking a risk above that of an employee if you get the state to bail you out any time you're not currently earning.

At least that's the way I see it; and that's the principle I followed. With hindsight I probably could have had £70 odd a week of JSA for the couple of 6-9 month periods I was on the bench without it causing any kind of issue and I'd be a couple of thousand pounds better off now.

I employee people on zero hours contracts

[MercladUK]

I do think you pay lipservice to the actual amounts though. Ohhh 1000 over 3 months... Jesus.. that's just utter peanuts and won't pay anything. It's ok rolling the months up to make it sound better and more plausible but seriously.. what is a grand a quarter going to cover? You are kidding yourself if you think that is a reasonable amount for anything. It's 15 quid per working day!!! There is no way on earth you can justify JSA to a contractor based on that. Feel free to do it if you want to but don't think preaching that amount of money makes you look any better or is reason enough for a decent contractor to even consider it.

A slight change in lifestyle or change to financial planning can get you way more than that.

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Your definition of a decent contractor maybe different to someone elses

Do you take child benefit?

[GlenW]

Do you take child benefit?

I've got a Family and Friends rail card, does that count?

[psychocandy]

I've got a Family and Friends rail card, does that count?

Merclad has a good point here though.

Surely this was originally meant as a bit of extra cash for those who've got kids to help them out a bit. The amount would mean not a great deal to your average contractor.

Yes I know it stops at a certain amount but, see my comments about income splitting etc.

Do any of phone them up and say, look its not for people like me, please dont pay it to me. I suspect not because its easy to get, little hassle, and perfectly legal.

Same as JSA.

[TykeMerc]

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Your definition of a decent contractor maybe different to someone elses

Do you take child benefit?

Child Benefit was introduced as universal like old age pensions where as JSA and its predecessors are all applied for under a specific circumstance, namely being unemployed and having no income. As contractors (those of us that aren't trolling of course) with limited companies being unemployed between contracts is thoroughly contrived.
It also looks and feels like someone claiming is quite honestly taking the mickey.

[tractor]

Merclad has a good point here though.

Surely this was originally meant as a bit of extra cash for those who've got kids to help them out a bit. The amount would mean not a great deal to your average contractor.

Yes I know it stops at a certain amount but, see my comments about income splitting etc.

Do any of phone them up and say, look its not for people like me, please dont pay it to me. I suspect not because its easy to get, little hassle, and perfectly legal.

Same as JSA.

Not quite. Originally it was a tax allowance given to the main breadwinner of the household. Typically the man. One party who shall remain nameless decided to win lots of wimmin votes by turning it into Family Allowance, which was given periodically in booklets and claimed at the PO (I think). It was then transformed into Child Benefit.

I'm not sure my hazy memory of Mum trotting down to the PO every Tuesday morning to collect it is correct but here is a history of it.

Men didn't like the idea and neither did the unions who feared it would be used by unscrupulous employers to keep wages down or even reduce them. It seems we never learn anything, look at Tax Credits now.

[northernladuk]

The mortgage or a chunk of it?

Your mortgage over three months is £1000???? The mortgage on my two detached double garages is more around that!

[psychocandy]

Your mortgage over three months is £1000???? The mortgage on my two detached double garages is more around that!

I live in Wales remember.£333 a month does pay over 50% of it though.

[psychocandy]

Child Benefit was introduced as universal like old age pensions where as JSA and its predecessors are all applied for under a specific circumstance, namely being unemployed and having no income. As contractors (those of us that aren't trolling of course) with limited companies being unemployed between contracts is thoroughly contrived.
It also looks and feels like someone claiming is quite honestly taking the mickey.

As is not paying tax on money claimed for travelling to "work". As is splitting your "salary" with your mrs to pay less tax. As is paying less in salary per month to avoid NI.

Well to the permie sitting next to you it is. (Note, the words in "" are permie words).