Hey all, Im currently unemployed but desperate to get back into work.

I see a lot of jobs that are under 16 hours and am interested in a job but its only 13 hours. At min. wage it would be £84 p/w (but the max wage is £6.70 p/h which would make it £87 p/w) and Im currently getting £72 p/w in benefits. Travel expenses may leave me with not much extra in my pocket and I struggle like hell now so dont know if its worth my while or not. I was told earlier today that if I work under 16 hours my money may get topped up but I dont know anything about this or indeed if its true or not. Can anyone shed any light on this please? Thanks.

If you work under 16 hours and earn less than the JSA amount then it will be topped up. You will still have to attend the center and do your signing activities. You would also have to complete a separate form regarding hours and pay and submit time sheets.

The real benefits of taking the job would be;

-Easier to move into a better job whilst employed.

-Not having to deal with the Department of Wurrk and Sanctions

Things are different under Universal Credit. Others have more info than I do.

If you are currently receiving JSA and you work for fewer than 16 hours per week you can continue to claim. A small disregard will be applied to your earnings, and the rest will be taken from your JSA pound for pound. The disregards are £5 per week for a single person, £10 per week for a couple, and (I think) £20 per week for a lone parent.

So if you are single with benefits of £72 per week and earn £84 you would not receive any JSA (that is, £84 - the £5 disregard is £79, which is more than your JSA entitlement). If your earnings vary from week to week, your entitlement will be worked out by taking your average earnings over a five week period, or 3 months if you are paid monthly.

If you receive any Housing Benefit you may still be entitled to all or most of that payment, though you would need to inform your council of your change in circumstances.

In the balance of fairness to my last post. A Positive of remaining on JSA would be that you would receive National Insurance Credits

A Positive of remaining on JSA would be that you would receive National Insurance Credits

Just to throw in another negative: The DWP would be regarded as your primary "employer", so you would be taxed on all earnings from a secondary source. So your £87p/w would end up being £69.60 after income tax. You would be able to recover most, if not all of this at the end of the tax year.

Note: Since the introduction of Real Time Information tax reporting, the above should be a thing of the past.

As antone has stated, even if you were to close your JSA claim, you would still be entitled to HB and CTR, so you wouldn't be any worse off before taking in to account travel expenses.

One more advantage of a part time job: There is often the chance to work additional hours, either covering for absences or busy periods.

This may trigger a transfer to UC - so you may need to seek advice on this from your local CAB/LA/DWP office