Hi everyone,

My partner has been on JSA (contribution-based) for about 5 months and we also get full-rate housing and council tax benefit. I don't work due to poor health and look after our toddler, so we also have child benefits/tax coming in.

My partner is an artist and has been using his time since becoming unemployed to create an online portfolio of work that he has built-up for free over the last ten years and promote himself as freelance. He has now been offered a one-off commission worth between £3k-£5k which will take around two weeks to complete.

Obviously he's very excited at getting some serious work, but how will this affect benefits? Although he is getting a very good fee for his work, there's no guarantee of further work and he might well have nothing more for six months. I understand that they will deduct whatever he earns from his JSA - as this is such a large sum, does that mean he won't get any JSA for several months? Is there any point to signing on if he's going to receive nothing for a reasonable length of time?

And how would the housing and council tax benefits be affected?

Many thanks.

I would have thought if he got 2 weeks work he would just sign off for 2 weeks then make a rapid reclaim. My son-in-law works in construction and often only gets a couple of weeks work at a time, and gets no problem doing this. Obviously housing and council tax benefits would stop when he was working.

BTW it may seem like a lot of money to you (and most on here no doubt), but there hell of a lot of people in this country that earn more than that, and as the amount is well under the limit for capital it shouldn't make any difference to his income when he signs back on.

I would have thought if he got 2 weeks work he would just sign off for 2 weeks then make a rapid reclaim. My son-in-law works in construction and often only gets a couple of weeks work at a time, and gets no problem doing this. Obviously housing and council tax benefits would stop when he was working.

You only need to do this if you work for 16 hours a week. You can work part time and claim JSA; as long as you meet the criteria, that is.

You only need to do this if you work for 16 hours a week. You can work part time and claim JSA; as long as you meet the criteria, that is.

Right. I did something like that in the 70s. I tried window cleaning as a way to get off the dole, but when I declared the days I worked and the money I earned they I was only paid for the days I did not work so lost about 4 times what I earned.

Not sure how it would affect the OP? Would they still pay him for the days he does not work, or would he lose benefit £ for £ and get to keep the assess? The fact that 16 hours is only 2 days work complicates things (I haven't signed on since the early 80s, so am a little out of touch on these things).

You get to keep the first £5-20 (£5 for single person, £10 for couple, £20 for lone parent / disabled person) and then it's £ for £ deduction from benefits.

so in answer to the OP if he earned £3K to £5K in 2 weeks but worked less than 16 hours per week all he would lose is the 2 weeks money, with no effect on following weeks as well below capital limit?

And if above 16 hours per week as I said?

Also if he worked under 16 hours his NI stamp would be sorted, but if over he may have to sort it himself. He may have to pay tax aswell if it goes over his allowance for the year.

The question is whether this money would be counted as capital or income. If capital, then no problem - it's too little to affect JSA(IB) and JSA© does not take capital into account at all.

However, I suspect it may be treated as income, similar to the rules for income from royalties on copyrighted works. I'm going to look up the DMGs and see what I can find.

Something that you may wish to take into account is that the DWP could determine that he was gainfully self employed for the 5 month period that he has been creating his online portfolio and promoting himself as freelance.

If so, they may revisit the JSA he has received over the last 5 months. Did your partner inform the DWP over the last 5 months about the portfolio/freelance activities he was engaging in?

I think he would be classed as self employed and have to fill out a B16 to determine hours worked and assets.

How much he has earned and how long this work has taken him, then it would go to a DM to be attribuited to his claim..