I have been battling to get the disability element for working tax credits for the 2012/13 tax year for some time. Unfortunately I found the initial claim form confusing and I didn't mention DLA on it although I did mention it on two occasions on the telephone, once for the initial claim (which they say doesn’t count as that was just to get the form in the first instance) and also again a month later when I queried the zero award I had received. As I had received a zero award I assumed I had been turned down for both the tax credits and the disability element. It was only a year later, when I started receiving tax credits, that I realised the disability element was missing. I telephoned again and this time it was awarded and backdated a month. I then took it to the appeal tribunal as they would not award it to me from the start of my claim. I lost as the judge said they had to stick by the one month backdating rule but I had a clear case for raising a complaint with the tax credit office with a view to receiving compensation.This was also put in a letter. I have since been through both tier 1 and tier 2 complaints with the tax credit office and now it is currently with the adjudicator. First they denied I had ever mentioned DLA in my telephone call, but I had recorded evidence (which they provided!), and then when they did admit it they stated the following: We asked if you were receiving any social securitybenefits. You replied DLA. Please note receiving DLA does not constitute youare disabled unless you tell us for whom this is paid for within thehousehold.’ I find the above statement frankly incomprehensible. I was specifically asked if I was in receipt of any benefits, not if anyone in my household was in receipt of any benefits. If I was asked if I was working and I replied yes, the tax credit office wouldn’t say this doesn’t mean you are in work because you haven’t told us who was in work within the household! Surely there is also a responsibility on the part ofthe advisor to ask more questions in order to verify the facts if unclear about anything that has been said. My question is, do you think I still have a case?

The company I am working for has now told us we must work 7.30am to 5.30pm everyday, even though we have had to work 6am to 4pm or 11.30am to 9.30pm, depending on what shift we were on. Although working 7.30am to 5.30pm might sound nice to most people, it is not good for me personally. Can they make you work the new shift paterns, or do they have to go through a consultation period?

Good afternoon I'm looking for some advice on paying income tax on my earnings when working in Qatar as i have been reading mixed stories when looking on line. I move abroad in August 2013 to work which meant I spent 163 days in the UK within the tax year 2013-14. I paid all my tax from my previous job when living in the UK from April 2013 - August 2014. I'm planning on returning to the UK in April 2017 (after the 2016 - 2017 tax year). My questions are: Will I be liable to pay tax for the remianing tax year from August 2013 - April 2014? Will I be liable to pay any tax when I return April 2017 (after the 2016 - 2017 tax year)? Thank you Mark

I wonder if someone can help. My OH has been claiming IBJSA for a few years but only receives around £2.00 per week as I am working 30 hours a week and claim WTC so was informed he would not be entitled to the full amount. I have just been speaking to the WTC people as they needed to know what dates he has been claiming IBJSA. I told them all year and they say it is impossible (1) that you can get IBJSA for that amount of time and (2) he should be receiving around £64.00 a week and then what would happen is that my WTC would then be disallowed. I think this has happened the other way and by me getting WTC his IBJSA even though he is available for work and gets this pittance of an amount the full amount is disallowed. Help I wont want the tax credits people thinking I am trying to pull a fast one. As far as we know he has been claiming IBJSA for over 2 years - is that possible!

The company I work for today announced that it would be closing the office I am based at. There are to be four posts to be made redundant, however my position and several others are not at risk and those employees have been told they will be working from home. We have been told that as the positions are not at risk any employee who does not want to work from home will be seen to be resigning from their post and so no redundancy payments will be applicable. The closest office to transfer to is 150 miles away. My questions would be: Can the company tell employees they are working from home without any consultation? If in any circumstances it is not practical for an employee to work from home and the company see this as resignation would there be a case for unfair dismissal (if that is the correct term)?

I feel as if I'm going round in circles. Am newly self-employed (just five months), not yet able to draw a wage from a new start-up business and will only be receiving NEA of £33 pw for the next two weeks. This allowance contributes to my weekly business rental. My only disposable income is £44 pcm (private pension). I recently made a claim for WTC - from Dec 2012 to end September 2013 I was unemployed and receiving some JSA(IB) - and have been awarded £0. I thought WTC was meant to help those working on low incomes. In desperation, I've had to contact my local JobCentre to do a "better-off" calculation. I thought the Government promised that working would always pay over benefits? I've used entitlement websites but there doesn't seem to be any help available. Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas? (Still) Impecunious!

Hi I have a mortgage I have had for 7 years. I am on a SVR rate of 4% and am concerned that the bank of England base rate will soon rise thus increasing my payments so want to get into a fixed deal. I work and earn around 10k plus I receive working/child tax credits of £680 a month and DLA for my disabled daughter (only year left on this award though so doubtful they will take this into account) I also receive the standard child benefit and £100 a month maintenance which I can prove. I need to borrow 130k although my property is worth about 185k. Does anyone know if this is possible and if banks will take these kinds of benefits into consideration? I have a good credit report and have never defaulted on a mortgage payment in 7 years. Any advice would be great Thanks

Can an employer invoke a condition with regards to changing shifts if there's an agreement to do so that was dated years ago? ie if an agreement from say 1990 says they can change a shift start time with 24 hours notice but the company has always given a weeks notice, can they insist on changing the shift without notice? Or because they've never invoked this condition does it become non existant and they still have to give a weeks notice?

Hi, Can anyone help me? I am currently employed on a 20 hour part time contract within the catering industry but for the last 2 years i have been working 37.5 hours or more. My employer states any hours im given over 20 are overtime but im working more hours than full time members of the team on occasions. As soon as i take holidays etc im paid my contracted 20 hours even though i could of worked 40+ hours for several weeks previous. Basically as soon as trade goes quiet im punished and my hours significantly drop. (For example over the december (christmas) period i worked 6 days a week but in January i am now down to 3 days. Whereas fulltime members are constantly on their 5 days (37.5 hour contract). Also the full time members of the team are on a higher rate of pay (thats why they get me to work more hours) , when I question why i cant be on the same rate they tell me that this is the new structure and if im not happy i can leave. Does anyone have any advise regarding getting an improved contract, or are there any laws to help me. A colleague mentioned if I work over 16 weeks on full time hours i am entitled to a full time contract, is this true or is it just speculation. Any advise would be great Thanks

Cliffs: Just awarded ESA WRAG, 12 month prognosis; mental health. Hope to be ready for work in about a year. Don't think i could cope with full time work straight off. Part-time hours for the first year back seems like the best idea. To get WTC working less than 30 hours a week you have to have been on a relevant benefit (ESA-check). You also need to fulfill the criteria for the work disadvantage test. Parts that may apply to me: 16. You have a mental illness for which you receive regular treatment under the supervision of a medically qualified person. or 19. Due to mental disability you ...or are unable to form normal social relationships. "HM Revenue and Customs may ask you to nominate a professional involved in your care who can confirm how your disability affects you - for example, an occupational therapist, community or district nurse or doctor." So my question is how likely is it that based on evidence from my therapist and/or GP that i will satisfy either of these criteria? Would it help to send evidence along with my application form when the time arrives? Ultimately i do want to get back into work and don't have any sense of entitlement; i honestly believe that my chances of making a full recovery would be greatly enhanced if i could take things at a pace i can manage after suffering through some very dark times in the recent past. It would be a great help if i could get some financial support whilst i get back on my feet and look towards getting a place of my own once i secure full time employment.

I attended a DWP compliance interview last week and apparently following an anonymous call in June 2013 the DWP fraud investigation dept had checked my bank account and contacted previous employers. I wasn't concerned as I can account for all payments into my account and indeed I have not been paid any salary for any work. The problem arises over 'expenses'... prior to my current medical condition... limited mobility and poor circulation/severe cramps... I worked overseas as a project designer/manager for private companies and charities. After successfully navigating the ATOS process I was put with Working Links. During my last interview at the Jobcentre before going onto WL I was told that given my age and disability my best course of action would be to just tread water until i could apply for early retirement (I am 61). My WL supervisor while accepting that the likelihood of getting part time work 'shelf stacking' was zero was nevertheless positive that I could use my experience and extensive contact network to create a consultancy/advisory job that was flexible enough for me to manage. I wont go into the details for now but this involved a number of national and international trips to meet with past and potentially future clients. Fortunately i do ave a good reputation and a number of potential clients were happy to pay my travel and accommodation expenses. The DWP are now suggesting these expenses are in fact income and tat i should ave advised them of a 'change in circumstance' My point (and my question) is that I had no direct contact with DWP but clearly informed my WL supervisor of every stage of the game.. in fact I was actively encouraged. I was never advised by WL to separately inform the DWP and indeed during my first compliance interview the interviewer conceded that WL should have done this (apparently it isnt the first time this has happened) Of course it is impossible to find out the contractual obligations between DWP and WL but in my world if I am appointed as a supervisor then I have a duty of care to ensure that all aspects of the service are correct. My first question is simply do I have a valid argument that I did in fact provide the information (albeit to a nominated supervisor) and secondly... the DWP are suggesting that expenses are 'income' when in fact it can be shown that the sums were reasonable and from an income tax standpoint allowable. In my understanding income means taxable and disposable i.e. it can be used to pay the fuel bill and buy groceries etc is this the case? would appreciate any comments/advice that could help thanks

Hi please can someone advise me about my job. I've been working on a farm for a year and a half. To start with I was paid hourly and worked less than 40 hours a week on a temporary basis. I've never signed a contract but I then made a verbal agreement with the farmer that I would be paid monthly for a 45 hour average week with the actual hours usually being 60 a week and sometimes 80 for about 6 weeks at a time. To begin with I took the job (manual, dirty, dusty) as a challenge but lately I have had a fall out with the manager which makes the job harder and I now have personal issues with a terminally ill father as well. I am getting exhausted with it and would just like to know if people think I'm being taken for a mug and what I should do about it if anything.

Hello, I have been hit with a claim letter re returning an overpayment of working tax credit. I earnt £9,500 from 2012-2013. Was getting WTC in that tax year (because in year 2011 -2012 I earnt roughly the same amount.) I filled in the final earnings forms sent out in the Summer of 2013 and sent it off. In August 2013 my hours reduced so I rang up and told them my change of circumstances. My WTC stopped and I got a four week run on. When I rang up - the operator did not say to me that I should have not been getting WTC, did not say I had an overpayment, and did not ask me what my earnings were for 2012 to 2013. I restarted work in September 2013 (over 30hrs a week) and so got new claim forms. I filled them in with my details of what I earnt in 2012 to 2013. A while later I got a letter saying I had not filled in forms for the April 2013 to August 2013 period (final earnings for the year 2012 to 2013 period) and therefore I had an overpayment. I wrote back saying I had filled in the forms and sent them and included in my letter what my earnings for 2012 to 2013 were. It appears that they did not get that letter because I then got another letter saying there was an overpayment. I rang them up and said I had orignally sent the forms off and anyway if they wanted to know what my final earnings were they could check the new claim forms I had filled in for September. They said they could not do that. I said they could check with the Inland Revenue. They said they could not do that. I then got a phone call on my mobile from the overpayment department. The officer said that if I told him my earnings for 2012 to 2013 he would cancel the overpayment. I said since he had rang me out of the blue with no warning on my mobile whilst I was outside I did not have the figures in front of me. I said look at the new claim form I had sent them in September or check with the Inland Revenue. He said he could do neither and since I could not provide him with the figures there and then on the phone, he would be making a final decision on the overpayment and that I would have to pay it back (it's £250). I rang the Inland Revenue and got them to send me a letter with my earnings details for last year. I then rang working tax credit a few days later and told them my earnings. They said they could not put me through to the officers who decided the overpayments but they would send them an email. I have now received a letter saying that they have made a final decision on the overpayment and i would have to pay them back. I am annoyed because I did send them the final earning letter originally, on time when I was suppose to. They must not have put it on their system. I then sent them a letter about my final earnings. Again they must not have put it on their system. I am also annoyed that I filled in new claim forms in September 2013 and they could have taken the figures from those. I am also annoyed because the officer rang me out of the blue and because I did not have the figures in front of me he said he would make a final decision. If I had had the figures in front of me he said he would have cancelled it. I only earnt £9,500 last year and the year before. I sent the forms off when i was suppose to and I told them of every change in circumstances when I was suppose to. I cannot prove that I sent the forms off - I sent them by recorded delivery but then because I was paid WTC with no problem for 6 months after sending the forms off, I discarded the recorded delivery receipt. What do I do?? I read somewhere that if your earnings did not change by more than £5000 from year to year then it shouldn't matter. Please advise - do I Appeal ? Do I Dispute? Do I have no chance because I cannot prove I sent the forms off. Am thinking of making a freedom of information request to find out how many people have sent off forms but they have not been put on the system. Thanks for any advice.

***post deleted** New boss called me back and said she would allow me to have 1 day a week holiday for 1st 6 week... Thanks to all who read/replied x

Can any one tell me if you are entitled to dental costs if you get working tax credits please. We get £90 a week WTC as I am on a low wage, we are not entitled to any other benefits, I have looked to see if I can find this anywhere but had no luck, asking as now our JSA has stopped the dentist has said we have to pay and one thing I have to have is going to be over £200 which not got ( this is Sandy, BC'S other half ) They said they had to charged us as they were not sure if WTC entitled you to free treatment

Heya just had to fill in my tax credits renewal form. On it it asks for earnings for last year as they have me down as working 16 hours a week for 32 weeks ( i work term time only) I worked a few extra hours over the run up to Christmas as it was busy..never more than 20 a week and only a few times so my question is will I have to pay back anything extra that I earned or is there a certain amount you are allowed to earn before it affects you? Thanks x

I recently received a overpayment notice of Working Tax Credits which were stopped some time back with the only explanation of "change of circumstances". This is the first time I'd actually been receiving Working Tax Credits. I thought that I'd "used up all my credit" and that the payments has stopped as they had "ran out". I called HMRC to query this and all they could say it that they were informed I was no longer working for the same employer. Only since, I've been able to work out that the payments stopped around the time when the school I work at converted into an academy. We were told nothing would change jobwise, financially etc etc and nothing did as far as I was aware. So now it looks like I've missed out on quite a few months of Working Tax Credits and have been hit with a bill where they paid it before the county council appears to have told them I no longer work for them. What really gets me is that it's the same county council who is handling all the pay & wages still! I've asked the HMRC to send me an appeal form as, as far I was aware, nothing had changed for me: I was still doing the same job at the same place for the same salary (being processed by the same department) and informed nothing else would be affected. Is there anything else that I can do to support my case? The way I see it is that I was not informed the specific reason why it was stopped and it was something "out of my hands". There was no indication that I would have to re-apply due to the school changing over. Any help would be gratefully received as it's the first time I've claimed Working Tax Credits. Thank you.

Hi folks, I'm new here. I was recommended to seek advice on here from a friend with a problem I am having at my work at the moment. I have done a search on here and round the government website about overtime but quite a lot of it is contradicting or confusing. My situation is that I am a full time Uni student in my final year (busy busy). I work in a retail shop on a 15 hour per week contract. Now with being in my final year I am extremely busy with my coursework. My shop has recently hired a new manager (happens to be his first store manager role) and I am currently having to work 20+ hour weeks. Over the summer this was no problem at all but now it is in the middle of semester time I am finding it hard. As well as all these extra hours I have been told that I need to complete some online learning in my own time to fulfil my job role. If I don't do these, I have been told that "it will end up being a question of my job role". To me that seems a bit threatening but I am unsure. For some reason, all the training that has to be done is things that I have been allowed to fulfil for the past year I have worked there so struggling to understand the need for training if I already know it? To try and compensate with the extra time needed for the training I requested less overtime hours to allow me to do the training. I was told that it couldn't be done as I was needed in the store for as many hours as possible. I did read somewhere that I can request time off for training. When I was told that I couldn't get any time off I said about needing to cut my hours down to my contracted 15. This made my manager pretty angry and he said that if I refused to work any overtime then he could show me the door. This was downright rude and unfair I reckon. He said it was written in my contract (which is is). The wording in my contract is as follows, The main question I have is that am I allowed to refuse overtime given what my contract says and my situation? Also if anyone knows for sure about training outside working hours (without pay) then I would be pleased to hear more about it. I have tried to give as much information as possible and I realise I have probably rambled on a bit but if any more information is needed then I will endeavour to give it! Thanks

Hi With Carers Allowance I am given to understand that the DWP will average out the income over the period of time that you worked. In this case, working for 18 weeks, the first 5 weeks took the income well over the limit (and were properly notified) with the rest (13 weeks) at well under the limit. My way of looking at it (rather simplistic mind you) is that Carers Allowance is due for those 13 weeks and not for the other 5. However the DWP have now averaged the income earned over the 18 weeks and in doing so it takes all 18 weeks out of the equation with no Carers Allowance due. Is that correct? If so, why doesn't it work the other way with hours of caring? If someone cares for 9 days - 2 travelling and 7 actually caring in every 4 weeks (due to distance involved) and in that period the hours spent caring amounted to over 145 hours including travelling time to get there and back, they should have those hours averaged over the 4 weeks meaning that they would get Carers Allowance for each week. But they don't - they only pay it (after they have been pushed into doing so) for that one week only. Surely if the DWP are allowed to average out the income, then they should have to average out the hours?

Hi, If a mum moved in with her grown up daughter and her two grandsons and the daughter claimed working tax credit for her and her two sons would the grandmothers income be taken into account with the daughters household income. Thanks in advance.

Hello, I am seeking some advice. I work for a company that is open 8am to 10pm and for the last 3 years i have been working 9am - 5:30pm Monday to Friday with one Saturday rarely. Currently it seems all the staff seem to have been leaving and never replaced - this leaves a team of around 15 staff.(shortfall of staff on regular basis) The department want to run all staff on a 5 over 7 basis and this has never been the case before. I was employed for set shifts however this was never clear in my contract yet it was what has been happening for 3 years now. So 2 staff apply for flexible working hours and one of those is myself. They get what they want exactly, this means they have no alterations to what they have worked over the last few years. And i got the short straw - mine was blatantly frown upon. I asked for set shifts each week - i didn't get that i! I asked for the latest to work in a week being 7pm - they gave me 10pm once a week. I asked for no Sundays due to childcare - they replaced with a Saturday and this means every other Saturday. I was told if i ever could not do my late shift, i was not allowed to simply swap it with another but i have to swap it and then replace the late in that week even if the rota is covered. I come back to work after a holiday and request to speak to HR on a 1 to 1 basis and i get my supervisor in there as well. I told them i fell discriminated against cos i'm not pregnant and feel treated unfairly and this is why i haven't got close to where i need. they know i have trouble with childcare and it seems they are a non family friendly company! I am awaiting a response now to my distressful meeting today regarding the issues i have with there arrangement with me (which i have not received anything in writing yet, nor signed a new contract) Just seeking any advise regarding this please - i feel they are pushing me out of my job.

I am paying CSA around £430 a month out of my wages to my son from a previous relationship. He is now 17 and I dont have any contact with him. He has displayed on social networking sites that he is working and flashing his cash. Friends of mine who speak and know him have also told me this information. I have reported it to the CSA and have been told that because his Mum is claiming child benefit I still have to pay. Any ideas on what to do?

Quick question, would the 6 year rule of limitations be applicable in regard ro an alleged overpayment of WTCredit? Many thanks

Sorry in advance as this could be a long one . I currently work on the shop counter in a pharmacy 32hrs a week, Mon Tues Wed Fri. Another lady works 25.5hrs, Wed-Fri. We also do alternate Saturdays for 3hrs, of which we have to take the time off for that during the week, usually an early finish. There used to be four of us, one lady sadly passed away in June and is not being replaced, and we had a Sat girl who left hence why we now do the Saturdays. If either of us were on holiday, the girls that work in the dispensary had to cover the shop i.e. for me that would be Mon/Tues as the other lady isn't in, and Thurs for her as I am not in. Now the company have decided that the dispensary is over staffed and have moved one member of staff to another branch, and we now have another having an op today which will keep her off for approx. 3mths. So, the pharmacist/manager has decided to change our shop days thinking it will help. I know all about 'needs of the business' but this is how it panned out and why I was so annoyed :mad2:He wanted me to take 2 afternoons off, Mon/Tues, the other lady to work 5 afternoons. Now, I was ok' ish with this and said so, but the other lady wasn't, I don't blame her as she has done her hours for 10yrs. He left it with us, then this other lady came in to see him on her day off, but she didn't say why. So, he has a meeting with us again this week and states "this is what you are doing and because you couldn't agree, its final". He gave the other lady Mon/Tues morning working and 3 afternoons, and told me I had to do Mon/Tues afternoons and 3 full days. To say I was fuming is an understatement, I told him that I was ok with his first suggestion, but he said we didn't both agree, well I don't agree with this one but apparently it was tough. So now she is ok'ish with her hours and I feel as though I've been dumped on from a great height . Basically, I felt as though I had been shafted to suit this other woman. I told him I didn't want late starts and he said well the other one is doing 3, yes, but her other 2 days are just mornings and mine are full days!!!I said I would compromise and do one morning off and one afternoon off, but he came back to me and said no, it wouldn't work. The top and bottom of it is, we are short staffed, though the company disagree. It doesn't matter how he changes our days, as there are only 2 of us, he will always need someone from the dispensary to cover our holidays, so instead of covering one full day, it will now be 2 half days at least!!! Well after another meeting, I said why cant I have 2 afternoons off when the other one is in, Wed/Thurs, up to now he seems to think it will work, but I am worried that he might change his mind come Mon.

Hi guys just a quick question. My partner has recently started work as a Christmas temp at toys r us. Her hours are Saturday - 1pm till 7pm and Sunday - 11am till 5pm. Our issue is that she has had to stay late every night an extra 30-60minutes to tidy the shop at store closing time and also had to attend training instore outside of her agreed hours. Now, she has just came home upset as she has found out that she may not get paid for the extra time she has put in outside of her normal agreed hours, is it true that she may not get paid or are toys r us being a bit naughty? she hasn't had her first pay date yet but I'm unhappy for her to come home nearly an hour later than she should because she had to stay to clean the store after her shift had finished, if she's not getting paid for it! Any advice would be greatly appreciated