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Hi
Been to the job centre this morning and was asking about what help you recieve if you start up a business.
Currently you get £50 for 16 weeks and it appears this doesnt impact on the £40 for a year in work credit.
This is all changing, in 13 days time the £50 will stop but it is to be replaced by something called an Enterprise allowance which will be in my opinion better, you will have to see a business advisor at the job centre but as long as they approve of your idea/business plan then they will give you a grant of and this is only guesstimate at the moment but they think it will be approx £1000/1500 to help you get up and running, you will also be able to keep all of your benefits for possibly 6 months with the following 3 months being half benefits.
They will offer support as well and obviously expect a certain amount of cooperation from the person who sets up the business but it does sound a positive move to me.
This is due to kick in around the summer, it is being trailed in small areas of the country at present.
Just though I would pass it on for anyone who might be thinking of starting something up, it will be worth asking if it is being trailed in your area now or worht waiting till it kicks in in the summer.
I was just thinking about starting my own business, I was wondering how it would effect the out of work benefits that I do recieve...very interested! Obviously if it faulters and is a bit wobbley will they still help with housing benefit dispite sparadic start-up income...hmm
Hi LALA
Yes from what I am being told you cease to recieve any of your benefits, its worth talking to your advisor at the job cantre, they should be able to give you all the information you need, good luck xxx
...and as well as the Job Centre, anyone wanting more details, do contact our super 1-2-1 Money Advice Service, who have all the latest information
what about if you start re-selling, like ebaying. can it be counted like part - time job and would i still be able to get housing benefits and council tax benefits?
Hello auxxe
I think it depends on the extent of the business, if you are just selling the odd second hand thing then no, whereas if you are selling various items on a regular basis and are working 16 hours per week on the business (buying, selling, online, posting, doing your books etc) then you could claim Working Tax Credit as a single parent. Your housing benefit would be reduced quite considerably depending on your income and you would only get a small amount of council tax benefit, if any. You would need to declare all your income.
What you can do on income support is earn up to £20 a week without it affecting your benefits.
If you have specific questions about benefits, such as "If I earned £100 a week what benefits would I get", for example, then please email our specialist 1-2-1 Money Advice Service, who can give you details.
thank you Luise for answ. yes i ment reselling new stuff, like buying from wharehouses and reselling them on ebay, doing posting, communication with customers, inserting items and so on. so i'm not sure what sort of incomes you could make in there, but in case if it's not high ones i wondered if I still would be entitled to benefits like WTC, HB and Council Tax Benefits. so i guess as i understand from your answer I would :)
Take care because the amount you get would be reduced accordingly. A good idea would be to draw up what you think would be a reasonable projection for what you would do, moneywise in other words amount you would sell, less the amount it would cost you = net profit. The net profit is the same as your "wage" would be if you were employed although you have to do a tax return every year and pay any tax due....and you have to let Working Tax know what you realistically think this income would be.
I would not recommend you stay on Income Support if it is likely you will make more than about £20 a week as you will get into difficulties with overpayments and claiming things you are not entitled to, which can get you into trouble with the law.
As a first step, look at this website, which has free courses for people setting up on their own. Also if you ask at your local Job Centre plus they may have some details of financial incentives See at the top of this thread for what another member was told, as well
That is really interesting, tiredmum, thanks for posting.