16hrs or not?

[rosie5637]

my current situation is that i am claiming income support as not in paid employment (single parent)and i'm hoping to return to work as soon as i can find a job (been looking for a while but nothing has come up) i have been doing volunteer work for a charity in the mean time and absolutely love it.

i went to the job centre so they could work out what money i would be on when i get a job and the lady said i couldn't do 16hrs a week cause i can't do holidays, it's got to average 16hrs over the course of the year iyswim.

if this is true and i have to work 23-24 hrs a week it will mean me giving up my volunteer job i wanted to do both. i have no childcare options available to me that i would be happy with and find it hard to cram things in after school as it is without finishing work late.

the thing is, i have single friends who work 16hrs a week term-time only and it's not a problem for them. they haven't been told that they have to work more by the job centre. why is it ok for them and not for me?

any ideas?

 

[Fabmumof3]

Sometimes the job centre are a bit confusing and sometimes they havent a clue (hubby had problems with them a while ago). You should go see the citizens advice bureau and see wot they say. Also it may be something to do with tax credits? You have to be working 16 hours a week minimum to get certain tax credits so it may be worth phoning them too.