| Articles- | Articles Main Page |
| 2007 Articles- | Advice Column 2007 |
2006 Articles - |
Advice Column 2006 |
| 2005 Articles- | Advice Column 2005 |
| 2004 Articles- | Advice Column 2004 |
| December 2003- | Employment - know your rights! |
| November 2003- | Check your Benefits Entitlement |
| October 2003- | Too Early to think about Christmas? |
| September 2003- | About Basic Bank Accounts |
| July 2003- | Help for people with Care or Mobility Needs |
| June 2003- | Student Loans and Bankruptcy |
| May 2003- | Child Support |
| April 2003- | Tax Credits |
| March 2003- | Gym Membership |
| February 2003- | Post Christmas Debt |
Regardless of how long you have worked for your current employer, as an employee you have a number of statutory rights, including:
Some employees may not have all of these rights, trainee doctors are not entitled to paid holidays and anyone under eighteen is not entitled to the minimum wage for example, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
Once you have worked for the same employer continuously for twelve months or more you will also be entitled to use an employment tribunal to claim unfair dismissal.
Employment tribunals can also be used to address other issues, including discrimination, redundancy etc. There are strict time limits for applying to employment tribunals.
Your contract of employment may give you further rights, longer holidays, extended sick pay etc but cannot be used to take away or reduce your statutory rights.
Merton & Lambeth CAB is able to advise you on both your statutory and contractual rights and may be able to help you negotiate with your employer or prepare an application to an employment tribunal.
Many people who are entitled to benefits never claim them, usually because they are not aware that they may be eligible. The following are just a few of the benefits available;.
| Housing benefit ………… | Help with rent payments |
| Council tax benefit……… | Help with council tax payments |
| Job seekers allowance… | Help with general living expenses |
| Tax credits……………… | Help with general living expenses |
| Incapacity benefit………. | Help for people unable to work through ill health |
| Maternity allowance……. | Help for women expecting children |
| Carers allowance………. | Help for someone looking after a disabled person |
Some benefits are only available to people who have paid sufficient national insurance contributions, others do not take contributions into account.
Similarly some benefits are only available to people who do not work or work only a limited number of hours, others are determined by income and others that completely ignore income.
There are two benefits in particular that tend not to be claimed: Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.
Disability Living Allowance is paid to people under 65 who have mobility and/or care needs. It is tax free and ignores both income and national insurance contributions. A maximum of £97.00 per week can be claimed.
Attendance Allowance is similar to Disability Living Allowance and is paid to people over the age of 65. A maximum of £57.00 per week can be claimed.
Although benefits claim forms have improved dramatically over the last few years, they can still be daunting as a fair amount of information is required if the correct decision is to be made. Don't be put off.
Merton CAB is able to help complete benefits claim forms and can work out what benefits you are entitled to or may be entitled to. It can even help you apply on-line.
For more information telephone Merton CAB on 0208 715 0707, call at its Morden office between 10.00 and 15.00 Monday-Thursday or e-mail advice@mertoncab.org.uk
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity that provides free, confidential and independent information and advice.
Christmas is fast approaching. For many of us, along with seasonal good cheer, it brings money problems and other worries.
Over the next couple of months we will be looking at employment and benefits issues but in the meantime some tips on Christmas spending.
And some thoughts about post-Christmas debt:
If it does look impossible, don't worry. We have many years experience of dealing with debt and can help you complete court forms, work out what you can afford to pay and negotiate with your creditors.
For more information telephone Merton CAB's debt help line on 0208 640 3194, call at its Morden office between 10.00 and 15.00 Monday-Thursday or visit www.mertoncab.org.uk
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity that provides free, confidential and independent information and advice.
Many people have difficulty getting a bank account and this may be due to a poor credit rating, low income or due to residential area.
Many banks and building societies now offer a basic account.
This account has no access to an overdraft facility and no fees to pay. Wages and benefits can be paid directly to the account or cash and cheques can be paid in. You can withdraw money from cash machines and some accounts provide a debit card or chequebook. A buffer zone (usually £10) means that you can access all the credit in your account without being charged overdraft fees.
To open a basic bank account you do not have to pay in a minimum amount and no credit scoring is used. However, an account may be refused on the grounds of previous debt.
To open an account you must prove your identity and address. The same document cannot be used to provide proof of both.
Identity is usually proved through a document containing a photograph, such as a passport, driving licence or national identity card. Proof of address can be made through a recent utility bill, Council Tax document, a check of the electoral roll or through a credit reference agency. Satisfactory proof of identity must be provided or the account application can be refused but you can ask a more senior employee to reconsider the decision.
If you are having difficulty opening a basic bank account contact your local CAB.
I now find it harder to look after myself and to get about. Is there any help available?
There are two main benefits available to people with care and/or mobility needs:
Disability living allowance has a care component and a mobility component. It is payable to men and women under the age of sixty five. A maximum of £97.00 per week is payable.
Attendance allowance only has a care component and is payable to men and women over the age of sixty five. A maximum of £57.00 per week is payable.
To be eligible for disability living allowance or attendance allowance you must, amongst others, meet one or more of the following criteria:
You must also have lived in the UK for six out of the last twelve months.
Both benefits are paid even if no one is providing the help that you require, as long as you can show that you need it.
The claim forms are long, complicated and difficult to complete correctly but the CAB is able to provide expert advice, guidance and assistance. It also understands how difficult it can be to ask for help.
If you think you, a relative or a friend may be eligible contact Merton CAB on 0208 715 0707 or visit your local CAB.
I have a £9,000 student debt. If I declare myself bankrupt, will the debt be written off?
Yes, but only when the bankruptcy is discharged. However the Government is considering changing the law to prevent student loans from being written off in bankruptcy.
Although bankruptcy is an option open to anyone with debts of at least £750 it does have a number of implications that will need to be carefully considered:
It will cost £380 to declare yourself bankrupt plus a further £60 on discharge.
The bankruptcy lasts for either two or three years.
A notice appears in your local paper.
Your home may be sold.
Apart from essentials, anything of value can be sold to pay your creditors.
The Official Receiver will have control over your finances
You may have to make a contribution from your wages or salary
Your bank account will be closed and it may be difficult to open a new one. You will not normally be allowed to have credit of more than £250.
There are certain jobs you won’t be able to do.
It could affect your existing employment
It can be difficult to get a mortgage or other form of credit after discharge.
Details are held on credit reference records for many years.
It also has a number of advantages not least of which is that virtually all debts are written off and you can start again with a clean slate. To many people, the simple fact that they no longer need to worry about a seemingly impossible situation far outweighs the potential disadvantages.
If you are thinking about bankruptcy or just find that your financial situation is getting out of hand call Merton CAB’s Debt Help Line on 020 8640 3194 for a confidential discussion.
Will the recent changes to child support affect you
If you are applying for child support for the first time, payments will now be calculated according to a new, simpler formula, which should help speed things up and encourage more absent parents to comply. The formula will also allow you, as a parent with care, to keep up to £10 a week in maintenance payments without affecting your benefit entitlement. However, if you are already paying or receiving maintenance you will continue under the old rules for the time being and be notified when the new rules apply to you.
Under the new rules absent parents whose income is £200 a week or more will pay maintenance set at 15 per cent of net income for one child; 20 per cent for two children; and 25 per cent for three or more children. Those with an income of less than £200 a week will pay reduced rates, while those with an income of £100 a week or less will pay a flat rate of £5 a week.
The calculation will take account of all children in the absent parent's current family, including stepchildren, so that the net income used to calculate maintenance will be reduced by 15 per cent for one child in the current family; 20 per cent for two children; and 25 per cent for three or more children. The calculation will not take account of the income of the parent with care, the income of either parent's current partner, housing costs or travel-to-work costs - but it will take into account shared care.
If a child stays with an absent parent one night a week or more on average, maintenance payable will be reduced accordingly. In these circumstances, absent parents on benefit will usually be exempt from paying the £5 a week flat rate, but will still be technically liable for maintenance.
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau can provide further information and help you assess your own situation, telephone 0208 715 0707 or visit your local CAB.
Confused about the new tax credits?
You will probably have heard about the new tax credits that the government is introducing and may be wondering if you are entitled to money. The new system, which gets underway in April replaces existing tax credits with two new benefits, child tax credits and working tax credits.
Child tax credits
To qualify for Child Tax Credit you must be aged at least 16 and be responsible for a dependent child or a young person up to the age of 19. You must also be free from immigration control and be normally resident in the United Kingdom.
Similarly, your income must be below a certain level. There are additional amounts paid if your child is less than 1 year old and if your child is disabled
Your entitlement is worked out using income for the whole tax year and is paid by the Inland Revenue either weekly or 4 weekly. Payments are made into the bank account of the main carer of the dependent child
Working tax credits
To qualify for Working Tax Credit you must be aged 16 or over and work at least 16 hours a week.
You must also be responsible for a child or a qualifying young person, or be a disabled worker, or be aged 50 or over and have gone back to work, or be aged 25 or over and be working for 30 hours or more a week.
Working Tax Credit is paid to the person working, through their wages. There is also an amount paid in respect of childcare.
Even if you think you may not be entitled to either of the new tax credits, it is worth checking.Merton Citizens Advice Bureau can check your entitlement, provide further information and help you complete an on-line application at its Morden Office:
Additional information is also available from the tax credits help-line 0845 300 3900 or www.inlandrevenue.org.uk
Do you remember when, full of enthusiasm, you signed up for six months' membership of your local gym, and to take advantage of that special deal, paid two months membership in advance? But, like many of us, you lost interest after the first couple of visits and are wondering what to do about the gym's demand for the balance of the membership fees.
The law relating to gym membership is the same as that for any goods and services. You must look at the contract you signed when you joined and paid your two months money. The contract will say how long you have agreed to be a member of the gym and how you will pay for this membership. You can't ignore the contract and decide not to be a member simply because you don't want to go anymore. The contract may state that you agreed to join for 6 months, in which case the gym is only trying to recover the money that is legally owed to it.
Look at your contract, see what you have agreed to do and talk to your gym as soon as possible to explain your circumstances. Don't ignore the problem as it won't go away. If you can afford to you should pay the outstanding balance as soon as possible. Non payment will result in you being pursued for the debt and will eventually cost you more money. If you cannot pay the full amount, try and negotiate a weekly or monthly sum that you can pay until the debt is cleared.
The CAB can give you further advice and may be able to negotiate on your behalf.
Call 0208 715 0707 or 0208 640 3194
Confused about the new Tax credits? Keep an eye out for next month's column when they will be explained.
Christmas was great, wasn't it? But January was the longest month and the bills are rolling in. If you are struggling to make ends meet, read our tips on balancing your budget.