Can I get financial help if I go back to work?

If you work for 16 or more hours a week, you may be able to claim Working Tax Credit (WTC) to top up your earnings. If you work for less than 16 hours, you may be able to carry on claiming Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance. If you have children, you may be able to get Child Tax Credit (CTC) if you are not already claiming it, and you may be able to get help with childcare costs included in Working Tax Credit.

Depending on how much you earn, you may still be able to claim some Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction on top of your earnings and tax credits. Depending how long you have been on Income Support , Job Seekers Allowance or Employment Support Allowance, you may be able to get your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction paid at the same rate for the first four weeks of work.

If you are getting help with mortgage interest, you may be able to get this paid for the first four weeks that you are in work, or increase your hours. This is called the ‘mortgage interest run-on’. 

The rules can be complicated - You can also visit CAE where we will do a benefits check for you. 

For more information about Working Tax Credit and help when you start a job, see Benefits and tax credits for people in work.

For more information about Housing Benefit, see Help with your rent - Housing Benefit.

For more information about Council Tax Reduction, see Help with your council tax – Council Tax Reduction.

For more information about Income Support, see Help for people on a low income – Income Support..

For more information about help for particular groups of unemployed people, see Government employment schemes.