€25k pa job - Is it worth it?

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nomorejob

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My wife and myself are still unemployed and get €391 per week for JB (€1695 per month).

My wife may be offered a job for approx €25k per year. Using an online tax calculator, she would get approx €2000 per month (€461 per week).
I understand that if she takes this position, my JB will be reduced to €204 per week (€884 pm) as i would loose her part as dependant and the 2 children parts.

So, on assumption I don't find a job in the near future, we would get €665 pw (her salary + my JB) from now until Oct 09 (i lost my job in Oct 08). But from Oct09, i will be accessed under JA rather than JB.
Because my wife is getting €461 per week, i don't think i will be entitled to anything from JA. So, effectively, the house income drops to just €461 pw.
If I take into account travel expenses like petrol/car park/etc, we would probably be left with approx €400 pw which is the same as if we were not to work.
As much as we want to get out of SW system, we don't want to be left out of pocket by taking employment.

Can somebody confirm that the above is correct?
 
There are other factors to consider - it is better to be working and in employment. You will learn new skills and in the future you would expect to earn more as you progress.

You also have real job offer, something a lot of people would love, taking it would reduce the strain on the country (yeah I know just a miniscule amount but if everyone turned down jobs like this we would be in a worse position).

Take the job! Your handouts will probably be reduced in the next budget anyways.
 
You might also be entitled to Family Income Supplement (FIS), but i'm not familiar with the limits/entitlements.
 
Surely you'd rather be working? If I were you/your missus, I would have snapped the job up.
 
You can't look on this on monetary terms alone, as the other posters say. Essentially, you are asking whether you should become welfare dependant for the rest of your lives or not. You don't say if your wife is also claiming JB at present. What are her feelings about signing on unitl the 'right' job comes up? What is the 'right' job? What about mental health, staying in the loop, social lives? What about bulding up contributoins towards a State pension (at prsent you nedd ten years padi contributions and this could change in the future).
 
Have to agree with you there Welfarite, I was cracking up when I was unemployed, I didnt claim any benifits but I thought I was gonna go mad.
 
Smashbox said:
Have to agree with you there Welfarite, I was cracking up when I was unemployed, I didnt claim any benifits but I thought I was gonna go mad.
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Yeah, I have seen many people soul-destroyed as they cannot get out of the 'system'. I think there is a huge need out there for 'counselling' when on state benefits. Some chance of that now, it should have been introduced in the good old days.
 
There is something not right with the "system" when someone is considering turning down a 25k pa job because they think they will be less well off.
 
If it does'nt make sense from a monetary point of view I would be tempted to turn down the job , the benefits you currently receive are entitlements not handouts.
 
nomorejob, am i reading your post correctly?

you say that yourself and your wife are unemployed and get €391 per week - is this for both of you? If it is, then if your wife takes the job for €25k (€461pw), you will be better off to the tune of €70pw?
 
Deiseblue said:
.... the benefits you currently receive are entitlements not handouts.
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Correct they are entitlements once you are looking for work or when no work exists.

However they become handouts once you actively decide to reject work and go on social welfare.
 
aristotle25 said:
There is something not right with the "system" when someone is considering turning down a 25k pa job because they think they will be less well off.
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Yes, you hit the nail on the head. We also think so, but we did not make the rules, we are living with them.
As mentioned by previous posters, being unemployed is soul destroying. I fully agree with that, we are unfortunately going through this ourselves.
So, in the other hand, taking a very boring unchallenging job, seeing/talking to nobody all day is also not good for the mind, probably worse than currently and even worse if there is no financial gain.
My wife is way over qualified for this job. It would be like a senior manager in a multi-national becoming a kitchen porter. This brings mental challenges in itself. And once you get stuck in this, it may even be more difficult to get out of this than betting out of SW when the opportunity is right.


Welfarite,
My wife is not claiming JB. I am claiming JB (€204pw) and she is a dependant (€137pw) + 2 kids @ €24, hence €391pw in my original post.


Coming back to my OP, it is correct that if she takes a €25kpa job, I would not get JA?
 
nomorejob said:
So, in the other hand, taking a very boring unchallenging job, seeing/talking to nobody all day is also not good for the mind, probably worse than currently and even worse if there is no financial gain.
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What kind of job is on offer?
 
fitzg said:
you say that yourself and your wife are unemployed and get €391 per week - is this for both of you? If it is, then if your wife takes the job for €25k (€461pw), you will be better off to the tune of €70pw?
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Unfortunately not, once we take travel expenses into account.
 
Because my wife is getting €461 per week, i don't think i will be entitled to anything from JA. So, effectively, the house income drops to just €461 pw.
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Not correct.

Your wifes income is assessed as 60% of (461pw - 20 per day worked up to a max of 3 days). (Don't ask me why !)

In your case, her assessed means p/w, assuming 5 days worked p/w, is (461 - 3x20) x 0.6 = 241.
Subtract this from your maximum JA entitlement ie 391 - 241 = 150.

So you will get 150 JA and your wife gets 461.

Total income with wife working: 150 + 461 = 611.
Total income from JA only: 391

So you gain 611 - 391 = 220 per week.

I have not accounted for any levies or prsi deductions. This would reduce the figure used to calculate your wifes income and so increase your JA, so your gain might be higher than 220.

In addition you will still have Child Benefit of 332 per month (83 p/w).

Refer to this to calculate your JA income if your wife is working.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/R...et-jobseeker-s-allowance-and-income-from-work

You could still get a medical card or GP visit card.
 
If a higher vacancy occurs in the job as she is so over qualified, presuming they like the cut of her jib, she'd be practically a shoe in.
 
Cayne said:
Correct they are entitlements once you are looking for work or when no work exists.

However they become handouts once you actively decide to reject work and go on social welfare.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you there, I would have jumped through hoops to get a job like that
 
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