Benefits if you take parental leave or resign to care for a disabled child.

Universal Credit (which can include help with housing costs)

Carer’s Allowance

New- Style Jobseeker’s Allowance

Council Tax Reduction

Help with health costs

Working while also caring for a disabled child can be challenging. There are many ways that parents can take time off work; this could be for maternity leave, shared parental leave or unpaid parental leave. If you are taking leave and your pay is reduced, you should check whether there are any benefits you may be eligible for.

You may find that caring for a disabled child while staying on at your current job is simply not possible. In this case you may decide that you want to resign. However, resigning is a big step and you should think carefully about your options first. This includes what benefits you will be entitled to.

This article explores the types of benefits you might be entitled to if your pay is reduced by taking parental leave, or if you resign from your job and don’t earn anything.

It’s important to note that the following benefits will take into account your partner’s income or work status. This means that you may not qualify even if one of you is not earning anything.

• Universal Credit
• Council tax reduction
• New-Style Jobseekers allowance

Universal Credit

Universal Credit has replaced a number of benefits for most people. After making a claim for UC your other benefits which it replaces (such as housing benefit and income support) will stop and you will not be able to reclaim them.

UC is paid monthly in arrears, therefore, if you take unpaid parental leave you may receive an increased award of UC in the month in which your income is reduced. If your earned income is above the ‘work allowance’ (the lower limit where earnings affect the award) but below the maximum earnings, then for every £1 that your earned income goes down your universal credit award will increase by 55p.

The rules about universal credit sanctions are complex. You should not be sanctioned (have your benefit reduced) for exercising your statutory right to unpaid parental leave. However, you could be sanctioned if you resign from your job without having a good reason. If you are sanctioned it means that you would not receive the personal allowance part of your universal credit award for a temporary period of time. Your housing element and child element would not be affected.

You should not be sanctioned for resigning from your job if you are the responsible carer for a child aged 3 or under. If your child is older you should not be sanctioned if you can show that you had good reason for resigning, e.g. no affordable/suitable childcare available for your disabled child.

You can be sanctioned even if you weren’t claiming UC when you resigned from work (known as a pre-claim sanction), but not if your child is 3 or under or if you can show you had a good reason for resigning. You cannot be sanctioned for resigning from work if you are entitled to Carer’s Allowance or the carer element of Universal Credit in respect of a disabled child (or adult).

To qualify for UC, you must usually accept a ‘claimant commitment’. There are work-related commitments, which you may have to meet. For some people the claimant commitment might include: work-focused interviews, work preparation, work search and work availability. If you do not meet the work-related requirements, you may be sanctioned.

If your UC has been cut, including if you have been sanctioned, you may be eligible for a Hardship Payment. To qualify for UC hardship payments, you must either be a ‘vulnerable group’ or satisfy the DWP that you will ‘suffer hardship’ if UC is not paid to you. UC hardship payments are normally 60% of your normal entitlement. It is important to note that UC payments are usually a loan, so you will have to pay it back when your sanction ends. The jobcentre will usually get the money back by taking an amount out of your future UC payments until it is paid back.

You should inform the DWP that you wish to apply for a hardship payment as soon as you need one. You can either do this by going to the Jobcentre or ringing the DWP (0345 608 8545).

Carer’s Allowance

Carer’s Allowance can be claimed by parents and carers if they earn below the earnings limit and they care for someone receiving the daily living component of PIP or middle or higher rate care component of DLA. The threshold is after tax, National Insurance and some pension contributions and childcare costs have been deducted. Only your earnings count, not those of your partner. We have information about the Carer’s Allowance rate here.

If you stop work before you claim Carer’s Allowance, your final earnings do not generally affect your benefit. Provided your entitlement begins after the employment ends, you are still entitled to final wages and certain other payments (e.g. holiday pay, pay in lieu of notice, statutory or contractual redundancy pay). However, certain other payments are taken into account when working out your claim for Carer’s Allowance (e.g. maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and sick pay).

New-Style Jobseeker’s Allowance

You cannot claim jobseekers allowance if you are on parental leave from work.

If you have resigned from your job, you may be able to claim jobseekers allowance. However, if you resign ‘voluntarily’ without good reason, your claim can be delayed. Therefore, you must explain the reasons why you resigned. You should explain to the job centre: when you need to look after your children, why you couldn’t get help, any requests you made to your employer to change working hours, or any changes your employer made to your working pattern.

You are likely to be asked for evidence, so keep anything which could support your claim, such as: a letter from school or nursery, a copy of your contract, and messages between you and your employer.

Other accepted reasons for resigning include: taking voluntary redundancy, not being paid the minimum wage, unsafe working conditions, bullying or harassment, if you are on a zero-hour contract, or leaving the job during your ‘trial period’ (usually between 5 and 13 weeks after starting).

To qualify for JSA you must usually satisfy three job seeking conditions: be available for work, be actively seeking work, and have a current jobseeker’s agreement with the DWP. You may also have to take part in work-focussed interviews or work-related activity. If you fail to meet these requirements you may be sanctioned. You can find out more at GOV.UK.

If your JSA has been cut, including if you have been sanctioned, you may be eligible for a Hardship Payment. To qualify for JSA hardship payments, you must either be a ‘vulnerable group’ or satisfy the DWP that you will ‘suffer hardship’ if JSA is not paid to you. JSA hardship payments are normally 60% of your normal JSA entitlement.

You should inform the DWP that you wish to apply for a hardship payment as soon as you need one. You can either do this by going to the Jobcentre or ringing the DWP  (0345 608 8545).

Council Tax Reduction

Council Tax Reduction is administered by your local authority and calculated on a weekly basis. You may qualify for an increased award during any week where your earnings are lower than usual.

The amount of Council Tax Reduction you are entitled to will depend on your personal circumstances (e.g. other income, benefits) and where you live.

Family Fund

The Family Fund gives discretionary grants to families with severely disabled children under 18. They have their own definition of ‘severely disabled’. The grants are for things not supplied by statutory authorities. Families on Universal Credit or one of the old benefits it replaces may qualify. See www.familyfund.org.uk.

Help with health costs

You can qualify for help with health costs, for example prescriptions and sight tests, if you receive some benefits such as Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and Guarantee credit of Pension Credit. Some people on Universal Credit may be entitled, and you may also be able to apply for help if you are on a low income.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

Our helpline and online contact form is now closed as we wind down our operations. Our free legal advice pages remain available and up to date until further notice. You can find a list of trusted organisations that may be able to help you below.