Hi I have been on carers allowance since 2010. I do 16 hours a week but since around Oct last year I was cut to 15 hours. The DWP have been in touch and want all my wage slips since 2010. And 4 of my P60.
I have mostly wage slips with 16 hours on them but on the odd occasion I have had to do and hour or half hour extra due to stock take or meetings at work, From what I have heard the DWP average it out over the year.
If you have company sick pay are you still eligible for carers? Since I was put on a 3 day week I have to be sick for over 3 days to qualify for sick pay. If you have a wage slip with zero pay on it do you still qualify.
I do not have all my wage slips going back to 2010 I contacted head office and they do not have them and say they cant help and they said the DWP should know this?? I have sent all I have and done all I can including contacting company pension scheme requesting declaration I signed when I joined. Do I have anything to worry about as 99.9% wages slips 16 hours or less??
Sharon … welcome.
Hours worked ?
Not the main issue … it’s the WEEKLY EARNINGS limit … currently £ 120 per week.
( I presume that you took steps to stay within said limit … any surplus transferred into a pension scheme perhaps ?
Eligible deductions applied ? Any childcare costs deducted ? )
Each year , that tends to change on day one of the tax year … 6 April.
For previous years’ limits , the CA Unit maybe able to supply the figures … 0800 731 0297 … which will then enable
you to check your yearly earning against the limit in each year.
As for sick pay , I would imagine that it counts as income for DWP purposes.
Have a ponder , and then return to us on the forum.
Whatever transpires , try to keep the DWP fully appraised … they are not the happiest of bunnies even at the best of times.
Their recent purge on family / kinship carers only emphasizes that point :
Defo one for Carers UK advice line as it’s quite complicated. Can someone supply contact details?
Answering one of OP’s queries, wonder if getting confused between ESA and CA? With ESA my understanding is that occupational sick pay/ssp has to be exhausted before ESA claim will be entertained (certainly how I applied) while with CA it’s purely a financial matter (ANY income over 120/wk [520/mnth 
] means CA disallowed). Was on this basis was unable to get CA (even underlying entitlement) when was on OSP/SSP previously.
Advice Team ?
Sick pay needs to be exhausted before CA kicks in ?
( That Earnings Limit again ? )
Confirmed !
MoneyExpert Forum reply back in 2016 … any change under UC ?
carers allowance/sick pay — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Logical if one’s sick pay was £ 121 per week … and CA continued ???
Always tried to keep within limit upped company pension to do so.
Im thinking my company sick pay may be problem so will have to pay back. The store I work in one a xmas incentive which was a weeks extra wages which went in to my bank on Feb. This was a competition win but then again im assuming they wont see it that way?
Do they let you have a payment plan to pay back??Thanks for replies so far as worried sick!!
Your welcome , Sharon ?
Repayment plan ?
One can only ask them … nicely ?
When I did contact carers UK this week they said they average out over weekly cycle so when on odd occasion I have done over my wage I can earn for carers the weeks I have earnt less by doing 10, 12 or 6 hours it balances it out hopefully??
Yep … the bane of irregular earning under Universal Credit.
Locally , and off forum , gives me an average workload of upto 20 hours per week just helping my immediate neighbours !
Averaging out … and always try to catch up every month !
Chris have y ou had problems with DWP recently??
Me ?
Apart from claiming CA back in 1998 , no first hand experience at all … thankfully.
Through my work locally with my immediate neighbours , and now the local food bank , virtually nothing else
but Universal Credit … and it’s inability to handle irregular earnings … zero hour contracts and self employment
being the main protagonists.
( Month 1 … £ 1,200 … 2 / £ 100 … 3 / £ 600 … then average out … 4 / £ 200 … 5 / £ 150 … see where this is heading ?
For the cherry on the top … factor in just one month behind with the rent ! )
On the housing front , I have attended local meetings with the letting agents / landlords , helping to fill them
in on the potential problems of UC … nothing can help in reality before it’s rolled out on any manor !
I do little more than supply information … when it’s a fairly simple situation … links to experts at the CAB
and with the DWP itself if needed.
One thing I have picked up … the lack of knowledge within the DWP Job Centres.
When their system goes down , not unusual for some to phone the CAB for the correct answer !
Sharon
The p60 issued by employer at the end of each tax year shows the total earned in that tax year, therefore you shouldn’t need to produce payslips as well, except for this tax year about to end as p60s won’t be produced until after 5th April 2019.
If you have had more than 1 employer at a time you should have p60s from each employer.
P60 only shows money earned, not hours worked, so I do wonder if they are looking at benefits that are related to working hours. If it is only Carers allowance then p60 should suffice.
Anyone is only expected to retain tax information (e.g. p60) for 7 years so they shouldn’t penalise you if you can’t produce things from more than 7 years ago
Thank you, cant sleep so worried!
Benefits relating to hours worked … Working Tax Credits claimed at anytime ?
tax credits yes cant remember when I came off tax credits though. Think when my partner moved in around 2007. Always filled forms in and was told when too much income so came off them.