5. Earnings
Your earnings and your partner’s earnings are taken into account in the benefit assessment. Your net weekly earnings are taken into account – ie, after deducting:
•income tax;
•class 1 national insurance contributions;
•half of any contribution you make towards a personal or occupational pension.
Some of your earnings are disregarded. Of the following, the highest disregard(s) that applies in your circumstances is deducted from your earnings:
•£25 for lone parents claiming housing benefit (HB);
•£20 for lone parents claiming income support (IS) or income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
•£20 for those who get a disability premium;
•£20 for those who get a work-related activity or support component in their HB applicable amount. For those on HB doing permitted work and getting certain other benefits, the disregard can be higher;
•£20 for income-related employment and support (ESA) claimants. This disregard can be higher for those doing permitted work;
•£20 for those who get a carer premium;
•£20 for part-time firefighters and some other emergency auxiliaries;
•£10 for couples, whether one or both are working;
•£5 for single people.
For example, if you are a lone parent who is also disabled, you have £25 disregarded for HB and £20 for IS.
In some cases, for HB, childcare costs for registered childminders, nurseries and playschemes can be disregarded from earnings. Childcare costs of up to £175 a week for one child or £300 for two or more children are deducted from weekly earnings if you are:
•a lone parent who is working; or
•in a couple and both of you are working; or
•in a couple, one of you is working and one of you is disabled (eg, gets a disability premium) or is in hospital or prison.
In each case, the work must be for 16 hours or more a week.
For HB, an extra £17.10 is disregarded if you work 16 hours or more and have a child or a disability, or work 30 hours or more and are aged 25 or over (and in some other cases).