by Admin | 06.02.2019
Are you better off working? The FREE HMRC app provides a quick and easy way to check your tax and benefits using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.
You can use it to:
- view your tax code and an estimate of the tax you need to pay
- see your income and benefits
- check your National Insurance number
- view your tax credits payments schedule
- renew your tax credits
- use our tax calculator to work out your take home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance deductions
- track forms and letters you’ve sent to us
- get 6-digit access codes to make your HMRC accounts more secure
Click here for more details
Benefits calculators
Use an independent benefits calculator to find out:
- what benefits you could get
- how to claim
- how your benefits will be affected if you start work
These are free to use, anonymous, and have replaced the Benefits Adviser service.
Calculators
Use one of the following:
- Policy in Practice – for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit, how these are calculated and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours
- entitledto – for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work
- Turn2us – for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours
For more information visit www.gov.uk
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. It’s paid monthly.
You may be able to get it if you’re on a low income or out of work.
Whether you can claim Universal Credit depends on where you live and your circumstances.
If you already get benefits…
Universal Credit will replace the following benefits:
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Working Tax Credit
If you currently receive any of these benefits, you cannot claim Universal Credit at the same time.
Universal Credit is being introduced in stages across the UK. You do not need to do anything until you hear from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about moving to Universal Credit, unless you have a change in circumstances.
For more information on Universal Credit, click here
If this is all too confusing, give us a call on 0208 868 5224 and ask to speak to a member of the Working for Carers team. We’ll be happy to guide you.
by Admin | 06.02.2019
The Smart Works service in London is open to any women who has a confirmed job interview for a paid position or a year-long apprenticeship.
Appointments to Smart Works in London are made by referral only. We work with many referral agencies, including Jobcentre Plus, work programme providers and charities working to support women back into employment. They refer women to us who need help with interview clothes and confidence-building in the run up to their interview.
Suited & Booted is a charity that helps vulnerable, unemployed and low-income men into employment by providing interview clothing and interview advice.
Our clients may be struggling and in need of support, both financial and practical. They may not have the means to wear suitable clothes to ‘look the part’ and therefore unable to give themselves the best possible chance at a job interview.
We give our clients suitable clothing – perhaps a formal suit or a smart casual style – and then guide them through the process of a job interview. This gives them better prospects of success and contributes to their general self-confidence and self-esteem.
We aim to make a difference so that our clients can move forward with the ability to succeed and find their own way in society.
We are a new charity and rely upon the help of volunteers, financial contributions and clothing donations to continue the work that we do.
Please note you will have to be referred to these organisations from Working for Carers – ask your Employment Advisor for more information.
by Admin | 04.02.2019
Starting the process of searching for a job is very exciting but can also be daunting to begin with. But if you plan your job search and break each task down, it can make the process not only manageable but enjoyable as well.
Before Job searching:
- Ensure your CV is up to date.
- Have a standard cover letter prepared.
- Have a sample application form to use for reference.
After your job search materials are fully prepared, the next step should be your job-search action plan.
Where to look for jobs:
Looking while you are out and about. Lots of smaller employers will put vacancies in their windows especially
Find out more and how we can help you by attending the Working for Carers Job Club in your borough or give us a call on 020 8868 5224 and ask for a member of the Working for Carers team. We’ll be happy to guide you through the planning process.
by Admin | 04.02.2019
Caring for an unwell family member or friend can be overwhelming if it’s ongoing. Looking after the daily needs of another person, when they are physically or mentally unwell often takes a toll on the mental health of the carer. In most situations, a carer’s focus is on the person they are caring for, with little or no regard for their own physical and mental needs.
As a full-time carer you are probably faced with unrelenting demands on your time and energy resulting in feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, leading to high levels of stress. Whilst small levels of stress are manageable, when it reaches levels that prevents you from maintaining a job, managing relationships with friends and families, gives you suicidal thoughts and generally prevents you from thriving as a happy adult, it’s time to get help.
Mindfulness is a method of destressing that has risen to prominence in the last ten years due it’s success in helping people cope with stress.
At Working for Carers, we have introduced mindfulness workshops at our centres across London, to help carers deal with the stress associated with their role as a carer to get them feeling confident and ready to enter or re-enter the job market.
So, what is mindfulness and how can it help you as a carer?
“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” www.mindful.org
1. Mindfulness helps us centre ourselves and pay attention
The mindful practice of paying attention to the present moment helps us control repetitive, and non-productive thoughts that lead to stress. It allows us, in effect, to self-regulate.
2. You become aware of your thoughts allowing you to step back from them and not take them so literally. That way, your stress response is not initiated in the first place.
3. You don’t immediately react to a situation. Instead, you have a moment to pause and then use your “wise mind” to come up with the best solution.
4. Mindfulness switches on your “being” mode of mind, which is associated with relaxation. Your “doing” mode of mind is associated with action and the stress response.
5. You are more aware and sensitive to the needs of your body. You may notice pains earlier and can then take appropriate action.
6. You are more aware of the emotions of others. As your emotional intelligence rises, you are less likely to get into conflict.
7. Your level of care and compassion for yourself and others rises. This compassionate mind soothes you and inhibits your stress response.
8. Mindfulness practice reduces activity in the part of your brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is central to switching on your stress response, so effectively, your background level of stress is reduced.
9. You are better able to focus. So you complete your work more efficiently, you have a greater sense of well-being, and this reduces the stress response. You are more likely to get into “the zone” or “flow,” as it’s termed in psychology by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
10. You can switch your attitude to the stress. Rather than just seeing the negative consequences of feeling stressed, mindfulness offers you the space to think differently about the stress itself. Observing how the increased pressure helps energise you has a positive effect on your body and mind. (www.mindful.org)
Our mindfulness workshops will run in the following boroughs – Ealing, Enfield and Harrow (please choose your nearest borough) and will include mindful meditation, education and discussion.
We hope that our sessions will help you deal with the daily stress of caring for someone by paying non-judgemental attention to the here and now and stepping out of the constant cycle of unhelpful thoughts and emotions.
If you are ready to re-enter the working world or about to start a job, embracing mindfulness and its stress management techniques may be just what you need to build your confidence and self-esteem and get you work-ready.
Please do give us a call on 020 8868 5224 to find out more or visit our workshops page to find the next available mindfulness session. We look forward to hearing from you.
by Admin | 18.01.2019
If you’ve been away from the workforce to attend to your loved one as their full-time carer, the thought of re-entering the workforce can be daunting. We have met several carers who, after several years of being away from work, lack the confidence and sometimes the skills to pick up where they left off in their careers.
As a carer, you may be in a position to resume your career after several months or even years; perhaps the person you are caring for has passed away or moved into a care home, or even recovered, giving you the opportunity to get back into work.
Where do I begin? is the question we get asked most when we work with carers re-entering the workforce?
Step 1 is to assess your job wants and needs. Ask yourself if you were happy with your previous career and is it something you want to continue. This is a good time to reflect on whether you were happy in your previous career or you’d like a change in direction. Often, after a break or an emotional journey, your life goals and perspectives might undergo a change, resulting in a need to alter your career goals as well.
If you find that you are happy with your previous career and wish to resume it, you might need to re-acquaint yourself with the industry. Chances are that things have changed since you were away. We would suggest you reconnect with your network; get in touch with previous colleagues and previous employers. Attend industry conferences and events to understand how things are and how they’ve changed.
Talk to people… this sounds simple, but word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to secure a job. Let people know that you are in a position to resume your career, especially people in the same industry as you. But talk to everyone, because there is always someone who may know someone who may be looking for your skills.
Whether you choose to remain in the same career as before or you choose to move to something entirely different, you will need to refresh your skills or retrain. The speed with which technology is moving means that even if you have been away from the workforce for a few months, you will need a refresher course. If you have been away for several years, you will need some sort of upskilling to avoid feeling out of touch.
In addition to taking classes or training courses, you might even consider volunteering in the field you are interested in to understand what’s involved, where you need to re-skill and whether it’s the kind of career you want to be in.
Once you have decided your career path and learned the necessary skills needed to secure a role, you need to do what we call the “job search essentials.” This includes:
- Updating your CV – we can help you with that through our CV-writing workshops
- Brush up on your interview skills – Please sign up for our interview tips workshop
- Contact recruitment agencies that specialise in your field
- Look for career returner programmes in your field. These programmes are usually related to large organisations as part of their HR policies and are designed to support people re-entering the workforce.
At Working for Carers, we understand the apprehensions and reservations you may have about re-entering the workforce after a break. Many of the carers we have helped secure a job have lacked the confidence and know-how to move forward. That’s exactly what we are here for; to provide a helping hand and support system to empower you to take the next step.
Please give us a call on 0208 868 5224 so that we can help you get back to work.
