Working 30 Hours Tax Credits?

With the imminent ending of ESA entitlement a friend has suggested that I seek work and that "if 30 hours are worked"& a certain level of wage is paid then you are elgible for Tax Credit assistance whatever that is but she said youd get paid £50 a week in addition to your wages plus other benefits like Housing and be off ESA all together.(Which you dont deal with)All this is a bit of a heresay muddle but is this a viable option for ESA ending claimants?
Also is such an arrangement Means tested?
This friend also imparted that interpretation of the 30 hours worked was rather slack
and could encompass almost anything 'paid'like in a friends'shop,doing odd jobs and the like,
I would have imagined that it would have to be with a proper PAYE registered employer and National Insurance might not be paid as its not enough money per week?

James,

There is a lot of hearsay talk, on other fora, about tax credits changing in the future. The scuttlebut* is that, at some stage. the claimant will be assessed as earning national minimum wage for the hours claimed to be worked and any credits would be given according to notional income rather than actual income.

You need to be aware of this potential before you cancel your ESA claim, to give yourself the best chance of making the right decision.



* gossip