How many hours can I work on BTEA?

sex panther

Hey ive a job interview tomorrow, its only part time for xmas but i was thinking if there was a set amount of hours I can work.

I know people on one parent allowance can only work 19 hous a week and I was wondering if its the same with back to education allowance???

Gazza1000

Hi, this a question I've been trying to get answered for some time now. When I first went on BTEA in 2009, 27 hours per week was what was allowed. This figure seems to have been removed from any documentation on the SW website (that I can see) for BTEA. Maybe someone else can shed better light on this for you but ballpark would be at least 27 hrs per week. Best of luck with interview!!!

rem

The BTEA payment is a non statutory payment and is not means tested at all, so you can work as many hours a week as you wish and it won't affect your BTEA payment.

However, if you are also in receipt of other supports such as Rent Supplement, Fuel Supplement or a Higher Education Grant then your income would be assessed for these payments. Particularly in the case of Rent Supplement, you would lose the majority of this payment if you began working.

edited to add: there is no restriction on the number of hours you can work on OPFP, perhaps you are thinking of Family Income Supplement, whereby you must work a minimum of 19 hours a week to be eligible? The One Parent Family Payment is restricted in monetary terms as follows:

You can earn up to €146.50 per week and still retain full payment. Half of the remainder of your income from work up to a limit €425 per week is assessed as means (plus a €95 a week disregard of child maintenance towards your housing costs). Again, other secondary benefits are assessed differently.

rem

From welfare.ie:

1.14 Rates of Payment

BTEA is a separate, stand alone scheme and it is not means tested. Participants receive a weekly personal rate equivalent to the maximum standard personal rate of the relevant Social Welfare payment that actually qualified them for participation in the BTEA scheme. For all new BTEA cases coming from Jobseekers Allowance and Disability Allowance, where a spouse has earnings, the rate payable will be personal rate of JA/DA(max. rate) plus Qualified Adult rate determined by reference to JB tapered QA rules.
A 'Saver' clause operates to prevent a participant being made worse off by virtue of this arrangement. The rate of payment is affected only by changes in qualified adult or child dependency status (See Guidelines- Increase for Qualified Adult / Child) and by budgetary changes.
Participants may also engage in employment without affecting their personal rate of payment. Payment of the BTEA is not affected by income from any other source, e.g. earnings from part-time employment etc., but any change in the financial circumstances of the spouse/partner will effect Adult/child dependent allowance. However, additional income will affect entitlement to Rent/Mortgage Supplement. Clients should be directed to the HSE for clarification of this issue.
Please note that if you cease your course of education and re-apply for any social welfare payment, you must fulfil the qualifying conditions for that scheme. These include disclosure of all earnings and other income where required.