Declaring Earnings!

Sola Solita

Hi everyone
My partner claims JSA for him,myself and my 14 year old child.
For the last 2 years I started a hobby creating Jewelry.
I suffer with depression, anxiety and lack of confidence.
I was putting photos up on Facebook of my work, and people started asking how much I would sell the piece for.
As you can imagine, what this did for my confidence was unreal.
I would sell the odd piece here and there.
Recently, we have been pulled up to the Social Investigation Unit. They did not say that they knew I was selling my Jewelry, but kept going on about declaring any earnings.
What I would like to ask is how do I declare my earnings from my Jewelry?
I could go months without selling a thing, to maybe selling 20 euro worth in a week.
I could not live off anything I sell, so could not make a business out of it, and I have no clue how to start a business.
Any help or information is welcomed

Immaculata

I'd suggest you keep a record of everything you spend on your craftwork. Keep receipts for your materials and anything else you spend, such as postage and packing materials if you're mailing a piece to someone. Then if you get pulled up again, and decide to tell them about your jewellery, you can at least show what your profits, if any, are. If they think you're making fistfuls of cash then you're going to be in for a grilling. Money aside, you need also to be able to show that you're not spending time on your hobby to the extent that you're not available for work/jobhunting.

Facebook is (probably) linked to your real life name, so you might want to find another venue to display your work on instead, like Etsy or similar.

Just suggestions but if your health isn't good, why not consider applying for DA? Or consider a back to work enterprise scheme and make a real business out of it?

Sola Solita

Thanks Immaculata
How can I declare my earnings BEFORE I get called up again though.
The woman I saw said that if I spent 30 euro on something and then sold it for 50 euro...I would have to declare the 20 profit.
And then that 20 euro would be taken from our JSA.

I do not get asked to provide information on how I am looking for work, like my partner does, I'm guessing because I still have a dependent child.
And I did not think that Depression was a Disability to be honest!

ShaShaBear

Sola Solita wrote: »

Thanks Immaculata
How can I declare my earnings BEFORE I get called up again though.
The woman I saw said that if I spent 30 euro on something and then sold it for 50 euro...I would have to declare the 20 profit.
And then that 20 euro would be taken from our JSA.

I do not get asked to provide information on how I am looking for work, like my partner does, I'm guessing because I still have a dependent child.
And I did not think that Depression was a Disability to be honest!

If your partner is claiming for you as an adult dependent you are not required to show you are seeking work of any description as you are not officially receiving any social welfare claim. I can only assume you were called up because what you are "earning" would affect your partner's claim. For the record though, I also craft as a hobby and have sold pieces before. But the money I make on a piece (if any) is used to buy more materials to further practice my hobby. Therefore I do not really have any earnings. No different to selling your unwanted clothes online and using the money to buy new clothes.