Carers for loved ones who also work part-time are quitting their jobs to avoid being stung by penalties for breaching their allowance rules.
Teachers, nurses, and cleaners who split their time between their career and looking after sick relatives face being charged or even prosecuted if they earn too much per month.
Under government rules the maximum a part time career who claims the carers allowance can earn is £151 a week.
If they go over that limit, even if it is just by £1, they are charged the whole weekly allowance of £81.90 which if applied to a whole year or 52 weeks rises to more than £4,000.
Carers for loved ones who also work part-time are quitting their jobs to avoid being stung by penalties for breaching their allowance rules (stock image)
Under government rules, the maximum a part time career who claims the carers allowance can earn is £151 a week (stock image)
A report by Carers UK showed that some carers had even stopped claiming the benefits they are entitled to avoid the anxiety of being fined for making too much through their jobs.
Speaking to the Guardian, Helen Walker, the chief executive of Carers UK, said: ‘It is heartbreaking to hear of instances where thousands of pounds of debts have been accumulated.
‘This has been going on for years and not enough has been done by government to fundamentally change the situation. It simply cannot continue.’
Carers say the rules around what they are allowed to claim are not clear enough and should be changed.
But minister for social security and disability, Sir Stephen Timms, said: ‘Our country would grind to a halt without the millions of carers who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day.
Teachers, nurses, and cleaners who split their time between their career and looking after sick relatives face being charged or even prosecuted if they earn too much per month (stock image)
‘We recognise the challenges they are facing and we are determined to provide unpaid carers with the support they deserve.
‘Meeting organisations like Carers UK and individual carers and hearing their views and experiences is key to helping us to establish the facts and make informed decisions.
‘With respect to overpayments of Carer’s Allowance, we are moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so we can set out our plan to put things right.’
