Income Support is extra money we can give to help people who do not have enough money.

Find out more about Income Support (easy read)​.​

Here we will tell you about:

• changes you need to tell us about
• how to tell us about changes
• changes you do not need to tell us​

​You must tell us if there is a change in how much money you or someone you live with have.

You must tell us about the change within 14 days.

If you do not tell us about changes you are breaking the law: 

• we can charge you for any money we overpaid you
• we can take you to court
• you can lose the benefits you get or have to repay them

Anyone can tell us about changes to how much money you have.

You can do it online using our change of circumstance form, by booking an appointment with us in person​ or call us.​

 + 44 (0) 1534 444 444

You must tell us if you or anyone you live with:

• starts or stops working
• ​changes jobs
  
• gets paid more or gets ​extra money called a bonus
• earns less because of sickness or injury
  
• has changes to their work contract, such as the number of hours worked
  

Self-employed people work for themselves instead of a company.​You also need to tell us if you:

If you are self-employed, you must tell us if you:

• have changes to how much you get and spend in your job
  
• stop being self-employed
  

​You do not need to tell us about changes to your pay if it only happens for less than 4 weeks.

​If you start work, you need to tell us: 

​If your job changes, you need to give us documents to show the change. This can be:

• your job contract
• a letter saying you are leaving your job
• a letter or email from your employer
• payslips, which show how much you get paid

​If you stop working without a good reason, you will not get the adult part of Income Support for 13 weeks.

This does not apply if you do not have to look for a job under Income Support rules. For example, if you have: 

• a child too young to get free nursery care
  
• a health condition that stops you from working
  

Talk to us if you are thinking of leaving your job and you are under your pension age. 

Your pension age is when you can start getting money to help you after you stop working.​

You can check your pension age​.

If you are self-employed you need to tell us how much money your business gets and how much you spend.

You can tell us online using our profit and loss accounts form​.

You need to tell us if you or anyone you live with:​

• needs help paying for childcare
• receives money for child support from the other parent
• pays child support for a child who doesn’t live with you
• has any changes in childcare arrangements

You also need to tell us if:

• a child moves in or out of your home
• a child you live with leaves school, starts work or goes to university
• the youngest child living with you turns 25
• a child comes back from university to live with you
  

​You do not need to tell us:

• when your child is born
• if your child moves school

You need to give us documents showing the change. Like​ a letter or email from:

• the company you get childcare from
  
• the other parent who does not live with you
  
• a school or college
• Student Finance, they give money to students at university

​You can add a child coming back from university to your Income Support during their breaks, like Christmas or summer holidays.  

Both parents should help with the costs of looking after your child.

You can receive less money if you do not live together and do not ask for each parent to pay.

You get extra money to pay for childcare if you: 

• are the main person caring for a child
  
• need childcare to work
• get more money from your job than what childcare costs
  
• have an illness or disability and you cannot care for a child
  

​Find a list of registered childcare providers​ that you can get help to pay for.

​You need to tell us if you or someone you live with: 

• moves to a new home​
• ​has a change in rent. Rent is money you pay to live in your home​
• buys or sells a home or land
  

You need to give us documents showing the change like:

• copy of your rent agreement
• letter or email from your landlord. Your landlord is the person who you pay rent to
• letter from a professional who deals with issues about your home, like a lawyer
  
• ​proof of the amount you sold or bought a home or land for

You can only receive up to a certain amount to help with your rent. We will not give you more money if your rent is higher.

Check the maximum help is for rent​​.

A partner is someone you are:

• ​in a serious relationship with
  
• married or in a civil partnership with
  

A civil partnership is a legal relationship without being married.

Find out if you have a partner​.

Partners often live together, but someone could be your partner and not live with you.

You must tell us if:

• you have a partner
  
• your partner, or someone else’s partner in your household, moves into your home
  
• you or someone you live with stops being in a partnership
• a child, family member, or friend moves in or out of your home
  

You also need to tell us if:

• ​a lodger moves into your home. A lodger is someone who pays you money to live in a room in your home
• a student from outside Jersey moves into your home
• the youngest child living in your home turns 25
• ​an adult living in your home now has 5 years residency

You need to give us documents showing the change. Like a letter or email from:

• the person moving out of your home
  
• a parent telling you the address their child is moving to​
  
• the university of a student from outside Jersey
  

You need to tell us if you or someone you live with: 

• owns, buys or sells a home or land
• gets a big amount of money, like when a family member dies or an insurance payment
  

You also need to tell us if you or someone you live with:​​

• opens or closes a bank account, including online accounts like Revolut
• wants to change the way they get paid Income Support
• ​​needs a yearly check of the amount of money they have​

There is a limit on how much money you can have before it affects your Income Support payments.

Check the maximum amount allowed​.

You need to give us documents showing the change. This can be:

• letter from a lawyer about:
• the home or land you sold
• ​money you received from someone who died
• bank statements showing how much you got and spent​
  

​Pension is money you get from the government or a company to help you pay for things when you stop working.​

You need to tell us if you or someone you live with:

• stops working to retire and gets a pension
  
• starts to receive a pension other than the pension from the government, like from a job or savings account
  
• starts to receive more money from their pension
  

You need to give us documents showing the change. This can be a letter or email from:

• your job saying you stopped working​​​​
  
• the company that looks after your pension
  

We need to know about any pensions you get. This can be from:

• a job, including if you worked for the Government of Jersey
• a private pension you have paid money into
  
• a pension from another country
  

​You need to tell us if you or someone you live with:

• travels outside of Jersey
• goes to university outside of Jersey
  
• goes to hospital in the UK​
  

If someone is staying in hospital in the UK, you need to tell us: 

• their name
  
• date they went into hospital
  
• date they leave hospital
  

​We do not need ​​​​details about the hospital treatment.​

​You and anyone you live with can travel outside of Jersey for up to 28 days every year.

This can be 1 trip or many trips in a year.​​

​The year starts from the date you start receiving Income Support.

​You can check this by calling us.

 + 44 (0) 1534 444 444​​​

​You can receive less Income Support if you travel longer.​​​

​If you are going to the UK for medical treatment, you can stay outside of Jersey for more than 28 days.​

​If you are looking for work, you are not allowed to travel for 28 days. You can receive less money​​ if you travel.

Talk to your Back to Work advisor or find more information on Income Support: fail to look for work​.

You need to tell us if you or someone you live with: 

• leaves full-time school
• gets money to help them study
• does a job as part of their study
• goes or comes back from university​​
  

• ​is aged over 16 and start college or university
• is aged over 25 and studying at college
• received a form called the Income Support Education Update
  

You need to give us documents showing the change. This can be a letter:

• from a school or college
• showing the dates you are studying
• from Student Finance
  

You need to look for work if you come back from university for the summer.

You must tell us when you find a job.​​​

You need to tell us if you or someone you live with:

• needs to stay in hospital in Jersey or UK for 28 days or more
• starts caring for someone
• gets a form from their doctor (GP) to get help with paying for health costs. This is called a clinical costs form

You will need to tell us: 

• name of the person staying in hospital
• date they went into hospital
• ​​date they left hospital

You will receive the same amount of money if you need to go to hospital with:

• a child, one parent can go with them
  
• a person aged 75 and over
  
• ​​a sick person who the hospital said needs your support
  

You could get extra money​ if you have an illness or disability for more than 6 months.

Find details on Income Support: people with long term illnesses or disabilities​.

If you cannot work because you are in hospital, you could get money from the Short Term Incapacity Allowance (STIA)​.

STIA gives you money when you are off work.

You could get help to pay for emergency health costs, like paying for a dentist.

Find details on special payments: help with emergency costs​.

You could get carer’s benefits if you are the main carer for someone, like:

• the carer’s part of Income Support
• Home Carer’s Allowance​

​You could get less Income Support if you receive other benefits to help when you are sick.​

You need to tell us why if you want to stop receiving Income Support.

 If you do not tell us​ you could pay back money you received.​

​If this is because you are leaving Jersey, you can complete our online form to tell us you’re leaving the Island​.​​

Find details on leaving the Island for more than 3 months.

​​If you have any questions about Income Support, you can contact the Work and Family Team.

​To talk to someone face to face about Income Support you can: