Can I sell on benefits?

The benefits system is complex. It's a set of overlapping initiatives and rules dating back to the 1911 National Insurance Act. But, in principle, it allows some claimants to do small amounts of work and keep the proceeds on top of their benefits for a set period. This recognises the value of starting to do some work as a first step off welfare.

The rules depends on what benefit you are recieving. If there's any doubt about your circumstances, speak to your advisor. But, very, very broadly, this is the situation:

Incapacity Benefit: with permission, you can work up to 16 hours a week at minimum wage for up to 6 months (which can be extended)
Income Support: you may earn up to ￡20 a week with permission from your advisor
Job Seekers Allowance: you are expected to be looking for conventional work solidly so no hours can be sold without loss of benefits, unless you are a lone parent in which case you may earn up to ￡20

Slivers-of-Time markets offer an "Hours Limiter", a box that allows you say "I must not work more than X hours a week". This lets you list lots of availability without accidentally doing so much work one week that you immediately lose your right to claim. This can be devastating if there is far less work on offer in following weeks.

Other issues

workers benefits Although the broad principles encourage you to start doing odd bits of legitimate work, there are some other issues to watch out for.

Secondary Benefits: the application of Housing Benefit, Council Tax benefit and school meals benefit vary across the country. If you loose your status as claimant it can take weeks to get it back. If you regularly recieve one of these payments you should check with an advisor about the consequences of doing a small amount of work.
Reporting: you may be expected to report all work done to your JobcentrePlus advisor who then has to fill in a form each time. There may be some rolling of eyes over the paperwork if you're doing 2-3 irregular hours a week, but that doesn't mean you're not within your rights. Advisors may be willing to accept a print out of your "My Bookings" screen for the record.
Subjective judgment: DWP regulations leave room for staff to make judgments about your work situation, particularly around amortization. (Your ability to bundle several weeks worth of work up for assessment so that, even if you exceeded ￡20 last week, your earning can be averaged over a few weeks before deciding if you've exceeded the limit.) Again, it may be worth checking what the policy is locally.

We're sorry the situation can't be simpler. But the benefits system is complex and didn't foresee this highly fragmented way of trying out work with multiple employers. Work is in hand on ways of allowing automated reporting and calculation of benefits within these markets.