A heart attack robbed mother-of-two Sue Parker of six months of her working life.

Now a Government loophole in the way tax credit is handed out is compounding her misery. The lone parent is furious after being told she does not qualify for the new tax credit for low income families - despite fitting all the criteria.

Sue, 45, of Blandy Avenue, Abingdon, has two children, Jack, 13, and Suzette, ten. She is among those people the new Working Families Tax Credit was introduced to help. A heart attack in February left Mrs Parker, an administrator at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, unable to work. When she returned last month she remained contracted to work a full 37-hour week, and returned to work gradually, a few days at a time.

Government officers refused her tax credit because she was not physically at work for a week in the period for which she applied.

Mrs Parker has written to the Prime Minister to complain.

She said: "After 30 years' working while raising two children, it is an insult. The cash would be of great help, but my family is being denied. How many more families are losing out?" According to the Tax Credit Office helpline, even though someone is officially contracted to work, if they admit to being off sick or on annual leave during that period, their claim is affected.

A tax credit officer said: "Being paid or unpaid makes no difference. It is the actual hours physically worked that we have to consider."

Story date: Thursday 21 October

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