Out of work for 6 month

thornbridge · 3 July 2009 at 11:04PM

My lad is unemployed and has been for 5 months now he is 20 and only had one job since leaving collage at the age of 18 from a bricklaying 2 year course that led to nothing.He then got a job which lasted 15 months before been laid off so has been on job seekers since December. I think he gets around £49 a week. I have heard that if you are on job seekers for more than 6 months your benefits are stopped or you go on some other benefit is this true.

I'm not up with all the benefit jargon as i have never been in the unfortunate position to have to claim it could anyone clarify this

judy2357 · 3 July 2009 at 11:07PM

thornbridge wrote: »

My lad is unemployed and has been for 5 months now he is 20 and only had one job since leaving collage at the age of 18 from a bricklaying 2 year course that led to nothing.He then got a job which lasted 15 months before been laid off so has been on job seekers since December. I think he gets around £49 a week. I have heard that if you are on job seekers for more than 6 months your benefits are stopped or you go on some other benefit is this true.

I'm not up with all the benefit jargon as i have never been in the unfortunate position to have to claim it could anyone clarify this

From what you say I would think he is on Job Seekers Allowance income based and not JSA contribution based. Therefore his benefit will continue after 6 months. Perhaps someone else will confirm.

thornbridge · 3 July 2009 at 11:19PM

Not sure Judy as i said I'm not one to know about these benefits. That's fine then if his benefits continue as he doesn't have two half pennies to his name as it is allready can't afford clothes or anything so me and o.h are feeling the squeeze as we are buying extra toiletries and cloths for him

Meepster · 4 July 2009 at 1:57AM

Unemployed and buying clothes? Sorry to sound unsympathetic, but as someone who has also been unemployed for quite a while (coming up to 5 months) I can't buy new clothes, I have to wear the clothing I already own! Maybe if he had budgeted properly and realised the severity of not having any money, he would have lived to his means and then been able to afford his own toiletries. He's getting £49 per week so he should buy the things he NEEDS and if he has any money left over, he should buy the things he WANTS. Yes, I know it's a crap situation to be in, but that's life...

Delboy24 · 4 July 2009 at 10:43AM

Is this the old age arguement of stay on the benefit cash cow as long as we can, am sure even somewhere like McD's, Burger King could offer him something if the issue is not working - or is it a case of how much money he can get while he makes his mind up about what he wants to do in life??

Why doesn't he try and get a placement on a social enterprise scheme which supports people in his "position" who cant get jobs as young unemployed - am sure even the Job Centre could have sorted him something by now after six months or is he being "selective" when being offered jobs?

CALGACUS · 4 July 2009 at 1:28PM

I agree with judy 2357 - I think that since he hasn't contributed enough payments through employment to qualify for contribution-based JSA he will continue to get what he is currently receiving, which will be income based JSA.

I would recommend that you visit an organisation such as the Citizens Advice Bureau though if you still have doubts!

Once your son has been unemployed for six months there are a number of extra training opportunities that kick-in. Has your son given any thought to attending local courses, etc. that might help him increase his skillset?
Your local JobCentre Plus will probably have details of what courses are available in your area. In addition, if he is only twenty, then gaining funding of some kind for an HNC/HND or even a degree is surely not out of the question?

It stinks to be unemployed (I know, I've been in the same boat for eight months now) but at twenty your son is of an age when he can use the opportunity to improve his career prospects for the future, when the current financial situation has improved. I would thoroughly recommend that he (or you) investigate what training he is entitled to, and he feels happy to join.

The CAB is always a good place to start,

Best wishes.

p00hsticks · 4 July 2009 at 4:43PM

thornbridge wrote: »

I have heard that if you are on job seekers for more than 6 months your benefits are stopped or you go on some other benefit is this true.

Just to expand on what others have said -

There are two types of Job Seekers Allowance - Contributions Based JSA(C) and income based JSA (I)

To qualify for JSA(C) you have to have made sufficient NI contributions over two qualifying years. If you have then you will be entitled to JSA(C) for a period of six months, regardless of your circumstances.

If you do not qualify for JSA(C), or if your six months of JSA(C) has finished and you are still unemployed, then you MAY be entitled to JSA(I). There is no time restriction on this, but it is means tested, so whether you get it / how much you get will depend on your particular circumstances (for example, if you have savings or a partner that works).

As others have said, from what you describe it sounds like your son won't have made enough contributions to have started on JSA(C) and so will already be getting JSA(I).

annie123 · 4 July 2009 at 9:42PM

your son will go onto new deal now:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/outofworkhelplookingforwork/Getting_job_ready/Programmes_to_get_you_ready/New_Deal/New_Deal_for_Young_People/index.html

if he refuses to take part they will stop his money, if he does take part he will still get his money.

I would recommend that he goes back to college in September, courses are free if you're unemployed and if not more that 15 guided learning hours a week he will still be able to sign on whilst studying, providing he is willing to leave the course should he get offered a job.
Do make sure he looks for part time work too, sometimes young people, I have found only think to look for full time.

he needs to keep busy which looks better on a CV, just one day a week doing voluntary work is good.

Dont let him become dependent on jsa, easy to do at a young age.

thornbridge · 6 July 2009 at 3:45PM

Annie123 Hi He is looking at the possibility of going back to college in September. At present he has sent off around a dozen application forms to the various company's that he is trained for unfortunately he rarely gets a reply but he has had 2 interviews which he was unsuccessful due to the sheer volume of people who applied and where more experienced than he.

Mwillets
When i said buying clothes it's a pair of jeans and some underwear, you know the things you have to have when you only have one pair of jeans already.

You state you have been unemployed 5 months which is around the same time scale as him yet you say you can't afford new clothes. sorry but you have contradicted yourself there. Where was your budgeting for the future?

Delboy.

Are you for real about how much he can make before he makes up his mind what to do.

And your sure even the job centre would have offered him a job by now. He goes fortnightly and the interviewer says okay go now because we have nothing on the jobs front. The job centre has offred him one job which was for 2 days a week 20 miles out of town take travalling costs and pack up into account and he would have been working for nothing.

Delta-NC · 6 July 2009 at 4:39PM

mwilletts wrote: »

Unemployed and buying clothes? Sorry to sound unsympathetic, but as someone who has also been unemployed for quite a while (coming up to 5 months) I can't buy new clothes, I have to wear the clothing I already own!

Not to be funny, but clothes wear out, clothes need replaced. Why are you assuming that he is buying luxury designer clothing when it was never implied?

I have been unemployed for two years. I have 4 tshirts, two pairs of trousers and a pair of shorts to my name! I've never bought an item of clothing myself that cost more than £20. Yet I cannot afford to replace them despite the fact they are worn and ragged.

My mum last week bought me some new pairs of trousers and I could not refuse the offer because the trousers I had where near enough crotchless!

Delboy24 wrote: »

... am sure even the Job Centre could have sorted him something by now after six months or is he being "selective" when being offered jobs?

When was the last time you where at a job center? They don't do jack crap to help people find work. It's simply a place people are forced to go to so they can be patronised, treated like crap, and sign a piece of paper.

Are you seriously trying to suggest that you could live a life of luxury on £45 a week? It's not fun in the slightest.

Delta-NC · 6 July 2009 at 4:49PM

I was walking around in these for weeks!

Out of work for 6 month

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