How much can you earn on top of JSA

ceridwen

Hmmm....people who could move for work:

Those young enough to still be living with parents - nope. Not them. They couldnt afford such a hike in housing costs.

Those in public sector rented accommodation - nope. Not them either - as who would pay the moving costs for their furniture, etc and anyway - what if they couldnt get a transfer

Those in their own homes - nope. Not them either - as the costs and hassle involved in selling one house/moving/buying another would be too horrendous to contemplate at even the best of times - unless one chooses to oneself.

Think that only leaves those living in private rented accommodation - and even some of them couldnt move, as they would be too settled into life where they were and/or some months to run still on their tenancy agreement.

That doesnt actually leave very many people at all that actually could move - unless they have their own "personal" reasons for choosing to move anyway.

All this - without even beginning to take into account friendships/any special relationships/etc they have where they are and the fact that some people arent the sort to move to a new area and instantly within weeks have a whole new social circle of people/have made themselves at home generally within the area. Others are outgoing enough to rapidly settle in - but are of a more "alternative" frame of mind of one type or another and therefore need to live in an area where there is a reasonable number of likeminded people around and are currently living in such an area - but a proposed new job isnt in their sort of area.

Jobs revolve around lives - not lives around jobs after all (unless one is a dedicated careerperson and following the career of one's choice and doesnt actually want it any other way).

ukdickie31

Just for the record..

After 6 months of being unemploed, a Jobseeker cannot place restrictions on where they will work or what they are willing to do.

The Jobseekers Agreement should not have any restrictions in it regarding the area where jobs are sought or the type of work being sought.

Decision makers would expect a Jobseeker to be available for any work that they are CAPABLE of doing. There would also be an expectation that the travel to work area must be 90 minutes each way.

The Decison makers would have to consider the availibility of public transport and I would think the costs involved as well.

A day tick to London from midlands may be a journey of 90 minutes but at a cost of well over £50,, possibly approaching £100 in peak times. Not Reasonable.

Whereas a 90 minute well serviced bus journey may just be a day ticket costing a £3. Would be reasonable.

Lots of factors to consider... no simple answers, but the wages paid are not a consideration. If the wage is legal, then there is a valid vacancy to apply for.

Butterfliesarepretty

I have been signing on since end of april 08 and I fill my book in every fortnight with the jobs I have applied for and agencies I have joined and the in, interviews. I have worked in mcr for 22 years and am now 41. Travelling to mcr every day the petrol cost on a £16,500 wage put me a few thousand in debt after paying all my bills and my csa payments to my daughter I was left with £150 for the month for food, going out etc. My wish is to work in my hometown, there are jobs there I just can't get them, other towns are radcliffe, rochdale and bolton. applying for jobs £2,000 less than my old wage. Just waiting for a temp position now. Very scared about having no money left to pay bills. I constantly apply online, papers etc and done new cv - what more can I do?

So in november I guess I should expect the job centre to say, right you have to apply for jobs further out.
I could not face travelling to mcr again, its so tiring and stressful.
We should all be able to choose to work in our hometowns.
Bring back all the cotton mills!

ukdickie31

Not disputing what you have said about the travel, costs etc, but thats what the JC could ask for.

Another solution could be to look at what you are capable of doing and apply for those jobs as well as the better jobs being advertised.

Tax credits does bump up the household income if earnings are below a certain level and these may be a factor in deciding if the wages can be lived on.

dragonfly2008

ceridwen wrote: »

I really seriously question whether it IS 80 miles radius or no - I dont think that can be accurate as its so wildly unrealistic.

Unfortunately i can assure you its true, i had the same reaction when they told me. For the first few weeks they say you should be willing to travel upto 1 hour by public transport. Then after 8 weeks or so you have another interview where they increase everything, like 'willing' to apply for jobs within an 80 mile radius, travailing time on public transport (cant remember what that was, maybe 90 minutes) etc .

It made me actually laugh how they just rolled '80 radius' off the tongue. I argued the obvious points but its just something that is a 'condition' . I didn't take it seriously, working that distance is completely unrealistic, i just said yes and moved on.

When you go to this interview they are quite proactive if you know what i mean, quite aggressive in their approach. I mean they must deal with some right down and outs that have no intention of getting a job, they get stuck in that mind set sometimes i think.

I just apply for jobs that i can realistically get to, make a note of them and take it in with me when i sign on. Then they can't have the gall of doubting you're looking for a job and you can just get in and out as it saves time.

ceridwen

Crikey!:eek: 'Tis true then?! Whew!

I see what you mean about they must get some right "down and outs" in - I'm sure they do get people who wouldnt apply for a job if it was on their doorstep and ticked all the other boxes - I have met one or two of them.

Well - the only approach is - as you say - to agree to everything and then only ask for the "reasonable" jobs.

The paperwork sounds a lot more hassle these days - keeping a file of theirs re jobs applied for.

I recall back in my day (years and years ago now) that I had two categories of jobs I applied for - ie the ones I was REALLY applying for and the other ones I was applying for. Unfortunately - though I'm hardly in a specialist area or living in the back of beyond - there werent vast numbers of jobs that I could REALLY apply for - so I had to bump up the tally with asking for other jobs I wouldnt realistically take. I found one (in the "reasonable" category) eventually - it did take months - even though I was trying all sorts to get a job (I can recall walking in on a conversation between my parents at the time - where my mother was talking about me and saying "Its such a shame she hasnt got a job yet - shes trying so hard" - so - yep - I really was trying.)

Employers too cant be very happy about having to sift through loads of applications for pretty much any job they advertise - wondering how they are supposed to tell which are the "real" job applications (ie the person will take the job if offered it) and the "makebelieve" job applications.

I seem to recall back then that I had to apply for jobs a noticeable distance away/any day of the week/any wage/I believe I had to be prepared to work evenings - so I had to say I agreed to all that. In actual fact - I stuck to my own work conditions - which are to only work during work hours (ie not evenings/weekends/bank holidays) and my maximum distance away I was "really" asking for was 12 miles (as I have to rely on public transport and the attendant expensive costs of to work more than say 2 miles from my home).
It is ridiculous having to lie in effect. I dont expect people to avoid jobs just because they are boring/badly-paid - thats what I've had to take myself and still got:cool: - but 80 miles!!!!!

<goes off wondering what planet the D.W.P. personnel live on>

PasturesNew

I understood that they'd changed the travel to work time to being 1.5 hours a few years back. And I've always wondered how many people could afford the travel.

I am going for an interview tomorrow that is about an hour by public transport - but then there's the walking either end that adds to the time. It'd cost me £90/week I believe. You have to be earning a lot of money to be able to afford that. And moving for many wouldn't be an option for a long time because of having to save up the £1000 or so it costs to secure a new small rented place and then some small moving costs.

There are times when an individual's circumstances just don't fit into the neat tick boxes.

ceridwen

PasturesNew - thats sheer lunacy then for DWP to think people could spend 3 hours per workday commuting. Gawd! £90 per week for the journeying to/from where you are having an interview. Crikey! Quite apart from the time element - that would have to be a very well-paid job to cover those sort of travelling costs. For the sort of low salary I am on I couldnt even contemplate paying out anything remotely like that on fares - even though my mortgage has finished - so nowt needed for rent or mortgage. So heaven help anyone who still has rent or mortgage to pay. I'd have about £600 left per month after those sort of travel costs - out of which I'd have to pay bills and Council tax before I could even start to live - so it would leave me very short of money. For those paying rent/mortgage still - they couldnt even eat properly if throwing away that sort of money on fares. I presume from that they really seriously expect people to move if need be if they got a job that far away - and, as you say, it aint that easy even if one is in private rented accommodation.

I presume this is a make-believe job application then - rather than a "real" one - that you are getting interviewed for. Well - I hope you get the result you want from that interview - whatever it is.

MrsTinks

Actually when I was younger I had a job paying about £10k a year and I had 90 minutes commute each way... The office was right down next to Heathrow and it meant I had to lave him before 6 otherwise I'd end up stuck in traffic so infact I was usually in an hour early - snoozed in my car and then went to work - otherwise I'd have been late thanks to the carpark that the M25 turns into...

And WHY did I do that? Because I knew eventually it would stand me in good stead when applying for jobs And I was right Lived of VERY little at the times - students probably ate better than me...

Savvy_Sue

emmalt wrote: »

Well at least it gets him out from under my feet :rotfl:

It does more than that, it makes it easier for him to get another job. He's done five hours work, and assuming he's done it well, if they have other work they'll probably offer it to him rather than take a risk on someone else. Plus the boss may have friends who need a reliable worker.

Is he well qualified for the kind of work he's applying for, or does he need to brush up any basic skills?