Job seekers RANT!! (new here)

beccam

HI all, I'm new to this site but had to offload! (might not be the right place to do it so sorry in advance!)

My husband was made redundant at the beginning of September, he got an OK amount of redundancy payment and his company did the best they could to help out with finding new work.
After he finished work he went to local Jobs&Benefits who said they were busy and couldn't see him til end of Sept, he goes back again and they asked him to come back the following Fri to sign on, we were going away on hols that week (booked & paid for before we found out about redundancy) so he was told he can't claim when out of the country, come back after hols. Went back again next week and told sorry system has changed you need to re register etc etc soonest appointment is 22nd Oct!
So 2 months after being made redundant still no actual benefit payment has been made!

THEN!! (sorry i've alot to get off my chest)
Hub has been offered some PT work, 15hrs a week, thinking he can work up to 16hrs/week and still be entitled to benefit. When we went to discuss with J&B office they say no, he will be earning too much and therefore not entitled to benefit, just to clarify he will be earning £97 per week before tax!

We have a mortgage, bills like everyone else and a 3yr old child, his income was vital to us and how anyone is expected to live on £60/week benefit is beyond me, then when a person tries to support his family by getting PT work they are penalized! They wonder why so many people commit benefit fraud by 'doing the double', prehaps because they have no choice??
We aren't entitled to any further help because I work 'too many hours' I work PT but over 24hrs a week so therefore in their eyes I am earning enough to support us all!!

It makes me so angry knowing that some people just live on benefits and get everything paid for them and claim every benefit there is while someone who is just having a hardtime trying to find new work gets no help whatsoever!

Again apologies but had to rant!! :mad:

bestpud

Welcome to MSE!

I understand your frustration but JSA is paid to people who are available for work - if your OH is working 16 hours, then he is not available for work.

Are you able to increase your hours temporarily?

And he will be better off taking the part time work (I'd have thought) as it is more money and his CV will look better if he keeps working. Unless it will interfere with him finding work/attending interviews etc?

FWIW, I tend to think people who commit fraud by working on the side are lifetime claimers, not people in your position. And for that reason, they are not people who need to and they do have a choice!

I can see you are annoyed, and likely worried sick too, but hopefully this will be temporary and you do at least have money coming in, and the payout to help. (Just trying to point out the positives)

Have you had a look at the other boards, to see if you can reduce your outgoings at all? Also, it may be worth contacting creditors to see if you can reduce any payments for the time being?

Sorry I can't be any more help than that - hopefully someone else will have better advice. I hope thing improve soon for you.

mcc28_x

Hi,

I presume that you claim Child Tax Credits and have updated Inland Revenue with your new circs - small possibility of Working Tax Credits topping up your wage?

Mark

Gemmzie

If you have a child, then surely you get child tax credit?

beccam

bestpud wrote: »

Welcome to MSE!

I understand your frustration but JSA is paid to people who are available for work - if your OH is working 16 hours, then he is not available for work.
.

But the problem is he is available for work, the job is 15hr/week as a church caretaker, he can do the hours whenever he wants (3hrs/day or 7hrs in one day) it is also only a temporary measure as he will still be actively seeking full time employment. (i.e jobseeking!)

We get £10.45/week in child tax credits and have already rung tax credits people to see if we are now eligible for more, they say they cannot adjust tax credits until he has got his 1st payment from JSA, which we are still waiting on!!

I'm not able to increase my hours although I may have to do some agency work if needs be, at the minute I'm actually off work sick but thats a whole other story and just an extra worry (half pay for me).

I just get very frustrated by the whole system and the fact that £60/week is the same for everyone, a 17yr old living at home with no bills or a father/husband homeowner etc etc.

Sorry I did say it was a rant....no one can reason with me right now!!! (joke)

mcc28_x

beccam wrote: »

But the problem is he is available for work, the job is 15hr/week as a church caretaker, he can do the hours whenever he wants (3hrs/day or 7hrs in one day) it is also only a temporary measure as he will still be actively seeking full time employment. (i.e jobseeking!)

It's not his availability that is the problem, it is his earnings that is nilling JSA. So long as he works less than 16 hrs per week and completes B7's gives proof of earnings and signs each fortnight, the JSA claim will stay open. Not much help but his NI stamp is being paid if he does this.

Mark

[Deleted User]

When you tell TCO that he is on JSA you need to make sure to tell them if it is contributions based or income based.

KimYeovil

The two of you earn at least £1013 per month (minus tax plus child credit) from two part-time jobs but you think your husband should be entitled to Jobseeker's allowance of more than £0.00?

In what way are you being penalised? Very strange.

Mrs_Ryan

I used to work PT (4 hours per week, a Saturday job) and I still got JSA when I got kicked out of uni - they knew about it as well, it was properly declared and documented. Not the full amount, but I never had a problem.

Boppy_2

Even if he was allowed to do up to 16 hours and still sign on, he wouldn't be entitled to anymore money because the amount he earns doing 15 hours is more than the government states you need to live on.

beccam

KimYeovil wrote: »

The two of you earn at least £1013 per month (minus tax plus child credit) from two part-time jobs but you think your husband should be entitled to Jobseeker's allowance of more than £0.00?

In what way are you being penalised? Very strange.

I didn't say we were being penalised, I said the system is flawed as the same amount is given to every person regardless of the circumstance. It is also flawed as the have yet to make a payment after 2 months, it is aswell we aren't relying on it to feed our child!

Also I don't know what your circumstances are as you have neglected to say but how many people do you know who are 1st time home owners, parents paying for nursery and on ocassion child care (so we can work!) who can survive on just over £1000/month?? I obviously havent been round this site long enough to know all the tricks of the trade!!