Contributions Based JSA - How Many Contributions?

PasturesNew

I can't claim this but have always wondered the answer.

When you sign on for contributions based JSA, they look back at the previous two whole tax years (?right?), so at the moment 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. They look to see if you've "made enough NI contributions" as an employee.

What are they looking for?
- a total amount in each tax year?
- X number of contributions in each tax year?

Or what?

NASA_2

The current years we assess on are 06/07 and 07/08. I'll go look for the LEL thingy.

First contribution condition

General

21067 To satisfy the first contribution condition1

1. the claimant must have paid Class 1 contributions for one of the last two
complete tax years before the beginning of the relevant benefit year and
2. contributions must have been paid before the week that the claimant claims
JSA and
3. the earnings factor from the earnings on which those contributions have been
paid or treated as paid must be at least 25 times the LEL for that tax year

(see DMG Appendix 1 to this Chapter).

General

21074 To satisfy the second contribution condition1

1. the claimant must have

1.1 paid Class 1 contributions or
1.2 been credited with earnings
for the last two complete tax years before the beginning of the relevant benefit year

and
2. the earnings factor from the earnings

2.1 on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as
being paid or
2.2 credited
must be at least 50 times the LEL for each of those last two complete tax years (see

DMG Appendix 1 to this Chapter).

Earnings at or below the LEL

21077 From 6.4.99

1. people who have earnings at or below the LEL and people who have earnings
above the LEL do not have to pay any contributions on earnings at or below
the LEL and

2. the earnings

2.1 on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as
paid, that did not exceed the UEL and
2.2 at or below the LEL
count towards satisfying the first contribution condition and second contribution
condition1.

1 JS Act 95, s 2(3A)

PasturesNew

ESA wrote: »

The current years we assess on are 06/07 and 07/08. I'll go look for the LEL thingy.

That's quite a significant amount of time behind...
Ta... *waits*

NASA_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's quite a significant amount of time behind...
Ta... *waits*

Its the last two full tax year before the current benefit year.

The benefit year runs from the first sunday in January so the last full tax year before that ended in April 2008.

See above for Contribution Conditions.

healy

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's quite a significant amount of time behind...
Ta... *waits*

It is so far behind because HMRC will not have all the tax and NI information for the tax year that ended in April for some time yet so they could not decide claims for that year.

PasturesNew

So somebody could be deemed as not having enough contributions if, say, they worked most of the time but had one month in the year that they weren't it seems like ... I bet many people have an odd bit here and there that they don't work but don't claim if they're changing jobs (e.g. tempin g) or if they just don 't sign on because they think they'll get something "soon".

Thanks.

NASA_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

So somebody could be deemed as not having enough contributions if, say, they worked most of the time but had one month in the year that they weren't it seems like ... I bet many people have an odd bit here and there that they don't work but don't claim if they're changing jobs (e.g. tempin g) or if they just don 't sign on because they think they'll get something "soon".

Thanks.

Yeah, but ignorance is no excuse, people need to look after themselves.

PasturesNew

ESA wrote: »

Yeah, but ignorance is no excuse, people need to look after themselves.

But if benefits aren't in your culture, it's possible to not know. Or to just assume you'd get nothing.

Like me, now, it might be that with the dates given above, if the rules had been different I might have qualified for benefits, but I'd have not known or even suspected that I might have been ... in a way, that was half why I asked the question of how many contributions.

There are many people used to fending for themselves that would just accept bits/bobs of times when they're not earning - yet not sign on just because it can take weeks/months to sort out a claim, by which time they'd be working again... you just don't bother.

I know I've never bothered. Even now, technically I could have qualified for WTC, except it's all way too complex to even go down that route, so you just get on with it and hope things work out in the long run ... and most single people over 25 etc etc haven't even heard of WTC or know they might qualify for it.