Unemployed - What to do next.

bass3k

Like very many at the moment I have been made unemployed. I lost my job the end of April and it has slowly begun to take its toll as my savings have dwindled. I have done the obvious,

- Tried to claim for job seekers allowance - I can not as I was a student just over a year ago and you need to be paying NI for 2 years to claim JSA

- Advised the working tax credit and child benefit people of my circumstances - My monthly payments have risen as a result.

- Signed up to agencies to try and find a job, been in touch with the job center to help me find a job and attended interviews. (Have in fact started to try and join a Nursing course in October which would sort a career out for me for life as it is something I want to do)

- I have got on to Halifax my bank, in the hope they can speed up my bank charge claim as I have no income at the moment and am facing trouble paying bills.

I think that covers all I have done to ensure I can pay my bills whilst I await a new job, but is there anything I am missing? Is there any advice you have for someone like me who is trying to come to grips with unemployment. I am married, but my wifes income, due to maternity leave, is about 9500 this tax year, next year it will be approx 12,000 our bills are not covered by her income alone and the tax credits/child benefit payments are helping massively to almost cover. The trouble is we are relying on family to help us at the moment and that is going to wear thin soon!

I have looked through this forum before signing up and can not really find anything that has all the information in one place so would really appreciate it if you guys could help me with a 1 stop shop for unemployment do's/don'ts and tips to survive until the day I get a job.

Thanks in advance and sorry if this is the wrong area, I can copy and paste it elsewhere if need be.

busy_mom_2

Sorry for your situation but also a little confused, were you working when you were a student? also what were you studying for?
If not how did you manage for income if that was only just a year ago?
What was your last job?
How long into maternity leave is your wife? If nearing the end is it a possibility she could return early if you are at home with the children?

bass3k

busy_mom wrote: »

Sorry for your situation but also a little confused, were you working when you were a student? also what were you studying for?
If not how did you manage for income if that was only just a year ago?
What was your last job?
How long into maternity leave is your wife? If nearing the end is it a possibility she could return early if you are at home with the children?

Sorry I didn't explain that very well, about a year and a half ago I was a student nurse, I left the course because we were having trouble affording it, got a job in insurance (first customer service, then went to sales, then underwriting in the same place) worked until April when I lost my job, am trying to see if I can get back into nursing again. You get a bursary on the course which would be enough for us to get by with wifes income + tc etc the trouble is its not taxed so I never paid any NI when I was on the course. My wife has a few months left yet before the end of the maternity, it is true that she can go back but she would be on the same amount unless she was able to get a lot of overtime.

Thanks for your response.

busy_mom_2

Ahh makes sense now, i would suggest your wife speaks to her employer before deciding to go back.
You probably won't qualify for income based jsa if she earns more than £100 per week, sorry.
You still need to sign on though to make sure you are getting your stamp credited and there are othe things you may qualify for ie training or adviser discretion fund when you do go back to work.
They can also offer support with jobseeking.
I wish you luck.

bass3k

busy_mom wrote: »

Ahh makes sense now, i would suggest your wife speaks to her employer before deciding to go back.
You probably won't qualify for income based jsa if she earns more than £100 per week, sorry.
You still need to sign on though to make sure you are getting your stamp credited and there are othe things you may qualify for ie training or adviser discretion fund when you do go back to work.
They can also offer support with jobseeking.
I wish you luck.

Thank you my family have been superb so far so its not all doom and gloom, if I get into university I will be :j but until then it is a bit concerning, I have lurked here for a while and thought I should see if there is anything I am missing advice on etc. Doubted there really would be as the site has it all there in black and white and I have done what I can, but I can only try and do more I guess.

Thanks again!

busy_mom_2

You need to look long term as well as short time so if the best prospects are for you to return to uni for long term career benefit, short term sacrafices don't seem so bad. You will in the long term be providing for your childrens future.
Again I wish you every success:wave:

slowandsteady_2

as an experienced health care worker is it possible to apply to the 'nurse bank' at your local hospital and do flexible shifts, or NHS Professionals, they've seen me through some hard times.
Also ive spent the whole of today ringing every single care home in my town for vacancies and ive got a job! Its not brilliant but it will pay the bills. A lot of them dont advertise and people are always leaving care homes. I am actually a qualified nurse but unwell so stepping down a grade or 2. With the experience you have you should be snapped up. Also private nursing agencies are very flexible and pay very well usually.
Just a thought, hope it helps you with some ideas

bass3k

slowandsteady wrote: »

as an experienced health care worker is it possible to apply to the 'nurse bank' at your local hospital and do flexible shifts, or NHS Professionals, they've seen me through some hard times.
Also ive spent the whole of today ringing every single care home in my town for vacancies and ive got a job! Its not brilliant but it will pay the bills. A lot of them dont advertise and people are always leaving care homes. I am actually a qualified nurse but unwell so stepping down a grade or 2. With the experience you have you should be snapped up. Also private nursing agencies are very flexible and pay very well usually.
Just a thought, hope it helps you with some ideas

That really could help!! Do you know if they would take me on? I did the foundation year of the adult diploma course before leaving midway through the 2nd year. When I go back the university are hoping to put me straight into the 2nd year but I have advised them my application is not Dependant on it, obviously I just want to be on the course I don't want to cause them hassle. They are looking into it for me, so I will either be the most trained first year or the catch up 2nd year come October haha. Would I be able to work bank like that? Or does it depend on the time frame I was away for etc. I will check this out thank you very much for your advice.

slowandsteady_2

From past experience when i was at uni a couple of people who stepped off even halfway through a year had to start back at the beginning of that year unfortunately. Suppose it depends on the uni?

As for working on Nurse bank, just ring your local hospital/hospitals (obviously dont know where you live but big cities usually have a good couple of hospitals) and get put through to recruitment and ask if you can apply to work on nurse bank as a healthcare asst. If they dont have their own nurse bank in house, they will either use NHS Professionals (just google them) or one particular agency (unlikely as too expensive) so just need to do a bit of ringing around, they will take you on a as a Band 2 usually. You will also get the usual in house training. Good way to keep up to date with whats going on too. I love it as generally you can pick when, where (huge 5 hospital trust where i am) and what hours within reason, i.e if they desperate you might be able to come a bit after start time of shift etc if they are short staffed.
www.jobs.nhs.uk is a good site too so try that out.

Sorry to go on just hope it helps you.

If you can then do carry on with your training, you can work extra shifts around uni classes if you wish. You may regret it if you dont. Or you may love working as an healthcare assistant who knows!

Good luck!

bass3k

What a superb reply, thank you very much!! Well I am moving nearer the university in a few weeks (Its peterborough) and they have a couple of hospitals as far as I know so it sounds like I could do just that. That has really reassured me, even when things are back on track if I need extra for something I can try the bank work, I wish I had known more about how to do that before!

slowandsteady_2

Yeah its incredibly flexible, thats the best thing, pays decent, and keeps you up to date. Plus can lead to jobs as a qualified if you work well, are reliable etc they will remember you further down the line. Might also give you an idea of what area you might like to work in when you qualify, cos you will be able to work in almost any speciality, and once you become a familiar face often you can just look at the ward off duty and pick your own shifts from those that are available and tell nurse bank and they will book you in for them, makes things easier for everyone. You should have no problem getting took on, its just all the usual boring form filling at first.
Hope it works for you!