JSA - Going on Holiday

tameside

I was a bit confused to learn that if a person on Jobseekers allowance (JSA) goes on holiday in Great Britain they don't have to sign off. If a person is on JSA and goes on holiday abroad they have to sign off.

Surely with us all having the right to seek employment throughout Europe it could be argued that a jobseeker is just as likely (or unlikely) to be seeking employment whether holidaying in Britain or Europe.

NO, I'm not unemployed, on JSA or any other benefit.

I expect lots of comments about jobseekers shouldn't be able to afford holidays etc. but would ask people not too. The people I know who are going abroad booked and paid for their holidays earlier in the year when they were in full employment. They didn't choose to be unemployed but were recently made redundant.

dmg24

If you feel strongly about it, then do something constructive towards change.

shelly

I believe the reasoning behind it is that if you are on holiday in the UK you are asked to sign a declaration before going that you are willing to come home should the JCP get you an interview.
If you are in the UK this requirement is possibly more easily and cheaper to fulfill than having to contact you abroad then expect you to pay for earlier flights home.

red_devil

tameside wrote: »

I was a bit confused to learn that if a person on Jobseekers allowance (JSA) goes on holiday in Great Britain they don't have to sign off. If a person is on JSA and goes on holiday abroad they have to sign off.

Surely with us all having the right to seek employment throughout Europe it could be argued that a jobseeker is just as likely (or unlikely) to be seeking employment whether holidaying in Britain or Europe.

NO, I'm not unemployed, on JSA or any other benefit.

I expect lots of comments about jobseekers shouldn't be able to afford holidays etc. but would ask people not too. The people I know who are going abroad booked and paid for their holidays earlier in the year when they were in full employment. They didn't choose to be unemployed but were recently made redundant.

Its a stupid rule and has recently been discussed on here. Its abit like the only able to earn £5 while on Jsa which has never changed. Outdated and unfair.

red_devil

dmg24 wrote: »

If you feel strongly about it, then do something constructive towards change.

what do you suggest, do you think writing to your Mp would really change things for all.

dmg24

red_devil wrote: »

what do you suggest, do you think writing to your Mp would really change things for all.

It would do more good than posting on here! Maybe the OP could make some suggestions, after all, I am not the one that thinks the system needs to change.

tameside

No disrespect but my first move WAS to write to my MP. He is 'looking into it'. Just thought I'd see what a post on here would throw up.

The argument about you being able to come home from holiday if the jobcentre finds you a job is a bit weak too. You could get home from most of Europe in a matter of a few hours. About the same time it would take me to get to Manchester from Scotland or Brighton.

Like I said I have no 'vested' interest in this but I do like to see fair play.

John (a taxpayer with compassion and sympathy for the majority of unemployed people)

annie123

when my DS lost his job we had already booked a weekend break in the UK.
He had to prove that he was in reasonable traveling distance to return if an interview opportunity arose. We were 2 hours away at centre parks.
If a break does not clash with the signing on date, he was told he did not have to inform them.

If we were going abroad (please remember unemployed people may have booked before they lost their jobs, and you can have savings too whilst being unemployed) I would not have expected him to be entitled to jsa.
If he were to get a call for an interview he would not have come back home for it, nor would he have been looking for work abroad.

But I do think that housing benefit/council tax exemptions should be paid, no gain to anyone to get into arrears and down the road to being homeless.

red_devil

tameside wrote: »

No disrespect but my first move WAS to write to my MP. He is 'looking into it'. Just thought I'd see what a post on here would throw up.

The argument about you being able to come home from holiday if the jobcentre finds you a job is a bit weak too. You could get home from most of Europe in a matter of a few hours. About the same time it would take me to get to Manchester from Scotland or Brighton.

Like I said I have no 'vested' interest in this but I do like to see fair play.

John (a taxpayer with compassion and sympathy for the majority of unemployed people)

While your at it can you ask why people on Jsa are only allowed to earn £5. The rule has been around for years. There would be uproar if benefits in general and wages had risen for many years. Why is it ok to still say people on JSa can only earn a paltry £5.