going on holiday while seeking jsa

dmg24

OP, where are you planning to go on holiday to?

Dave101t

ok you can have a holiday, in skegness, and the value is taken off your JSA when you return. oh sugar, im not a job centre worker so i cant do that!
noticed they are always 1 or 2 post-wonders, fair game in my mind.

ariarnia

Rikki wrote: »

People on benefits that can afford holidays abroad should consider themselves very lucky. It's not a right to be able to holiday abroad.
You are not available for work unless you are able to go for an interview / start work at short notice. You cannot get back from abroad at short notice so technically you are not available for work
If you holiday in this country you can return at any time when there is a job interview or to start work.

It can be much cheaper to holiday outside the uk than in the uk when you take into account last minute flights and airline deals and the general high cost of living in the uk.

If you don't drive then it can be just as hard to get back from a holiday 100 miles away as 300...

comradeguevara

dmwrightuk wrote: »

My friend could not afford a holiday abroad, however his parents took him away and paid for the holiday, which was all inclusive so he wouldnt need much money.
He had been out of work over a year and desperatly needed a break from the stress of constant knockbacks and no luck on the work front. So in my opinion people should be entitled to have a break and chill out. In case you hadnt noticed its very hard to get a job at the moment.
Just because your on benifits does not mean you dont deserve a holiday, especially if that person is still doing everything they can to find work.

moreover, the law, as it stands, specifically allows it. irrespective of personal opinions, morals, ethics or otherwise. seems its ok to milk the system but try to do things by the book and its an uphill struggle. dont see why its ok to holiday in GB but not somewhere sunny and warm- its quite possible to jump on a low cost carrier and return within 24 or 48 hours these days. not that one is going to be offered an interview, let alone a job, in the current climate...!!!

donnajunkie

comradeguevara wrote: »

the job seekers allowance regulations 1996 clearly state that one can be treated as actively seeking work if:

you advise the job centre you will not be looking for work in a period
AND you will be residing at an address other than your normal place of residence for at least 1 day

BUT subject to the proviso that this does not exceed 2 weeks in any 12 month period.

the manager of the job centre in preston tells me this is not the case because her guidance notes say so. to my mind an act of parliament overrides guidance notes which clearly need to be rewriten.

i would like to know of any cases where someone has either gone on holiday while claiming and not signed off or challenged such a decision and won. i know i am in the right on this one but it is time and effort to pursue it individually.

before i get attacked for being a lazy so and so trying to get holidays at the expense of the taxpayer, I am in my current predicament due to the actions of a few individuals at the home office (long story) and not through choice. i have retained savings (allowed by law while claiming benefit) to fund my break which i want for some much needed stress relief and to ease depression, not for a week of fun in the sun.

clearly if i pursue this, it wil help my cause if i am able to quote precedent cases. any feedback appreciated.

as far as i am aware you are allowed upto 2 weeks so long as it is within the uk. personally i have only had to tell them once about going away and had no problems. i go for short breaks fellwalking and try to arrange them around signing on. so i usually dont bother telling them when i go away.

Rikki

dmwrightuk wrote: »

My friend could not afford a holiday abroad, however his parents took him away and paid for the holiday, which was all inclusive so he wouldnt need much money.
He had been out of work over a year and desperatly needed a break from the stress of constant knockbacks and no luck on the work front. So in my opinion people should be entitled to have a break and chill out. In case you hadnt noticed its very hard to get a job at the moment.
Just because your on benifits does not mean you dont deserve a holiday, especially if that person is still doing everything they can to find work.

....and while they are abroad they don't need any money to live at home. So sign off and go abroad reclaim on their return.

We all deserve a holiday from our normal routines. Life gets many people down with the day to day struggles, making ends meet and low paid work. They don't have the luxury of having a holiday to relieve the stress and strains of their everyday life when things get too much.

Times are hard in finding work but leaving the country for two weeks means that job they really wanted may have come and gone.

Proc

comradeguevara wrote: »

moreover, the law, as it stands, specifically allows it. irrespective of personal opinions, morals, ethics or otherwise. seems its ok to milk the system but try to do things by the book and its an uphill struggle. dont see why its ok to holiday in GB but not somewhere sunny and warm- its quite possible to jump on a low cost carrier and return within 24 or 48 hours these days. not that one is going to be offered an interview, let alone a job, in the current climate...!!!

But this is the point; the law doesn't allow it. You say it's simple and you can just jump on a low-cost carrier? What if there's no flights? What if they get cancelled? What if you're in Australia? What if the flights are only weekly because it's a remote airport?

You also say that no one is going to be offered an interview/job in current climate. Reading these boards I can see literally hundreds of people who have been offered jobs in the last few weeks alone. With your "I deserve everything I'm so hard done by" attitude it's no wonder the offers aren't rolling in.

Rikki

comradeguevara wrote: »

moreover, the law, as it stands, specifically allows it. irrespective of personal opinions, morals, ethics or otherwise. seems its ok to milk the system but try to do things by the book and its an uphill struggle. dont see why its ok to holiday in GB but not somewhere sunny and warm- its quite possible to jump on a low cost carrier and return within 24 or 48 hours these days. not that one is going to be offered an interview, let alone a job, in the current climate...!!!

The unemployed can afford to jump on a low cost carrier and return. We really are paying them too much. :rotfl:

donnajunkie

dmwrightuk wrote: »

You can go on holiday in the uk for 2 weeks without signing off, u fill out a holiday form at the jobcentre and then you sign on the day you come back and then they release the money.
You need to put a place where you will be staying and phone number ect.ect.
If going abroad u have to sign off and recieve no pay, or you could just say your staying in this country and add a family members address and stick your mobile number in the contact details, like a friend of mine did when he went abroad.
I personally think its stupid that you can have a holiday but only in this country.
Hope this helps

it is restricted to the uk because there has to be a reasonable chance that you can get back urgently for an available job. it is stupid, i know.

comradeguevara

donnajunkie wrote: »

as far as i am aware you are allowed upto 2 weeks so long as it is within the uk. personally i have only had to tell them once about going away and had no problems. i go for short breaks fellwalking and try to arrange them around signing on. so i usually dont bother telling them when i go away.

seems thats the way forward. wait for them to pull me up on it then throw the book at them. its either deliberate lying to massage the unemployment figures or a serious training and interpretation of the law issue.