Would this class as voluntarily giving up your job?

ceridwen

concerned43 wrote: »

Hi, why isn't your son already claiming JSA as he works less than 16 hours a week? he can work his 8 hours and claim JSA at the same time - they would however take a percentage of his wages when calculating his JSA but it would help if he claimed now before his job disappears as it would make things a lot easier for him when it does. I suggest he makes a claim for JSA now.

So - from this I guess the system these days says that a job these days doesnt have to be deemed full-time any more in order to be able to claim benefit if one loses it. It would appear that the DWP now have a "sliding scale" they never used to have back in my days of unemployment.

have I got this correct? That the way it works these days is that one is basically deemed to be eligible for benefit and they steadily remove it off you as your wage climbs towards benefit level. Once your wage reaches benefit level - then they stop paying benefit (?apart presumably from the odd £5 per week that is all anyone on benefit has been allowed to "earn" for years now as a childless person?).

In other words the system seems to have changed since my time from being based on "how many hours have you been working - it better be full-time" TO now being "how much income do you get from the job - it better be less than JSA"?? Does that sum up how things now are?

seven-day-weekend

Yes, that is about it ceridwen. You can sign on if you work under 16 hours..

concerned43

anyone working less then 16 hours per week can sign on and keep £20 of their wages per week + their benefits. It also means that their NI will be paid for them and therefore it is in their interest to sign on.

ceridwen

Oh right - I thought the £20 "keeping" figure was just if one has child/ren - but that childless people can only keep £5 per week??

Do people that have a job that is just a few hours a week get the hassle that the DWP give claimants - or do they get regarded as having a job and the DWP stay "off their back" and only expect a signature once a fortnight (ie not having to provide all sorts of evidence of looking for a job here/going on their "training courses" there).

concerned43

The DWP don't (in my experience) come down heavy on those who have a p/t job -they will of course try and get them into full time employment if they can, however normally those in p/t work are not taking money from the public purse and that's what job centres care about.