Claiming JSA and declaring paid work done

BitterAndTwisted

Sincere apologies for wasting anyone's time by asking this question but I've searched the forum and trawled though all of the JSA threads I could find:


Several weeks ago I was offered and accepted three day's temp work at 7 hours a day from Wednesday to Friday of the same week. The next time I went to my signing appointment I declared that I had done the work, took with me my time-sheet and payslip which they photocopied and then signed-on etcetera in the usual way.

Now I am aware and accept that any monies I earned would be taken into account when calculating my entitlement to that week's or fortnight's JSA. I asked at the time how much I should expect to lose of that week's or fortnight's entitlement but received an "I don't know".

My questions are:

How long do they normally take to do this calculation-deduction? As obviously like everyone else receiving benefits I'm juggling outgoings like mad and need to plan.

Are the deductions calculated on a week's or a fortnight's JSA or some other period as I have no idea whether I'll be left with any JSA at all or for how long it might be stopped.

Should I expect to receive any written notification about how their calculations are arrived at as I have received none to date, over a month after having done and been paid for this work.

busy_mom_2

You worked a total of 21 hours? Your claim will be closed for working more than 16, JCp should of advised you of this as you will need to make a rapid reclaim. Works better for you as you will keep all of they wages.

BitterAndTwisted

I don't believe they have closed my claim yet and I wasn't advised that they would. I have signed-on twice since I declared the wages and received the full-two week's JSA for those two weeks since.

Do you think I should have had my claim closed immediately and that they should have advised me of this when I declared the wages?

busy_mom_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I don't believe they have closed my claim yet and I wasn't advised that they would. I have signed-on twice since I declared the wages and received the full-two week's JSA for those two weeks since.

Do you think I should have had my claim closed immediately and that they should have advised me of this when I declared the wages?

What normally happens is when you sign you declare what you have done is last 2 weeks, so if you sign on a thursday you week would be friday to thursday, then repeat. So what work you do in each week is recorded, more than 16 hours between friday and thursday and claim should close, if hours were less than 16 you record the hours you worked but they deduct from your benefit the week you actually get paid.
Make sense? it confusing even explaining it.

tr82

Many Job Centre staff aren't benefit trained. They don't have to be. Benefits are calculated at the BDC's instead.

Claims should be closed if the customer is working 16 hours per week or more on average. That's how remunerative work is defined.

I don't think the OP can therefore be classed as being in remunerative work so I'd hope that instead of closing the claim that they instead look at the OP's earnings for the work done ... and simply not pay out for that week and deduct an NI credit if appropriate ... but keep the claim open.

That'd save an awful lot of paperwork and would be the most straightforward thing to do. But that might make too much sense.

BitterAndTwisted

I'm hoping to God that that is what they're going to do, eventually. It would be nice to know whether I'm going to lose one or two week's JSA by doing this paid work and when.

n.b. my signing day is on Mondays and I declared having done the work on the Monday immediately after receiving my pay-slip but before I actually received the money for it. Not that it would matter.

unemployedJCP

Jobcentre Plus are so lame - Why would they end someones claim solely because they work a part time job where ocassionally exceeds over 16 hours?

A lot of these people who sign on yet do hours such as that are people with zero hour contracts. Having to do a rapid reclaim all the time seems OTT especially when they have been honest about declaring such work. The person signing on wouldn't be receiving a penny... and it just increases the costs of admin the rapid reclaim.

Then there is the £5 disregard you can earn a week without affecting benefits - although they didn't realise that the adult NMW is higher than that. Seems a bit tight that the 80p will be deducted if someone worked just one hour a week.

busy_mom_2

unemployedJCP wrote: »

Jobcentre Plus are so lame - Why would they end someones claim solely because they work a part time job where ocassionally exceeds over 16 hours?

A lot of these people who sign on yet do hours such as that are people with zero hour contracts. Having to do a rapid reclaim all the time seems OTT especially when they have been honest about declaring such work. The person signing on wouldn't be receiving a penny... and it just increases the costs of admin the rapid reclaim.

Then there is the £5 disregard you can earn a week without affecting benefits - although they didn't realise that the adult NMW is higher than that. Seems a bit tight that the 80p will be deducted if someone worked just one hour a week.

JCp are not lame , we are trying to help if we just said here fill in form we will send it off then 2 weeks later a benefit processor goes' oh more than 16 hours' closes claim jobseeker finds out another 2-3 days later, he then has to make rapid reclaim which benefit processor refuses to backdate. Yea we are very lame.

Waste a little more of your time by writing to your MP, we do not make the rules we purely follow em.

von

Whether you are treated as in remunerative work depends on what day you sign on e.g. if you sign on a Wednesday you will be treated as having worked part time and your claim will not be closed because you would have worked for 14 hours in the first week i.e. benefit week would be thurdsay to wednesday, and 7 hours per week in the second week. Your wages should have been taken into account in the benefit week in which you received them - or the BDC could average the 21 hours over the 2 weeks. I think what has probably happened is the wages haven't been taken into account and you have been overpaid - you should keep the copy of the B7 you completed at the Jobcentre in case you receive a letter asking you to repay the overpayment (this could be a few months away) at which stage you can produce the B7 and say it wasn't your fault as you declared your earnings properly.