Could I claim contributions based JSA if I get made redundant?

JodyBPM

I'm fairly likely to be made redundant in the next month or so.

I'm a part time worker 18hrs a week netting around £1000 a month, the second income for our family, and it will be missed. We will struggle on DH income alone, but I'm fairly sure that his income at around 30K pa it willl mean that we're not eligible for any income based benefits (rightly so).

Would I be entitled to 6 mnths JSA to buy myself some time to find another part time job. How much is it (around £60 pw?), and what restrictions will the Job Centre put on my choice of jobs? I really need something part time to fit around the children/childcare, but come September I will have more flexibility as both children will be at f/t school.

I don't need a job that pays as much as my old one, but will need to earn a few hundred each month just to help things tick over. We do have around £5k in savings, would that affect entitlement to cont based JSA?

Thanks for any help.

NASA_2

Over what period were you working?

JodyBPM

Since I left uni 15 odd years ago! I did have two breaks of mat leave, each with an unpaid six month section, but the last of those was about 3 years ago.

NASA_2

JodyBPM wrote: »

Since I left uni 15 odd years ago! I did have two breaks of mat leave, each with an unpaid six month section, but the last of those was about 3 years ago.

You probably should be entitled to JSA(C) then but you would have to apply to be absolutely sure.

dookar

You may have problems satisfying the availability condition.

JodyBPM

What is the availability condition? I would be available for work, but part time. Is there anything that states that you must be looking for fulltime work?

HappyMJ

It's the bit that says you must be available to work full time. You pick the hours when you agree the job seekers agreement with them so you could pick 16 hours on the weekend and 8 hours every weeknight. That may satisy the condition if you need to be at home with the kids while dh is at work. Whether there are any night jobs available doesn't matter it's just available at those times when dh is home.

dookar

JodyBPM wrote: »

What is the availability condition? I would be available for work, but part time. Is there anything that states that you must be looking for fulltime work?

Ordinarily you must be available for work full time. A person such as yourself with caring responsibilities, may restrict their hours to no fewer than 16 hours per week. but they must be available for any and all hours their caring responsibilities allow.

clb776

after really worrying about going to claim jsa cont based, i went and can only say i was pleasantly suprised! they dont ask many questions and as long as you are honest i really wouldnt worry! Contribution based is based purely on your ni conributions, so it doesnt matter how much your husband earns! (i think the first few weeks is £64.30 and then it goes down after a while to £45). Just be honest about what hours you can work! You are available for work, and you are looking!

clb776

and they classify over 16 hours as full time, but they wont tell u off for saying part time!

dookar

clb776 wrote: »

after really worrying about going to claim jsa cont based, i went and can only say i was pleasantly suprised! they dont ask many questions and as long as you are honest i really wouldnt worry! Contribution based is based purely on your ni conributions, so it doesnt matter how much your husband earns! (i think the first few weeks is £64.30 and then it goes down after a while to £45). Just be honest about what hours you can work! You are available for work, and you are looking!

no, it remains the same amount

clb776 wrote: »

and they classify over 16 hours as full time, but they wont tell u off for saying part time!

no, I don't like 'full time' because it doesn't mean anything, other than in exceptional circumstances a person can restrict their availability to no fewer than 40 hours per week. that's a restriction