Benefits or not ?

50Twuncle

I am claiming "contribution based" ESA - Due to being made redundant 8 months ago - my wife earns about £7k pa working part time and now faces a similar fate
Can she claim 6 months of JobSeekers allowance in her own right - she has been paying her NI contributions for over 20 years and has been working ever since she was 16 -except for a 10 month period 3 years ago (Job Seekers) - she thinks that she is not entitled to any benefits......

Oldernotwiser

If your wife has been paying the appropriate NICs then she should be able to claim contributions based JSA for 6 months.

50Twuncle

Is there a "waiting period" before she can claim - if she is made redundant ?
She believes that because I am on benefits (Contribution based ESA) - and that she claimed 2 + years ago - she is not entitled ?

Indie_Kid

If she has paid NICs for the last 2 tax years, she's entitled to contribution based benefits. If she is entitled based on contributions, what you have coming in is irrelevant.

50Twuncle

Is it dependant on just the last 2 years then ?
ie) If I am slightly out and she has only been working for 18 months since her (one and only) last period of Job Seekers - she is not entitled to a penny ?

Robbie64

21Twinkle wrote: »

Is it dependant on just the last 2 years then ?
ie) If I am slightly out and she has only been working for 18 months since her (one and only) last period of Job Seekers - she is not entitled to a penny ?

It will depend if she satisfies the contributions conditions for JSA. The conditions are:

National Insurance contributions for contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

Whether you are entitled to contribution-based JSA depends on the National Insurance contributions you have paid over the last two complete tax years before the benefit year youmake your claim in.

A benefit year starts in January (on the first Sunday of that month) and ends the following January (on the Saturday immediately before the first Sunday of that month). Here is an example.
If you made a claim on 15 February 2009, this would fall in benefit year 2009. This means that we would use the contributions you paid during the tax years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 to work out your benefit.

There are two main contribution conditions:
1) You must actually have paid Class 1 National Insurance contributions with an earnings factor of at least 25 times the lower earnings level in one of the two relevant contribution years.
Class 1 National Insurance contributions are only paid by somebody working for an employer (not self-employed).
Earnings factor of at least 25 times the lower earnings level means that, for example, in 2003/04 you must have paid 25 x £77 = £1,925.
Relevant contribution year runs from April to April in the two years prior to the date of claim. The benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January to the end of the first Saturday in the following January.
2) The second contribution condition is that in each of the relevant contribution years you must have either paid or been credited with Class 1 contributions with an earnings factor of at least 50 times the lower earnings limit for that year.
In 2003/04 this was 50 x £77, which is £3,850.
Even if the contribution conditions are satisfied, contribution based job seekers allowance may not be paid at the start of or during the claim for several reasons:

• The full time work rule
• Waiting days
• Other benefits
• Absence from Great Britain
• Capacity for work
• Availability and actively seeking work
• Misconduct or leaving previous job voluntarily
• Failure to take up a job or training
• Personal occupational pension

This benefit is only paid for a maximum six-month period.


The above information is taken from two sources, the DWP for the first part and Coventry law Centre for the contribution / earnings rule. the lower earnings limit is now £95 so 25 x £95 is £2,375 and 50 x £95 is £4,750. I'd say it's likely she will get JSA. if she can't get JSA then you can claim income based ESA on top of your contributory based ESA so that you receive the couples rate of income based ESA.