Question about benefits

Nile

loobyloo1980 wrote:

what is the difference then between resigning and leaving a job of your own accord???

Er, nothing as far I can tell. If you leave a job of your own accord, you hand in your letter of resignation.;)

loobyloo1980

Nile wrote:

Er, nothing as far I can tell. If you leave a job of your own accord, you hand in your letter of resignation.;)

so how can you get JSA then if you leave/resign? I thought it was a no-no

Nile

loobyloo1980 wrote:

so how can you get JSA then if you leave/resign? I thought it was a no-no

As I said earlier, it is a common misconception. It is possible to get JSA if you resign from work. It will depend on the individual's circumstances so you would need to contact your local JobCentrePlus.;)

loobyloo1980

Thanks for that Nile xx

mikewebs

loobyloo1980 wrote:

what is the difference then between resigning and leaving a job of your own accord???

there is a situation called constructive dismissal, where an employer has made an employees situation within the company untenable.

Constructive dismissal effectively means that although you may resign from the job, employers actions actually constitute dismissal. Not applicable here but it is useful to know.

loobyloo1980

Ok, just an update. My husband was sacked yesterday for gross misconduct. He is lodging an appeal against it. However, in the meantime, we need to know what to do re benefits.

We get child tax credit - do I phone them straight away? What do I tell them? Will they be funny because he has got the sack or doesn't it matter?

We get some housing benefit currently - will they cover all our rent now with him being out of work? will it matter that he was sacked?

He isn't going to try and sign on because we are aware they won't pay out with gross misconduct.

Thanks

Rubbercheque

Hi Loobs (you don't mind if I call you Loobs?).
I've been on both sides of the counter, but first of all must warn that nothing is written in stone. JSA sanctions are not automatic, but are assessed by people far removed from the ordinary people on the jobcentre floor. Obviously they work to criteria, but as this will be something like subsection 6d of paragraph 26 of section ....... it's not really possible to figure out exactly what they will do. You will be given an opportunity to state your version of the dismissal in writing. Be aware that this may be sprung on you in the jobcentre, so a little advance thought is advisable.
One reason for the misconduct clause is to close the loophole whereby people could get themselves sacked so they wouldn't face a sanction for leaving.
I have avoided sanctions after giving up a job because my statement was accepted.
If it's not acceptable, that's not curtains.
'JSA' is not a single benefit. Contribution based [JSA(conts)] and Income based [JSA(IB)] have quite seperate rules, although both can't be paid simultaneously.
JSA(conts) is payable if NI contributions were paid in the previous tax year. It is available to all and not means-tested. It can also be whipped away by sanction in a flash.
JSA(IB) is means-tested based on income from all sources and savings. Where circumstances determine that JSA(IB) is greater than JSA(conts) then it is JSA(IB) which the client receives. JSA(conts) is binned.
I think I'm dozing off here, how about you? But it's important.
I'm guessing that your claim would be for JSA(IB).
As JSA(IB) exists to meet needs, to totally withdraw it would be brutal. Where a sanction is imposed the client can apply for hardship payment in order to meet basic needs.
To properly assess your situation the CAB is always worth consulting. Hopefully they would be aware of the general situation in your local area - although there shouldn't be local differences, there's no harm in making sure. They may be able to guide you on composing a statement.
Don't dismiss the idea of asking the jobcentre staff. Generally, they are on your side. So much so that twenty years ago it was made a criminal offence for them to advise on the completion of forms. This, however does not stop them from giving honest answers to questions. Enabling clients to make a hardship claim, if required, is part of their job.
However, the frontline staff aren't experts on the benefits side. If you need information about the payment side you can phone the jobcentre and ask to speak about your JSA payments. As the rules can be complex they prefer to discuss your specific claim rather than 'ifs' and 'buts'.

Note that your claim should be made immediately, but there will be waiting days during which time you are expected to live off the final pay.

Part 96 - Housing Benefit
HB is entirely seperate and should not be reduced.
If you live in a local authority / housing association house you should receive full HB & Council Tax Benefit (which doesn't pay water / sewerage charges).
If you rent privately the council will assess a (un)fair rent and on average pays around 80% of rent. Oops, sorry - got a bit bitter there.

This is (unbelievably) just a quick post - I haven't researched it as I went along, but there's plenty of information on the web. Hopefully, there's a few keywords in here that you can google for.

What a boring git I am.


Hope this helps

loobyloo1980

Thanks rubbercheque, that is very very helpful.

What about the child tax credit? Can that be altered because of gross misconduct?

finc

loobyloo1980 wrote:

Thanks rubbercheque, that is very very helpful.

What about the child tax credit? Can that be altered because of gross misconduct?

No it won't. I would also advise you to contact the JobCentre asap to make the claim as they will only start your claim from the date you contact them. Claims can be backdated but only in very specific circumstances.

You don't want to lose any money unnecessarily by delaying making your claim

looby75

Looby, I'm not 100% sure but I'm pretty sure that you will lose any Working tax credits (because your dh isn't actually working at the mo) but you will then get full Child tax credits which is around £35 a child per week (extra for a child under one but I don't know how much extra). I don't think your dh getting (unfairly :mad:)sacked will have any effect on this as ctc are there for the CHILDRENS benefit not the adults.

If you can get yourself (or send your hubby) down to the CAB, they were fantastic helping my sister claim JSA after she was made redundant but the co she was working for refused to fill in the forms the jc needed to process her claim.

(BTW I always find it really strange addressing a post to my own username :rotfl: :rotfl: )