What Benefits will i be entitled to?

SnowOne

There are potentially quite a few things you want to investigate so a general check is a good thing. The ideal benefit would be Maternity Allowance because it’s 90% of your weekly earnings capped at £124.

To qualify you must:
· have been employed for any 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks ending immediately before the expected week of childbirth. The 26 weeks do not have to be in a row, and employment for part of a week counts as one whole week; (this can be multiple employers) and
· have earned over £30pw for 13 weeks during the 66 weeks mentioned above and
· not be entitled to statutory maternity pay (SMP); and
· still be pregnant, or have given birth to a live baby, by the start of the eleventh week before the expected week of childbirth.

So it depends exactly when you left your job and whether you were paid enough. It is worth looking through your pay slips.
If your baby is due in March 2011 and you were working until June/July 2010 – it is possible that you qualify. It can be claimed from 11 wks before the expected week of childbirth for 39 wks – you can get a form from antenatal clinic or JC+.

Just a thought, although I am a bit nervous in case I've missed something obvious. But I thought it would be worth a check.

You may want to check out 'A Guide to Maternity Benefits - NI17A' on the DWP website.

BassistMike

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

All of it, but especially the bit about suggesting you pretend to sleep in the spare room and that would stop your being assessed as a couple!

I know, I appreciate how ridiculous it sounds, but that's what I was told to do, before I put in a completely new claim after three weeks from my cancelled claim being closed. I mean being a couple is just a state of mind between the two people involved, right?

SnowOne

BTW MA is a good reason to keep looking for work if you are short a few weeks on qualification. I think even temp work/part time can count toward the qualification.

I would check to make sure.

Sorry for keeping it on the topic!

Oldernotwiser

BassistMike wrote: »

I know, I appreciate how ridiculous it sounds, but that's what I was told to do, before I put in a completely new claim after three weeks from my cancelled claim being closed. I mean being a couple is just a state of mind between the two people involved, right?

I'm sorry but I don't believe that not only a JCP Adviser but also a Supervisor suggested you commit benefit fraud.

Loopy_Girl

BassistMike wrote: »

I mean being a couple is just a state of mind between the two people involved, right?

Single much are we?

Being a couple is sharing the good and bad times....she would have been expected to support you when you were unemployed.

Would you expect your pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself when she couldn't work....since it's all a 'state of mind'

Need to lay off the old herbal methinks and join the real world...

healy

dookar wrote: »

wait.

Jobcentre staff encourage people to fraudulently increase their entitlement to benefit as part of a sinister plan to deny them benefits?

Have you thought that through?

Now that is a "cunning plan"!

BassistMike

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

Single much are we?

Being a couple is sharing the good and bad times....she would have been expected to support you when you were unemployed.

Would you expect your pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself when she couldn't work....since it's all a 'state of mind'

Need to lay off the old herbal methinks and join the real world...

Err, no. You misunderstand me. I'm still with my girlfriend, but my question is: who is the government to determine that we are or are not a couple? We could just be friends living together as far as they're concerned.

As far as I'm concerned from my personal experience the two facts are simple:

This government turned their back on me when I was in need. Regardless of what I was ACTUALLY entitled to or not, the people I was face-to-face with told me I couldn't claim unless I was putting in a joint claim with my girlfriend. That's it. That's what I was told. Since my girlfriend works, she didn't want or need to put in a claim.

The advisor at the job centre 'unofficially' told me how I could play the system. He appreciated the situation I was in and told me how I could work around it by closing my benefit application and starting a fresh one after 21 days where I claimed to live with a friend.

I was left with nothing. My girlfriend could not afford support me as well as herself, as well as having no benefits - what was I meant to do? Thankfully, I found a job just in time so I was saved.

So rather than directing your anger at me, it should be directed at the ridiculous people who denied me support, despite me working my backside off since I was 16 years old.

Cheers,
Mike

Oldernotwiser

BassistMike wrote: »

So rather than directing your anger at me, it should be directed at the ridiculous people who denied me support, despite me working my backside off since I was 16 years old.

For a whole 5 years - impressive stuff!

BassistMike

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

For a whole 5 years - impressive stuff!

Congratulations, you can find the difference between 21 and 16.

It's more than can be said for my friends who took the 'easy ride' through college and university and now find themselves as graduates at the bottom of the ladder, many of whom are now claiming JSA, after contributing absolutely nothing for their entire lives. Don't get me wrong, I love my mates but where's the justice in that?

Why don't you contribute something more substantial, surely you can sympathise with the situation I described?

Loanranger

First, BassistMike, you have hijacked Chloe's thread where she asks for advice. It is far preferable to start your own thread if you want sensible advice.
Second, you have some strange notion of what being a couple means and this seems to differ substantially from the norm and indeed what the DWP deems it to mean.
Third, it seems that you misinterpreted advice given at JCP which amounts to benefit fraud.
Here's the thing, you are part of a living together couple, she works part time but has no wish to work full time to help you when you needed her support and furthermore you believe this to be acceptable. Instead, you believe that the rest of us should support you when that responsibility clearly lies with your partner.
Can you now understand why you have received little sympathy?