Please help 0 hour contract

facingthefuture

Hi my unemployed son (23) has just got a temporary job for Christmas (clothes shop) and was told tonight at the unpaid training session that he will have a zero hour contract. He won't find out till Saturday what - if any hours he will get. This will change by the sounds of it on a weekly basis (may be 2 hours or 20!

He is getting roughly £52 a week on jobseekers and has to sign on 17th. I said to him to tell them the situation, he said no way, they won't pay me anything and if I do get ANY wages they won't come till the 3rd of December.

How does this work? Will they cancel his jobseekers as soon as he tells them.He surely can't be left with nothing both in terms of getting actually paid and if what he gets paid eventually may be less than jobseekers?

Help, we are confused as to how he can manage.

hcb42

He should declare it, there is a way of dealing with it, and as it is temporary and zero hours, I think he will have to declare his earnings each week, which will then adjust his benefts etc...not sure of exact detail, but that is broadly it.

anamenottaken

Surely on Wednesday he is reporting on the time up to then, whether he has worked.

He can say that he has been offered the possibility of work and will let them know whether he actually does any. If he works fewer than 16 hours a week he can still sign on as long as he is still looking for full-time work. Having the offer also shows that he has been seeking work.

hcb42

Yes, he can only declare it as income when worked , given the situation - so he needs to speak to them in advance of starting work, explain the situation, and they should then guide from there, in the process.

KrazyKeeper

he will have to fill in time sheets to give to the job centre if he works under 16hrs a week, if he works over 16hrs he will need to sign off, if he works under 16hrs the next week he will have to sign on again. i was in this position over the summer it was a pain especially if i had to sign on a day when i was working. In the end i would have been better off not getting the work and staying on JSA as working actually cost me money which is just CRAZY!! at least i got out of the house for a while!!

nzmegs

Hopefully the new benefits system will put an end to this stupid situation. However many full time jobs have come from temporary ones. So he needs to work really hard and prove himself and he could be in work permanently.