what to expect when claiming JSA for the first time

saverang

Hi everyone
I am currently on mat leave and have just been made redundant.
I have income protection which I can claim on the basis i sign on.
As I will have this income, I have time to look for a suitable job to match my skills, salary expectations, hours etc.
My question is will the job centre allow me to do this or will I be made to apply for anything, cleaning jobs, retail etc. If I were desperate for a job I would do this type of thing but I have a year of insurance to enable me the time to find something more suitable.
I wouldn't sign on at all if I didn't have to to claim the insurance.
Should I go in with the view to only applying for jobs I want to or will this be frowned upon?
Just to add I would be looking to approx 21 hours a week over 3 days, senior admin type role approx 9ph so not looking for anything to 'high level'.
Thanks in advance

RazWaz

You are allowed to look for a job that matches your previous job (wage, working hours, job field) for the first 13 weeks of a claim. After that you are expected to apply for anything.

sammyjammy

Also unless you have caring responsiblities for a young child then you will be required to seek full-time employment from Day 1 of your claim

FBaby

Why do you think the insurance requests that you apply for JSA... to avoid what you wish to do. It is insurance after all, so trying to pay out as little as they can get away with. They have the job centre to police it for them, perfect deal!

Person_one

RazWaz wrote: »

You are allowed to look for a job that matches your previous job (wage, working hours, job field) for the first 13 weeks of a claim. After that you are expected to apply for anything.

This is right. The job centre staff were very supportive of my attempts to find suitable, rather than 'any' work, but obviously there's a point where you need to widen your search a bit.

They won't push you to take things that are unreasonable, such as 2 hours drive away, outside your physical capabilities or 50 hours a week but they do want to get you into work.

At 13 weeks you go onto weekly signings as well and get a bit of extra help as they expect most people to have found something by then. This is becoming less and less realistic in the current climate so you won't be judged too harshly if you haven't.

Good luck!

RazWaz

sammyjammy wrote: »

Also unless you have caring responsiblities for a young child then you will be required to seek full-time employment from Day 1 of your claim

This is sort of true, the job centre count anything as over 16 hours as full-time. I spent 18 months claiming (stopped last june when I got a job) looking for 24 hours a week.

dookar

RazWaz wrote: »

This is sort of true, the job centre count anything as over 16 hours as full-time.

No they don't. That's the remunerative work rule for eligibility purposes.

A person can restrict their availability to 40 hours in a week providing they show reasonable prospects. They can further restrict their availability if they fall into certain categories

saverang

sammyjammy wrote: »

Also unless you have caring responsiblities for a young child then you will be required to seek full-time employment from Day 1 of your claim

Yep i am currently on maternity leave so will have a one year old to look after. Im of the school of not having children just to put them in full time care and am lucky enough that i can afford to work part time so would want to spend more days a week with my little boy than not. Thanks for all the replies, you have given me a bit more confidece that they are not going to rip me to shreds in there! Another quick question, am i able to take my baby with me each time i go in?

Person_one

saverang wrote: »

Yep i am currently on maternity leave so will have a one year old to look after. Im of the school of not having children just to put them in full time care and am lucky enough that i can afford to work part time so would want to spend more days a week with my little boy than not. Thanks for all the replies, you have given me a bit more confidece that they are not going to rip me to shreds in there! Another quick question, am i able to take my baby with me each time i go in?

I would have thought so, when I was signing on there were always lots of babies and children around.

Indie_Kid

Person_one wrote: »

I would have thought so, when I was signing on there were always lots of babies and children around.

I agree. It's not unusual. All they ask (where I live at least) is that you keep your children under control.

mitch161

first 13 weeks you get to put what type of work you want. so stick to your career path(training) during the 13 weeks think hard about how your skills can be used in roles you never thought of.

E.G if skills are medical based first 13 weeks suggest nurse, HCA

after 13 weeks, trainee vet, bloodbank clinics, pharmacy, hospice care, trainee dental nurse etc. in otherwords suggesting more jobs but sticking to the skills/role...

dont mention you can do cleaning.. or they will put that. as long as you expand the CHOICES your expanding your CHANCES but stick to guns or your skills can go to waste.

if you went from a nurse to a school cleaner. then trying to apply for a nurse job again would not look good on the CV.

but being a part time nurse at bloodbank or a assistant in the local pharmacy, gives you better chances in the future.

always leave it in your mind youll apply for anything. just tell JC+ the minimum and then off the record apply for the extra job types.
JSA say you HAVE to apply for the jobs they offer. so use JSA for the premium jobs. and then separetly apply or atleast look into other jobs knowing your not obligated to apply for the mondane. its your choice.