Return To Work Credit Reclaim within 13 weeks

sinbin_72

Hello All. I wonder if some kindhearted soul can answer this question. I have trawled the itnernet with no luck myself.

I was on IB and came off it to start work. I left a few weeks ago but had only used up 28 weeks of my payments of £40 per week.

I notified the RTW credit people and my payments stopped. I then claimed Jobseekers allowance for 6 weeks before finding a new job. I have discovered that I can reclaim my RTW credit for the remaining 24 weeks as long as I go back into work within 13 weeks of leaving my job.

However, I am unsure as to whether there will be a problem because I was claiming JSA in between jobs. Does anyone know if this will still enable me to reclaim RTWC?

Would be a big relief if somebody knows. The £40 extra makes a big difference as I am on such a low wage I am worse off for working without it.

sinbin_72

Can anyone help?

rushofblood

As long as the claim you made to JSA was continuous from the date your previous employment ended until your new employment started then you probably will be entitled to the remainder of the previous Return to Work Credit claim.

You are allowed a gap at the start of the JSA only if the first one/two days after your employment ended were on a weekend.

Your new employment still has to be within the eligibilities for the credit and you apply for the balance of payments within 5 weeks of your new employment starting.

During this in-between period of employment it does not matter whether your claim to benefit was JSA or not.

apoorlykitten

you will definately be intitled to the remainder. i worked for six months and left and returned to benefit and was told if i went back to work within the year i would qualify for the remainder of the in work credit. once a certain time has lapsed you start the process all over again and have to be on benefit for at least 26 weeks to qualify for the in work credit again.

rushofblood

apporlykitten the eligibility for a balance of payments for In Work Credit are totally different for Return to Work Credit.

For Return to Work Credit you have up to five weeks if you do not make a claim to benefit and find new employment from when your previous employment ended or up to thirteen weeks if you make a new claim to benefit and that claim is continuous between the previous employment ending and the new employment started.

Anything over thirteen weeks is classed as a new claim.