Holidays & job seekers allowance

hyperfunk_d

As other users have said, you can only still claim if you go away within the UK and has to be 2 weeks or less, with advance notice given to the Job Centre.

I had an incident where my car broke down on the way home from a weekend visiting relatives (within England) which meant I could not get to the Job Centre for my signing-on time (I was travelling straight there upon leaving my relative's house) and then made the mistake of telling them I had been there from Friday (this was now Monday). They then sanctioned me for being away for one day without telling them! The advisor then explained that I could go to another house anywhere in the UK for the entire day without problem, but as soon as you sleep overnight there then it breaks the rules - even when I appealed and said I had my mobile and laptop with me the whole time, they still said it was unacceptable and revoked my appeal - ended up losing a whole week's money.

Moral of the (long) story is to be very upfront with them and provide information of what you are doing as far in advance as you can!

an9i77

Moral of the (long) story is to be very upfront with them and provide information of what you are doing as far in advance as you can![/QUOTE]


Or alternatively be economical with the truth if you can get away with it!

chuckley

expect lots of stupid questions. 'can u seek work when ur there' .... I was goin glasto...

cassieB57

hyperfunk_d wrote: »

As other users have said, you can only still claim if you go away within the UK and has to be 2 weeks or less, with advance notice given to the Job Centre.

No there is no time limit, but you can only be excused from jobsearch for a maximum of 2 weeks. If you are available AND looking for work, you can go away as often as you like

PaddyPaws

Hi
I signed on this week (made a claim) and asked about holiday in the UK as I will be away for the first two weeks in March. I was told that provided I tell them before hand, am available and still actively seeking work as per my job seekers agreement then that would be fine and I would be able to sign on when I get back. I could fulfill my job seekers agreement whilst I'm away but don't really want to be job hunting whilst on holiday, although I will still be contactable by any of the agencies I'm registered with. Based on this I will probably sign off. At no time was any mention made that I was allowed to have up to 2 weeks holiday in the UK and be 'excused' from job seeking and still receive JSA

Apparently, if i sign off, I will be able to do a ''rapid re-claim" on my return. I'm new to all this so don't know what that entails :-)

cassieB57

PaddyPaws wrote: »

Hi
I signed on this week (made a claim) and asked about holiday in the UK as I will be away for the first two weeks in March. I was told that provided I tell them before hand, am available and still actively seeking work as per my job seekers agreement then that would be fine and I would be able to sign on when I get back. I could fulfill my job seekers agreement whilst I'm away but don't really want to be job hunting whilst on holiday, although I will still be contactable by any of the agencies I'm registered with. Based on this I will probably sign off. At no time was any mention made that I was allowed to have up to 2 weeks holiday in the UK and be 'excused' from job seeking and still receive JSA

Apparently, if i sign off, I will be able to do a ''rapid re-claim" on my return. I'm new to all this so don't know what that entails :-)

DO NOT be forced into signing off-you are allowed to be excused jobsearch for TWO BENEFIT WEEKS (not calendar weeks-I mean the 7 days up to the day in the week you sign) so if you sign on a Friday, your benefit week will be Saturday-Friday and you can be excused up to 2 weeks. If you are away for example from Monday to Sunday, your holiday will fall into 3 benefit weeks, so you would have to show adequate j/s for the 3rd benefit week. In the event that you are not available, or have already had the maximum 2 weeks in the last 12 months, then you could simply have your availability referred to a decision maker, and end up disallowed for the week(s) in question-much better than signing off and on again (though bear in mind that availability is in doubt for a full benefit week, even if the jobseeker is only unavailable for 1 day-then it might be worth signing off so as to 'lose' 1 days money rather than a full week.)
There is also the effect that breaking claims can have on entitlement to things like job grant, or budgeting loans, where you have to have received the benefit for 26 weeks without a break. So complicated it's no wonder jc staff often give wrong advice-not through being awkward or stupid, just not being fully trained!

Anacrusis

marleyboy wrote: »

(I tried to quote Marleyboy's link here but as a new user I'm not alowed to post links)

Is this only about Ireland?

cassieB57

Anacrusis wrote: »

(I tried to quote Marleyboy's link here but as a new user I'm not alowed to post links)

Is this only about Ireland?

Yes it is. Legislation for GB is completely different

Magnolia

I am not sure about this - I could have dreamt it but can you not go to another area of the UK for a short period of time to research employment opportunities with a view to relocating.

PaddyPaws

cassieB57 wrote: »

DO NOT be forced into signing off-you are allowed to be excused jobsearch for TWO BENEFIT WEEKS (not calendar weeks-I mean the 7 days up to the day in the week you sign) so if you sign on a Friday, your benefit week will be Saturday-Friday and you can be excused up to 2 weeks. If you are away for example from Monday to Sunday, your holiday will fall into 3 benefit weeks, so you would have to show adequate j/s for the 3rd benefit week. In the event that you are not available, or have already had the maximum 2 weeks in the last 12 months, then you could simply have your availability referred to a decision maker, and end up disallowed for the week(s) in question-much better than signing off and on again (though bear in mind that availability is in doubt for a full benefit week, even if the jobseeker is only unavailable for 1 day-then it might be worth signing off so as to 'lose' 1 days money rather than a full week.)
There is also the effect that breaking claims can have on entitlement to things like job grant, or budgeting loans, where you have to have received the benefit for 26 weeks without a break. So complicated it's no wonder jc staff often give wrong advice-not through being awkward or stupid, just not being fully trained!

Thanks Cassie, I will ask when I go to sign on next week. Looking at the dates it will cover 3 benefit weeks as I'm away Weds to Mon (not quite two weeks) and my signing day is thursday. The first week we're away I will have internet access so can still meet my job search requirements - mmm... definitely something to think about

As i've only just signed on and am still feeling quite optimistic about finding a new job I'm not too worried about a 26 week qualifying period for a grant or loan starting again (and my husband works full time so most things we don't qualify for)


cheers