Return to Stage 1 - How Many Weeks?

Andy000

I'm currently on stage 3 of my JSA and have been claiming for about 9 months. I know that stage 4 is coming up soon and I would like to avoid it at all costs. If I were to sign off tommorrow and take a temporary job (4 weeks), then sign back on, would I be put back on stage 3? How long would I have to wait before signing back on to start from scratch at stage 1? I've looked around and different members have said 4 weeks, 13 weeks or even 26 weeks.


I've found 2 posts from user "dugdale":

November 2010:

If you are currently at stage 3 of your JSA claim and you have a break of 28 days or less you will return to stage 3 of your claim. If your break is for 29 days or longer you will go back to stage 1.

4.2.1[FONT=Arial,Bold] Linking rules

[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Bold]
[/FONT]

Where customers make renewal claims within the linking periods, they
will return to the point at which they left the new regime.
These linking periods will be:

a) in Stage 3 (Supported Job Search), reclaim JSA within four weeks;

And February 2011:

There's a 1 month linking period at stage 3 so your new claim will commence at stage 1.

How can I be sure ? pretty easy as I work as an adviser at JCP.

Is this still the case?

dugdale_2

JRFND has now finished due to the pending introduction of the work programme - no more stage 1, 2,3 or 4. All customers who do not find work will eventually be referred to a provider, that length of time will depend on a number of factors including age and work history. I can't answer your question as I don't have access to the guidance for the work programme at home

Andy000

Would you be able to get that info at any point, I would really appreciate it What is the "work programme" exactly?

dugdale_2

Can't get the info before next week which will be too late as you're signing off tomorrow. Try a google search for "work programme", I'm sure there might be a page or two discussing it.

ferien_uk2011

Andy000 wrote: »

I know that stage 4 is coming up soon and I would like to avoid it at all costs. If I were to sign off tommorrow and take a temporary job (4 weeks), then sign back on, would I be put back on stage 3?

Do you have a temporary job lined up? And it so, are you only doing it to avoid going onto stage 4?

Sorry to sound cynical, but if a work opportunity is there surely you should be taking it. And if it's not then why are you asking?

Andy000

"If I were to sign off tommorrow". Just hypothetical, I can wait until next week.

Evilm

Andy000 wrote: »

Would you be able to get that info at any point, I would really appreciate it What is the "work programme" exactly?

I was told by my adviser that the current expectations will be that the jobseeker will have to attend a "central" centre every day for 104 weeks! :eek: Thats scary enough before you realise that my "central" centre would be a town 30 miles away that I'd need to spend £9 a day getting there by train. (JCP will pay travel expenses - I asked - but thats still a lot of money they could be spending elsewhere).

At the moment my adviser said they haven't been given any more information and she's not sure if they have fully decided what else will be required.

WPN

Evilm wrote: »

I was told by my adviser that the current expectations will be that the jobseeker will have to attend a "central" centre every day for 104 weeks! :eek: Thats scary enough before you realise that my "central" centre would be a town 30 miles away that I'd need to spend £9 a day getting there by train. (JCP will pay travel expenses - I asked - but thats still a lot of money they could be spending elsewhere).

At the moment my adviser said they haven't been given any more information and she's not sure if they have fully decided what else will be required.

104 weeks or 104 week days?

SarEl

Andy000 wrote: »

"If I were to sign off tommorrow". Just hypothetical, I can wait until next week.

If it is that easy to get a job in your area then you should stop scrounging benefits and work. If it isn't then you aren't going to get a hypothetical job so why ask the question?

Evilm

WPN wrote: »

104 weeks or 104 week days?

Weeks. I actually said "2 years?!" and she said "yes!"

SarEl

Evilm wrote: »

Weeks. I actually said "2 years?!" and she said "yes!"

I suppose the scarier bit is not that she expects you to attend every day for two years, but that she ecxpects that you won't have found a job in two years I can sort of see some sense in this if attendance is more than simply "signing on" and includes some sort of directed support in job-seeking, use of computers for writing your app's, stamps to post them, or whatever. At least that way you are using their resources and not yours. But it does seem something of a waste to pay expenses for someone to attend daily - especially if there is no actual point to being there. There must be cheaper ways of achieving what they are after (which I suppose is trying to make unemployment inconvenient, especially for those who are working too!)