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JSA, Income Support & Pregnancy

Hi all. Need a bit of general advice really. My partner is due to give birth to our second child on the 1st December 2011. I'm on Job Seekers Allowance at the moment claiming about £103 a week for the family. I need to know when we can make an income support claim insted of the JSA because she's going to need a lot more help looking after our 18-month old son as she gets closer to her due date and the stress of being left on her own if the Job Center find me a job during that time isn't good for her right now. Somebody said she can claim Income Support 11 weeks before she's due to give birth but i've also heard from other people it's from 24 weeks. She was on Income Support for a while before she gave birth to our son but she was living with her parents at the time, and now we're living together in our own place. PS If anybody knows of any IT firms that will be recruiting in the first quarter of 2012, please drop me a message! :j
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Comments

  • iamana1ias
    iamana1ias Posts: 3,777 Forumite
    Carl0071 wrote: »
    Hi all. Need a bit of general advice really. My partner is due to give birth to our second child on the 1st December 2011. I'm on Job Seekers Allowance at the moment claiming about £103 a week for the family. I need to know when we can make an income support claim insted of the JSA because she's going to need a lot more help looking after our 18-month old son as she gets closer to her due date and the stress of being left on her own if the Job Center find me a job during that time isn't good for her right now. Somebody said she can claim Income Support 11 weeks before she's due to give birth but i've also heard from other people it's from 24 weeks. She was on Income Support for a while before she gave birth to our son but she was living with her parents at the time, and now we're living together in our own place. PS If anybody knows of any IT firms that will be recruiting in the first quarter of 2012, please drop me a message! :j


    ((((sigh))))
    I was born too late, into a world that doesn't care
    Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
  • MamaMoo_2
    MamaMoo_2 Posts: 2,644 Forumite
    Unfortunately, afaik, you can't claim IS and not look for a job because your partner can't cope with being pregnant. If that was te case, she should not be having another baby. If you had a job, you would not be able to have moths off to look after your partner. Let's face it, she'll be doing what millions of women do. I'm 20 weeks pregnant and have a 13 month old son, and I would never dream of asking my husband to give up work to look after me. And I'm having a really hard pregnancy. Your partner will have to suck it up and let you get a job, it will be more beneficial in the long run.
  • Carl0071 wrote: »
    Hi all. Need a bit of general advice really. My partner is due to give birth to our second child on the 1st December 2011. I'm on Job Seekers Allowance at the moment claiming about £103 a week for the family. I need to know when we can make an income support claim insted of the JSA because she's going to need a lot more help looking after our 18-month old son as she gets closer to her due date and the stress of being left on her own if the Job Center find me a job during that time isn't good for her right now. Somebody said she can claim Income Support 11 weeks before she's due to give birth but i've also heard from other people it's from 24 weeks. She was on Income Support for a while before she gave birth to our son but she was living with her parents at the time, and now we're living together in our own place. PS If anybody knows of any IT firms that will be recruiting in the first quarter of 2012, please drop me a message! :j

    Dear me, isn't this something you should have thought about before?

    And no, you can't claim income support. Perhaps you can look further afield than IT to support your ever growing family/financial commitments.
    Be happy, it's the greatest wealth :)
  • iamana1ias
    iamana1ias Posts: 3,777 Forumite
    Dear me, isn't this something you should have thought about before?

    And no, you can't claim income support. Perhaps you can look further afield than IT to support your ever growing family/financial commitments.

    As he's clearly expecting the job centre to find him a job (so I assume he's not really actively looking at all and so shouldn't actually be claiming JSA, never mind IS.

    There's absolutely no excuse for the position the OP is in.
    I was born too late, into a world that doesn't care
    Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
  • kingfisherblue
    kingfisherblue Posts: 9,203 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    IS during pregnancy is for single people, not those with partners. As others have said, you cannot claim IS. You do not qualify under the criteria.

    Thousands of women cope with pregnancy and with bringing up other children, either without a partner or with a partner working full time. During my third and final pregnancy, my husband was working a forty hour week on early shifts, while I was working part time and looking after our other two children, one with severe disabilities (physical disabilities as well as learning difficulties).

    If your partner is finding it hard to cope, she should speak to her health visitor about local support groups. Also, low finances can add to stress, so if you could get a job, this could help a great deal as your income will increase.
  • ekkygirl
    ekkygirl Posts: 514 Forumite
    This has to be a wind-up. If not, there are no words!
  • jla1051
    jla1051 Posts: 15 Forumite
    Actually.................

    You will be able to claim Income Support for 11 weeks before and 15 weeks after the birth. The IS claim would need to be made by your partner. She would be the customer and claim for you as her partner.

    HTH
  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,857 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Are you actually saying that she will need help to look after your other child because she is pregnant?

    And just to clarify, the Jo Centre are not there to find you a job, they are there for support and to help you find a job yourself.
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • DaisyFlower
    DaisyFlower Posts: 2,677 Forumite
    Dear me, isn't this something you should have thought about before?.

    Given two children have been born on benefits I dont think any planning, financially or otherwise, took place.
  • MamaMoo_2
    MamaMoo_2 Posts: 2,644 Forumite
    Actually, I believe your partner can only claim ESA for 6 weeks before and 2 weeks after the baby's birth.
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