JSA help

tori.k

Just a quick one question.
A lady i work with (on nights) marriage has recently ended and her husband is in the process of slowly moving out, she has 2 teenage children the youngest is 13 yrs old and one 17, she dosen't want to put the overnight care of the 13 yr old on her 17 yr old daughter (they fight like cats& dogs) so is planning to hand her notice in at work when her husband moves out, would she be able to claim JSA while looking for a day job? she worried the jobcentre will penalise her for leaving a full-time job with the kids being teenagers,
Many thanks

allen35

In my opinion i think it's a good enough reason leaving work so as not to leave 2 children alone overnight.

I take it there's no chance of days in her current employment.

Does the parent leaving realise they still have a responsibility and duty to care for their children despite moving out.....

Tell your friend that child maintenance is not classed for benefit purposes and to cancel her joint claim for tax credits and reapply as a single claim if applicable.

dookar

I think she'd probably be sanctioned

Torry_Quine

Personally I think that it's an acceptable reason to leave. It doesn't sound like leaving the 2 children while she works is an option. Sadly though the DWP may say she left for no good reason and sanction her. I hope it works out for her.

tori.k

Im under the impression its all pretty amicable at the moment they have just grown apart over the years, sadly it the downside to married life where one works day's and the other nights to keep the bills paid, she tried to change shifts but they are cutting hours at work, she wont be replaced if she left.

allen35

dookar wrote: »

I think she'd probably be sanctioned

Why?

Surely only the PWC has responsibility for the 13 year old, what if the scenario is that the 17 year old stays/sleeps somewhere else.

You cannot be expected to break the law just to keep a job.

dookar

allen35 wrote: »

Why?

Surely only the PWC has responsibility for the 13 year old, what if the scenario is that the 17 year old stays/sleeps somewhere else.

You cannot be expected to break the law just to keep a job.

I don't do 'what ifs', I don't see that the reasons given amount to Just Cause.

I don't even know if it's illegal to leave a 13 year old alone for a few hours, if it is then the lady would win on appeal, maybe

allen35

Totally understand your point:

The NSPCC advises that a child under 16 should not be left alone overnight and as i have said it's only an opinion but the 17 year old is not responsible for the younger child, that is the responsibility of the parent with care.

Unfortunately there probably won't be a definitive answer until it actually happens.

dookar

Agreed. Particularly with your last sentence.

My question to the lady would be 'why can't you ask your elder child to mind the younger?'

The answer to that would probably determine whether or not a sanction is imposed.

allen35

OP states the company are cutting hours, maybe an option would be to go part time if poss' (16 hours) ask the father/older child or family to care for the 13 yr old 2 nights and claim working tax credits due to the reduced income whilst looking for a day job.

Oldernotwiser

Many people employ baby sitters of 17 to look after a couple of young children so I don't really see the problem in leaving a 13 and 17 year old overnight in their own home - they can't fight if they're asleep.