JSA wont pay partner because I "left work voluntarily"

bunnie84

My partner has been unemployed for a number of months now, his agency has found him the odd day here and there but he has not been successfull until now to find a job.

Three months ago we were living off my retail job wages of £800 per month, which with my debts and bills was not enough, and I wanted to improve my career prospects in working with horses, so I moved out and am now a working pupil on site at a riding school. Part of the idea was that if I take myself out of the equation, he may then be entitled to job seekers.

After 6 weeks of trying to get a logical reason out of the DWP, they are saying that he is not entitled to any JSA as I left my job voluntarily, and that despite me not living with him anymore, it is only a geographical separation.

It was not a joint claim, I feel if anything we are being screwed over for being honest, as if he had told them we had split up he wouldnt be having this problem. I have qualifications in working with horses and have gone to build on this to improve my job prospects in the industry, so it is not like I have just left him to indulge a hobby. I thought the government were trying to encourage people to improve their career prospects. It sickens me that if I had left school at 16 and gotten pregnant, my financial situation would probably be better than it is now.

Id like to know if anyone else has had a similar situation, or if there is anything that can be done about it.

SarEl

I may be misunderstanding this - but aren't the DWP correct? You still refer to him as "your partner", and it seems that you moved out deliberately only to enable him to claim JSA because you had voluntarily left a job that "didn't pay enough to pay your debts and bills" to take a job that paid less, so you still can't pay your debts and bills, and you want the taxpayer to pay them while you "improve your career prospects" at their expense? Most people have to "improve their career prospects" whilst working and paying their debts and paying their bills. Why should you be any different? Parheps the answer is for him to improve his career prospects by getting a job?

Uncertain

However much of a lovely ideal it may be, I can think of few if any situations where you can leave a paid job and expect to get more income in education or work experience.

If you believe that the experience / qualifications will lead to a better job (however you define that) then you need to come up with a way of funding the training. Rightly or wrongly the days of comprehensive grants to cover even recognised formal education are gone.

I may also be misunderstanding you but it seems there are two issues here. What would have happened had you simply moved out from you boyfriend but carried on with your job? Would he then have been entitled to JSA (assuming he was properly looking for work etc)? I don't know. Presumably the rules must allow for couples splitting up or getting divorced but somehow try to detect if this has been done just for financial reasons (which I imagine applies to your situation)?

Presumably you are not eligible for JSA as you are not actually job seeking? In effect, regardless of any long term benefits, you have chosen to work voluntarily?

So, if this makes realistic long term sense you need to either earn money part time or get a loan to cover your training with a view to paying it back from higher earnings in the future.

bunnie84

I love the fact that the first reply makes out to be a silly little idealist running away from her problems and expecting others to pick up the pieces. From what the JSA argued if I moved away the situation will still only be a geographical separation and he still would not be entitled to JSA as I would have still been working.

Thank you for your reply uncertain, yours was constructive and appreciated so let me elaborate the situation.
I am not claiming any benefits and am recieving a training allowance that increases for every exam I succeed at. My debts and bills are mine alone and I am still paying them despite my smaller income, they equate to about £120 a month which I can still handle on my allowance I get every week. I save up every spare pound to pay for my exam fees and should be a qualified riding instructor in about a year and a half to two years.

As mentioned my partner has now found a job, and Im not arguing that I shouldnt have perhaps left my job if it was sufficiently paying the bills, but the fact is it was not sufficient and if left any longer we would have started to become in arrears with rent and council tax.

The point is if he had have said we had separated permanently, then JSA would have asked no further questions and paid out, and it shows why so many people manage to get around the system. I have worked since I was 16 and never been unemployed for more than a couple of weeeks, only claiming twice in my life. I dont believe that we should get money for nothing but he was living alone and seeking employment and I dont fully agree with my circumstances affecting his claim. Especially when they expect two people to live on £800 a month and when I have debts to consider (which are my own fault yes...but why should he suffer for my mistakes). I just tried to take myself out of the equation to improve my employability. I was stuck in a retail job that I was not enjoying and to be honest started to actually get depressed about, so decided to do something about it. Trying to help my partner was only an "it may help keep a roof over his head idea" and not the main reason for moving out.

If i am wrong so be it and nothing can be done, but please do not make me out to be an attempted free loader when that is the very thing I have aspired to avoid being since leaving school, as I said it would have been too easy to be living off the taxpayer for the last 11 years by getting pregnant at 16 instead of being a tax payer for as long.

SarEl

bunnie84 wrote: »

I love the fact that the first reply makes out to be a silly little idealist running away from her problems and expecting others to pick up the pieces. From what the JSA argued if I moved away the situation will still only be a geographical separation and he still would not be entitled to JSA as I would have still been working.

Thank you for your reply uncertain, yours was constructive and appreciated so let me elaborate the situation.
I am not claiming any benefits and am recieving a training allowance that increases for every exam I succeed at. My debts and bills are mine alone and I am still paying them despite my smaller income, they equate to about £120 a month which I can still handle on my allowance I get every week. I save up every spare pound to pay for my exam fees and should be a qualified riding instructor in about a year and a half to two years.

As mentioned my partner has now found a job, and Im not arguing that I shouldnt have perhaps left my job if it was sufficiently paying the bills, but the fact is it was not sufficient and if left any longer we would have started to become in arrears with rent and council tax.

The point is if he had have said we had separated permanently, then JSA would have asked no further questions and paid out, and it shows why so many people manage to get around the system. I have worked since I was 16 and never been unemployed for more than a couple of weeeks, only claiming twice in my life. I dont believe that we should get money for nothing but he was living alone and seeking employment and I dont fully agree with my circumstances affecting his claim. Especially when they expect two people to live on £800 a month and when I have debts to consider (which are my own fault yes...but why should he suffer for my mistakes). I just tried to take myself out of the equation to improve my employability. I was stuck in a retail job that I was not enjoying and to be honest started to actually get depressed about, so decided to do something about it. Trying to help my partner was only an "it may help keep a roof over his head idea" and not the main reason for moving out.

If i am wrong so be it and nothing can be done, but please do not make me out to be an attempted free loader when that is the very thing I have aspired to avoid being since leaving school, as I said it would have been too easy to be living off the taxpayer for the last 11 years by getting pregnant at 16 instead of being a tax payer for as long.

You appear to be of the opinion that getting pregnant at 16 was your only other choice - getting further education and being better qualified for the job market was another one. I did not criticise you or your partner for wanting to better yourselves - I suggested that it is not my job to pay for you to do so, and simply because others may find a way around the rules by claiming to have split up is not a reason why the taxpayers should pay up in either case!

hcb42

you're not being screwed over as you suggested in your first post. That is the rules. (Thankfully!)

Rockporkchop

Surprised me when I read "I have worked since I was 16 and never been unemployed for more than a couple of weeks, only claiming twice in my life." You're only 27! I don't know why you despise the system so much when you have already benefitted from it twice.

You are doing something you enjoy now and your partner has a job so hopefully the problem is solved - you should let the JSA situation go and just look forward.