Going off JSA to do 2 day casual job - worth it?

ThisIsTheNewHit

Hi there,

I've been out of work for a few weeks now, so have been claiming Jobseekers Allowance. I have never been on JSA before this so not entirely sure what the rules are. I want to do a 2 day temporary job working on the bar at V Festival later this month. Doing this work would pay me about £120 (rough guess). I currently receive £106 JSA every 2 weeks. Would I have to sign off JSA then sign back on again? More importantly, would it be worth it? Are there any penalities for signing off then signing back on like this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

HappyMJ

No need to sign off for 2 days. Just declare it after you have done the work and next sign on. Enjoy the festival.

LittleVoice

ThisIsTheNewHit wrote: »

Hi there,

I've been out of work for a few weeks now, so have been claiming Jobseekers Allowance. I have never been on JSA before this so not entirely sure what the rules are. I want to do a 2 day temporary job working on the bar at V Festival later this month. Doing this work would pay me about £120 (rough guess). I currently receive £106 JSA every 2 weeks. Would I have to sign off JSA then sign back on again? More importantly, would it be worth it? Are there any penalities for signing off then signing back on like this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You can sign off for the two days and, if there isn't anything for you to do after that, you can do a rapid reclaim - so it is quicker/simpler than when you began your first claim.

How many hours will you be working? If it is not more 15 hours 59 minutes, you would not need to sign off at all. You would just declare your earnings and all but £5 would be used to reduce your JSA £ for £ (up to the level of your JSA of course!)

Do you receive any other benefits linked to your JSA entitlement? For example housing benefit.

ThisIsTheNewHit

LittleVoice wrote: »

How many hours will you be working? If it is not more 15 hours 59 minutes, you would not need to sign off at all. You would just declare your earnings and all but £5 would be used to reduce your JSA £ for £ (up to the level of your JSA of course!)

Do you receive any other benefits linked to your JSA entitlement? For example housing benefit.

I will be working 20 hours over 2 days, and no I don't receive any other benefits at the moment.

LittleVoice

ThisIsTheNewHit wrote: »

I will be working 20 hours over 2 days, and no I don't receive any other benefits at the moment.

If the 20 hours fall in the same "week" as far as JSA is concern then you would not be eligible for JSA/NI credits. (I think the weeks are Monday to Sunday.)

As you get no other benefits then I see no detriment to you in doing this work, it will provide you with more money than you get from JSA and may lead to more work.

MsHoarder

Do the work, worst case from a bureaucracy perspective is that you have to sign off (takes 2 minutes) and do a rapid reclaim afterwards (barely longer than a normal signing). For this you get more money, to be at V festival (even if working) and something to add to your "temporary jobs" section of your CV. Definitely worth it!