Any right to appeal JSA rejection? Girlfriend has to pay for me?

jonjon1988

I applied for JSA as I have been made redundant 1 month ago. I have very little savings and no other capital meaning I will be broke soon.

I was rejected because my girlfriend has a grant for £13,500 a year as part of her university studies (she a PhD student). We are not married and have separate bank accounts etc - surely she shouldn't have to pay for my food, rent etc - she cant afford that! We split all bills, rent etc.

We live together more like housemates than a married couple, it was cheaper for us to live together when I got my previous job - we both needed a housemate to split bills with.

If she gave me half of her earnings, we'd have £6750 each a year, which isnt enough to live on is it? We'd be better off if she quit and we both claimed JSA as our rent and council tax would be paid for (plus we'd get JSA)!!!

I don't understand why I cant claim JSA whilst I'm looking for work and why shes expected to pay for me? Am I misunderstanding something or should I contest my rejection decision?

It could split us up if I have to start asking her for money!!!

BigAunty

If you are not entitled to contributions based JSA for 6 months (2 full tax years of NI contributions), then any means tested benefits you seek will take into account your partner's income.

The means tested benefit system is premised on the fact that partner's mutually support and assist each other. Your personal and financial preferences are irrelevant. You may not see your relationship in those terms, but that's how the welfare system is set up.

It is based on partnerships - not whether or not a couple are married. Married and unmarried couples living together, including same sex relationships, are treated the same.

cte1111

If you live with someone and are in a romantic relationship with them, they are expected to support you financially. It may not be how you and your girlfriend have been dealing with your finances previously, but that's how the benefits system is set up.

So no, I don't think there is any point in appealing against being turned down for any income based benefits.

How long were you working before being made redundant? If you've been working and paying NI for a while, then usually you would be entitled to 6 months worth of Contribution Based JSA. Worth double checking with the jobcentre if they checked your NI contributions for this.

Caz3121

There is nothing to stop you claiming housing benefit/LHA based on the household income. If you are in a private let then whether you qualify will depend on the LHA rate for a one-bed property in your area and the household income but you may get a little help

Caz3121

jonjon1988 wrote: »

If she gave me half of her earnings, we'd have £6750 each a year, which isnt enough to live on is it? We'd be better off if she quit and we both claimed JSA as our rent and council tax would be paid for (plus we'd get JSA)!!!

Unless your rent rate and council tax are high you would be unlikely to be better off
If you were both on JSA you would get £105 per week between you
Your rent would be paid up to the max LHA rate and anything over that would need to come from your JSA
council tax would be paid

BigAunty

Caz3121 wrote: »

There is nothing to stop you claiming housing benefit/LHA based on the household income. If you are in a private let then whether you qualify will depend on the LHA rate for a one-bed property in your area and the household income but you may get a little help

How will the OPs partner being a full time student affect LHA eligibility?

BigAunty

jonjon1988 wrote: »

...

If she gave me half of her earnings, we'd have £6750 each a year, which isnt enough to live on is it? We'd be better off if she quit and we both claimed JSA as our rent and council tax would be paid for (plus we'd get JSA)!!!

The benefits system expects partner's to support each other but doesn't prescribe that one hands over precisely 50% of their income to the other!

Caz3121

BigAunty wrote: »

How will the OPs partner being a full time student affect LHA eligibility?

A student cannot apply for housing benefit, unless disabled or single parent, but the OP can however the grant is likely to be counted as income when calculating what the entitlement is

Arg

jonjon1988 wrote: »

It could split us up if I have to start asking her for money!!!

I always wonder if that was the intention with those silly rules. Did the girlfriends grant ask if she was single,perhaps you could argue that her grant is for her studies alone if it was.

MamaMoo_2

Go to https://www.entitledto.com and see if you can claim any housing and council tax benefit.
However, £13,500 should be more than enough for a couple to live on, so perhaps it's worth looking at where you can cut back a bit?

Oldernotwiser

jonjon1988 wrote: »

It could split us up if I have to start asking her for money!!!

If that's the case, better to find it out now rather than later.