JSA & New Enterprise Allowance

Smintiole

Hello All,

I'm new here and doing some research on the NEA.
So far i've had a look around but the information seems quite scattered across the forum.

I am hoping to start NEA scheme at my next JSA appointment and have been advised there will be an initial assessment via phone. Therefore I am trying to research as much as possible to make sure I am fully prepared. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

retrofunk1

Hi there

You will have what is called a sift assessment which may involve questions about your business idea, what research you have done, and how committed you are to making it happen. The timescales are pretty tight - if you are accepted onto the scheme you will have an appointment with a mentor within 10 days and then you will have up to 8 weeks to put together a business plan and have it approved. Once approved, you will be able to apply for a loan of up to £1,000 (there will be interest of up to 10% on this), usually repayable within 3 years, although you may be able to pay interest only for an initial period whilst you get the business up and running. You can then sign off JSA and onto NEA which will give you £65 per week for the first 3 months, and £33 per week for a further 3 months.

For the sift, it would be good to ensure you have a clear idea of what you want to do, and have done some research into it - initial costs, customers, the market you are interested in, etc. These don't have to be perfect as you will get help to put the business plan together, but the more research you have done, the more likely you are to be accepted onto the scheme.

If for any reason you're not accepted, you can always ask to be re-referred when you have a clearer idea of what you want to do, so it won't mean that you can't still be accepted onto the scheme at a later date (as long as you remain eligible).

Hope that helps!

Sidley_2

Hi Retrofunk1. Thank you for your helpful advice. I too was referred to this scheme today and am expecting a telephone interview on Monday to see if I can be accepted on the scheme. I wonder if you know what the 'rules' are if I were to look for a part time job (unrelated to my business idea) alongside setting up the new business? Would I be allowed to earn additional income in this way as well as claiming the £65/£33 allowance or would I have to come off the scheme and thus find myself off JSA as well?

retrofunk1

Hi Sidley

Do you mean before or after you start up your business? If you find work before on a part time basis I think you are ok if you work within the permitted working rules - it would definitely be worth checking with your JCP Adviser though as I am no expert on this! It would definitely be worth checking out which benefits you may continue to be entitled to since you may also still be able to claim housing benefit and working tax credit once you go onto NEA. It would also be worth considering this when putting together your financial forecasts - if you decide to invest more into your business (e.g. on stock, tools or marketing) and thereby reduce the profit you take out of the business, you may be entitled to more working tax credit whilst you grow your business to a point where you are making enough money to live on. Obviously this is something you should look at carefully to ensure you will be entitled to get this, and there are some good benefit checkers online which you can check according to your own particular circumstances.

Once your business plan has been approved you will sign off JSA and go onto NEA, and therefore you won't need to meet the JSA requirements. There are NEA requirements - you do need to provide evidence of trading within 4 weeks of going onto NEA and I think you may need to provide continued evidence of trading too but again this is something to discuss with your JCP Adviser.

You will probably find that your mentor/adviser on the scheme will know all the ins and outs of this and will be able to give you the answers you need, otherwise I am happy to help if I can!

Sidley_2

Thank you very much Retrofunk1 - you are very kind to take the trouble to reply and I appreciate your help. I can see what you are saying and this is getting quite complicated as I am hoping to start a part time job (paid) quite soon, though would probably have time to do my business plan and come off JSA before I start that job. However my business plan involves setting up a private counselling practice once I qualify through taking my final Diploma exam in March - however I can't imagine that I will be 'trading' as such for some time as it will be a while before I build a client base. However, I will be able to bear this in mind before my telephone interview on Monday - so thank you.

retrofunk1

Good luck with that Sidley!

johnnie66

Also you can get clarification of the loan to you before you sign off.They told me I would have to sign off first and then apply which is ridiculous.I questioned this and the job adviser was adamant as was the mentor from blue orchid.and that I would have to open a business account.well they were both wrong on both counts.I got in touch direct to moneyline who OKed the loan and he said you do not need to open a business account if you are a sole trader.He had a look through my statements for the past 3 months to make sure I didnt have unpaid direct debits and such.He said no problem for the loan of the full amount of £1000 and that you do not need to sign off to find this out.It takes 3 to 4 working days for the loan to be paid from the date you sign off and start EAS scheme.Get your adviser to phone them while you are signing off and starting the scheme to phone them asap to confirm you have signed off.
The quality of the mentors is crap (or at least that was what I found) 2 x 1 hour consultations with wrong information sending me in the wrong areas and costing time and money to find out what they are paid to tell me to start with.Very very poor service given.Good luck.

Andy2013

Hi guys i am new to this forum but am currently just starting my NEA and was wondering how things were going for you one year on .
My initial feeling about NEA is one of mixed opinions as i personally really needed the help with starting up a business and in november 2012 i started the process with the usual induction and mentor meeting but now at the JSA to NEA switch over point and i have been completely on my own with everything and i the 2 months i have only received 1 email from my " mentor" and this was a total of 9 words checking how i was.
As an individual i am motivated to make this a success so i am not really bothered ,only annoyed that this mentor thing is pretty useless so just a warning to others if your expecting Richard Branson to give you advice !!
I hope to get the loan i am applying for this week so that will be interesting as in the past my finances are a little RBS and i expect this to cause an issue but i have been told the funding company is open to everyone on NEA and will treat you as a busniess propesition so i will update this in time as i find out.
Otherwise the £65 a week is helpful and alongside WTC this is a good figure to take the pressure of you and gives you time to hopefully become self sufficient in the new business.
Any feedback from those on NEA who have been successful would be great otherwise anyone else who fancies a rant, cheers.