Told I'm not entitled to JSA, help!

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone,

I claimed Job Seekers Allowance in late December 2011 and since then, have seen my Job Centre advisor a few times. I know I'm not entitled to the full JSA amount since I live with my partner who works full-time, but thought I would still be entitled to contribution-based JSA which is based on me having paid national insurance contributions from April 2009-April 2010. During this time, I was working full-time and therefore, NI contributions were coming out of my pay check. However, after not having received any JSA since I applied, I received a letter on Saturday saying I am not entitled to receive JSA because my NI contributions did not meet the criteria. I'm extremely confused about this, could anyone hazard a guess as to why this may be? Thank you.

tescobabe69

I think you need two years contributions, someone who knows will be along soon, alternatively you could ask the job centre , they might know.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Tescobabe. The letter says from April 2009 to April 2010 so I just assumed it was during that period.

mirrorimage0

my husband had this last yr, you do need 2 yrs worth of contributions, he just had to send of an appeal with his p60 for both yrs and they backdated it. it did make me laugh as he has never claimed before as he has always worked and is now 46. i made him do it to keep up his ni contributions, it was only for 6 weeks until new job started

Oldernotwiser

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I claimed Job Seekers Allowance in late December 2011 and since then, have seen my Job Centre advisor a few times. I know I'm not entitled to the full JSA amount since I live with my partner who works full-time, but thought I would still be entitled to contribution-based JSA which is based on me having paid national insurance contributions from April 2009-April 2010. During this time, I was working full-time and therefore, NI contributions were coming out of my pay check. However, after not having received any JSA since I applied, I received a letter on Saturday saying I am not entitled to receive JSA because my NI contributions did not meet the criteria. I'm extremely confused about this, could anyone hazard a guess as to why this may be? Thank you.

Contributions based JSA and means tested JSA are exactly the same amount.

CB JSA is based on two years' contributions, not one.

sammyjammy

It maybe that the letter specifically mentions 04/09 to 04/10 because this is the year you don't meet the NI requirements. The DWP rely on eletronic data received from HMRC to tell them what contributions you've paid. If you worked for the entire year and earnt a full time wage it may be that there is an issue with your employer and the contributions you paid. Find your P60 for this year and send it in to the Benefit Centre (take a copy first in case they lose it) who will manually calculate your benefit if different.

Adereterial

You need to have paid sufficient NI contributions for the two consecutive tax years - in your case, as your claim started in 2011, those years would be 08/09 and 09/10. If you were not working for the full period April 6th 2008 - April 5th 2010 you may encounter a problem.

You need to determine which two years your claim was assessed on. If you were working for the entire period you need to provide copies of your P60s or payslips to prove NI was paid, and the claim will be reassessed and backdated. If you were not working for the entire period then you're unlikely to be entitled.

[Deleted User]

Thank you guys. Yes, I was a full-time student until May 2009 and so was only working part-time in the 08/09 period. Does anyone know if this would affect my claim? I called the office this morning but they were less than helpful and told me that if there were any gaps, I wouldn't be entitled. They didn't make it clear what constituted a 'gap' though i.e. one week or several. I was working on average 15 hours per week earning £7 an hour during 2008-2009, is this enough to make me eligible?

Killmark

Deleted_User wrote: »

Thank you guys. Yes, I was a full-time student until May 2009 and so was only working part-time in the 08/09 period. Does anyone know if this would affect my claim? I called the office this morning but they were less than helpful and told me that if there were any gaps, I wouldn't be entitled. They didn't make it clear what constituted a 'gap' though i.e. one week or several. I was working on average 15 hours per week earning £7 an hour during 2008-2009, is this enough to make me eligible?

Assuming you worked every week at £105 per week then you would have paid 5p in NI each week, or £2.75 in the course of the year.

The lower earnings limit marks the minimum weekly income at which you start making national insurance contributions.
2008-09= £90

To get JSA (Cont) you will need to show that you have;

• paid Class 1 national insurance contributions on earnings 25 times the lower earnings limit in either one of the 2 complete tax years before the start of the benefit year in which you make your claim; and
• paid or been credited with Class 1 contributions on earnings of 50 times the lower earnings limit in each of the 2 complete tax years before the start of the benefit year in which you make your claim.