Advice for a friend :)

kezlou

Hello,

I was wondering if you could help me. My friend recently got married abroad to a man from Tunisia.

She lost her husband a couple of year ago and she was granted Bereavement Allowance for her two children. Which has now been cancelled as she notified them of her change of circumstances.

Yesterday she contacted the job centre to make an appointment to sign on. She went to her first contact meeting and she was told she couldn't claimed incomeJob-seekers Allowance, due to her new husband working 56 hours.

Her new husband lives and works in Tunisia and we've worked it out that earns £150 a month. Over they its really rubbish wages for long hours.

She's currently recieving child tax credit, child benefit for her two children and is claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Does anyone know if she would be able to claim any kind of benefits? Oh and she not paid enough NI contributions to claim Contribrution based JSA.


Thanks for your help

[Deleted User]

i`m wondering how much in benefits she would get in Tunisia?

sleepless_saver

kezlou wrote: »

Yesterday she contacted the job centre to make an appointment to sign on. She went to her first contact meeting and she was told she couldn't claimed incomeJob-seekers Allowance, due to her new husband working 56 hours.

This doesn't make sense to me, they should be looking at his earnings not hours worked. (And in some circumstances his income would be ignored.) She should get specialist advice and appeal.

karenx

She could get a job?

FBaby

They got married but are not living together? Why? I assume they do intend to do so at some point (I think it is kind of the intention behind marriage!). Either he moves here, or she moves there. Is it a case that he does intend on coming to England but hasn't got his visa yet? Can't she move to Tunisia until they can move to England?

epitome

Who told her that? From what you said it must be the jobcentre staff.

If it was the Job Centre Staff then I think they have acted incorrectly, it is not up to them to decide this it is for the Benefit Centre to decide.

I presume she said he is not living here due to not having a visa to enter UK.

You can do one of two things,

1) Go back to JC and complain to manager that this person has never lived in UK and has no VISA to enter UK and so is not "temporarily living away from home" and that you want this claim to be sent to BC with a note explaining the circumstances of the relationship. The marriage may not even be recognised under UK law and they will have to get married again when he enters UK.

2) This is what I would probably do.....
Do a new claim over the phone and this time say ( INSIST ) that her answer to
Do you have a partner who lives with you or is temporarily living at another address?
Is "no" and that she wants it put into notes that she recently got married to someone who is in Tunisia, i.e. not living with her, not a member of her household, who currently has no visa to enter the UK and who does not support her in any way.
If they refuse to do this, ask to speak to a line manager and tell them that they have to accept the answers she gives and they cannot legally change her answers on the form.

If you want the full transcript of that question it is as follows.....
Do you have a partner who lives with you or is temporarily living at another address? (offer explanation if needed): We use partner to mean a person you are married to, a civil partner of, or living with as if you are married to them or a civil partner of them and is:

• Age 16 or over
• Who are members of the same household
• Who may be temporarily not be living with them at the same address

Although she is married (possibly not married under UK law) her "husband" is certainly not a member of her household yet, nor has he lived with her ever so cannot be classed as temporarily away from home.

sleepless_saver

karenx wrote: »

She could get a job?

Perhaps, for once, we could just assume she is actively jobseeking as this is one of the criteria for the JSA she is trying to get.

kezlou

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies. Sorry i haven't been on we've been really busy jobhunting and sogsrt out.things out.

Thanks for the information sleepless saver i'll tell my friend and arrange another appointment with the jobcentre to apply. Hopefully something will come out of it.

Epitome wow thats great! We'll take all of this with us when she arranges another appoinment.

My friends husband is still living in Tunisia, he's looking into what he can apply for her. But i don't they anything like what we have set up there. He currently doesn't have a visa, but hopefully in the next couple of months he will be applying to come and live here.

The reason she hasn't moved over there, is because she has two children both in secondary school. Her 16 yr old is due to take his exams in the next few weeks so she can't possible live over there while he does them.

Thanks for help

Thanks Karen, my fiend arrived back on Wednesday evening and was out applying for jobs on Thursday.