Back-dating claims & Appeals

charitycase

I was recently informed that my application for contribution based JSA has been approved. However, they have refused to backdate it more than the first week of April, although I had requested it to be backdated to beginning of March 2012.
They've also stated that this refusal is because I have "not shown sufficient reason why I did not submit my claim earlier". (My claim was submitted on the 16th of April; I became unemployed in February 2012)

Attached to the letter was a leaflet on appeals detailing how I can go about doing the same.

What I'd like to know is:

1. Is there a cut-off for backdating of claims?
2. Does anyone know the success rates for appeals re: contribution-based JSA?

Thank you for your help and advice!


P.S. One more thing: The letter also states that I would be paid approx. £70 a week till end of April , and approx. £111 per week from May onwards. A couple of my friends who have been receiving cont-based JSA get £70 per week. Question: Are contribution-based JSA payments based on the NI contributions I've made for the last couple of years, as the name suggests?

Thanks, again!

EDIT: Please could someone address the 'P.S.' part of this post? Thank you!

mynameistallulah

For what reason did you not claim earlier?

rogerblack

charitycase wrote: »

I was recently informed that my application for contribution based JSA has been approved. However, they have refused to backdate it more than the first week of April, although I had requested it to be backdated to beginning of March 2012.

As I understand it, for backdating to be possible at all, you need to have actually been seeking work at that time.
Can you prove you were actually seeking work?

dookar

rogerblack wrote: »

As I understand it, for backdating to be possible at all, you need to have actually been seeking work at that time.
Can you prove you were actually seeking work?

They've had a good cause decision not an ASE decision.

OP, the limit is three months, but

charitycase

rogerblack wrote: »

As I understand it, for backdating to be possible at all, you need to have actually been seeking work at that time.
Can you prove you were actually seeking work?

Yes, I can prove that. I have copies of job applications as well as interview notifications for that period. Would these docs be sufficient or would I need to furnish further proof?

The reason I did not claim earlier is because 1) I was hoping to get back into employment fairly soon and 2) I was not aware that I could claim (since I am not a citizen, although I've been residing, working and paying taxes for the last 8 years).

charitycase

dookar wrote: »

They've had a good cause decision not an ASE decision.

OP, the limit is three months, but

Sorry, but I dont understand what an ASE decision is. When do these apply?
I assumed that my contribution-based JSA would be considered solely on the criteria of the NI contributions I have been making. Am I wrong?

rogerblack

dookar wrote: »

They've had a good cause decision not an ASE decision.

OP, the limit is three months, but

I know.
I was meaning that even if the 'good cause' decision is appealed, and won, it wouldn't matter if they weren't ASE.

dookar

charitycase wrote: »

Yes, I can prove that. I have copies of job applications as well as interview notifications for that period. Would these docs be sufficient or would I need to furnish further proof?

The reason I did not claim earlier is because 1) I was hoping to get back into employment fairly soon and 2) I was not aware that I could claim (since I am not a citizen, although I've been residing, working and paying taxes for the last 8 years).

That would be sufficeint, yes, but the fact is you don't have good cause for notclaiming from an earlier date so an appeal would likely fail

charitycase wrote: »

Sorry, but I dont understand what an ASE decision is. When do these apply?
I assumed that my contribution-based JSA would be considered solely on the criteria of the NI contributions I have been making. Am I wrong?

Actively Seeking Employment

epitome

I was going to start a new thread on helpful hints and tips but I didn't bother. One of them was to get people to say what reasons would be good cause for not claiming earlier.

Some good causes I am fairly sure about would be

• Finished work on Friday, Phoned to claim on Monday or if like this weekend it is bank holiday the day after the bank holidays, Give your reason as "Your phone lines are not open to claim on over the weekend/bank holiday" That should work, if it doesn't, appeal. But be careful to check in the jobcentre at inthe interview that Saturday has been entered on your claim statement as date claiming from. If it isn't there make a complaint against the person on the phone who took your claim.
  
• Previously been incorretly advised by DWP staff, or other official staff or advice bodies that you couldn't claim or any advice that you should delay claiming, but it's not easy to prove this.
  
• Engilsh not your first language and you encountered difficulty finding out how to claim or get interpreter appointments to explain to you how to claim, at the CAB for example
  
• Possibly if you are vulnerable person with learning difficulties or other vulnerability it might be good cause if there was a delay due to this.

For the OP not claiming because you were looking for work and expecting to find work quicker and because you didn't know how to claim all to me sound like reasons that will fail backdating.

You can backdate 1 month with less stringent criteria (but I don't know what those criteria are)
or you can backdate a max 3 months but the criteria become very strict, and again I don't know what those criteria are.
Possibly, family bereavement may be a reason

The reasons I gave above would maybe be ok within 1 month.

P.S. One more thing: The letter also states that I would be paid approx. £70 a week till end of April , and approx. £111 per week from May onwards. A couple of my friends who have been receiving cont-based JSA get £70 per week. Question: Are contribution-based JSA payments based on the NI contributions I've made for the last couple of years, as the name suggests?

Did your partner lose their job in May? That would explain the increase from May. To answer the question yes JSA C is dependant on what sort of NI conts and how many NI conts you paid and how much you earned in the last two relevant tax years currently they are using 09/10 & 10/11
This thread tries to explain the rules
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3990667

dookar

epitome wrote: »

[*]Finished work on Friday, Phoned to claim on Monday or if like this weekend it is bank holiday the day after the bank holidays, Give your reason as "Your phone lines are not open to claim on over the weekend/bank holiday" That should work, if it doesn't, appeal. But be careful to check in the jobcentre at inthe interview that Saturday has been entered on your claim statement as date claiming from. If it isn't there make a complaint against the person on the phone who took your claim.

I largely agree but not with this one. The claimant would have to demonstrate they couldn't notify the SoS of their intention to claim prior to the Saturday - for example they were dismissed on the spot on the Friday after the appropriate office had closed. If they knew their employment was going to attend they would have to demonstrate why they could not reasonably have so notified the SoS

missapril75

dookar wrote: »

...but the fact is you don't have good cause for notclaiming from an earlier date so an appeal would likely fail

Agree. Not knowing is never accepted. It's positively considered that people are expected to see out possible entitlements (unless, maybe, something stopped that) and not claiming in expectation of something else (a job) just wouldn't work.