Benefits of Signing On...?

Miiri

Slightly odd question - my OH has been out of work for the last year or so after an unsuccessful business attempt and is now struggling to get any responses to job ads.. :cool:

He's not currently signed on as due to my salary and his previous self-employment, he isn't entitled to any financial assistance but I wondered if the job centre is likely to be able offer any other help in terms of cv's, getting a job or do they just expect you to apply for x-amount of jobs and leave you alone?

He's over 50 if that makes a difference.

Thanks
Miiri

bazza5070

He can sign on for his credits only, this will entitle him into help with CVs, training, accedss to the Flexible Social Fund, help with travel to interviews etc. He will still have to fulfill his obligations for JSA though.

Did he not take out any private insurance against unemployment? Always amazes me that people dont do this, I have done this for years and I am PAYE!!!! A half decent accountant should have advised him to do this. :beer:

CCFC_80

bazza5070 wrote: »

He can sign on for his credits only, this will entitle him into help with CVs, training, accedss to the Flexible Social Fund, help with travel to interviews etc. He will still have to fulfill his obligations for JSA though.

The decision to sign on to get your credits is questionable,as you only need 30 years full contributions. The JCP lot will still make you jump through hoops even to just get your credits . As the OP is over 50 he may have already passed the required 30 years contributions

Uncertain

CCFC_80 wrote: »

The decision to sign on to get your credits is questionable,as you only need 30 years full contributions. The JCP lot will still make you jump through hoops even to just get your credits . As the OP is over 50 he may have already passed the required 30 years contributions

That is true in respect of getting a full state pension (as it stands at the moment).

However, as I understand it, getting the credits also keeps you eligible for certain other benefits such as ESA should the OP ever become too ill to work.

I agree that he may not consider it worthwhile "jumping through the hoops" but it is worth checking the full facts.

bazza5070

Always worth signing on for credits, as well as the above it entitles your partner into Bereavement benefits should you die before you claim your state pension. If you aint paying when you kick it the survivor dont get paid!!!

Elvisia

There are some benefits like reductions to places, courses etc if you are unemployed (and I mean things you've found yourself, not courses through the JCP) but the other problem is he will have to apply for the number of jobs they say, in the areas they agree, and they may give him jobs to apply for. Also if he has an interview or something comes up on a day he can't sign on it because problematic. I found jumping through their hoops time consuming and frustrating. I was reprimanded to applying once for "too many jobs" (???) and then again because the jobs I applied for didn't match what they had on their computers, even though they were the same job but had different titles. They also sent me for various jobs that were pointless, one was an extremely high up position in BT which I had no experience of, and didn't even understand the application, another was to teach chemistry at a top London university even though I know nothing about the subject (but I have taught before).

The CV and job interview courses are quite basic, when I went on one I was the only person there who knew what a CV was, I was really quite appalled. Personally I think he will have to jump through hoops, and may not get very much out of it. But if he needs more credits then do it, but remember the JCP are there to hand out benefits and get people off them, not to actually get them the right jobs. I signed on when I first left school about 20 years ago and it was a different place then, it was where people went everyday to find a job, rather than just sign a bit of paper.

The other option is to try it and see, and decide if it's too much hassle. They will need copies of your bank statements too, which I found massively intrusive.

CCFC_80

Elvisia wrote: »

There are some benefits like reductions to places, courses etc if you are unemployed (and I mean things you've found yourself, not courses through the JCP) but the other problem is he will have to apply for the number of jobs they say, in the areas they agree, and they may give him jobs to apply for. Also if he has an interview or something comes up on a day he can't sign on it because problematic. I found jumping through their hoops time consuming and frustrating. I was reprimanded to applying once for "too many jobs" (???) and then again because the jobs I applied for didn't match what they had on their computers, even though they were the same job but had different titles. They also sent me for various jobs that were pointless, one was an extremely high up position in BT which I had no experience of, and didn't even understand the application, another was to teach chemistry at a top London university even though I know nothing about the subject (but I have taught before).

The CV and job interview courses are quite basic, when I went on one I was the only person there who knew what a CV was, I was really quite appalled. Personally I think he will have to jump through hoops, and may not get very much out of it. But if he needs more credits then do it, but remember the JCP are there to hand out benefits and get people off them, not to actually get them the right jobs. I signed on when I first left school about 20 years ago and it was a different place then, it was where people went everyday to find a job, rather than just sign a bit of paper.

The other option is to try it and see, and decide if it's too much hassle. They will need copies of your bank statements too, which I found massively intrusive.

Spot on with your comments. As I previously said you would have to decide if its worthwhile and you want to jump through all their hoops just to get your NI contribuitions credited. You only need 30 years worth to qualify for a state pension.

neilcr_2

I am back in work now but kept signing on because I thought I needed the credits and it didn't normally take long. Realising I had a enough credits from over 35 years of employment coincided with the job centre sending me to one of their "providers" who were really annoying. The woman in charge was very hostile and kept threatening to stop my benefits even though I told her I didn't qualify.

The stupid women kept calling my answer phone and emailing me for several days after I sent her a polite email explaining that I would not be attending again. I explained why and and cut & pasted the relevant information about me not needing any more credits from the DirectGov website. This did not stop her leaving a spoken message on my answer phone threatening to stop my benefits and sending several more emails.
Her offices reeked of urine and I felt really sorry for most of the people who had no choice but to attend. All but one of the other attendees had solid employment records in very poorly paid jobs. With all the cuts currently being made it beggars belief that the government funds these "providers".

neilcr_2

bazza5070 wrote: »

Did he not take out any private insurance against unemployment? Always amazes me that people dont do this, I have done this for years and I am PAYE!!!! A half decent accountant should have advised him to do this. :beer:

A lot of these private insurance plans are not very good and some are worse than useless

Miiri

Thanks for all the responses.. we're due to move shortly so I think we might give it until then before he does the sign on thing. He's already applying for jobs and we're using their job search already.

He does need a couple more years of credits to get a full pension so it may well be worth him jumping through some hoops for a bit!

M