Question about claiming JSA

mickymouse1234

hello, i am currently in work with a company called OCS.
during December i had 1 shift i was able to attend.
during January i have 1 job i can attend...
so as you can imagine £30 a month kind of sucks as i need more for bills...
so my main question is... am i able to claim JSA again.
i am also constantly looking for work as i normally earn about £200 per month because of the lack of shifts they offer me...

any help is greatly appreciated.
if there is any other information you need to know just ask.

rogerblack

you can claim JSA if you're doing under 16 hours of work a week.
(and earning less than JSA)

mickymouse1234

rogerblack wrote: »

you can claim JSA if you're doing under 16 hours of work a week.
(and earning less than JSA)

The amount of hours i do per week is random...
So one week i might have no shifts but the next i could have one every day

Robbie64

If you have a totally random working pattern then the hours to be taken into account can be averaged over a period of time. It really depends if the JobCentre can find a pattern over a period of time to the hours you work. If they can't then they will usually try and average out the hours (including any week where you did not work at all) over a 5 week period. For the latter I assume that they would probably review your averaged hours on a fairly frequent basis to check that you haven't suddenly started working over 16 hours on a regular basis.

Caz3121

Do you have a partner that works?

mickymouse1234

Caz3121 wrote: »

Do you have a partner that works?

nope im single

mickymouse1234

Robbie64 wrote: »

If you have a totally random working pattern then the hours to be taken into account can be averaged over a period of time. It really depends if the JobCentre can find a pattern over a period of time to the hours you work. If they can't then they will usually try and average out the hours (including any week where you did not work at all) over a 5 week period. For the latter I assume that they would probably review your averaged hours on a fairly frequent basis to check that you haven't suddenly started working over 16 hours on a regular basis.

well the last 2 months i have had 2 shifts overall, one of which i was not able to attend.
but im also unable to tell them the hours i worked before these months because its a work till finish job and it changes all the time, or are they able to get it from OCS?

tom717

I worked for OCS and claimed JSA. Each time you sign on you have to declare any work and your JSA will be reduced accordingly. You don't need to tell them your hours in advance. They told me that if I worked over 16 hours one week but not the next they could reinstate my claim quickly, but that situation never came up as I only ever had 2 shifts in 5 months.

mickymouse1234

tom717 wrote: »

I worked for OCS and claimed JSA. Each time you sign on you have to declare any work and your JSA will be reduced accordingly. You don't need to tell them your hours in advance. They told me that if I worked over 16 hours one week but not the next they could reinstate my claim quickly, but that situation never came up as I only ever had 2 shifts in 5 months.

i was told by ingeus and according to their online application i should never have signed off... but they said i had no choice... + they still owe me £135.
so should i try and sign back on?
just explain my situation?

Robbie64

mickymouse1234 wrote: »

well the last 2 months i have had 2 shifts overall, one of which i was not able to attend.
but im also unable to tell them the hours i worked before these months because its a work till finish job and it changes all the time, or are they able to get it from OCS?

With such random shifts and with those shifts spaced so far apart, establishing a pattern of work to average out hours would be impossible so the correct thing to do is what tom717 posted. You would just declare the work / hours worked / income when you sign on and your benefits would be adjusted accordingly with a rapid reclaim being made if necessary.

If you aren't working 16 hours each week I would suggest you make another claim for JSA as quickly as possible.

tom717

I would go back with your contract which shows you have no guaranteed hours and also take a payslip if you have one yet. Ask for your claim to be reinstated from when you stopped as it was ended on wrong advice (I believe this is the only reason they will back date a claim).

Who do you think owes you 135? Can you explain a bit more?