Question about carers allowance..

C-K-M-I

How often do carers (who receive carers allowance) hear from job centre plus to go to work focused interviews? And when you first claim carers allowance, how soon do the job centre plus contact you about this?
Answers ASAP would be fab, thanks in advance.

Wicked_witch

I had one when I started claiming, never heard from them since! Been about 3 years now.

tronlegacy

Once in over 10 years.Job centre phoned and I told them was a carer and I never heard from them again.

kingfisherblue

If you are a single parent, as well as a carer, and are claiming income support, you are called for a WFI every six months.

millie.molly.mandy

If you are a parent, make sure you take your children with you to any interviews, tell them you can't afford childcare and have no other help. That should put a stop to their requests.

paddedjohn

millie.molly.mandy wrote: »

If you are a parent, make sure you take your children with you to any interviews, tell them you can't afford childcare and have no other help. That should put a stop to their requests.

If you are called in for an interview regarding JSA surely your kids would be at school.

Richscott

There are too many threads more or less covering the same subject!

You will only be compelled to attend a Work Focused Interview at the jobcentre if and only if you are in receipt of 'Carer Premium' (income support) on top of CA, if not then it is entirely optional. This information is outlined in the notes attached to your claim form.

minimad1970

kingfisherblue wrote: »

If you are a single parent, as well as a carer, and are claiming income support, you are called for a WFI every six months.

I fit that criteria and I've been once in 8 years.

millie.molly.mandy

millie.molly.mandy wrote: »

If you are a parent, make sure you take your children with you to any interviews, tell them you can't afford childcare and have no other help. That should put a stop to their requests.

Not if it's during the school holidays, it seems a good idea to make life a little difficult for them, as basically they invite you for these interviews without there being any jobs for you to have in most cases. They only do it because they are worried you are working under the radar, which of course you are if you're a mum.

Heycock

Jo Centres seem to be giving everyone a different story. No surprise there.
MY experience was that I was told I'd be called in after 12 weeks just for a face to face session to make sure I was aware of what was what. Fortunately the woman dealing with my file remembered my wife from when she started her ESA claim (the clerk's mother had suffered the same illness) and when I phoned her with a separate enquiry she said there was no pressure to look for work, just that if any assistance was needed the centre was there. It was pretty low key and she said the norm was for consequent call-ins to be every 3 years.
What she said was that carers worried themselves sick thinking they'd be forced to look for work when this just isn't true, and that the requirement to attend the initial interview was a statutory requirement going back to Gordon Brown's days.

Lucky94

I thought that it was the partner of the person named on the Income Support claim after claiming IS for at least 6 months may be called in for an interview?