Agency work and JSA. Help needed please.

swingaloo

My son has been looking for work and claiming JSA.

Last week he got signed on with an agency who told him they expected to be able to get him a minimum 3 days a week at a local employers.

He started on Friday last week and worked 6am till 2pm then they asked him to stay over till 6pm which he did.
Its minimum wage and with his breaks taken off equates to a 10.5 hour shift.
He went to the job centre Monday morning and signed off as although his Monday shift was cancelled they said he would be working the rest of the week.

Then he had his shift cancelled Tuesday, worked another 10.5 hour shift Wednesday, was cancelled today and also cancelled tomorrow.

So in actual fact he has signed off to get one day last week and one day this week. He is worse off than on JSA.

He cant tell the agency he does not want to work for them as he would not be able to sign back on but he's worried he may only get one day again next week or worse still no shift at all.

If this happens can you sign back on straight away or do you have waiting days again.

He's worse off because he's taken the agency job.

Savvy_Sue

I think he can do a rapid reclaim, suggest he phones and asks ... he'll have to explain he's not getting the hours expected.

androidgamer

as Savvy_Sue suggests, he can do a rapid reclaim if he was claiming JSA in the last 26 weeks, its just a formality to get him back onto the JC system & give him new paperwork. If he re-applies for JCA online (http://goo.gl/0ItDW) he should get an appointment within a few days.

As for leaving the agency, he must choose his words carefully (so it doesn't sound like he's jacking in the job because he can't be bothered) as the JC will contact the agency to verify his reasons for the sudden departure...if he could last another few weeks with the agency and there's still no sign of getting the minimum 3 days then at least he can go back to the JC in a better light as he did stick it out, but as I found out with a number of agencies, the work isn't always guaranteed and a verbal contract is harder to prove than a signed one

sniggings

depending on his age, if under 25 a 10.5 shift will give him more than JSA, if over 25 it is just below JSA so he can carry on signing on anyway, as they will make up the difference, you can work less than 16 a week and still claim but every £1 he earns will be taken of his benefit apart from the first £5.

It's this the kind of situation that is why some people will not take just any job, if he was on housing benefit too, the paper work becomes a nightmare.

Savvy_Sue

Actually I was suggesting he should try a rapid reclaim while continuing to work for the agency (and continuing to declare his hours, naturally!!!)

I don't know if that's as simple as a rapid reclaim when the job's not worked out within a short space of time, or even possible, but since if he'd known the hours would this erratic he could have stayed on JSA, it seems worth a try.

SaveMeDo

Employment agencies should be banned.