Advice about JSA

auldblerk

Coming up to joining the dole queue at the end of the year due to redundancy and haven't been near a jobcentre for 30 years.
Now, from what I've heard and read, it looks like the jobcentre has turned into some sort of Gestapo unit so the question is do I have to sign on immediately after termination date and will I get interrogated if I don't ?

pmlindyloo

Your choice as to whether you sign on or not.

If you have savings/redundancy money to tide you over before getting another job then that's fine.

If you have paid NI contributions (class one) for the last two tax years then you would probably be entitled to contribution based JSA which is not means tested -income other than personal pension or savings would not affect your award.

Only provisos I can think of are:

1. Signing on would mean you get NI credits paid which count towards pensions.

2. If you were claiming any other means tested benefits e.g. Housing Benefit/Council Tax benefit/Tax credits then they would query your not claiming JSA and treat it as notional income (ie. you were receiving it even if you weren't!)

Daedalus

They won't care if you have been unemployed and not claiming. It isn't as bad as people on here would like to make out. What is true is they are overworked and don't really do that much for individuals, so don't expect them to hold your hand through jobseeking.

WantToBeSE

If you have enough savings to live on until you can find another job, then i wouldn't bother signing on.
I think that how 'bad' it is depends a lot on the area. I have heard some horror stories about sanctions because people haven't turned up for appointments that they didn't even know they had...but i have never experienced anything like that.
The JCP staff are severely overworked and understaffed, so they wont be able to help you much, the onus is on YOU (as it should be) to find work.

hcb42

If you are looking for work straight away, then I WOULD sign on.

It isnt that bad, as long as you are doing what you commit to do, which I have always found to be remarkably little in the times I have signed on.

It's approx £300 a month which you will receive which is better than nothing, and will make the redundancy money stretch a little further.

And you have paid into the system for all these years, and you will be entitled to the contribution based even if you dont qualify for any other benefits.

If you dont sign on immediately though, it isnt a problem. You need to be actively seeking work so if you choose to do something else first then that's ok. I left it six weeks before I signed on the first time I had to, mainly as I had a prebooked holiday.

Daedalus

WantToBeSE wrote: »

If you have enough savings to live on until you can find another job, then i wouldn't bother signing on.

I don't agree with that. If your intentions are honest, then it is always best to claim what you can. Savings can be used to sustain a more rigorous job search which JSA can't. It can be used as a relocation fund, a business start up fund etc.

fatbelly

You can make the initial claim online.

JSA online

You then get a phone call. It's not as bad a process as you might expect. You may want help with rent and/or Council Tax too.

dandelionclock30

If your entitled to JSA then you should claim it as you have paid into the system all your life.Plus you may depending on your circumstance get help with the council tax/housing benefit etc.
Just ring up and then they ring you back and ask loads of questions.Just answer honestly.I think its if you have over £16,000 in savings you cant get contribution based JSA. They will tell you what you are entitled too.
Also when I used to sign on the woman I saw was perfectly polite and appropriate.She wasnt threatening to stop my money etc or force me into doing things. They were all o.k, but the jobcentre was ram packed all the time because unemployment is massive in my city.

auldblerk

Thanks for all the advice, didn't realise you could do the first one online, will be actively looking for work, even at my age but don't need anyone to hold my hand, just to be talked to and treat like a human being which isn't the impression that is what happens I am getting thus far.

sniggings

auldblerk wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, didn't realise you could do the first one online, will be actively looking for work, even at my age but don't need anyone to hold my hand, just to be talked to and treat like a human being which isn't the impression that is what happens I am getting thus far.

they do tend to talk down to you as they deal with loads of people so until they see you as one of the good guys they treat you as someone not wanting to work, of course they are not all the same.

As said as you have been working you can claim for 6 months and they don't take your income into account, after 6 months, if you still have too much saving then your claim stops or if below I think it';s £6000 then you move onto income based JSA, worth doing it straight away as they don't date date a claim.

I think what you may have been thinking of is the Tories new punishment of not claiming for the first 7 days and to use those 7 days to look for work and "not look for benefits" what they fail to understand is you don't get any benefit AFTER you claim for the first 7 days, if you waited 7 days then claimed you would have to wait another 7 days before getting benefit, so a total of 14 days, they don't even understand their own policies :rotfl:

Tiggy_Wiggy

I'm not an expert on benefits. But just wanted to correct one thing that a few people had posted above. Contribution based JSA is not affected by having savings but I think it is affected by any pension received.

I have just signed on for the first time since I was a student 20 years ago and was still eligible for it.