"Penalised" for getting contribution-based JSA (help with eye tests etc)

SkyeKnight

nannytone wrote: »

in your position ... you are entitled to everything that a person on income based JSA is apart from help with your mortgage.
but even on income based JSA, that only kicks in after 13 weeks.
you only get conts based for a maximum of 26 weeks anyway

i would also assume that in order to have obtained a mortgage, then those people would also have been working and so would have faced the same obstacle that you are now hitting ( conts based JSA for the first 26 weeks)

so it isnt quite right that they are getting something that you arent. they also had to go through the period where it wasnt available to them either

Not necessarily - your working partner could move out or die and you could go straight onto income-based JSA or you could move onto JSA from income support due to the age of your child - and I'm sure we could come up with some other examples.

There are other things you can get as well as SMI on income-based JSA - free school meals for a start, and in my area free bus pass and discount on leisure centres - that aren't available on contribution-based JSA.

It seems wrong to me that someone with no partner and no savings cannot go straight onto income-based JSA. Instead you get penalised for having worked!

Indie_Kid

blondebubbles wrote: »

I thought you could get free school meals as long as you got child tax credit only and income was less than £16k?

It might be a bit lower; but yes, you can get free schools if on a low income and claim child tax credits only.

SkyeKnight

blondebubbles wrote: »

It's £16190 according to the gov.uk site. My point was more that someone in JSA CB and CTC could get free school meals

Yes, but if you have been working and plan to work again soon you don't know what your income is going to be for the year - if you have been earning over £16,190 previously then you won't get free school meals despite being unemployed.

If you could claim income-based JSA then you could get free school meals straight away. I'm not saying you should be getting them - just that its a situation where income-based JSA would be better then contribution based.

SkyeKnight

blondebubbles wrote: »

Your post didn't say that. You just said that it wasn't available for those on contributions based.

Anyway I'm not here for an argument.

No argument - you are correct! I hadn't thought about being able to claim free school meals under the low income criteria, though that can be quite hard to do unless you already earn under £16k before you lose your job. There is no assessment of your previous income if you get income-based JSA - so it is certainly harder to get free school meals on CB rather than IB - but as you say, not impossible.

cattie

wildwestfan wrote: »

As my children were taught 'if you ain't got none you must have some'.

Wow! This brought back memories of my father who was forever proclaiming it whenever me or any of my siblings dared use a sentence containing a double negative.

I confess to then sprouting it to my son when he was growing up, but it's been many a year since I've seen or heard the saying other than in my own head!

xylophone

whenever me or any of my siblings dared use a sentence containing a double negative.

Whenever I......(take out "any of my siblings" and you'll see why).;)

airliner

The welfare system is primarily there to support those in need.

It was not set up to give back what people have put in. This mentality of 'I put lots in so I should get lots back' is ridiculous.

missapril75

schrodie wrote: »

I agree but I think the suggestion from the OP was...that despite working and paying his taxes etc he's being penalised for having been made to do so..

Made to do an "income" application for the NHS stuff is not that big a deal as an earlier post suggests.

Yes it does mean a different application rather than just a declaration, but remember that the person on the conts version didn't have to make the far more detailed application for income based JSA.

That little bit extra to do (the HC1) is as nothing compared to not just providing far more in the first place (all those questions and documents to be supplied) for an income based claim but then having to report changes (like capital) during the life of that claim.

poorlittlefish

missapril75 wrote: »

Yes it does mean a different application rather than just a declaration, but remember that the person on the conts version didn't have to make the far more detailed application for income based JSA.

That little bit extra to do (the HC1) is as nothing compared to not just providing far more in the first place (all those questions and documents to be supplied) for an income based claim but then having to report changes (like capital) during the life of that claim.

I'm not sure about this because when I made the claim I had to disclose the details and balances of all my accounts, provide proof of my mortgage payments etc. I can only guess that the form is the same for everyone, then the DWP just decides which version you're entitled to? I've also been told that I have to disclose if my (rapidly depleting) savings go above £6k.

missapril75

poorlittlefish wrote: »

I'm not sure about this because when I made the claim I had to disclose the details and balances of all my accounts, provide proof of my mortgage payments etc. I can only guess that the form is the same for everyone, then the DWP just decides which version you're entitled to? I've also been told that I have to disclose if my (rapidly depleting) savings go above £6k.

All those things are only if one applies for the income based version. They have no relevance to a conts only application.

Last I knew one can opt for conts only and then not have to go into irrelevant details. Sometimes people aren't sure and say yes to both bits.