Am I Entitled To JSA?

d3liberate

Just over 6 months ago (or 26 weeks), I was fired from my permanent long term job on performance grounds - which constituted unfair dismissal. I settled with the business and the reason for my termination was changed to read that left the business to pursue other opportunities (on my request)

I've been taking a much needed rest over the last 6m, travelling, fixing the garden fence, volunteering and had some health issues too. I'm now refreshed and ready to start looking for work again.

I understand that any JSA payments would have been suspended for 26 weeks had I applied when I got the boot so I never bothered, and I didn't really need the money as I was getting my settlement.

If I sign on now, would everything be ok, and what do I do about the gap of the last 6 months of not paying NIC contributions? Can I fill this gap?

HappyMJ

d3liberate wrote: »

Just over 6 months ago (or 26 weeks), I was fired from my permanent long term job on performance grounds - which constituted unfair dismissal. I settled with the business and the reason for my termination was changed to read that left the business to pursue other opportunities (on my request)

I've been taking a much needed rest over the last 6m, travelling, fixing the garden fence, volunteering and had some health issues too. I'm now refreshed and ready to start looking for work again.

I understand that any JSA payments would have been suspended for 26 weeks had I applied when I got the boot so I never bothered, and I didn't really need the money as I was getting my settlement.

If I sign on now, would everything be ok, and what do I do about the gap of the last 6 months of not paying NIC contributions? Can I fill this gap?

You would not have faced a sanction for being dismissed for performance grounds so you could have looked for work and claimed straight away but a break is always good.

You'll get payment after 7 waiting days. It's paid in arrears so you'll likely get a payment in 3 weeks.

You can pay voluntary NI if you wish but missing a year shouldn't make much difference so I'd just skip the year.

d3liberate

No sanction? I was lead to believe that if my actions caused me to lose my job (which wasn't true but what they claimed) that any payments would be suspended for 6 months or 26 weeks. I think I was advised that here on the board.

HappyMJ

d3liberate wrote: »

No sanction? I was lead to believe that if my actions caused me to lose my job (which wasn't true but what they claimed) that any payments would be suspended for 6 months or 26 weeks. I think I was advised that here on the board.

Depends what actions they were. If you couldn't do the job i.e the performance issues that you stated and they could not do anything to help then you weren't a good fit for the job and they had to let you go. You also said you had health issues and may have been able to get employment and support allowance instead.

Some posters on here tell you the worst case scenario but the only way you'll find out is by applying. Even if you don't get payment you will always get NI credits.

I've quit many jobs in my time because I just didn't like the work or the colleagues any more and got JSA straight away. You've got to word it in a way that it wasn't your fault for leaving such as a personality conflict that was affecting your mental health and you won't get sanctioned.

Darksparkle

I believe it is dismissal due to misconduct that can lead to sanctions.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/work-comes-to-an-end/dismissal-and-benefits/#h-what-can-a-dismissed-worker-claim

d3liberate

Cheers guys

Schnurrbart

I've quit many jobs in my time because I just didn't like the work or the colleagues any more and got JSA straight away. You've got to word it in a way that it wasn't your fault for leaving such as a personality conflict that was affecting your mental health and you won't get sanctioned.

HappyMJ, without wishing to divert this thread, I wonder if you could tell me a bit more about the experiences you mention in your last paragraph.

I am in a job which is making me desperately unhappy, and am considering handing in my notice even though I do not have another job to go straight into. The automatic 26 week sanction is pretty much the only reason I haven't yet done so - that, and the fact that I'd be less likely to get another job if I were out of work than already in work.

However, you say "I've quit many jobs in my time... and got JSA straight away." So, can the sanction be waived (or at least reduced in length) if you can satisfy the DWP that you had to leave the job because it was adversely affecting your mental health (perhaps backed up by a note from a GP attesting to this)? I thought that the sanction was automatic and fixed regardless of the reason for (voluntarily) leaving - although I can also understand that this is what the DWP might want people to think in order to deter them from quitting their jobs and signing on.

My job is genuinely damaging my mental health, and I have an appointment to see my GP next Wednesday (20th Jan 2016). If you could give me some more info before then on how you managed to sign back on right after voluntarily leaving work without sanctions, that would be fantastic. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you make it sound very easy! Knowing how increasingly draconian the benefits system is, I find it difficult to believe that simply framing your reason for leaving in a mental health context (you make no mention of supporting evidence or testimonial) is sufficient to get the sanction waived.

To pre-empt anyone asking why I took the job in the first place, here's why. I was unemployed at the time, and the JobCentre put me forward for the interview. The interviewer told me that, even though the contract would be for 20 hours, I would be able to do regular overtime to make up 30 hours, thereby allowing me to claim Working Tax Credits (which I had told him was crucial for me). I was offered the job, and would not have been able to turn it down without being sanctioned, as the offer was for a job with a contract of 16 hours or more. So I accepted it, but the 30 hours per week assurance turned out to be a load of hot air. I've been there for a year and a half, and my average hours are around 23 per week. On a few occasions I have worked under 20 hours in a week (get this: it's written into the 20 hour contract that my employer can give me fewer hours than the contract states!)

Apart from the various issues in the workplace that are causing me stress and anxiety, there is the fact that my income is actually less than it would be if I were on JSA (I'm pretty confident in the calculations I've made to reach this conclusion, and would be happy to share them). I do not want to go back into the benefits system, but given how my job is making me feel, and that I am financially worse off in it, I see it as the lesser of two evils.

I'm sorry if this post is regarded as a diversion from the OP, but as MJHappy's post is relevant to my situation, I wanted to respond within this thread, rather than start a different one which MJHappy might be less likely to read.

Any constructive advice from MJHappy or anybody else would be gratefully received. I've kept things fairly succinct (for me) here, but would be happy to expand on the situation if you needed more information.

d3liberate, I hope you don't see this as me hijacking the thread you started (my knowledge of forum etiquette is limited, and I'm always anxious about inadvertently committing some faux pas), and I wish you all the best for the future.

HappyMJ

Schnurrbart wrote: »

HappyMJ, without wishing to divert this thread, I wonder if you could tell me a bit more about the experiences you mention in your last paragraph.

I am in a job which is making me desperately unhappy, and am considering handing in my notice even though I do not have another job to go straight into. The automatic 26 week sanction is pretty much the only reason I haven't yet done so - that, and the fact that I'd be less likely to get another job if I were out of work than already in work.

However, you say "I've quit many jobs in my time... and got JSA straight away." So, can the sanction be waived (or at least reduced in length) if you can satisfy the DWP that you had to leave the job because it was adversely affecting your mental health (perhaps backed up by a note from a GP attesting to this)? I thought that the sanction was automatic and fixed regardless of the reason for (voluntarily) leaving - although I can also understand that this is what the DWP might want people to think in order to deter them from quitting their jobs and signing on.

My job is genuinely damaging my mental health, and I have an appointment to see my GP next Wednesday (20th Jan 2016). If you could give me some more info before then on how you managed to sign back on right after voluntarily leaving work without sanctions, that would be fantastic. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you make it sound very easy! Knowing how increasingly draconian the benefits system is, I find it difficult to believe that simply framing your reason for leaving in a mental health context (you make no mention of supporting evidence or testimonial) is sufficient to get the sanction waived.

To pre-empt anyone asking why I took the job in the first place, here's why. I was unemployed at the time, and the JobCentre put me forward for the interview. The interviewer told me that, even though the contract would be for 20 hours, I would be able to do regular overtime to make up 30 hours, thereby allowing me to claim Working Tax Credits (which I had told him was crucial for me). I was offered the job, and would not have been able to turn it down without being sanctioned, as the offer was for a job with a contract of 16 hours or more. So I accepted it, but the 30 hours per week assurance turned out to be a load of hot air. I've been there for a year and a half, and my average hours are around 23 per week. On a few occasions I have worked under 20 hours in a week (get this: it's written into the 20 hour contract that my employer can give me fewer hours than the contract states!)

Apart from the various issues in the workplace that are causing me stress and anxiety, there is the fact that my income is actually less than it would be if I were on JSA (I'm pretty confident in the calculations I've made to reach this conclusion, and would be happy to share them). I do not want to go back into the benefits system, but given how my job is making me feel, and that I am financially worse off in it, I see it as the lesser of two evils.

I'm sorry if this post is regarded as a diversion from the OP, but as MJHappy's post is relevant to my situation, I wanted to respond within this thread, rather than start a different one which MJHappy might be less likely to read.

Any constructive advice from MJHappy or anybody else would be gratefully received. I've kept things fairly succinct (for me) here, but would be happy to expand on the situation if you needed more information.

d3liberate, I hope you don't see this as me hijacking the thread you started (my knowledge of forum etiquette is limited, and I'm always anxious about inadvertently committing some faux pas), and I wish you all the best for the future.

Yes I went to GP and got a note saying "work related stress". It's not easy to leave any job as you are definitely risking a sanction but once you've left I have found it easy enough to avoid the sanction. Sanctions are not always automatic you must have a "very good" reason to leave. If it's affecting your mental health and the employer does nothing about it then you do have a very good reason.

As you are earning less in employment than out of employment then yes that would cause me no end of stress and without a doubt I would also want to leave. I wouldn't see the point of carrying on whilst getting further into debt every day just to make ends meet with no end in sight.

You're going to your GP next Wednesday so try and get a fit note saying you're not fit for work for depression and anxiety. You then hand that to your employer who is then supposed to make alterations to your work to fit around you. If they fail to do that then you can quit and you can either go on to Employment and Support Allowance or Job Seekers Allowance depending on what you and your GP thinks is best. If the stress is work related then stopping work also stops the stress so I only ever went on to JSA. A few weeks later after being on ESA the depression and anxiety feelings will have now been resolved and you won't be able to get another fit note so you need to come off ESA and go on to JSA. Make sure you do switch benefits or just start straight on JSA or you'll have to repay any overpaid benefit.

Be aware though that your employer could make enough changes to your contract which the DWP thinks is sufficient and your reason for leaving won't be valid any more.

sammyjammy

You should be aware that DWP will write to your last employer asking them why you left, unless you have evidence to the contrary they usually believe what the employer says.

Have you been using the spare time you have to look for a different job? It would be a lot easier than putting yourself through claiming JSA. Are you entitled to help with rent due to low income?

Schnurrbart

HappyMJ, thanks very much for elaborating on your experiences. Regarding your last point, it is very unlikely indeed that my employer would make any changes to my contract or to my job role in general.

sammyjammy, I've been looking for another job ever since getting this one, although I'll be the first to admit that I haven't always put enough effort into it. I do receive an element of Housing Benefit, but not much. I picked up an application form for Discretionary Housing Payment earlier today.

My GP visit went as I expected. He asked if I wanted a sick note, but I said no for the moment because a) it would only give me a temporary respite, and things would only be worse for me upon my return; and b) the absence would probably prejudice a prospective employer.

I am going to start another thread about my the financial aspect of my situation, as I feel I'm taking this one off-topic.

Thanks again for your responses.

andygb

Unfortunately, employers nowadays are increasingly using methods such as "performance reviews" and "capability studies" to get rid of staff. They are often coupled with 360 feedback reports, where the employer chooses people (who invariably do not like the person in question) to give their views on various aspects of the person's work.
I hope that the OP can go to their GP and be signed off, because going through the above can have a lasting effect on people, particularly in relation to getting a new job and trusting people.