Benefits If Partner Goes Away??

TheScarletPixie

Good Afternoon,

Can anyone help give me an idea if I will be entitled to JSA & Housing Benefit if my circumstances change please?

My partner lost his job a while back and has been unable to find work since so he has decided to go back to university and will use his redundancy money to fund this along with his digs etc... while away. There is no local uni that does the course he needs and due to family commitments the rest of our family needs to stay where we are until he finishes his course (approx 1 year).

I am currently unemployed but looking for work so would I be able to claim JSA as a single person and HB for myself and our child who is 17 and at college full time?

My partner and I have a joint JSA claim at the moment.

With my partner going back to uni it will make him more employable in his field.

Thank you in advance.

missbiggles1

TheScarletPixie wrote: »

Good Afternoon,

Can anyone help give me an idea if I will be entitled to JSA & Housing Benefit if my circumstances change please?

My partner lost his job a while back and has been unable to find work since so he has decided to go back to university and will use his redundancy money to fund this along with his digs etc... while away. There is no local uni that does the course he needs and due to family commitments the rest of our family needs to stay where we are until he finishes his course (approx 1 year).

I am currently unemployed but looking for work so would I be able to claim JSA as a single person and HB for myself and our child who is 17 and at college full time?

My partner and I have a joint JSA claim at the moment.

With my partner going back to uni it will make him more employable in his field.

Thank you in advance.

If your partner goes to university, he should be eligible to claim student funding while he studies. https://www.gov.uk/studentfinancesteps

Alice_Holt

Your benefits will continue to be assessed as a couple. You would not be able to claim as a single person.

Are you claiming Child Tax Credits?
Is JSa Income-Based or Contribution-Based?
If you became the main claimant for the joint JSa claim (which, I think you would need to as your partner would not now be able to meet the claimant committment), would you be able to claim Contribution-Based JSa?

Benefit advice when in full time education is horribly complicated.
I think it would be best for your partner to talk to the Welfare Office at uni, to get advice and establish if any bursaries etc may be available.
I also think a visit to your local CAB for a benefits check would be helpful.
You and your partner could then look at this in more detail, compare the two benefit / income assessments, and investigate any apparent differences.

TheScarletPixie

Thank you both for your replies.

We have asked at theJobcentre, student finance and the university in question and nobody can give us concrete information, we get conflicting information each time.

Yes my partner would qualify for some student finance but this would only cover his outgoings whilst away, he doesn't drink or smoke and neither do I. We don't think he'd get an overdraft as he's already got poor credit and his redundancy payment plus student loan wouldn't leave any spare for keeping our home. We rent privately.

We have been told by the Jobcentre that I would have to claim as a single person which doesn't sound right to me as we are a couple.

The last thing we want to do is get in trouble with the benefits agencies or lose our home. His employment prospects would be greatly improved once he's got his qualification and it's hugely frustrating not being able to find out where we would stand.

Any benefit claim made would be income based. Our savings, including his redundancy payment are less that £10,000, his fees for the year will be £5,000 and then digs etc... will be on a shoestring but he will get a student loan for £10,000 which will be a great help to him. Keeping a roof over our sons and my head whilst he is away will only be possible if I qualify for JSA and get full housing benefit as we already do (until such time as I find a job). We also get Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit for the time being whilst son is still in full time education.

Thanks

pmlindyloo

This is from the Decision Maker's Guide about living together as a married couple:

This is from the Decision Maker's Guide about living together as a married couple:

Temporary absence of one party
11151 A couple should not automatically be regarded as having stopped LTAMC just
because of the temporary absence of one of the parties. When DMs determine
whether LTAMC1
continues during a temporary absence, the reason for the absence
is an important factor. Absences for the following reasons would not normally mean
that the couple have stopped LTAMC
1. work;
2. a period as a hospital in-patient;
3. holiday;
4. a visit to a relative(s);
5. higher education

As Alice Holt says you will need to make a claim for JSA yourself and add your partner to your claim.

Some of his student finance will be taken into consideration as income for the claim so depending on the loan(s) and the savings you may be eligible for some income based JSA.

If you are then you will automatically be entitled to HB and CT reduction at the current level.

if your income/savings are too high for income based JSA then you may be eligible for HB and CT reduction based on low income (but they still count some parts of the loans(s) as income)

You should also notify tax credits of the change of circumstances.

Your partner will need to consider getting a part time job to fit around his studies as he will need to support you and your child until you find a job.

TheScarletPixie

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to answer my query.

I feel better informed now.

My partner will be looking for work whilst away as we both now that money will be very tight for us but hopefully worth it in the long run. I didn't want to be left high and dry with nothing if he went away - he wouldn't go if that were going to be the case, now it looks like he can go and we won't be homeless which really was the main concern.

Happy Days and with a bit of good fortune I'll get a job before he goes which is not until September, but I do like to plan :-)

Many thanks

Tiddlywinks

A very high proportion of uni students have part time jobs too - i can't see why your OH couldn't find a shelf stacking, coffee shop, burger bar type job whilst he's away.

Same with you. Are you applying for any type of job? Your 'child' is 17 so not really in need of full time parenting. Surely there must be a supermarket, cleaning, care sector job near you.

TELLIT01

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

A very high proportion of uni students have part time jobs too - i can't see why your OH couldn't find a shelf stacking, coffee shop, burger bar type job whilst he's away.

The OP has already said that her partner will be looking for work while they are away. Generally sensible to read previous posts before condemning people.