Job Seekers - Contribution

supersaver2

Hi All,

My wife has been made redundant after 12 years. She has been looking at applying for JSA whilst she is looking for a new job. However it appears our area is now under universal credit and it is asking about my income and savings? Isn't contributions based purely on her years of NI contributions? We are a bit confused now and I have a bad feeling she'll be entitled to nothing?

Thank you for any help.

tazwhoever

Under UC only income based benefits are included. As you have contributions based benefit, you should be allowed to miss savings and income out (I may be wrong) as I haven't claimed under UC. If you were to put savings/income in then after 6 months of contributions, you will be able to move to income based depending on income/savings.

Hopefully, someone with more knowledge can explain.

NeilCr

Hopefully(?) this explains it

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/jobseekers-allowance-jsa/before-you-claim-jsa/check-if-you-can-get-jsa/


At the bottom is a link to how to claim

supersaver2

Thanks for the posts but still non the wiser. As son as you start filling the form online and put your postcode in it automatically starts the universal credit claim which has to be a joint claim, so looking like she can't make a claim in her own right based on her own 12 years contributions. Is that really right because basically contribution JSA don't appear to exist under universal credit?

NeilCr

There is "new style" JSA which is, in general, the old style conts based with one or two changes

Have you tried ringing the UC number in the link and checking it out? Probably worth the phone call to see if they can explain the problem

supersaver2

NeilCr wrote: »

There is "new style" JSA which is the old style conts based.

Have you tried ringing the UC number in the link and checking it out? Probably worth the phone call to see if they can explain the problem

Well i'm gobsmacked! Called the JSA number who told me to call the Universal Credit number as my wife can't claim JSA anymore in our area. So we called the Universal Credit number and looks like she has no entitlement.

How can this be after working full time and paying NI? I thought it existed for such times when you lose your job?

Quite disgusted actually. She's never claimed or been out of work before and when she needs someone the help, nothing.

NeilCr

Did they give a reason?

On the face of it, it looks like she should be eligible. Might be worth a visit to CAB to look through the paperwork and get them to check it out

A little bit more info here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-jobseekers-allowance[/url

supersaver2

NeilCr wrote: »

Did they give a reason?

On the face of it, it looks like she should be eligible. Might be worth a visit to CAB to look through the paperwork and get them to check it out

A little bit more info here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-jobseekers-allowance

And the contribution conditions

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/jobseekers-allowance

The guy was helpful enough, he said JSA, Income Support etc no longer exist in our area and everything is now called Universal Credit. With my income and hours that I work he said she isn't entitled! Feel like i'm banging my head on a brick wall!

We've done the online claim form for universal credit, yet it didn't ask abaout her redundancy, just when she last worked, i've filled my details in so let's see what we get back.

I'm quite shocked how difficult this has been, almost like they don't want to help people who lose their jobs...

NeilCr

supersaver2 wrote: »

The guy was helpful enough, he said JSA, Income Support etc no longer exist in our area and everything is now called Universal Credit. With my income and hours that I work he said she isn't entitled! Feel like i'm banging my head on a brick wall!

We've done the online claim form for universal credit, yet it didn't ask abaout her redundancy, just when she last worked, i've filled my details in so let's see what we get back.

I'm quite shocked how difficult this has been, almost like they don't want to help people who lose their jobs...

I still think she may be eligible for new style. Did your wife work full time?

Might be worth waiting for Alice Holt to come along. She has more knowledge of benefits than me!

Ames

When she phoned was she very clear that she wanted to claim new style JSA?

poppy12345

It won't be Universal Credit that she needs to claim because you work and that based on household income. It will be New styles JSA (CB JSA) that she needs to claim. See this link with the phone numbers also.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-jobseekers-allowance