Jobseekers Allowance -

AndyBrown1964

My Daughtrer had her contract terminated on 20th March 2020 due to Covid 19 etc. She was a receptionist and had worked there a couple of months on temp contract, so with no one coming to the office the didn't need her anymore. So she asked to be furloughed but they refused. So on the 23rd of march she applied for Jobseekers allowance and waited. 16th April she gets a letter stating "We cannot pay you an allowance from 23 march 2020. This is because the law says we cannot pay you" thats all it said.  She has worked continioulsy with only a few days breaks between jobs for 5 years. National Insurance paid etc. So no obvious reason why they can't pay her. So we asked in writting for a "Mandatory  Reconsideration"  by post - sent recorded delivery which they are I belive not accepting at the moment on the grounds they are swamped have tried to phone them - pointless can never get through. So any advice you can offer would be much appreciated. She is trying to get a Job but obvioulsy its not easy at the moment. 

calcotti

If needed look at eligibility for Universal Credit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/. 

There are online calculators to help her assess entitlement  https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Be aware that claiming UC will end any Tax Credits, Housing Benefit or other means tested benefits she currently gets.

She will be excluded from UC if she have savings over £16,000.

UC will pay more than JSA would.

coffee_king

Same issue here. Have you managed to progress any further with this please?

poppy12345

coffee_king said:

Same issue here. Have you managed to progress any further with this please?

The OP hasn't returned since the question was asked, so it's unlikely they will return now. If you have a question to ask then please start your own thread because it gets confusing when asking questions on someone else's thread.

epm-84

coffee_king said:

Same issue here. Have you managed to progress any further with this please?

Have you signed up for an online tax account?  If you have then I'd suggest you check it says you have a full year of contributions for both the 17/18 and 18/19 tax years and if it doesn't but you think it should then raise it with HMRC.

epm-84

calcotti said:

UC will pay more than JSA would.

If you have less than £6,000 in savings.  I'm not sure why anyone would apply for JSA if they had under £6,000 in savings given a UC claim isn't limited to 26 weeks.

calcotti

epm-84 said:

calcotti said:

UC will pay more than JSA would.

If you have less than £6,000 in savings.  I'm not sure why anyone would apply for JSA if they had under £6,000 in savings given a UC claim isn't limited to 26 weeks.

Because they get Class 1 NI credits instead of Class 3 and this might be beneficial in future if circumstances change.

coffee_king

epm-84 said:

coffee_king said:

Same issue here. Have you managed to progress any further with this please?

Have you signed up for an online tax account?  If you have then I'd suggest you check it says you have a full year of contributions for both the 17/18 and 18/19 tax years and if it doesn't but you think it should then raise it with HMRC.

I'm self employed, have an accountant and have access to everything online

epm-84

calcotti said:

epm-84 said:

calcotti said:

UC will pay more than JSA would.

If you have less than £6,000 in savings.  I'm not sure why anyone would apply for JSA if they had under £6,000 in savings given a UC claim isn't limited to 26 weeks.

Because they get Class 1 NI credits instead of Class 3 and this might be beneficial in future if circumstances change.

OK I didn't know that and I'm not sure all Jobcentre staff do as when I applied for Contribution Based JSA in 2016 a number of job centre advisors questioned why I had made a new claim for JSA not UC.

calcotti

epm-84 said:

calcotti said:

epm-84 said:

calcotti said:

UC will pay more than JSA would.

If you have less than £6,000 in savings.  I'm not sure why anyone would apply for JSA if they had under £6,000 in savings given a UC claim isn't limited to 26 weeks.

Because they get Class 1 NI credits instead of Class 3 and this might be beneficial in future if circumstances change.

OK I didn't know that and I'm not sure all Jobcentre staff do as when I applied for Contribution Based JSA in 2016 a number of job centre advisors questioned why I had made a new claim for JSA not UC.

In most cases it isn’t significant but getting the class 1 contributions could, for example, help you qualify for JSA again in the future or for ESA whereas Class 3 would not and if your circumstances changed, say a new partner or an inheritance, you might not be eligible for UC.