JSA (NI Contribution based) - aw vetting > offer & contract

MaidaVale3499

I believe my friend with the following view to be incorrect:

SUMMARY

His JSA (NI contribution based) claim was approved and payments commenced 24 Feb 2024 & remain live as of today.

After 2nd interview stage he has received a job offer Subject to vetting and references (no problems expected) and he expects a start date of 1st July and will receive his first salary 25th July.

He is due to next sign on for JSA on Tues 25th June and his intention is to advise that he has been offered a job with start date of Monday 1st July.

We both agree that he should/will receive JSA up to 30th June.  However my friend also thinks he will receive JSA until he is paid.  I think this is utter nonsense as he will be working and therefore cannot fulfill his JSA obligations ie he is not unemployed nor is looking for work.  I trust I am correct?

I assume the JSA clerk will terminate my friend's claim as of 30th June, order the p45 which my friend then provides to his new employer.

Cake and eat it .....was the thought that came into my head.

Voyager2002

Correct answer.

Robbie64

Your interpretation is correct. JSA will stop when the job starts.

Your friend will also need to be careful when reporting he or she has a job to start because in order to claim JSA you have to be actively seeking work for each day you are unemployed. If job seeking activities have stopped (because there is a job with a start date) then technically so too can JSA. There's nothing wrong with informing JSA that a person has obtained a job but if the person has yet to start the job then in order to continue claiming JSA the person must still satisfy benefit rules on job seeking.

The above is my interpretation of how the rules work. It might be different in practice.

Grumpy_chap

While I understand that Robbie is correct in the statement of the rules, my understanding (and my wife's experience) is that the nJSA (contributions based) is applied with a little more leniency once you advise a start date for a job, the claim is then set to cease at the start date.

This has been what my wife has found when she has claimed.  That is a claim for nJSA only and no means-tested elements.  The practice may vary when means-tested benefits are involved.

The nJSA end date is the day before the new employment commences.

I would also contend that securing a new job does not necessarily cease as soon as the job offer is received and start date agreed.  In that period, there is activity one might well be undertaking to ensure the success of the new role:

• ensuring references are provided to the new employer in timely fashion (progress the Referees)
• HR / payroll admin
• security clearance
• onboarding tasks
• sometimes a "meet the team" call ahead of start date
• maybe even familiarise with details of the first "project" that the individual will be working on

Spoonie_Turtle

Grumpy_chap said:

The practice may vary when means-tested benefits are involved.

With UC (the main means-tested benefit now) the claim doesn't close until/unless their earnings are high enough to close it.  I'm not sure about expectations of work search activity though, since UC tends to work very much on the principle of changes don't count until they've happened. 
(In this case that could translate to still needing to be on the lookout for potential jobs in case the current job offer falls through - but I don't know.  I'd be interested to hear from those who do know, if that's not derailing the thread.)

MaidaVale3499

Thanks everyone.  

housebuyer143

MaidaVale3499 said:

Thanks everyone.  

They are not too strict about it though. I found a new job but delayed the start by a month, just so I could enjoy time off and I got paid JSA for that whole month. Wasn't expecting that, but it was nice