Signing off JSA and signing on again - time limit?

31M

Heres my dilemma...

I am 31 years old and have been signing on "the dole" (Job Seekers Allowance) for 22 months. So because its gone over 18 months, I am currently taking part in the "New Deal" IAP where I am attending a work experience job placement for 13 weeks, its about 2 weeks into the course now.

Unfortunately, my grandmother has no one to look after her and might be put in an old persons home. Considering some of the things she said about that, I don't want this to happen, so I might need to sign off, leave the New Deal and look after her full time. This is not "work". Also, I cannot sign on during this time because I am not going to actually be available for work whilst having to spend several hours a day at my nanna's house.

If I need to do this, I will not be able to attend "New Deal" anymore, since it runs from 9.30 in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon, every day of the week Mon to Fri.

The question is, if I sign off the dole completely and look after my nanna (which could be any amount of time, it could be one week, it could be one year, I just don't know) how long do I have to stay signed off before I can sign back on again?

I heard that if someone leaves the New Deal and signs back on again within 13 weeks, they will go back on the New Deal and rejoin the 13 wee program where they left off, however, this isn't the issue - the issue is how long do I have to leave it before I can even claim Job Seekers Allowance again, regardless of this New Deal thing?

Speaking to my sister she told me its a 6 month wait! She told me that you cannot sign back on again for six months! Surely not?

Certain situations where there might be a six month wait is if you are fired from a job for misconduct?

I just can't find any rules online about this. No one here has to type out a long winded answer (no offence but I really would like some sort of proper PDF file issued by the DWP that explains about the time limit etc)

If I end up looking after my nanna for say 10 weeks, I would sign back on again and rejoin the "New Deal" again where I left off, because I already know if you are on New Deal and you sign off then sign back on again within 13 weeks, you rejoin the New Deal where you left off. So then this implies that you CAN sign back on again - ANYTIME?

I just cannot judge how long I will be signed off for, nanna's health isn't too good though.

Thanks.

Fran

Perhaps the best thing to do is ask when you attend your course/sign on as a quick search doesn't bring up all the rules. Instinctively I would say that if you left the course to care for someone you would be able to sign on again when you stop being a carer. Ask them if they have anything written down and check your own info too eg. letters or anything else re ND.

31M

Thanks for the reply.

I went in JobCenter Plus today and from what I gather there is no such rule where you cannot sign back on again within "X" amount of time.

My sister told me she is not allowed to sign back on for another 6 months (26 weeks) but that must be some sort of "sanction" or something they imposed on her, because the woman at JobCenter Plus today said no, there isn't any such limit, you could in theory sign back on the very next day if you wanted to.

After all - I am not signing off because of finding a job, I would only be signing off because I am going to become "unavailable for work" and tied up taking care of my nanna for an unpredictable amount of time.

dmg24

Hi 31M,

The information from the JCP is correct, you can sign on at any time.

The 26 week period that your sister is referring to is the longest possible sanction that may be applied, but there should not be a sanction if you are able to show that you were a carer for that period. Even if someone is sanctioned, they should continue to sign on in order to have their NI paid for them.

There is a linking period of twelve weeks. If you reclaim within that period, your claim will be linked to your old claim, and so you will go back on to New Deal.

Is your Grandmother in receipt of Attendance Allowance? If so, it may be possible for you to claim Carers Allowance.

going2die_rich

Maybe it's worth considering sticking with the job placement so you can gain more experience which will hopefully allow you to get a job. As how long can you propose looking after your gran? You'll need a job sooner or later and the longer you leave it the harder it'll be.

22 months is a long time to be out of work after all and if you continue on people hiring will look at this very negatively.

At least if you can get a job it might mean being able to pay someone to come and see your gran each day for an hour or two to help her with lunch etc while you are at work. Which will still hopefully leave you with a decent income after paying for that. Although I am sure their are some charities / church groups that also provide a drop in for the elderly, worth looking up on.
The sad fact is, your gran wont be around forever and it's likely you'll be here a lot longer so need to worry about your own future too.

dmg24

going2die_rich wrote: »

Maybe it's worth considering sticking with the job placement so you can gain more experience which will hopefully allow you to get a job. As how long can you propose looking after your gran? You'll need a job sooner or later and the longer you leave it the harder it'll be.

22 months is a long time to be out of work after all and if you continue on people hiring will look at this very negatively.

At least if you can get a job it might mean being able to pay someone to come and see your gran each day for an hour or two to help her with lunch etc while you are at work. Which will still hopefully leave you with a decent income after paying for that. Although I am sure their are some charities / church groups that also provide a drop in for the elderly, worth looking up on.
The sad fact is, your gran wont be around forever and it's likely you'll be here a lot longer so need to worry about your own future too.

I don't think that helps the OP at all.

Not many people would give up employment, or the chance to get into employment, in order to care for a loved one. The OP should be applauded for being so caring, not told that his gran 'won't be around forever'.