JSA when being made redundant question

[Throbbing Angel]

Hiya,

I'm very soon to be redundant and am told I can apply for JSA in advance (because I know the date I will be redundant from), however...

I can't see a way of doing this via their online form which assumes that I am either claiming retrospectively or am claiming from today and am unemployed today. I am redundant/unemployed from the middle of October.

Anyone point me in the right direction? In my 50's and have never applied for anything other than Child Benefit so a little lost. Had assumed that the online journey was going to easy.

 

[equationgirl]

Hiya,

I'm very soon to be redundant and am told I can apply for JSA in advance (because I know the date I will be redundant from), however...

I can't see a way of doing this via their online form which assumes that I am either claiming retrospectively or am claiming from today and am unemployed today. I am redundant/unemployed from the middle of October.

Anyone point me in the right direction? In my 50's and have never applied for anything other than Child Benefit so a little lost. Had assumed that the online journey was going to easy.

You could try phoning their 'helpline' number but bear in mind it's staffed by people who are entirely unsympathetic to your plight.

Who told you that you can apply in advance?

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Someone else who is also going to be redundant from our place

 

[Puddy_Tat]

i'm too long away from it all to know what the process is now

i did try to find something about it all and haven't

although did find something on this page (CAB) that suggests you're entitled to 'reasonable' time off for job hunting, which i didn't know about.

 

[Epona]

i'm too long away from it all to know what the process is now

i did try to find something about it all and haven't

although did find something on this page (CAB) that suggests you're entitled to 'reasonable' time off for job hunting, which i didn't know about.

From what I recall, that mostly means that the employer who is making you redundant can't deny you or penalise you for time off to attend interviews for other jobs - rather than an indeterminate amount of time to spruce up your CV or summat

 

[Pickman's model]

Hiya,

I'm very soon to be redundant and am told I can apply for JSA in advance (because I know the date I will be redundant from), however...

I can't see a way of doing this via their online form which assumes that I am either claiming retrospectively or am claiming from today and am unemployed today. I am redundant/unemployed from the middle of October.

Anyone point me in the right direction? In my 50's and have never applied for anything other than Child Benefit so a little lost. Had assumed that the online journey was going to easy.

The important thing is you won't get any uc/jsa if you have savings over £16k: but as I understand it you can apply and be registered unemployed even in that position. But the entire uc thing seems established, from what I've heard, to be a great pain for the claimant e2a corrected as per Elpenor's post below

 

[Puddy_Tat]

The important thing is you won't get any uc/jsa if you have savings over £6k: but as I understand it you can apply and be registered unemployed even in that position. But the entire uc thing seems established, from what I've heard, to be a great pain for the claimant

i'm increasingly out of touch with it, but thought there was still a contributions based JSA that was not means tested, but only for a limited time.

have they quietly abolished that?

 

[Elpenor]

16k not 6k

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is replacing 6 other benefits with a single monthly payment if you're out of work or on a low income - eligibility, how to prepare.

www.gov.uk

 

[Pickman's model]

16k not 6k

I was only out by 1

But thank you for the correction

 

[geminisnake]

16k not 6k

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is replacing 6 other benefits with a single monthly payment if you're out of work or on a low income - eligibility, how to prepare.

www.gov.uk

Over 6k they take into consideration. It used to be £1 for every £100 over 6k, not sure now.

 

[WouldBe]

Over 6k they take into consideration. It used to be £1 for every £100 over 6k, not sure now.

Not sure what the rate is but they also take extra money off if you have over £9k in savings as well.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

i'm increasingly out of touch with it, but thought there was still a contributions based JSA that was not means tested, but only for a limited time.

have they quietly abolished that?

No. If you have NI contributions from working, you get 6 months' JSA at £83 per week not means tested. Housing benefit, etc, now come under Universal Credit, which is means tested, and yes, if you have savings of over £16k, you can't claim universal credit.

Re signing on in advance, I'm not so sure you can do that. The online form, as said, only allows you to apply from the day you fill it in. It's pretty easy to fill in, though. Just make yourself available for everything every day in any location (that's just playing their game) and it only takes a few minutes to do. If I were you, I would make sure I did this on my very first day of official unemployment. You can then sit back and wait for them to contact you and arrange an interview. This can take a couple of weeks, but your claim will be backdated to the date you filled in the online form.

Universal credit can be backdated up to a month from the date you claim it, but JSA can't except in very exceptional circumstances. JSA people will be able to advise if you're eligible for UC. I don't know too much about that, but the new online JSA claim means it's actually easier now to sign on than it was years ago. You can sign on by phone now as well.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

The important thing is you won't get any uc/jsa if you have savings over £16k: but as I understand it you can apply and be registered unemployed even in that position. But the entire uc thing seems established, from what I've heard, to be a great pain for the claimant e2a corrected as per Elpenor's post below

@ the bold bit

I think I knew that already - I work in local govt and some of the staff deal w/Benefits calls/queries and I am sure that I have heard people saying similar on the phones.

 

[Pickman's model]

@ the bold bit

I think I knew that already - I work in local govt and some of the staff deal w/Benefits calls/queries and I am sure that I have heard people saying similar on the phones.

I didn't know what you know and thought with redundancy you might be bumped over the money limit. It seems to be a really shitty system for claimants and I hope you navigate it smoothly and don't get caught in the rapids

 

[Throbbing Angel]

It's all very complicated, probably necessarily so. Especially for those who have never had the need to claim in the past.
I'm quite ill too so I may also try the ESA route if anyone has any input on that or can point me at another thread(s).
It is adding to my current levels of anxiety a great deal, unfortunately.

I think I'll just call them at some point after my exam (Saturday) is out of the way as I need to focus on that atm and I've had to decamp to the local Uni library today because the feckin' WiFi @ home has gone on the fritz

 

[Pickman's model]

It's all very complicated, probably necessarily so. Especially for those who have never had the need to claim in the past.
I'm quite ill too so I may also try the ESA route if anyone has any input on that or can point me at another thread(s).
It is adding to my current levels of anxiety a great deal, unfortunately.

I think I'll just call them at some point after my exam (Saturday) is out of the way as I need to focus on that atm and I've had to decamp to the local Uni library today because the feckin' WiFi @ home has gone on the fritz

yeh use the eduroam

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I didn't know what you know and thought with redundancy you might be bumped over the money limit. It seems to be a really shitty system for claimants and I hope you navigate it smoothly and don't get caught in the rapids

Thank you. I think because reason=redundancy there is some sort of leeway with the 16k thing (or have I imagined this?)

My VR is under 16k and I have no savings to speak of - or is it the household's savings?
as Mrs A has some

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Can't speak for UC, but just for contributions-based JSA, which you will be eligible for, it's 6 months at £83 a week, not means-tested at all. They won't even ask you about savings. It's fuck all money, of course. UC is different, and your partner's money is also relevant.

 

[Pickman's model]

It's all very complicated, probably necessarily so. Especially for those who have never had the need to claim in the past.
I'm quite ill too so I may also try the ESA route if anyone has any input on that or can point me at another thread(s).
It is adding to my current levels of anxiety a great deal, unfortunately.

I think I'll just call them at some point after my exam (Saturday) is out of the way as I need to focus on that atm and I've had to decamp to the local Uni library today because the feckin' WiFi @ home has gone on the fritz

When I did the esa for a friend - with great help from my partner who knows about these things - it was OK, the process. Describe yourself on your worst day, not your best. Look at the notes, you need as many points as you can get and points make prizes. Record all phone calls. Might help if you have a friend or partner with you so if you forget something they can prompt you. If you know people irl who know about esa use them.

 

[Pickman's model]

Thank you. I think because reason=redundancy there is some sort of leeway with the 16k thing (or have I imagined this?)

My VR is under 16k and I have no savings to speak of - or is it the household's savings?
as Mrs A has some

Think it's your savings but don't quote me on that.

 

[Pickman's model]

Thank you. I think because reason=redundancy there is some sort of leeway with the 16k thing (or have I imagined this?)

My VR is under 16k and I have no savings to speak of - or is it the household's savings?
as Mrs A has some

There's some info on the scope site What to do after redundancy | Disability charity Scope UK which may be useful

 

[Puddy_Tat]

my understanding is that for contributions based JSA, it is the individual's NI contributions that count, savings are irrelevant, and partner's income is irrelevant.

for anything means tested, then partner's income and savings are taken in to account, as you have to claim as a couple (and this is one of the few situations where the system will recognise a 'common law' partner, to the point where you can have to try and prove that a house-sharer is not a partner)

there's a lot of confusion because JSA and ESA both have contributions and income related versions, rather than the latter being called something else.

 

[newme]

i'm increasingly out of touch with it, but thought there was still a contributions based JSA that was not means tested, but only for a limited time.

have they quietly abolished that?

I had contributions based last year after redundancy, 6 months only if you had enough NI contributions. They don't really hassle you at all and I had over 16k saved.

 

[tommers]

littlebabyjesus has said this twice already.

 

[newme]

littlebabyjesus has said this twice already.

So what?

 

[tommers]

So what?

So I found it a bit weird that they were completely ignored.

Wasn't really having a go at you but it was odd to see the conversation continue as if they hadn't said anything. Maybe everybody has them on ignore.

 

[newme]

So I found it a bit weird that they were completely ignored.

Wasn't really having a go at you but it was odd to see the conversation continue as if they hadn't said anything. Maybe everybody has them on ignore.

I replied with my experience, if anything it supports what they said.

Edit I'm also not ignoring them

 

[Pickman's model]

littlebabyjesus has said this twice already.

He is the urban bbc, full of repeats

 

[ouirdeaux]

People don't listen to the message of Jesus in the modern world.

 

[cesare]

Another consideration: if you have any intent at all to pursue a claim against your employer (or threaten) you will need to show that you have mitigated your loss. This means that you need to actively look for other work and keep records of that including your job seeker's diary.