jobseekers allowance

[bubbles4920]

after 6 months of signing on and receiving jobseekers allowance, what happens after that? someone has said that you dont get anything and just go to sign on to get your national insurance stamp. how do people manage? cos my husband is working, do they expect him to provide for me or would i go onto another allowance. i am ideally looking for a job with languages but not getting very far and dont want teaching again!

[Ethel]

There are now two types of JSA - contribution based and income based.

Assuming you have paid enough National Insurance contributions you will be entitled to Contribution Based for 6 months.

If you are still seeking employment after 6 months you MAY qualify for income based JSA if you haven't got a certain amount of savings and your income is low.

If you have not paid enough NI contributions the rules for income based apply straight away.

[Ethel]

Sorry, I forgot to say they will take your husband's income into account.

If he is earning more than the allowed amount you will get nothing.

And quite right too.

[bubbles4920]

thanks for your replies, please do not think i am a scrounger, i am so against people who sign on for years and years though think they are clamping down on it now arent they. i only enquired initially about my stamp after i resigned from teaching due to illness. so what would happen if i was on my own, no husband to support me?? you can understand why there are so many pregnancies at an early age, gets em on the ladder to pay outs!

[Ethel]

If you are too ill to work you should be in receipt of incapacity benefit, which is not means tested and so is not affected by your partners income.

And if you think being a single parent on benefits is an easy option, you are so wrong.

[bubbles4920]

you seem very on the defensive ethel! i am not too ill to work that is why i am job seeking. i resigned due to depression brought on by bereavement exacerbated by returning to work and not being fully supported.
as i said i only went to ask about my stamp and they said i could claim for 6 months. as for hubby, we may be splitting up if you must know, so how would i manage if i wasnt working/couldnt find anything suitable though i do know that once you cant find what you want, they will eventually get you down to sweeping roads etc if y ou have to!

[Yorky Lass]

Well said Ethel ! Living off benefits isn't a cushy option.

Perhaps bubbles4920 you could take any job, even minimum wage, to boost your income until a job with languages comes along.

I always think it is better to be in work when looking for jobs as you can supply a current reference and it definitely looks better than years of unemployment.

Good luck in your job search.

[Ethel]

If you divorced and you were unable to work your husband may still have to support you through maintenance. It depends on many factors.

As you resigned because of depression you should have been receiving sick benefits of some sort. Depression is an illnes after all.

Perhaps you could have been retired on medical grounds with your pension.

Have you thought about teaching adults? That is very different to teaching children. It would be shame not to use your qualifications.

Or even be self- employed. There may be a demand for good translators in the commercial world.

And what about the travel industry? A holiday rep, tour guide and so on. A second language is essential.

Anyway, as your situation is at the moment - you will get JSA for six months guaranteed. Then your husband's income and joint assets will be taken into consideration. If they are deemed over the limit you will only get your NI stamp paid.

Good luck with it all. :)

[Ethel]

Following from yorky lass, it is essential that you get ANY job first, because getting a 'good' job whilst unemployed and citing 'depression' as the reason for leaving your last job will be almost impossible.

Alarm bells will be ringing with prospective employers - because they will not want to risk being sued for stress related illnesses having employed you knowing there is some history of it.