Does Anyone Know About JSA etc?

[poosils]

Am in need of some advice or help please for my daughter. She recently changed jobs and was in receipt of a reasonable income, so she and her partner decided to rent a flat together.

The contract for the lease was signed 2 weeks ago with the move-in date being yesterday. She was then paid off from her new job when the boss decided to give her position to the son of his friend.

She has had to make a claim for JSA whilst she looks for another job and had hoped she would get some help with rent and council tax but because her partner works a 20 hour week on the minimum wage, they have been told they will receive no help whatosever.

Her partner earns about £480 per month and their rent and council tax is £440 per month. That's not counting gas/electricity, food, travel etc. I am worried sick about them.

Can anyone please give any advice? They are both white British citizens aged 22 and have no children.

[emmie]

go to Citizens advice bureau asap. They can help with matters like this, or at least advise where to get some help. I sympathise totally.

[bednobs]

could the partner get another job, and work full time? Or add another part time job in?
can he claim tax credits?
would it make a difference if they were blue, or yellow or brown?

[ttfn]

Have a look here - there is an online benefits advisor

http://www.direct.gov...ow_income/DG_10018926

[emmie]

not always easy to understand but there might be some help, advice on this government website

http://www.direct.gov...lasset/dg_200090.html

[ttfn]

Remember that Housing Benefit is administered by the local council and not the DWP

http://local.direct.g...th+your+local+council

Best to make the claim without delay and warn the landlord of the change of circumstances

[Katie2012newpoet]

How many hours a week is it because if it's over 16 he will have to surrport him & her and would there landlord let them claim Houseing benifits

[factor-fiction]

I am pretty sure the colour of their skin won't make any difference to what she can claim.
As long as she's paid enough NI she should be able to get Contribution based JSA of a little over £70 a week. Income based JSA takes account of household income and I think any significant savings- I'm not sure of the thresholds but maybe the extra £70 JSA brings them above the limit for further help.
The online benefits adviser site should help. CAB should help also. But i think the DWP should be in the best position to advise.
Tax credits may be possible but I'm not sure how it works.
Did she get any redundancy pay? She should also have been paid her notice . presumably the dismissal came out of the blue.

[poosils]

Thanks for the replies.

Jobs in this area are like hen's teeth. There is nothing and I mean no-thing available, so getting a second job will prove very, very difficult. After reading through the info for Income Support, it appears that if one is a refugee then there seems to be no problem in getting financial help which is why I mentioned they were British citizens.

Citizens Advice is a nightmare to contact. You notch up a fortune in phone bills whilst waiting in a queue that never comes to an end before having to eventually hang up exasperated. The nearest office is quite a distance away and it would mean having to go all the way there just to make an appointment *sigh*

[factor-fiction]

>The nearest office is quite a distance away

I think you'll find she'll have to travel to sign on at the job centre too. To get good advice from CAB or benefits from DWP you have to be prepared to travel to these places.

I suggest you ignore stories- true or otherwise- about what refugees are getting and she just focuses on what she can get.

Can she claim unfair dismissal?

[emmie]

sorry but they can help, go there in person, unless you, they cannot drive.

[emmie]

where roughly are you and the family?

[poosils]

Yes Katie, this is the case, her partner works 20 hours a week for the minimum wage. I put all the figures in my orignal post at the top. The landlord is understanding about this and would accept housing benefit but without being in receipt of JSA, no housing/council tax benefits can be claimed according to the chappy at the Job Centre today.

[poosils]

No factor30, she cannot claim unfair dismissal. She gave up her last job when she was offered this post as manager and took up the post on the assumption it was permanent. The boss decided shortly afterwards to give her job to the son of his best friend and she was dismissed 3 weeks after commencing with no notice or anything. Yes it's unfair but she wasn't there long enough to be able to do anything about it.

[factor-fiction]

Yes after 3 weeks they can dismiss for any reason other than something such as sex, race or trade union membership, but she should have been paid her contractual notice which I would have thought would have been a month or more. What do you mean when you say she was paid off.

[poosils]

@ factor30 - Paid off, as in just dismissed, erm, told to pick up her P45 the following day and her due wages. The boss had decided to employ his mates son in her place so she was basically just told to leave.

[factor-fiction]

She should have received pay for her period of notice. What notice was she on? I would have thought a minimum of a week but longer if her contract specifies it. Buildersmate will know if he sees this

[poosils]

There was no contract factor.

JSA says that because her partner has a job then she is entitled to nothing....even although her partner's wages are low. The Council will not grant rent allowance or council tax rebate unless one is in receipt of benefits....and working tax credit will only pay out if
if you're aged 25 or over, you need to do paid work of at least 30 hours a week
if you have a disability and are aged 16 or over, you need to do paid work of at least 16 hours a week
if you're aged 60 or over, you need to do paid work of at least 16 hours a week.

So basically they are screwed.

I have more poop going on in life right now than a pig farm....lol. Here's another question - if I were to start a life insurance policy, would it pay out for suicide? If so, how long would it have to be in force before it paid out?

[EDDIE51]

They should be able to claim housing and council tax benefit, this is administered by the local council not the DWP/ Jobcentre. They should get working tax credit as well.
I earn £145 a week , my wife does not work, we get £74 a week working tax credit plus full rent/ council tax benefit. I have an idea it may be diffrent for people under 25 though.

[EDDIE51]

Get them , or you to fill in this benefit calculator
http://www.turn2us.or.../benefits_search.aspx

[poosils]

Thanks for that Eddies but according to their rules it is different for under 25's. The law is sooo flawed in this country and sadly, very few actually challenge it.