Job seekers allowance help

[jbbs]

Hi all.

Great forum

Just have a question regarding jobseekers allowance. I have been signing on for a couple of months now since i finished uni, but now they have already asked for an interview, i feel their going to start pushing real soon.

Now, i do want a job, dont get me wrong, i hope people dont come on here and start saying im cheating the system or anything cause i really am not, i just need a bit of time as i have a few issues at the moment i that i need to get over.

Well what i want to ask is, so that they stop pushing is their any reason i can give them so that i can get off jsa for a month? is it possible to tell them i found a part time job for a month or will they follow that up and find im lying to them? I am not going to say anything about my issues, i just need a bit of help with this please, is there any way possible of telling them that i found a job for a month and them not following it up/finding out about it?

Plz, all comments welcomed.

Thx in advance.

J.

[MONX]

You dont say what your issues are, if they are to do with your health and you think your doctor will give you a sick note for more than two weeks then I suggest you make a claim to Incapacity Benefit/Income support. You will have to attend a work focused interview after about eight weeks but hopefully you will be well by then.

Jobseekers Allowance is an allowance payable whilst you are seeking work, if you are not seeking work then you must sign off. You do not have to give a reason you can just say that you are not available for work at the moment.

No one on the forum should judge anyone else, I very much doubt anyone would personally attack you for asking a perfectly reasonable question.

HTH
MONX

[MONX]

The restart interviews are nothing to be scared of btw, the advisor will just see if there is anything further the Jobcentre or you could do to make your jobsearch more productive/successful. It may be that you would like re-training or looking at another industry you havent had any experience in and training could be made available.

[jbbs]

Thx for the advice mate.

The thing is, i wouldn't be on job seekers allowance if either of my parents worked, but as they don't work, they would have to pay 40 pound a month taxes if i wasn't on job seekers allowance, so i'm a bit stuck, i have to sign on. I do want a job, but just not really ready for one just yet.

So what i was wondering was that, if i told them i had a part time job for a month (just so they think i am searching at the mo) and then went back to signing on after that month, would they follow up and want to know where i worked?

I am actually considering going to the interview first, just so i can get some advice on job seeking for when i am ready.

Again thx for all the help, very much appreciated.

[Lula]

Why dont you just go to the interview and see what happens, the way things are at the moment, jobs are hard to come by/

[MONX]

Not only that, if you did sign off and say that you had been working the Jobcentre will definately want to chase up where you were working as they have to make sure that you didnt purposefully leave employed work in order to claim benefits - go to the appointment - the worst they can do is ask you to come in weekly for a period of six weeks and at the best they might be able to find you something suitable or recognise a training need.

As long as you fill in your jobsearch diary with at least three things you did to find work a week you are fine.

[gizmo111]

The thing is, i wouldn't be on job seekers allowance if either of my parents worked, but as they don't work, they would have to pay 40 pound a month taxes if i wasn't on job seekers allowance, so i'm a bit stuck, i have to sign on. I do want a job, but just not really ready for one just yet.

I am not sure where your parents come into this - if you have completed Uni then you must be around 21 years old?
When are you planning to start work, bear in mind any job you apply for will take a few weeks before you can start it.

[jbbs]

Again, thx for the help, i have already decided to go to the interview, as i said before i feel the interview will do me good, as i do need the help, i've also already set up a interview with my former uni tutor who has said he'll help me out too.

I just want to know if i can sign off JSA for a month, and are there any reasons i could give apart from saying i got a job. Could i just sign off without a reason? would they let me back on in a month?

[jbbs]

Well i went to the interview today, and what i thought would happen, happened. They started pushing me, is the journalism job you seek realistic? Should you not start to think of another career path? etc etc.

They will eventually force me into a career i don't want, i dont want to be on job seekers allowance but i have to be, otherwise my parents will have to pay taxes which they cant afford.

Anyone know of any way i could get into journalism? All i care about is to right about sport, i can't think of anything else i would rather do.

Anyways cheers for all the advice you all have gave me, appreciate it.

[gizmo111]

What are these taxes your parents will have to pay?

[MONX]

JBBS

I say this with the greatest of respect, we all have to make sacrifices, I have a fine art degree and would love to find a job using that degree but unfortunately as a lone parent having to keep a roof over our heads I have to work in a very thankless, low paying civil servant job!

I am not having a go, I am just saying no one is making you go into a "career" that you dont like, they are just saying that although it is your preference to work in the world of journalism - however, how reasonable is it for you to turn down, or not even attempt to find work in any other industry.

Unfortunately you cannot restrict the type of work you are willing/able to do indefinately. At some point the JC will expect you to at least go for jobs that will pay you a wage irrespective of whether you would prefer to do something else.

You do not say what tax your parent will have to pay - I am not aware of any tax that would expect parents to pay if thier children are out of work and not claiming benefit - unless you mean Council Tax (if they claim on grounds of low income and confirm that you are neither working or claiming this will mean they will still recieve a disregard).

In answer to your original question, you can choose to "not pursue" your claim and not give a reason for doing so and then when you reclaim JSA you can just say that you were supported financially by your parents. The problem being that you will then have a period of time where you have a gap in your NI contributions.

Perhaps applying for work that is not what you prefer is better than all these other complications. You will still have your qualifications and then if a suitable post comes up you could apply for it, most employers even the publishing/media industry would rather employ someone who has been in the workplace than someone who was just waiting for the right job. Skills and experience are common and transferrable whatever the job!

[jbbs]

Ok ,again, cheers for the help. I guess I'm going to start looking for a non payed job in journalism just to get some experience, might as well start at the very bottom.

Council tax is the tax my parents will have to pay btw.