If I get sacked for gross misconduct can I claim JSA?

[Volition82]

Hi All,

 

I'm about to be sacked for gross misconduct, if I am can I claim JSA and HB (I rent)? Really worried about it as I have no one or no where to turn to for help and no savings. With the job market as it is it could easily be 6 months or a year before I get another job and without benifits i'll end up quite literally living on the streets.

 

This all happened on 24/12/10 and they called me in for the meeting today but I managed to pospone it as I said they have to give me reasonable time to seek advice. I've been to CAB and solicitors today but they are all shut until 4/1/11. If someone could tell me that I will at least get something from benefits to live on it would be a load off my mind. Thank you in advance.

[rebel11]

Hi vol

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

[ErikaPNP]

JSA can be sanctioned (payments of the benefit not made) where a person's employment has been terminated owing to misconduct. If sanctioned, it could be anything up to a maximum of 26 weeks. This is not from the date you left employment but from the date the JSA claim is made. A sanction is not definate as each case is dependent on the circumstances, but it is a possibility. In the case of a sanction, some people are successful in securing hardship payments (benefits at a reduced rate) - but again, this is subject to your circumstances. Using the guides below may provide more insight.

 

Sanctions

 

Hardship

 

You can still claim Housing Benefit and Council tax benefit whether your benefit is sanctioned or not, as housing benefit/council tax benefit is assessed on your income and capital, and does not concern itself with the reasons for unemployment.

[Volition82]

Hi ErikaPNP,

 

Thank you for your quick reply. I've had a look at the files you listed but to be honest it doesn't make much sense to me. I know it's very difficult to say without all the details facts but would I be right in saying that the most likely out come is that if I claim JSA it will be suspended for a time but as I have no savings or other income I should get a hardship payment? The fact that i'm claiming JSA even if it's suspended means that I can claim HB which I have done before and received and my circumstances haven't changed. If my JSA is reduced or suspended will I still get full HB?

 

As I said I know it's hard to say but i'm just looking for a rough idea. The thought of having no income of any sort especially with the current job market is very frightening.

[ErikaPNP]

I'm afraid I can't say. Without knowing the reasons behind a termination I can't even begin to speculate the liklihood of a sanction. There is no direct entitlement to a hardship payment in the event of a sanction. The DWP will consider your case and the circumstances around it but I can't second guess their decision.

 

If your JSA is suspended (and it won't be in the event of a sanction. Sanctions stop payment of the benefit, they don't suspend the benefit entitlement in itself) then HB/CTB can be affected if the claim is a linked claim (paid because you get income based JSA). In this case they are likely to suspend your payments until you make contact with them for a re-assessment based on income. If your JSA is sanctioned, your HB payments won't be any different to what they would normally be.

[Volition82]

I've been accussed of being drunk at work which I wasn't. I was ill and sent home and the next thing I know when i've come into work i've been accussed of drinking at work and they had so called found a bottle of vodka half drunk. Two employees have made statements to say I was drunk and I have obviuosly made a statement saying I wasn't. I haven't had the disciplinary hearing as yet but i'm guessing that i'll get the sack. Too cut a long story short since I started the job i've been forced into doing things which are against the law and i'd had enough and started to refuse hence the false accustaions. It's a nightmare of a situation just what you wanted on christmas eve.

[ErikaPNP]

Regarding the alcohol allegation, DWP will consider both you and your employers version of events. Your employer is unlikely to say anything other than the reason for dismissal. Some do go into more detail but most don't; and some won't say anything more than "misconduct". That part of it boils down to whose version of events they consider carries more weight. Regarding the things you have been asked to do. Again, if this is the reason given for your termination they would consider both versions but if you were being asked to do something unlawful and were terminated for refusing to follow such an instruction, DWP will not sanction JSA. Another thing that the DWP will take into account when deciding a sanction is whether you have appealed the decision of your employers (particularly on the grounds that you did not do what they have accused you of). Though this on its own will not make or break the decision, it is more favourable when a jobseeker has appealed his employers decision to terminate. A person who accepts a termination when they say they did not commit the "offence" the employer states they did, raises questions. On the other hand, a person who appeals against the termination on the grounds that he did not do what he was accused of, is more credible. (which I assume you would be doing)

 

You might want to consider posting on the employment forums for advise on how to put your case across to your employers at this disciplinary, and also for further advice on appealing - if it gets that far.

[Volition82]

Thank you for your help and advice.

[Roblynmouth]

Hi

 

The problem you have got is that the JCP will have to weigh up the balance of probabilities, ie who do they beleave?

I would tell the JCP that the matter is going to an Employment Tribunal on grounds of unfair dismissal, also if you have somebody who can vouch that you were not drunk enclose a statement from them confirming this.

The DWP are swamped by new claminets, they are supposed to check all claiments for reasons why they are claiming. Chances are they wont in your case [but no guarentees], just putting doubt in their minds might tip the balance in your favour

[Sidewinder]

Hi

 

The problem you have got is that the JCP will have to weigh up the balance of probabilities, ie who do they beleave?

I would tell the JCP that the matter is going to an Employment Tribunal on grounds of unfair dismissal, also if you have somebody who can vouch that you were not drunk enclose a statement from them confirming this.

The DWP are swamped by new claminets, they are supposed to check all claiments for reasons why they are claiming. Chances are they wont in your case [but no guarentees], just putting doubt in their minds might tip the balance in your favour

 

Please please please refrain from encouraging people to break the law!!

 

From the OP's post on the Employment Forum (which you have responded to) it is clear that the OP has no chance with an ET as for starters he has insufficient length of service to claim Unfair Dismissal, and secondly, no ET is going to rule that the employer was wrong to dismiss even on the suggestion that the employee was driving after consuming Vodka.

 

To suggest that the OP now perjures himself because the JCP might not check the background of the claim is unbelievably bad advice. Please stick to what you KNOW rather than what you THINK. To do otherwise could not only lend false hope to those who need help, but it also devalues the reputation of the entire site.

[Roblynmouth]

Hi

You can also cast a dispersion on the phrase 'there is doubt about your entitlement to the claim' which they will use in their letter when they tell you that you are being investigated [this is a standard letter and should not be read to mean that they are investigating anything]