I work on a line that takes new claims to benefit but I sit next to a team that takes incoming calls from people enquiring about their JSA claims. I can assure you that there is no myth about 'verbal abuse'. It is very real since I hear each member of that team dealing with that kind of call on a daily basis when they have to inform someone of something they don't want to hear, or merely reflect the rules put in place by someone at a much higher level. But yes, they are paid to take those calls, but are not paid to be shouted at, sworn at or talked over, any more than your bus driver or till operator at Tescos is. Furthermore many of the people in our centre have been unemployed, I for example have been twice in my life. I'm fortunate in the sense that my last period was over 5 years ago but I'd say at least a third of the people in my centre were unemployed immediately before starting work here. You might like to think we're all petty sadists with no connection to the real world but it no more reflects reality than to suggest that all benefit claimants must automatically be scroungers, or all foreign nationals are here to milk the system.

I'm pretty sure its a 26 week period for Rapid Reclaims, not 12. It was 3 months at some point in the past but they changed it a little while back Tillysocute: If you've had a recent claim its best to ring and check if a RR is appropriate since the two online processes have no way of establishing if you have claimed before. They will therefore treat you as if you have never been in touch with the department in the past.

To receive JSA you have to be actively seeking and available for work from the moment you claim. You also usually have to be in the UK, and even though you are at present you probably aren't seeking work whilst holidaying here, and will be going back for a few months shortly anyway, so I don't suggest asking to claim from now. What you can do though is start the ball rolling so that some of it is done in advance of your return to the UK. There is a process whereby they can do an advanced claim but they would need to know what date you want to claim from. This would require you to know the date you're returning to the UK. Assuming you know this you could ring 08000556688 and inform them that you want to make an advanced claim. You'll need to mention this early on otherwise they may mistakenly assume you want to claim now. What should then happen is that they'll arrange an appointment either on or soon after the date you want to claim from and send out a claim pack for you to fill in. I doubt they can send this abroad so if you have a UK correspondence address that would help. You'd then fill out the form and bring it to the appointment they have booked for you along with any documents it recommends. This process can be done up to 13 weeks in advance and whilst it doesn't speed things up that much it does save you having to do it in the first few days after you get back when you'll no doubt be busy. Alternatively you could wait until you've come back here and try claiming through the normal route, but if you're busy and leave it a few days you'll be unlikely to be able to backdate the claim to the date you came back into the country.

It sounds like he has claimed Contribution based Jobseekers Allowance. That is rated on what Class 1 NI contributions he has paid over 2 previous tax years. Currently they'll be looking at the years April 2007 to April 2008 and April 2008 to April 2009. Because of this the year he has just worked doesn't count yet. Class 2 contributions do not count towards Jobseekers Allowance, and as far as I know neither does the contributions he was credited with whilst claiming JSA (they do however count towards things like pension so are not totally worthless) There is another type of Jobseekers Allowance known as Income Based. He may be able to apply for this and it will look at the income of the household. Generally speaking if you have savings of more than £16,000, or if you (as his partner assuming you live together) work more than 24 hours a week he will not qualify for Income Based. As to why he wasn't told about the different types of contributions I honestly don't know and I guess it would depend on how he got the job. The information is generally available in leaflet form and on various government websites however. Edit: You know what, I think Erika has some sort of knack for replying just before me!

From what little I know of that side of the process you are usually only permitted to restrict the type of work you are looking for, or the wage you are willing to accept for a defined period from the start of your claim. I thought this was 13 weeks to be honest but that might have changed since I was last in a similar position which was nearly 10 years ago. Hopefully some members with more experience may be able to advise you on whether there is any legal recourse to continuing to restrict the wages part of the JSAG if you would be put into a financial black hole. If not the staff at the jobcentre might be able to advise you of this, even if it means speaking to a supervisor. This may be via appealing the decision and asking a decision maker to review it but I'm not sure if that's a viable route. Rules are pretty black and white and pretty generic so don't meet every circumstance. When I had to review my agreement I had no major outgoings at the time so it was no problem for me, especially since I was already looking at minimum wage jobs anyway. The advisers do not make the rules and have to inform you of them regardless of whether they personally think its fair. One thing I would say however is that if you do wish to pursue an appeal or continue claiming JSA you will want to resolve this JSAG issue ASAP. Leaving the interview without resolving the agreement could have consequences for the claim.

As long as you continue to look for work for that 90 day period and provide evidence of continuing to do so then you can claim JSA. If you apply online though make sure you know which type of JSA you wish to claim. Income Based JSA is based on your income and savings or your household income and savings if you have a partner. You normally wouldn't qualify for this if you had savings of more than £16,000 or a partner who works full time. In those circumstances you'd usually be required to claim Contribution Based JSA. Contribution Based JSA is based on your National Insurance Credits over the last couple of tax years. If you haven't paid enough or a different type from the normal class 1 you won't qualify for any payments but could still continue to sign on to have your stamp paid. If you get the wrong one online there's no easy way of changing it, they would have to withdraw it all and you'd need to in effect start again. If you're unsure its probably best for you to call the first contact line and apply over the phone. Their number is 08000556688.

With any claim to Jobseekers Allowance the government will look at both whether you're entitled to it and whether you need it. Contribution based benefit is not affected by savings or having additional properties to where you live but it can be affected by having a pension or wage coming in. They are also obliged to investigate issues such as the reasons for any jobs that end in the last 6 months. They can sanction a claim for up to 26 weeks if it is deemed that for example you left without good cause (not that I'm saying you did, I'm merely expanding a little on why they would check up on such a matter). What your mother said is unfortunately a common misunderstanding, the best course is always to put the claim in and see whether a sanction will occur, at least then you know for sure. I'm a little surprised that it was at your fortnightly interview that you were told of the outcome of your claim though. I thought that this usually comes in the form of an letter outlining the decision and reasons behind it but I could be wrong. Perhaps they were using their experience to advise you of the likely outcome? Anyway should they deem your pension too high you can continue to claim JSA, but rather than receiving any financial help your National Insurance Credits will continue to be paid and you can still attend the jobcentre and avail yourself of the support they offer. Edit: Beaten to the point again by Erika, its becoming habit or something!

Because of course having an computerised answerphone message saying exactly the same thing would have been so much better... Lunchtime periods and times when there are computer problems are always traditionally busier anyway. Factor in the reduced staffing levels and I'm not surprised that they felt the need to invoke some sort of contingency measures. To go through a new claim on the phone can take 30-40 minutes, with reduced staff you could expect wait times to shoot through the roof if you have what few staff who are in only answering 15 calls a day. Sure it would be better to have someone inform them of the strike action and when the person would realistically be better calling back. This is what one call centre allegedly did though, I doubt it was a blanket policy, if it even happened at all in the way the article suggests.

This is more an issue of them using the wrong terminology from the sound of it then. Backdating a claim generally refers to a request to claim from a date prior to the date you first contacted the department. Its not specifically mentioned in the telephony conversations but you will have been asked what date you want to claim from - anything earlier than the 8th in your case and that's a request to backdate the claim. If you had said say the 1st they would then go on to state "As you have chosen to claim from the 1st and you wish to backdate your claim..." What's happened with you is that jobseekers allowance is paid usually fortnightly in arrears, and even if it takes a few weeks to process they will pay you from the date you want to claim from if they agree with that date once the waiting days have been taken into account. That's not backdating in the department's use of the term.

This is kind of a case of damned if they do or damned if they don't. I've seen more than one person on this forum very annoyed that the department will not leave messages with third parties, whereas others such as yourself look on it the other way round. Looking at it from their perspective what do we have here? Someone from the jobcentre called a number which you gave as a contact point to try and inform you that they need to speak to you about your claim. The query they have can't be trivial since it could potentially stop your claim if they can't clarify the issue. They probably tried your mobile and for whatever reason didn't get through. They're not supposed to leave a message on the mobile phone either in case it is picked up by someone else (or in case the mobile is not yours but is merely a contact point). They then tried your landline and got through to your father. At that point they are probably not meant to even disclose the fact that they are calling from the jobcentre. Now imagine how that conversation will go - something along the lines of "I need to speak to your son but can't say what its about or where I'm calling from". Be honest, if you had someone call you and say that you'd probably think telesales wouldn't you? Not only would you not be aware the Jobcentre had tried to get in touch you would also not be aware that there is a query about your claim. They could leave a number for you to call back on but there's nothing to stop the third party ringing it themselves and finding out the call was from the jobcentre. Alternatively they could keep trying the mobile and hope they get through before time runs out. Or they could send you a letter, assuming they haven't already tried that route. I appreciate that the call went badly and upset your father and by extension yourself. If the staff member operates under the same rules I have to when I conduct callbacks then they should not have disclosed where they were calling from, what the call was about or specific details about the claim. If they did this almost certainly have the right to complain through the usual channels. Most calls are recorded so they may well be able to trace what was said and whether the caller acted professionally. But perhaps if the staff member had followed the usual line you'd be on here complaining that they closed your claim without making all reasonable attempts to contact you first. I'm not saying the staff member did the right thing because it doesn't sound like they did (especially as Erika says in relation to HB), but I can certainly understand why occasional lapses like this do happen.

I'm surprised someone told you on the phone that the claim would be backdated. You should have been asked what date you wanted to claim from and informed that if you wish to backdate a claim (i.e. claim from any date prior to the 8th Feb) the information will go off to a decision maker who will decide if you had "good cause" to delay making the claim until the 8th Feb. I'm not sure of exactly what they count as good cause but I believe its pretty strict. The adviser who first takes your claim on the phone is not a decision maker and therefore regardless of what they personally think its not within their remit to advise you of the likely outcome of a backdating request. They are there to help gather your details and arrange an appointment at the Jobcentre, not speculate on waiting days or likely award amounts.

When did your claim start?

Unfortunately self employed people usually pay a different type of national insurance contributions to that required for Contribution Based JSA (usually class 2 or 4 whereas JSA © requires class 1). Because of this you probably would not qualify for any payments on contribution based JSA. As for income based the government sets a level which it says a couple require to live on, if a couple is above this level they will not usually get any money, if they are below it but have some income this income will be compared to the level the government have set and you will receive a "top-up" to reach that level. This might well explain why the award amount is so paltry. A couple usually get about £110 a week on JSA, so its not surprising to see how much they have "awarded" you. However you might want to check if you qualify for Tax Credits to help with the costs of having a child living with you. You may also be eligible for Housing Benefit or Council Tax benefit which may help you as well. Jobseekers allowance is not designed to cover housing costs or the costs of having children, so just because your JSA allowance is minimal does not mean you are not entitled to any help at all.

Chips is right, put in the claim as soon as possible, either online at Website of the UK government : Directgov or calling 08000556688. They will ask you as part of the initial process why your last job ended but there is only a limited amount of space at that stage (50 characters). You should be given the opportunity at some stage to explain in more depth the reasons so that a decision maker can look at it in more depth and decide whether to sanction your claim. Even if they decide to do this at least then you know what the score is and when you might be able to get some help. you may also be eligible for hardship payments if they do sanction you. One other hurdle you might come across is your address. The claim process will need to know where you are living at the moment you do the claim. You are required to attend the jobcentre that deals with that postcode, so if you haven't moved yet it will be close to where your job was, but you can transfer your claim to another jobcentre at a later date when you do move.

Sorry to hear about the situation with your Mum. I'm no expert on the benefits system but as far as I know if you live in a property you own it is not treated as capital and you would not be required to sell it to support yourself whilst on Jobseekers Allowance. If you rented out a part of the property it would be different though. Even if you weren't living there they would have to take into account the fact that the property is jointly owned and a series of other questions before making any decision related to it. I'd obviously recommend keeping the local office up to date with changes though (preferably in writing) just in case they need to change anything. Council Tax benefit is another matter but assuming you become responsible for the Council Tax bill it would be worth investigating.

As Erika has stated a single thread dedicated to your situation is better than spreading out your problem over a number of threads. There's a reason why the definition of a partner is important and that its read out in full since there is occasional problems with people's circumstances being misunderstood. Often people answer the question after the first line without hearing what they are really answering. When you originally made the claim online or on the phone you would have asked you something along the lines of the following: Do you have a partner? We use partner to mean a person you are either married to, a civil partner of, or living with as if you are married to them or a civil partner of them. They also need to be someone who is: Aged 16 or over A member of the same household Temporarily not living at the address. This is a very important question as if you state yes at this point the claim is no longer about you alone but both you and the partner, so will include any earnings or savings each of you have. I presume that you answered yes to the question as the only other way they can usually take a friend's details into account is if they disagree with your answer and decide you are Living Together as Husband and Wife. That is usually done by a decision maker, not someone on the phone or in the jobcentre. If you feel that the friend is a partner based on the above then the decision is likely to be a correct one. If however you do not agree that the friend is partner because (for example) you consider that you are not part of the same household or not in a relationship with them then the decision needs revisiting and you may well qualify for income based benefit on the grounds that you do not have savings or a partner who is working at the moment. Should you actually be receiving some income from anything like self employment however that will affect any award amount since you already have some money to live on.

First of all what you've paid years ago is irrelevant when it comes to benefits like JSA (although state pensions are another matter), that will have been spent already. Second of all you are not entitled to "nothing" you may not be eligible for a JSA payment but that is only one aspect of the benefits system. I presume though that the ineligibility for JSA has something to do with being on JSA Contributions. That's usually because you (or you and your partner if you have one) either having savings or an existing income such as wage or pension. The benefits system is not only designed to see if you have paid into it but whether you need it. I'm pretty reasonably sure that the system is designed to reflect what the politicians want and the fact that we do not have a bottomless pit of government finances. If you have a problem with that I suggest you complain to your MP, the civil service do not randomly make up limits and different types of national insurance for the fun of it after all.

As I said on another thread, self employed contributions can be considerably less than employed ones depending on what taxable profits you've made, so its not that weird.

The government says that a person or couple needs a certain amount of income to live on. The reason why you probably won’t qualify for income based JSA is because if your partner is working full time the chances are that your household will have an income over and above what they believe you need to live on as a couple. As an individual, even if you have paid into the system they will still investigate whether you already have an existing income and match that against the amount you supposedly need to live on (a certain amount is discounted but not much). Obviously there could be some considerable debate as to whether the limits they set are fair but there clearly has to be some limit otherwise anyone could claim. The fact that you’ve worked since leaving school is only partly relevant since they only look at the last 2-3 tax years. Even if you’ve paid into the system for 30 years it would make no difference as the other twenty odd years worth have, to all intents and purposes long since been spent (although it counts towards the state pension). Since you were self employed during the period they will look at then sadly you probably won’t have paid the right class of NI. Self employed people usually pay class 2, employed people usually class 1, its class 1 you usually need to have paid to qualify for contributions based JSA. It might seem unfair that class 2 doesn't count but class 2 is a flat rate of £2.40 a week. As an employee I pay roughly 10 times that amount. Although s/e people are also taxed on their annual taxable profits under Class 4 as well it is unreasonable to presume that paying what is potentially considerably less contributions should not come with a downside as well. However Jobseekers Allowance is not the final word in benefits. You might want to investigate Tax Credits and also Housing/Council Tax benefit. Any JSA award is not designed to cover your housing costs anyway, and the limits/requirements they set is not necessarily going to be the same. Speak to your local authority asap as they may be able to advise you about that.

Which type of JSA have you applied for, income or contribution based?

Hmm. Well frankly the problem lies more with the person who insisted on you restarting your claim than the person in the job centre. The advisor in the jobcentre has received what is to all intents and purposes a claim from a couple which involves taking into account the couple's income and circumstances. Whilst they could have checked your circumstances and been able to inform you of much that Erika has said the problem lies with the person who took the call over the phone. They should (at the point you mentioned your girlfriend) have gone back over with you the definition of partner and given you the opportunity to re-asses your original answer. They should only have rebuilt the claim if you decided to change your original answer. The role of the people who take the claims over the phone is to provide the questions and definitions and then enter the answers you give. It is not their job or responsibility to tell you what the answer should be. Be firm and polite when you call the 08000 number, the person you speak to may have their own ideas of what your answer should be but it is your claim and your decision what answer to give to each question. Make sure though that you allow the advisor to finish giving the full text of each question.

I agree with Erika's advice with the addition that the mandatory text that you should be read out by the telephony staff will run along the following lines: Do you have a partner?* We use partner to mean a person you are married to, a civil partner of or living together as if you are married to them or a civil partner of them. They also need to be: Aged 16 or over A member of the same household Temporarily not living at the address What often happens is that people interrupt at the point where I put an asterisk with their answer. As tempting as it is for you to start your explanation at that point I would wait until the end of the definition and then explain the circumstances. The staff member will then know that you have heard the full government definition of the term "partner" and supported by your experience so far are making an informed statement that you do not have one. By the way can you recall what you answered to the above question over the phone when you first made the claim?

I don't know much about the IS/IB claims but JSA and IS for Lone Parents are usually asked one or both of the following as part of the telephony process if its a new claim. Have you returned to the UK or arrived in the UK in the last 2 years? - this is usually only relevant if you lived abroad and did one of those two recently, so holidays would not count for "returning" purposes in this question. Have you worked or claimed benefit outside the UK in the last 5 years? If you are making a Rapid Reclaim then over the phone you may be asked if you have been abroad at any time since your last claim ended. They will ask why you were abroad but if the answer is for a holiday they don't usually need any more information. Whether you'll get asked more at the Jobcentre I don't know.

The reason why they wouldn't tell you about an issue with claiming JSA if you'd been sacked is because each case is different and has to be looked into. The staff who took the claim over the phone (assuming you used this route) are not trained in decision making or processing so cannot tell you at that stage whether your claim will be affected by being sacked. Their role is simply to gather information, and at that first stage there is little space to explain more than the basic reason your job came to an end. As I understand it you should have been given the chance to explain in more depth why the job ended (or perhaps soon will be) and this will be checked by contacting the employer to see their side of things. It is therefore difficult to answer your last question without knowing the circumstances of how you were sacked and/or whether the employer is likely to dispute the reason you gave. It is similar to why there is no absolute rule regarding people who resign from their last job. The department cannot simply assume that you were fired by your employer without them having good cause. As to how you would survive without Jobseekers you mention having a child, have you applied for Tax Credits? Edit: Ah, I see that Erika has already covered what I was saying above and more.

I think that remark was intended as sarcasm rather than the suggestion that it will actually be fun. Some people find it easier to pepper the forum with cynical comments than offer helpful advice. Anyway I agree with the idea for the Crisis Loan. Whilst it won't resolve whatever is outstanding on the claim it will help with any immediate expenses whilst there's a delay giving you some breathing space.