Hi George Just a quickie ... what's NEA?? I'm self-employed but not earning anything yet (under 16 hours/week) and claiming JSA. Obviously, I'd be a lot happier and more satisfied if I could progress my self-employment (have stock, website, business cards, etc) rather than be "forced" to accept any old job after 6 months of being "unemployed". Impecunious!

How did you get on this morning? Impecunious!

Just thinking that you might be adversely affected by the new changes in HB and CT. Might be a good idea to check with your landlord re: CT liability, and with the council re: HB. I know that my current HB, even for one bedroom does not cover my rent and I now have to pay a proportion of my CT too. Impecunious!

Did you apply for CT benefit when you made your claim for HB???? Impecunious!

Interesting post as I find myself in a very similar situation - I await fellow Caggers' responses. My "housemate/tenant/lodger" rents the spare room in my rented home and we both pay the landlord direct. He has a 3 month tenancy agreement, after which time, if I can't find a replacement housemate, I revert to paying full rent on the whole house (after all it is my home, fully furnished by me - including the spare room that is now let). I'm only "letting" out the second bedroom as I cannot afford to pay the rent whilst I'm unemployed (not that HB covers my share of the rent.) If I did this three/four times a year (which is possible), I dread to think how Housing Dept admin would deal with it! They took three months just to process my first claim for HB and CT. (When I'm working, I can pick and chose as and when I rent out the spare room and don't have to inform anyone except CT.) On the subject of CT, do you "share" the bill with your fellow housemates or does your landlord include it in your rent? I'm only asking because it's difficult trying to calculate my CT liability each month now I'm sharing and justify it to my housemate. My housemate resents paying his share of CT because he's already paying full CT liability on his rented family home - he only stays here weekdays for work and goes home every weekend. (I can understand his resentment but he has no choice but to pay it.) I've had to put the CT bill into joint names .... but I know that if he doesn't pay his share, that we are both jointly and serverally liable. Impecunious! All these changes in HB and CT benefits and being unemployed is squeezing us even further - soon it will be strangulation!

Stop it!!! Keep dropping stitches, can't knit, eat Easter eggies and laugh at the same time .....:-D Impecunious!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2299927/Sharon-Minkin-refuses-job-better-benefits.html If this story is true .............. then, hopefully, once the benefit cap comes into force, she'll be well and truly ********. My children paid their own way through college and university ..... so did I...... and we still have the outstanding student loans to prove it. She really is taking the biscuit! Impecunious!

I'm self-employed for 15 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds each week. I always start my Job Search Activity Record with Monday - Tuesday each week working on my own business. (After all, it is gaining valuable employment experience and is a work-related activity.) Then follow up with 3 days of active job search undertaking what is agreed in my JSAg. Nobody's ever actually asked me or told me to spend a minimum of 35 hours/week job searching! Some days it may take up to 4 hours to complete, other days it might only be 15 minutes. Does that mean I can only pick up my crochet hook/knitting needles/sewing machine evenings and weekends?? They'll need to send round the knitting police! As for UJM being available 24/7 - hmmmmm, I'll take my chances on the open market. It's a Bank Holiday weekend and, if the Government determines that we should experience what it's like to be in work -- ie. being paid benefits monthly so that we can budget accordingly as if we were being paid by an employer, we should also be able to enjoy Bank Holiday Weekends or have time off in lieu! :-) They could always pay us time and a half or double time for working overtime! (A girl can dream!) Anyway, enough of this frivolity, I'm off to hide Easter eggs in the garden, pot up my seedlings, rake over the compost, repaint my raised beds, finish off my cushion covers and then put my feet up with my crochet and enjoy some old movies. Happy Easter break to everyone Impecunious!

As I've already posted on this site, since being unemployed and claiming benefits, HB would only cover 2/3rds of the rent on the modest 2-bed house I've lived in for last 7 yrs now. With no savings, I couldn't possibly cover the shortfall myself, so was "forced" to take the decision to negotiate with my landlord to rent out the spare room. The new "lodger/housemate" pays the landlord direct but I have to cover the additional increase in household energy costs etc. It's a major inconvenience but needs must - safeguarding my home is my main priority. I don't have either the will or the financial resources to physically afford the cost of moving, paying deposits or rent in advance. Besides, I love my home -- it's my safe haven: I've redecorated it, improved it, love tending my garden and respect the house as my own. Although it wouldn't work for everyone, I would rather suffer the inconvenience of sharing my home rather than risk rent arrears and possible eviction etc. I'm lucky that my "lodger/housemate" works long hours, keeps himself to himself and goes home every weekend, even if he's not particularly house-trained! I'm still expected to pay a proportion of my rent and CT out of my JSA - like so many other people - but it's nowhere like the £200+ pcm shortfall I would have experienced before. I have to be careful budgeting but can just about manage because, hopefully, it's just a temporary situation. We are all being squeezed to our absolute limits, so I think it's important to give consideration to using the assets you have to sustain you through these brutal changes to the benefits system. If you have a spare room or two, look at the possibility of renting them out ... talk to your landlord. Severe times sometimes call for severe measures. Sadly, for those people who already live in accommodation with no spare capacity and their rent is above their LHA (Local Housing Allowance) limit, they have very little choice but to hunker down or to try to find cheaper accommodation which I know would be incredibly difficult. (Shelter may be a good place to start looking for advice.) I think the LHA figures are based on the rate of the lowest 30% rental prices in their areas. (I do know that the LHA varies from area to area even within council boundaries.) I understand that for many people moving home will also mean lowering their expectations and living outside their "comfort zone". It seems to be part of the Government's "water torture" strategy of making people less dependent on benefits and "making work pay" ... it's the drip-drip effect of further marginalising the most vulnerable and poorest people in our country and scapegoating them -- demonising them - for all the economic ills that befall us. I just pray that either my self-employment takes off or I find a new job again quickly. Living like this is definitely not a "lifestyle choice" nor is it sustainable on a permanent basis - it's definitely an eye-opener to someone who's worked for over 43 years. Well, it's Easter weekend. The sun is shining and I'm going to make the most of it. Just a thought! Do we get a reprieve over Easter from having to complete our Job Search Activity Record??? Impecunious!

I am self-employed - have developed a business plan, have commissioned a lovely website, use the pc competently and maintain my website, have invested in stock and used my creativity to produce hand-made, recycled and upcycled products, have a whole basketful of academic qualifications (including a really good degree in English/History, secretarial qualifications, etc) ............................... and I have to claim JSA because .............................. I don't earn anything yet!! Takes a while for any business to get off the ground. Ideally, I would love to pursue my own interests and not have to job search but needs must! It's Catch 22 - if we can't find a job, they advise us to go self-employed and when we don't earn enough money each week, they advise us to claim JSA. I'm almost 60, spend 15 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds per week developing my own business and the rest of the week doing voluntary work and searching for a job. Perhaps, instead of giving totally inadequate W2W providers ridiculous amounts of money to "find us work", the DWP should instead support small new business ventures. I'd much rather work for myself than for others. Impecunious!

Enforced unpaid work?? I wonder if they'd been given proper H&S training in respect of handling power tools/equipment, lifting, carrying heavy objects .... suitable protective clothing etc?? Just wondering ............. supervisor didn't seem to be capable of rational thought or supervision, or the ability to manage the situation. Two sides to every story. JSA is dependent upon actively being available for and undertaking agreed job search activities NOT unpaid labour. Impecunious!

Two hour return journey? By car or public transport? Don't the DWP do "better off" calculations anymore when a "customer" is considering taking a job that would leave them worse off than being on JSA??? Impecunious!

I researched a potential vacancy in the charity sector only to find out that payment would be on a commission basis only. Now I know from lengthy past experience with this type of fundraising that after research and intelligence gathering, gaining a thorough knowledge of the "cause" and its financial set-up, and submitting a tailor-made application for funding and awaiting a response - takes on average 4-6 months (and sometimes up to a year) ...... with say only a 10-15% chance of a successful outcome. Commission would only be paid on successful outcomes. There is no way I could afford to go to work for that length of time (having to sign off JSA, HB, CT etc) ...... with no basic wage and no real guarantee of any future income. I certainly don't want to be spoon-fed but I would never apply for this type of commission-based work. It is not a viable option. And I would never criticise anyone else who made the same decision. Impecunious!

If it was that effective, there wouldn't be over 2 million unemployed! We ALL know how to look for a job - it's just a matter of opportunity, timing and lots of good luck! Do we need to be sent on a course organised by a W2W provider? Especially when their "success rate" is so pathetically abysmal??? Take a good puzzle book along with you .... or a colouring in book - and get Ingeus to help you ... they could PROBABLY just about manage that!!! Good luck on the course and we look forward to your feedback. DON'T forget to put in a claim for travel expenses. Impecunious!

Hope the Easter Egg chokes them! Almost beggars belief! Instead of 50 pieces of silver, a cheap, probably non-organic, non-Trade Fair "chocolate" egg. Impecunious!

Personally speaking, I'd hate to go back to commuting to and from again ... BUT, it's expected -- can't use the excuse that "it's too far to travel" anymore ... Another good reason NOT to give DWP UJM account information ... because you now have to state why you didn't apply for a particular job - it's far too easy to be sanctioned nowadays. Under the old guidelines, I'd be retiring at the end of this year .... sadly, not easy to find a decent, well-paying full time job when you're almost 60 .... the next 6 years are going to be fun! NOT!!! Impecunious!

The 90 minutes travel time is based on using public transport ... (basically that may only take you 5-6 miles from home to work depending on logistics) ... the 50+ mile travel expenses for interviews is when people decide to expand their job search and look outside the 90 minute public transport zone. Those people with their own vehicles when they start claiming JSA may not actually still have their car 3-6 months in due to high running costs, so assume most of us will end up having to use public transport til they find a new job. Impecunious!

Had my three month appt with personal adviser yesterday -- thankfully only lasted 20 minute and not the scheduled hour. If I had to record all the vacancies I'd looked at each week, that would number approximately 500-600 minimum ..... they could always pay me to record them and supply reams of plain paper! Not best use of anyone's time or nature's very limited resources but, yes, would replicate question asked on UJM vacancies as you why you didn't apply. I was once again made aware that my refusal - strong word - to share my UJM account details with them precluded me from being sent hundreds of really useful e-mails each week that may help me secure employment. Hmmmmm, were all these e-mails actually tailor-made for my specific needs? Thought not, so NO not sharing my information with them - my in-box is full of **** as it is. Apparently, I'm in the minority at our JCP -- 99.0% do share their details. Obviously, I don't believe that for a second. Unlke jasta111, I was just given a new Job Search Activity Record booklet as per usual. My failing eyesight and (large) totally illegible scrawl would prevent me from using a form with microscopic spaces for microscopic writing .... ask them to blow it up to A3 size so it's easier to use. I was made aware that travel expenses may be available to attend interviews which are more than 50 miles distance from your home. I would suggest that if JCP advisor phoned up any potential employer of mine to ask if they were paying my travel expenses, that the employer would rapidly re-consider my ability to take up the role. Job search activity has been increased to 10 per week - but still way below my usual of maybe 20-30 per week. Keep up Knob Centre. So, all in all, another uneventful jobless week. Happy Snowy Wonderland Weekend to all those who have white, fluffy stuff falling from the skies. Impecunious!

Hey, we all have bad days!! Put the kettle on, have a sit down, have a cup of tea and relax ....... you and your health comes first ...... and don't cry .. it's not a good look! It's not the end of the world ...... once you've gotten over this, you've got the meds you need and maybe some support .... lots of GP surgeries offer 1:1 counselling for a period of time or may be able to refer you, you might be able to see things in a new light. Chins up!! Impecunious!

First things first .... don't worry ... you're obviously not well enough at the moment to cope with work, so make that appointment with your GP, get the meds you need, and start claiming ESA. It doesn't matter what "they" think ....... it's about what you need. One step at a time. Well done for securing a job and thinking you could do it -- nothing at all wrong with your motivation or abilities. You're not just well enough yet. Impecunious!

Well, your employer has to seriously consider flexible working in your situation. Why not just start there and find out what their response is. Then you can consider your next option. Impecunious!

My situation is similar to yours and I've just finally been awarded HB. I drafted a statement, signed by myself and my landlord (my son-in-law) retrospectively confirming all the details of our verbal tenancy agreement. The problem seems to be that the council only view those tenancies having a formal tenancy agreement to be on a "commercial basis". Nonetheless, our arrangement was on a purely commercial basis: rent was paid on a monthly basis, at the going rate - with rent reviews and increases over the years - and I was totally aware that if I didn't pay the rent when due, that I would have to look for alternative accommodation. He would seek legal advice etc,. etc. Confirm that you had looked for other rental accommodation in the area, the rent he was charging was the same/or similar to those you had looked at, but that this property offered you safe and secure accommodation. You didn't use a rental agency as you could not afford their very signficant fees at the time. Your step-brother knew that you and your family would respect and look after the property and be reliable tenants. I confirmed that if my rent was late or in arrears that my landlord could and would take whatever legal steps were necessary to evict me. (Your step-brother has already started to take this action - so, in my opinion, that confirms that the tenancy is on a commercial basis, otherwise he wouldn't have taken this action.) If you're still able to talk with your step-brother, ask him to provide you with a formal, signed tenancy agreement - available from Smiths for about £12.99. Both sign it and take it to the council offices asap --- this is like crossing the t's and dotting the i's. I hope this of help. Additional information/support can be sought from Shelter. Good Luck! Impecunious!

Internet dongle's the way to go!!! That way, you don't have the expense of monthly line rental. Mine is £15.00/month from 3 - and I never run out. Impecunious!

It sounds totally unrealistic to be threatened with sanctions for something you have absolutely no control of. I would expect to be directed to make x amount of applications, phone calls,, etc. but only an employer can decide who they invite for interview. Perhaps the DWP should start placing sanctions on employers for NOT offering candidates interviews. Madness isn't it?? If your father was sanctioned - Heaven forbid - I think he would probably stand a very good chance of winning on appeal. JSAg are reviewed ... perhaps next time, before he signs it, he can negotiate with them. Impecunious!

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from better qualified people but, as I said, I've just been through this and this worked for me. I suggest that the following form the basis of your appeal to the Housing Benefit: Prepare a statement about your tenancy, stating date your tenancy commenced, amount of rent and frequency of rent, i.e £290 pcm - payable 28th of each month. Note any increases in rent - if appropriate. Confirm that it is a commercial tenancy that was verbally agreed before you moved in. Both sign it. Confirm to the council in writing that although the property had not been let before, as a room had become vacant, the landlord wanted to benefit from the Rent a Room scheme (for tax purposes) and was looking for a suitable tenant/lodger. Confirm that you had been looking for somewhere to live but had not felt the need to approach agencies, etc due to their very significant admin costs that you couldn't afford at the time. This arrangement was perfect for you, as the landlord was known to your family and that you had made a comparision with other similar rental property in the area and was happy that the rent was same as/similar. You were satisfied that the house would offer safe and secure accomodation given your needs. Ask your landlord to prepare a similar, independent statement, signed by him, and send it to the council. Draw up a new tenancy agreement - you can buy a formal tenancy agreement from Smiths for £12.99 (your landlord should provide/pay for this). Take it into the council offices as evidence of your new agreement. Stress again, that this merely formalises your previous verbal agreement. I'm sure that either a Welfare Officer at your council or perhaps a homeless charity, like Shelter, could offer you good advice and support during this time. Hope this helps and good luck! impecunious!