JSA nightmare!!!!!!!!

[Stressed150]

Hi guys just to give you some insight into my experiences with JCP!!!

 

Made a claim for JSA in Feb 09..... and that's where it all went downhill!!!! After assessing my claim for three months, I was advised that I had not paid enough Class1 contributions to qualify for contributions based JSA and was entitled to Income based JSA and pay would be back dated etc...

 

Now I have recieved a letter stating that my contibutions have exhausted and that I should fill out a JSA 3 form???!!!!!

 

My question is has anyone been in the same boat? What was the outcome? I have asked them to look into this and they will be gettin back to me today..

 

But am I correct in understanding that if I was receiving Contributions based JSA this would be based on sufficient class 1 contributions being paid?

[installspark]

But am I correct in understanding that if I was receiving Contributions based JSA this would be based on sufficient class 1 contributions being paid?

 

Sort answer.. Yes.

 

To get a contribution based benefit you need to satisfy the contribution conditions in the Relevant Income Tax Year (RITY)

 

The first contribution condition.

In order to qualify for contribution based JSA you must have:

 

• actually paid Class 1 contributions in one of the three last complete tax years on earnings of 25 times the lower earnings limit for that particular year; or
  
• 25 Class 2 contributions in any of the three last complete tax years; or
  
• a mixture of Class 1 and Class 2 totalling 25 in any of the three last complete tax years.
  

The lower earnings limit for the last three tax years are-

2006-2007 = £84

2007-2008 = £87

2008-2009 = £89

Class 1 National Insurance contributions are paid by employed people as a percentage of their earnings. Class 2 NI contributions are paid by self-employed people at a standard weekly rate.

The second contribution condition.

In addition to meeting the first condition you must also have paid (or have been treated as having paid) Class 1 or Class 2 contributions amounting to at least 50 times the lower earnings limit in each of the two relevant tax years.

The relevant tax years are those that precede the benefit year in which the claim is made. To make things a little more complex, the benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January whereas the tax year starts on April 6th.

Contribution credits count as Class 1 credits and can be used to help you meet the second contribution condition. You are credited for each full week that you receive-

 

• incapacity benefit or
  
• statutory sick pay or
  
• severe disablement allowance or
  
• income support due to incapacity for work or
  
• maternity allowance or
  
• jobseeker's allowance or
  
• carer's allowance or
  
• adoption pay
  

 

In your case the benefit year is 2009, so the RITY's used should be 05/06, 06/07 and 07/08.

[Jan4a]

I was made redundant in January. I got Contributions based JSA for 6 months and then had to apply for Income based JSA which involved filling in another form and supplying bank statements again. They asked a couple of questions about savings I'd spent between January and June but as I had receipts, bank statements etc to prove where this had gone I didn't have a problem and it was all sorted within a couple of weeks.

 

3 months to assess yours seems a bit excessive.