When will I receive any benefits

[Guest mikeypaddon]

Hi all, I was verbally abused by my boss who attempted to phsyically attack me and so I left my job on 3rd March. After a month of unsuccessfuly searching for employment I decided to file a claim for constructive dismissal which has now been given a tribunal date of 27th July. I have informed the benefits agency that I am now unemployed and have filled in all forms. However since 3rd March I have had no money whatsoever and am struggling to survive on nothing. I assume that my ex employer has told the benefits agency that I left voluntarily therefore I won't receive any benefits for 26 weeks, but how am I expected to survive when I effectively had no choice but to leave my job? Thanks

[Nystagmite]

You may not be sanctioned for 26 weeks. It can take a while for new claims to be up and running. Have you asked about hardship payments?

[leemack]

Yes its best to find out what's holding your claim up, before making assumptions. Generally if they think you left voluntarily, you have the oppotunity to give your side of the story, either before the sanction or in appeal of the sanction. It could be the employer just hasn't returned the enquiry forms sent by the DWP - in my experience this is a big reason why some claims are held up.

[jadeybags]

And if & when they realise you left for good reason, it should be backdated to when you first claimed. Around 3rd of april approx I assume.

[flumps1976]

What date did you claim from? What date did you actually attend the JCP office on to set up your New Claims appointment and sign your Jobseekers Agreement?

The DWP average 10 working days from receipt of the claim for to actual processing of the claim and of course you need to sign at the JCP to trigger the release of the paymernt (unless you were due to sign on on one the bank holiday dates).

With regards to the LV part it would be highly unlikely that a decision would have been made regarding that so quickly as the DMA team have to gather a significant amount of information before making a decision.

You should receive a notifcation letter frpm the DWP office when your claim has been processed detailing your weekly amount of benefit payable and from what date you will be paid from . Also you will not be paid for the first 3 days pf your claim as those are called "waiting days".