Holiday abroad and JSA

[bialoman]

Hey folks,

 

I understand that I sign off when going abroad.

 

Has anyone done this and how it worked with regards applying again? I take it I sign off the day before I go abroad and then reclaim the day I arrive back (pre-booked holiday to visit friends for 9 days).

 

Does anyone know how long it takes for you to be back in the system and signing on average? Is it back to a fresh claim again or do they keep a record of your claim on the system?

 

Also, I'm due to sign on the day before I go away. How would this work if I signed on and signed off at the same time, would the system automatically overpay me or is it better to avoid confusion to sign off the day before?

 

Sorry for posting this in here, but thought I'd give it a try.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Joe.

[antone]

I can't remember the exact rules about which days you need to sign off and back on again - someone else around here will know, I'm sure - but if you're only away for 9 days you would likely make a Rapid Reclaim when you get back. You would call the new claims number and be asked to sign a form declaring that there have been no changes in your circumstances since your last claim. So they do keep a record of your claims and when you return the new claim will be "linked" - regarded as a continuation of your previous one.

 

Since JSA is paid in arrears, you should not be overpaid if you sign on and sign off the day before you leave. When you sign, you are effectively declaring that you were looking for work in the two weeks prior to signing, so even if you stop being entitled the day after you sign it should not be an issue.

[kashmiri]

Hi,

Last year I went abroad for 3 days and made Rapid Reclaim once back. As I did not skip my sign-on day, I was booked with the same adviser as I had before (naturally, the sign-on day stayed the same). My JSA was reduced proportionally but my HB was not affected.

If I remember correctly, Rapid Reclaim is done if the time since you last claimed JSA is less than three months. If it's more, you need to make a new claim.

Rapid Reclaim can easily be done over the internet or by phone.

Hope this helps,

k.

[bialoman]

Hey guys,

 

Many thanks for both your replies. Really is appreciated. I didn't think about it being paid in arrears so that makes sense. I'll keep in mind the rapid reclaim for when I return.

 

How long did it take to be back on board the system and to your schedule again regards payment, Kashmiri? I was thinking before hand it would be 4 weeks but rapid reclaim does sound from its description alone it will be a shorter period.

 

Take care and thanks again,

 

Jo.

[kashmiri]

By the way, just to be clear, DWP/HMRC does not receive immigration data from border police (unless they make a special inquiry) - they don't normally know whether a person has travelled abroad or not.

Still, I recommend declaring all foreign travel, just to be on the safe side.

[antone]

Hey guys,

 

Many thanks for both your replies. Really is appreciated. I didn't think about it being paid in arrears so that makes sense. I'll keep in mind the rapid reclaim for when I return.

 

How long did it take to be back on board the system and to your schedule again regards payment, Kashmiri? I was thinking before hand it would be 4 weeks but rapid reclaim does sound from its description alone it will be a shorter period.

 

Take care and thanks again,

 

Jo.

 

I believe it might take a couple of weeks to process - 4 would be on the long side. One thing, though, is that "Rapid" reclaim simply means that you don't have to complete the usual long forms, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will be processed faster. It usually is, but there's no guarantee. When you do a Rapid Reclaim, you're basically telling the DWP that they can assume your circumstances are the same as your last claim. Obviously, if this is not the case you should not attempt an RR, but it sounds to me like the only change is that you'll be out of the country for a few days, so that should be fine.

[antone]

By the way, just to be clear, DWP/HMRC does not receive immigration data from border police (unless they make a special inquiry) - they don't normally know whether a person has travelled abroad or not.

Still, I recommend declaring all foreign travel, just to be on the safe side.

 

Bolding mine. Yes, failing to declare a trip abroad would be fraud, and we at CAG cannot condone or recommend that.

[san_d]

By the way, just to be clear, DWP/HMRC does not receive immigration data from border police (unless they make a special inquiry) - they don't normally know whether a person has travelled abroad or not.

 

Ho do you know that? Have you got any insiders? I was told otherwise.

 

Anyway as long as we are in the EU this could be against the EU laws. I've met a few "Arbeitsucher" from Germany visiting the UK and they told me in their country they don't have to sign off. You can still do your jobsearch from your laptop/tablet/internet cafe.

[kashmiri]

Some 3 years back, HMRC run a pilot project jointly with DWP and the then Border and Immigration Agency, using a sample of 5,000 benefit claimaints. I couldn't now find a link to the project report but I recall the outcome showed that some 5% of claimants committed benefit fraud related to their immigration status.

 

That made me understand that HMRC/DWP do not receive immigration data automatically. To be honest, from my experience they do not even reconcile their own databases (for example, Tax Office database and National Insurance database are not reconciled and if you, e.g., close a business you need to contact both offices; not mentioning tax credits database, etc.). I highly doubt they are able to automatically receive and reconcile sensitive but rather unreliable immigration data (note that there is normally no passport control at the point of departure from the UK).

 

Well, also, it was only a 5,000 sample, then. They have since created Counter Fraud Taskforce and seems they have made some headway towards tackling benefit fraud. But I expect that only migration to new Universal Credit databases will enable HMRC "digital cooperation" with other agencies (immigration, credit reference agencies, etc.).

 

That's all is only my personal opinion and should not be taken as authoritative

Edited February 10, 2013 by kashmiri

[flumps1976]

Yes you sign off with the last day of your claim the day before you leave the UK adn then on your return you can apply for a rapid reclam and the fastes way is online as this is available 24/7, the claim is automatically pushed to the BC and is usually processed before you even attend for the rapid reclaim appointment so that if you are owed any benefit is processed once you have attended or as soon as you reach your first signing day, of course there are always exceptions to this but the vast majoirty are ready almost immediately. It should be the same if you apply via the telephony method too but if its clerical (completing the form in the JCP before seeing the adviser) you will have to wait longer.

 

You are also able to fill in the appication online before you leave and save it so that on your return you simply retrieve you saved application and push the send button.

[bialoman]

Thank you so much for the information, folks, it's really appreciated to know all this before hand.

 

I will do all that before I leave. Flumps, do I send back my written log books too with my jobsearch history as well? Or just hold on to the for the new claim?

Apologies for all the questions.

[antone]

Thank you so much for the information, folks, it's really appreciated to know all this before hand.

 

I will do all that before I leave. Flumps, do I send back my written log books too with my jobsearch history as well? Or just hold on to the for the new claim?

Apologies for all the questions.

 

Just sign on as normal the day before you leave, and take your jobsearch evidence to the appointment as you always would. Again, because JSA is paid in arrears you'll need to demonstrate what you've been doing in the two weeks prior to your trip to be entitled to payment.

 

You should start recording your jobsearch again from the day you do your reclaim when you return.

[bialoman]

Thank you again.

 

Great help this site and hope to help others in other threads.

[andydd]

Ho do you know that? Have you got any insiders? I was told otherwise.

 

Anyway as long as we are in the EU this could be against the EU laws. I've met a few "Arbeitsucher" from Germany visiting the UK and they told me in their country they don't have to sign off. You can still do your jobsearch from your laptop/tablet/internet cafe.

 

Common sense was tell you that immigration/border control and dwp have got far more pressing issues than collate data in this way, at best they could maybe save a few quid and it would no doubt cost far in excess of this.

 

I agree with the EU argument though, as EU member we are free to search for jobs in any EU country and the advent of mobile phones/pc's/tablets/skype, etc means that you could still job search whilst abroad.

[flumps1976]

Did you know that if you have a job interview lined up abroad and you will be required to be abroad for that interview between 3 and 5 days then as long as you provide the proof beforehand to the JCP you can still continue with the claim for JSA and are entitled to request help with the costs of travel to the interview!

[Nystagmite]

I think I heard that somewhere before; although can't quite remember the details.

 

You don't need to give your job seekers logs back. They're yours.

[kashmiri]

Did you know that if you have a job interview lined up abroad and you will be required to be abroad for that interview between 3 and 5 days then as long as you provide the proof beforehand to the JCP you can still continue with the claim for JSA and are entitled to request help with the costs of travel to the interview!

 

Confirmed true, except for the travel costs: I was told international travel costs cannot be reimbursed. If you have an interview abroad, you can be out of the UK for up to 120 hours (they ask for flight departure and arrival times).