JSA when is it paid?

[bluetoffees]

Hi, I had my appeal for ESA turned down and having lived off savings for a few months have decided I need to claim. I cannot go through the whole medical/ appeal process again so will try JSA. Do you have to wait 6 weeks before receiving payment? On the direct gov website all it says is payment is made from 3 days after a claim is made. Is this correct?

[antone]

There's no reason why you would need to wait 6 weeks - normally it takes 10-14 working days to process a new JSA claim, varying a bit depending on which office handles it. You'd get paid quite soon after that, backdated to the day you made the claim, or three days after that.

 

The three day period (called "waiting days") applies to new claims that don't link to older claims. Whether it would affect you depends on how long it is since your ESA claim ended. If your new claim links to your old one, waiting days don't apply and you'd be due payment from day one.

[bluetoffees]

Hi

 

I was on ESA for about 2 years awaiting the result of a Tribunal Hearing which I lost.

 

I cannot go through the whole medical/appeal process again and so after surviving on savings for 7 months I now need to claim JSA. I have seen it mentioned that this can be backdated in some circumstances but when I have tried to find out what these circumstances might be I cannot find any information.

 

Basically after losing my appeal i was so upset (am suffer from bipolar depression/anxiety) I just shut myself in my flat and went into a downward spiral. I am now feeling a little better and am willing to claim JSA and try to find work.

 

I am wondering if I can claim from earlier than the present day or as I was not able to seek work not. However if some claims can be backdated and presumably you have not been seeking work then what are the criteria? I have been on the directgov job website and applied for several jobs. Maybe they can track this.

[flumps1976]

Backdating for JSA is in two seperate parts.

Firstlt you need to show on form JSA5 that you have been been actively seeking and available to take up employment. (you will state any vacancies you applied for and other actions like updating CV, registering with agencies etc) this is to show that you have met the labour market element.

If you meet that then the BC will consider the claims and payment regulations to determine if payment can be backdated. The criteria for making payment is set and rigid you either meet it or you don't.

 

You can find that on some occasions clients meet the labour market conditions but not the payment regulations and therefore no payment will be issued for a period prior to te initial date of contact.

If you apply for JSA onine I beleive there is a question about the date you want to claim from and you have the opportunity to give more information then

[bluetoffees]

I applied for JSA 2 weeks ago. I just received a letter asking for 6 months bank accounts. Why do they need these? I am not getting any benefit until they have them, so I sent them in. I need to know what they are looking for and what do they have the right to question me about? Can they query my spending? Also why didbn't they ask for these when I signed on and again the next week when I went in to sign for the first time. I now face another wait and will have run out of money for food before I get any payment, if I get it at all. What grounds could they withhold payment?

[estellyn]

Did you declare employment when you applied for JSA or not?

[bluetoffees]

No, I have not worked since 2010, I was on ESA until I lost an appeal last October. Is that what they are looking for? Payments going in and not bothered about what I have spent?

[estellyn]

No, I have not worked since 2010, I was on ESA until I lost an appeal last October. Is that what they are looking for? Payments going in and not bothered about what I have spent?

 

Yes, they will be looking at how you have been supporting yourself since the ESA ended and checking that you haven't had a job you've not declared (fearing a sanction), or some income you haven't declared.

[bluetoffees]

OK thanks for that. I hope they sort this out quickly!

[flumps1976]

You can request a Short Term Benefit Advance if you need a payment sorting quickly.

[bluetoffees]

Can anyone confirm that you are allowed to do up to 16 hours work per week earning less than 90 pounds without affecting JSA? Or has this changed? Many thanks. I could not find any info on the government website.

[impecunious]

I'm self-employed (for 15 hours 59, minutes and 59 seconds per week) and am claiming JSA. BUT, if I do have any earnings, only the first £5 is disregarded. Any earnings over £5 pw will affect JSA, HB and CT benefits. I think this figure rises to £20 pw if you're on ESA, etc but someone in the know will no doubt confirm this.

 

Imp

[antone]

Can anyone confirm that you are allowed to do up to 16 hours work per week earning less than 90 pounds without affecting JSA? Or has this changed? Many thanks. I could not find any info on the government website.

 

That's not correct, sadly - perhaps you're thinking of ESA Permitted Work? You can work up to 16 hours per week and still maintain basic entitlement to JSA, but after a £5 per week disregard (£10 for a couple, £20 for a lone parent) your earnings will be deducted pound for pound from JSA.

[bluetoffees]

I recently ended a JSA claim but have received a letter stating that they have received information that I have more than 6000 pounds in my bank account. I have sent them statements showing that I do not. Has anyone else receivd a similar letter? Is this just a fishing expedition to see if they can catch people out? I know of no-one who would tell them this even if it were true. I cannot get statement for the whole period of the claim as they are not yet onlne. Any advice anyone?

[antone]

They're not allowed to go on "fishing expeditions" - they have to have at least some basic reason to suspect there might be a problem before they send out a letter like that. Doesn't mean they're right, of course - I don't think it would be a revelation to anyone here if I pointed out that the DWP makes bad mistakes.

 

Can you get the relevant statements from your bank branch, or in printed form?