Me and My Various Benefit Claims and issues

[Chester6]

Ingeus etc were useless

PWP has only been a combination of petty, vindictive **** who have failed to bully me or break me. They seem to agree the schemes are useless but one dared blame for not taking advantage of the schemes but he blames the jnemoyrd for being unemployed which seems to be the latest tactic, the PWP even try to tell the unemployed what to spend their money on

[boomboomboom]

what do yous all think of these changes that these Tory want to bring in been forced to take zero hours contracts jobs?

do yous agree or do u not agree with these changes?

 

for me personal i dont see why people should be told to take zero hour contract as u could be skint or have a good wage but more likely will be skint.

 

its just another money saving dwp etc scheme instead of helping the unemployed its attack after attack.

 

i dont want to be signing on i want to be in a full time job going to work and coming home and getting a good wage at the end of the week rather than sitting applying for jobs going to wp jcp getting the threat of sanction over my head and waiting 2 weeks for jsa money that it helps but skint within the next day or so

[essexmat]

I think most of us that want some quality of life want to be working. I was earning £30k a year, 2 holidays a year, eating our regularly, out with friends 2-3 times a week and in one swoop all gone. Now I fester at home unable apart from once a month to see friends or go on holiday - I even had to sell my car. Since redundancy it has been all downhill and the only saving grace is I haveno mortgage as I rent and can claim HB and don't have a partner or children. I also got debt free with my redundancy money. Some people are content on benefits because they have no aspirations to better themselves or havenever had a previously good way of life whereas some of us have and have lost it all.

[essexmat]

I also agreen with boom that it is attack after attack and generally making jobseekers lives a misery for a paltry £70 a week which most of us have paid in over many years so in effect it is OUR MONEY not the governments. We are all tarred with the same brush and that is what is unfair. 25 year old, never worked, never paid taxes etc £72.40pw. 39 year old, 19 years tax and NI and under stress daily = £72.40pw - sickening

[boomboomboom]

yeh attack after attack i get like just over £50 a week and yet u get attack for that when u have people companies avoiding taxes yet its like aww we will get them yeh in what like 1000 year time thats money that would help the country but yet they go for the poor who get job centre cash and they are not gonna get much money from us that will get the country cash all i say is go for the people who own millions of cash not the poor!

 

i have had a job but only through a training course years ago for 3 and a half months and i enjoyed it and fought maybe get another job as i have worked now but years later i am struggling for work and it stresses me out

 

and all u get from non jobseekers is u dont want to work u would rather just get cash from the job centre and enjoy life when i only sign on to pay things and get me food etc and look for work and if i did not want to work i wouldnt go on to jsa as i would not waste money but i really want work and am sure everybody wants to work.

[essexmat]

Anyone with any morals wants to work, what they don't want to do, and rightly so is after paying for travel etc earn the same or less than they get on benefits. Why would you work somewhere with no room for development for the same or less than you get on benefits? Some would say "at least you are working" I would say "No, it is slave labour for 20+ hours a week for the same as I get for signing on plus I am liable for other stuff as I am working so I am worse off by a mile"

 

After my HB pays my rent and I pay my utilities and food I am left withabout £10 a week for myself - brilliant when you used to clear around £2,000p/m and be left with around £900 of it after bills were paid and yest some still think we live an easy life - we don't, we only do this because we need the poxy JSA pennies to keep us alive. As I have said before and as my parents said to me, if they could give me the £70pw they wouldn't want me anywhere near the JC or WP

[boomboomboom]

yeh i have said this to my adviser i dont want to work for the same or less than my benefit as i dont see why when u could sign on and get the same cash for not working.

 

yeh my parents have told me if they could pay the same amount the job centre pay u then i would not let u sign on but they cant as they have things to pay and dont even have another to keep there selfs happy when they have payed bills etc

 

am sure the jcp wp dwp etc could come up with things to help the unemployed not stress them out by coming out in the news every week with a new thing scheme to force us to work or get sanctions we sign on to get help into work as they say but now it is if u sign on you do force labour thats what they are now!

[essexmat]

Exactly, by forcing people to do slave labour and sign on daily etc all the DWP is doing is giving people LESS time to job search. The simple fact is the government/DWP have not got a clue as everyone is tarred with the same brush

[boomboomboom]

yeh like they always say they are there "to help u back to work" yes ok u mean forced labour/community service HELP us stop forcing us simple as that it is not hard to understand us!

 

lets sign on everyday yeh cause that means less job searching and 6months voluntary what to end up back at the start signing on and looking for work or training for a few weeks but why would u need to offer training to people who just came off a WP?

[boomboomboom]

i have a mate who is asking this course he likes its not in a college but its ila funded and he was wondering do u get paid for been there? as i dont know as i have not used an ila account

[antone]

i have a mate who is asking this course he likes its not in a college but its ila funded and he was wondering do u get paid for been there? as i dont know as i have not used an ila account

 

Generally you can use an ILA and the course will be treated like any other college course (even if the institution running the course isn't a "college" as such) provided you meet the basic availability requirements for JSA.

 

So, as long as your friend is still looking for work and the course is not considered "full time" then he's probably OK and will still get JSA. He won't likely get any extra money, though, and would have to meet his own travel costs. He would need to talk to his JSA adviser about that.

[boomboomboom]

Generally you can use an ILA and the course will be treated like any other college course (even if the institution running the course isn't a "college" as such) provided you meet the basic availability requirements for JSA.

 

So, as long as your friend is still looking for work and the course is not considered "full time" then he's probably OK and will still get JSA. He won't likely get any extra money, though, and would have to meet his own travel costs. He would need to talk to his JSA adviser about that.

 

a will let him know as i was not sure as to how ila and going on a ila funded course when on jsa

 

its only a 5minute work from where a live and 10-15 mins for him so not really going to be bothered about travel and i might consider it so am gonna see with my adviser next week and see what they say to it cause if i will still get my jsa when on this course it would suit me and my friend as its something to add to cv and another path option in our careers

[antone]

a will let him know as i was not sure as to how ila and going on a ila funded course when on jsa

 

its only a 5minute work from where a live and 10-15 mins for him so not really going to be bothered about travel and i might consider it so am gonna see with my adviser next week and see what they say to it cause if i will still get my jsa when on this course it would suit me and my friend as its something to add to cv and another path option in our careers

 

Note to our non-Scottish friends - ILA is an "Individual Learning Account" which is available to people in Scotland who are on benefits or low incomes. It offers funds, paid directly to the college or other institution, to such people in order to help them fund training courses. Several years ago I used one to fund my Microsoft Certified Professional qualification, for example. At that time, the max amount available for most courses was about £250.

 

Right, anyhow, yes, a course of a few hours per week is normally fine for JSA, but you do need to declare it to your adviser before you start.

[boomboomboom]

Note to our non-Scottish friends - ILA is an "Individual Learning Account" which is available to people in Scotland who are on benefits or low incomes. It offers funds, paid directly to the college or other institution, to such people in order to help them fund training courses. Several years ago I used one to fund my Microsoft Certified Professional qualification, for example. At that time, the max amount available for most courses was about £250.

 

Right, anyhow, yes, a course of a few hours per week is normally fine for JSA, but you do need to declare it to your adviser before you start.

 

do england get any sort of things like ila in scotland? ye it is handy to pay for courses

 

ye of course i will speak to the adviser first about it and do u know how many hours a week u can do the course without it affecting your benefit ?

[antone]

I don't think there's a direct English/Welsh/NI equivalent of the ILA - it was set up by the Scottish Government several years ago. Education funding in Scotland is dealt with by Holyrood, not London.

 

When I was claiming it was 16 hours per week max that you could do, but I think the rules are more complex now and I don't know exactly what they are. In general, if the organisation offering the course says it is "full time" study then you couldn't claim JSA. But if it's "part time" then you quite possibly can claim JSA while you study as long as you still sign on, look for jobs, and do whatever else the Jobcentre expects you to do.

[boomboomboom]

I don't think there's a direct English/Welsh/NI equivalent of the ILA - it was set up by the Scottish Government several years ago. Education funding in Scotland is dealt with by Holyrood, not London.

 

When I was claiming it was 16 hours per week max that you could do, but I think the rules are more complex now and I don't know exactly what they are. In general, if the organisation offering the course says it is "full time" study then you couldn't claim JSA. But if it's "part time" then you quite possibly can claim JSA while you study as long as you still sign on, look for jobs, and do whatever else the Jobcentre expects you to do.

 

aww i see i was not sure if us had any things like ila in scotland .

i guess if u go to a course that is not in a college that ila have funded do u get any money from the place u go to? if u have to sign off if the course is "full time"?

[antone]

aww i see i was not sure if us had any things like ila in scotland .

i guess if u go to a course that is not in a college that ila have funded do u get any money from the place u go to? if u have to sign off if the course is "full time"?

 

In most cases, you can't claim JSA (or other such benefits like ESA) if you are a full time student. There might be a few exceptions if you are disabled or have young children, I can't recall.

 

My course was three hours per day, three days a week for a total of nine hours per week and my JSA adviser said that was OK and I got full JSA. But that was years ago now - the rules may well have changed. Normally, ILA just pays your tuition fees, there's no extra money you can receive yourself.

[Chester6]

yeh i have said this to my adviser i dont want to work for the same or less than my benefit as i dont see why when u could sign on and get the same cash for not working.

 

yeh my parents have told me if they could pay the same amount the job centre pay u then i would not let u sign on but they cant as they have things to pay and dont even have another to keep there selfs happy when they have payed bills etc

 

am sure the jcp wp dwp etc could come up with things to help the unemployed not stress them out by coming out in the news every week with a new thing scheme to force us to work or get sanctions we sign on to get help into work as they say but now it is if u sign on you do force labour thats what they are now!

Their attitude based on experience is it's better to be working even if it's only a few hours and even if it's not in the chosen areas of work you seek

Plus one PWP thinks the schemes are excellent and it's the Jobseeker's fault for being unemployed and the jobseeker whom didn't take advantage. Plus they are trying to tell Jobseeker's what to spend their money on

I know a manager who got treated like she wasn't interested I working so that may be a typical attitude in the local sanction centre

[boomboomboom]

Just got a p60 form letter about tax and the amount is this just how much I got past year and what was taxed ?

[Mr.P]

Just got a p60 form letter about tax and the amount is this just how much I got past year and what was taxed ?

 

Yes. Standard form for you to keep. Nothing to worry about.

[kcspurs]

had my weekly signing today and the job center was full of us. cant see this working if we have to sign on daily .

 

downstairs they had a sign anyone here for the marks and spencers interviews so after me being 1 of over 30 people that had a group interview over a month ago they now want to get more people in to do the 6 weeks non paid training lol

[essexmat]

Well of course they do, it is training but in fact it isn't - there are NO JOBS at the end of it, it is to fool people in to thinking there is but at the same time getting them to workfor nothing for a large company so they have stuff done before the summer season and they can sack paid staff and get the work done for nothing. Non paid training LOL! i HAVE HEARD IT ALL NOW!!!! It is not training, it is MWA!

[kcspurs]

thats what i thought. when i went to the group interview they had us sitting round 6 tables and it took 2 hours and they said they had another group before us.

 

so glad i did not get through that stage because then 6 weeks full hours working with no pay only to get an interview is taking the pee.

 

also at the jobcenter they are training floor walkers to sign people on now lol

[antone]

Well of course they do, it is training but in fact it isn't - there are NO JOBS at the end of it, it is to fool people in to thinking there is but at the same time getting them to workfor nothing for a large company so they have stuff done before the summer season and they can sack paid staff and get the work done for nothing. Non paid training LOL! i HAVE HEARD IT ALL NOW!!!! It is not training, it is MWA!

 

Have to agree, more or less, although I'm not sure it's a deliberate plan to get rid of paid staff - I think it's more opportunistic than anything else. But yeah, unpaid training? In the vague hope that there might, possibly, be a job at the end of it? The absurdity is burning me, I tell you.

[boomboomboom]

thats what i thought. when i went to the group interview they had us sitting round 6 tables and it took 2 hours and they said they had another group before us.

 

so glad i did not get through that stage because then 6 weeks full hours working with no pay only to get an interview is taking the pee.

 

also at the jobcenter they are training floor walkers to sign people on now lol

 

 

training floor walkers to sign people on? i have heard it all now lol!