Can 21 yr old son claim JSA

[jadeybags]

Hi, my son is 21 & has been working since leaving college since last year. He is hearing impaired & wears hearing aids.

 

Access to work sent someone out to his work at the begining to recommend & pay quite a large sum of money for equipment he needed to be able to use the phones there. The equipment has spent the last year occasionally breaking down, during that time the company sent him home on paid leave until it eventually comes back from the manufacturer with a note of not being faulty, but it would work again then for a few weeks.

 

His employer paid for the company that made the equipment to come out & check things out recently & they can't figure out why the equipment just randomly stops working.

 

So we are now at the end of the road. His employer doesn't have any other work he can do, that doesn't involve using the phones.

 

It's unreal that a 21 yr old with A levels coming out his ears (pardon the pun) can't even keep the sort of job he has been in.

 

Quite upsetting for him as none of it is his fault. But his employer has actually been very good really.

He is once again on paid leave with the latest equipment failure, until an audiology appointment next week, although they aren't too familiar with the equipment anyway, so it won't make any difference. He has been using the time to frantically try & find a different job knowing that time is running out!

His employer has now emailed & asked him to go in tomorrow for a meeting. There is no solution for the equipment, so it's likely they will be letting him go.

 

What I am wanting to know is if he gets sacked, can he claim something like JSA?

Or is there anything else anyone can think of. As soon as he started working he took on a phone contract, so does have payment commitments.

 

I am self employed & literally just about get by, we'll struggle but until he manages to find something else, I wouldn't be able to afford his 40 a month contract phone.

Edited May 4, 2016 by honeybee13
Paras.

[reallymadwoman]

Assuming he has no significant savings and is single, he can claim income based JSA, or Universal Credit if it applies in your area. If he lives at home he can't claim anything toward his 'rent'.

[jadeybags]

No that's fine. Oh that's good to know he should be able to claim something for the time being then. That was what worried me. Apparently people that get sacked can sometimes have a problem claiming JSA.

[Mr.P]

Apparently people that get sacked can sometimes have a problem claiming JSA.

 

Benefits can be subject to a sanction if the dismissal was for misconduct. But in the case of your son, his contract is being terminated due to the employer being able to accommodate his disability despite making efforts to. This should not cause any problems when putting a claim in for JSA/UC (there may be a short delay if the DWP have any queries).

[jadeybags]

Ok great thank you.

[antone]

If he was leaving voluntarily or had been dismissed for some sort of misconduct he might have a problem, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.

 

Although he will be asked the reason why he left his last job, each case is considered on its merits. As it stands, he doesn't actually want to leave, is attending work whenever there actually is work for him to do (when the equipment works) and has a somewhat sympathetic employer who has done as much as possible to accomodate his needs. Your son has done everything required of him. I would think he'll be OK. He should be prepared to give as detailed an explanation as possible if he's asked to by the DWP.

[reallymadwoman]

Perhaps the employer would give your son a letter saying why he's been dismissed for him to hand in to DWP at his first interview - it may save time as they will undoubtedly want confirmation of what he tells them.

 

 

Take a copy before handing it over, things do go missing at DWP.