Job Seekers Allowance stopped for quitting work

[kp278]

hi, my younger brother has had his job seekers allowance stopped as they found out he left his last job voluntarily. can this be argued? he is currently looking for work, going into all the towns near him and just handing in cvs, so he is actively seeking work.

the reason he quit is because he felt he was being mistreated. the supermarket where he worked is always understaffed and he was being asked to take on too much work (ie shop floor and tills at the same time, having to take flak from the customers) and he was also given nightshifts without being asked. its fairly common for staff at this place of work to leave simply because of the stress and working conditions.

he spoke about his concerns with this manager at the time but no actions were taken. unfortunately it was all verbal.

i thought along the lines of constructive dismissal, but this doesnt seem to fit. should/can he go through their greivance procedure even though he quit?

 

thanks, kristian

[Joa]

A claimant can be disqualified or sanctioned from receiving JSA following certain acts or omissions. The length of sanctions can be either discretionary (determined by a decision maker) or mandatory (set by regulations). During the period of the sanction, the claimant does not receive any JSA.

In setting a sanction of discretionary length, a decision maker can take into account the circumstances which led to the sanction. A sanction of between one week and six months is applied to a claimant who, without good cause:-

leaves work voluntarily, but s/he may be able to argue that it was reasonable for her/him to do this; or

refuses or fails to apply for a vacancy notified by an adviser; or

fails to take a reasonable employment opportunity.

Voluntarily leaving work can include leaving a job for health reasons, volunteering for early retirement, leaving because of a family move, and any other reason where a client leaves a job which continues to exist. The client will have to fill in a form indicating her/his reasons for leaving. Her/his case will usually then be referred to a decision maker who will write to the client's employer to ask for a statement. The client is entitled to comment on statements made against her/him, so s/he will usually be able to see a copy of the employer's statement.

A client may be able to show it was reasonable for her/him to leave her/his job voluntarily, for example, if there was a change in her/his terms and conditions and s/he had already used any grievance procedures.

The statutory procedure applies to employees only. This includes part-time employees and employees on fixed-term contracts. If your brother is no longer employee, then he may not use the grievance procedures.

He may however be able to claim constructive dismissal; this is a huge subject and a quite complex one. He should call ACAS Acas - Helpline numbers and check with them.

He also needs to ask for the decision to suspend JSA to be reviewed. He needs to put in writing the reasons for leaving the job and underline that it was impossible for him to continue but at the time he was lacking adequate advice on his employment rights.

[Joa]

wow, hold on mate, either you read carefully, or you keep your comments on a polite side. It is clear to anybody who has read the post properly, that the JSA has been stopped after claimant has left last job voluntarily.

Besides, learn to spell, kiddo, because it just doesn't look good.

Court, my ass...indeed.

[Esio Trot]

You can't get JSA if you're working.

 

If you were claiming it I'd like to know why you aren't in court.

 

As always, trying to be helpful, I have corrected your spelling above - in case you can't see where Joa was saying it was wrong.

 

Grammar is another matter though, and I have made no changes there

[make them aktiv runners]

Sorry James but you have lost me with post 6. I cannot see how anyone can ask you why you got JSA when you have not previously indicated that you had????

[Joa]

aktiv, I think james is just posting stuff for sake of the post numbers.

As for the rest- let's not feed the troll anymore. It's irrelevant to the issues discussed in this post.

[Joa]

LOL, it looks now like we are arguing with ourselves

[make them aktiv runners]

LOL, all his posts went.

[alibobsy]

Someone who has a sanction applied in these circumstances is deemed under the law (by the dec maker) as making themselves vol. unemployed. You can query the disallowance giving the extra circumstances and it will be looked at again, however he can also apply for "hardship allowance" this is paid at a lower rate than the full rate JSA, but at least is better than nothing. He would need to contact his local Job Centre to do both the above.

Ali x

BTW the JC will have normally sent a form to your exemployer about this and may well have had a response from them giving their side, the DM will look at all evidence supplied re the dec. Mind you if the employers aren't very good they will probably have ignored the form altogether.

[emmaf01]

Very often you don't get any response from the employers.

 

But it is worth speaking to your local council Welfare rights officer- they can handle any sort of appeal on your behalf- and they are far more successful than you would be alone.

 

Worth a try at least.

[therafalution]

I left my last job voluntarily, due to having to pay daft travelling expenses in order to get home. I told he job centre the truth and they looked into it and i got my jsa for the full 6 months i was entitled to. As far as i know they contacted my employer and were satisfied.

[patrickq1]

I WAS HAVING TREATMENT FOR fybromyalgia and me/cfs...this began in 2002 sadly the doctors got it wrong,now i am to undergo heart bye pass and twin bye pass to my stomach in order to get blood back to my legs...during this time i have been on 3 sima doctors visits..passed fit (just a maligerer)thats what i felt maybe its in my head,perhaps im going mad..two months ago they found out the problems so besides having two specialists reports concerning this illnes and the untrue statements made by SIMA i am still unable to claim anything other than DLA as i have not paid enough stamps for the period 2002/2004/2004/2005 All due to this illnes as my specialists reports point out..so now armed with my evidence and reports and also my doctors sick notes from 2002 the DWP deny i have made any sort of claim,,even though they sent me to the SIMA Doctors...i have a few documents here now that point to the claims i have made i have now given them to my MP who is now being given the run around and they denied to discus my case with him (LOL) he is an MP so data protection does not even enter the equasion..with that my MP (when he comes back from abroad)said he will get to the bottom of this why has my data not been passed to him where is my data because noone at the DWP branch know where it is and at the same time deny i have ever contacted them funny i have a letter here from march 2005 from the DWP and this letter states that i am unfortunate that i do not have the stamps for 2002/3 ..this was a letter they did nt know i had i have just now found a simmallar letter from march 2004 they also told the MP that i could only back claim 3 months from my first claim and the only claim they have is from july this year..they seem to forget that in march they tried to co erse me into agreeing not to back claim (then)and they would let the application go through lol all this was by telephone they deny this conversation took place,what i would like to ask are all phone conversations recorded....they also deny that me and my wife went to the BRANCH of the DWP in 2002 around about march we sat in their office and they filled out the forms in front of my wife..i have asked the MP to root out this cancer and demanded that heads should roll for the simple fact is they were so patronising in their letters concerning me and i felt they were making a liar out of me so all i want is the satisfaction that they get sacked and another change in the system to help honest people receive there dues ....any comments would be welcome

patrickq1

[emmaf01]

Patrickq1, it is terrible what they have put you through.

 

I know myself how bad they can be. I had to make an appeal after one of their medical examinations said I wasn't ill. For six months I had to live on £25 per week, and when I went to the appeal I was told they had capitulated two weeks earlier having received my evidence from my consultants. They couldn't even be bothered to notify me of this.

 

I had help from my local council welfare rights officer (which is why I always recommend them!). I hope your MP gets to the bottom of this.

 

I have also worked for the DWP, not that that helped me at all!

[rontocknell]

In general, if you leave your employment voluntarily or are dismissed for Gross misconduct, you have to wait around six weeks before JSA can apply. If you're dismissed for any reason other than gross misconduct or can show good reason for leaving, JSA entitlement is applicable as soon as you become unemployed.

[patrickq1]

i have received a letter from the DWP thats a first my response because i am so angry and a bit thick cause i do things first and repent later, instead of wasting a lot of your own valuable time .it smacks of cover up and failure..my claim should also be payed out and not just for credits but for actual cash payments into my account,they owe this because if the case be as they would like it this means i would never get incapacity benefit since they have not made any tax credit payments during any of the times i have been trying to make a claim from the past so perhaps if i were to suggest or say backdate from three months ago by an application to the sec of state due to the doctors notes and their own assessment of illness...

DWP should be able to tell me what steps _it_ has taken to enable a reconstruction of the missing or destruction of files, or there also ought to be a clerical case file for me somewhere, (known as a GBU), The GBU ought to contain a document called a benefit history sheet, which is a 'not for destruction' document !. Those documents may have fallen into disuse since computerisation, the DWP could also cross-check the decision-maker's record sheets of decisions (LT51 ?)and show relevant copies for my inspection and yourself

the point is, the DWP have either mis placed or destroyed or lost my file and have failed to protect my data, and if they are saying to you that he must complete a new form then i will most probably attend another medical !!!, then they are also saying that the DWP has a wholly inadequate record- keeping system in place, placing claimant's interests and public funds at risk. it should be inconceivable that the only evidence of my entitlement is to be found in the missing files. what kind of audit system should or would accept that? this is a serious administrative failure and the DWP is accountable for it. yet it has placed the rectification of the failure of its systems onto myself. why should that be acceptable?

it is not improbable that the DWP has done very little to look for evidence to enable the reconstruction, approaching me as a first resort and not a last resort. I think the approach, above, is appropriate, and the DWP's approach is totally inappropriate.

As previously stated I do not accept them checking any information alone, I request copies of all data under the DATA PROTECTION ACT including all data from the medical services/ I request all SIMA GROUP RECORDS OF THEIR DOCTORS MEDICAL REPORTS/ DWP

AGAIN I REITERATE had I known then I could appeal I would have but there was no help and no advice from the DWP and who better to get advice from when you need help it seems the DWP now have a regime of denial at all costs and a structure that is now in place to deny help when really needed

[patrickq1]

i also sent the forst copy to my MP just to let him know they are pulling the wool over his eyes

[patrickq1]

first typo

[alibobsy]

My understanding is unless a benefit claim is live in payment the government has given strict guidelines as to how long any paper/computer records can be kept. As far as I know the current time for paper docs is only 14 months. Due to the government policy of centralising benefits to save dosh GBU as such no longer exist and alot of older docs are shipped off to remote storage. Did you ever appeal any of these dec. as I vaguely remember hearing that the appeals tribunals keep documents for a lot longer.

You certainly should be able to request copies of anything held in the office or remotely and on the computer system under the data protection act, but you may find most of it has been deleted or destroyed. If they are asking you for evidence of previous claims it may be to give them an idea of where to search for your docs as they could be in numerous locations. Send em copies and keep the originals of course. BTW as far as I know no DWP office ever has or currently does record telephone calls sorry! You could just double check with your office to make sure.

Good luck

ali x

[patrickq1]

i really do apreciate you reply and its content explains a lot only problem i have with that is i cannot find any written directive from any goverment site nor hansards so if you have information i can be directed to to confirm this it would be greatly apreciated thanks though it does help...the only records we have was our doctors certificates sent by our doctor to the DWP they deny having received them,but too many have gone missing for a clerical error

they had one at the end of jan 2003 then in august 2003/then two in march 2004 that was one from me and one from the doc..3 in 2005 that they are now beginning to aknowledge but then they use not enough stamps for 20002/2003 9 stamps missing this is when i took ill...and also why on earth send me for three medicals in 2003/2004/2005...

patrickq1

[kp278]

hi thanks for the responses. he did manage to find another job after a couple of weeks. he only started claiming JSA after quitting his job and i think it was stopped after 2-3 weeks.