CLAIMING INCOME SUPPORT

(under 20? see also IS if you are 16-19)

Your 'date of claim' - will normally be from when you ask for the forms, so get them as soon as you can. If you are having trouble getting hold of any documents to support your claim then contact Jobcentre Plus and let them know. They may backdate your claim if you have a good reason.

If you are working - most of the money you earn will be taken off your benefit - anything over £5 if you are single, £10 if you are a couple and £20 if you are a single parent or disabled. You need to be working less than 16 hours a week, and if you have a partner, they must work less than 24 hours a week.

If you have savings over £6,000 this will affect your claim.

You will receive a written decision about your claim. If you think what they have decided is wrong, then you have the right to appeal.

CLAIMING JOBSEEKER'S ALLOWANCE

(under 18? see also JSA if you are 16 or 17)

Make a claim by contacting Jobcentre Plus as soon as you are unemployed, although you don't get any benefit for the first three days of your claim. There are two kinds of JSA; contribution-based and income-based.

Contribution-based JSA

Depends on the amount of National Insurance Contributions you paid when you were working. If you have a partner, you'll need to claim Income-based JSA for them. If you have children, you can claim Child Tax Credit for them (see Tax Credits). You can only earn £5 a week without affecting your Contribution-based JSA, but your partner's earnings and your savings do not affect it. You can only claim it for 26 weeks, after which you need to claim Income-based JSA.

Income-based JSA

Is available if you haven't paid enough National Insurance Contributions for the above, or are still unemployed after 26 weeks. It is also available if you are getting Contribution-based JSA but need extra money e.g. for a partner or because of a disability. If you have children, you can claim Child Tax Credit for them (see Tax Credits). The same rules apply as with Income Support about the amount of savings you can have without affecting your claim, the hours you and your partner are allowed to work and the money you can earn before it affects your claim.

When you make a claim

You (and your partner, if you have one) will have to attend a 'new jobseekers interview'. At the interview

  • Be on time - showing up late can affect your claim.
  • They will ask you about why you are unemployed. If you left a job or got sacked because of misconduct you may lose benefit (but still make a claim as soon as you can, otherwise you may lose even more benefit!) If you want to appeal against the sanction, get advice.
  • One of the forms you were given when you went to make a claim, called 'Your Job Search' (ES2) will be used to decide if you are 'available for' and 'actively seeking' work, and will be used to draw up a Jobseeker's Agreement showing what you intend to do to find work. You will have to sign this.
  • You will be given a copy of the Agreement - and details of when you must sign on each fortnight.

You will get a short interview each time you sign on, and another after 13 weeks. Keep records of everything you do to find work so that you can prove that you are keeping to the Agreement - you could lose benefit if they think you are not doing enough.

To get Jobseeker's Allowance you must be available for and actively seeking work:

Available for work usually means that you are able to take up full time work immediately, and you are willing to work at least 40 hours a week. You don't have to take work of less than 24 hours a week. If you are caring for someone you have to be able to take up work within 48 hours.

If you are unable to work full time because of illness or disability or because you are caring for someone, you may be able to restrict the number of hours you can work, with Jobcentre Plus' agreement.

You can put some restrictions on your availability for work - e.g. what areas you can travel to for work, the pay, the hours of the day you can work. These must be 'reasonable' (i.e. leave you with a good chance of getting a job) or you could lose benefit. You can restrict your availability for up to 13 weeks to your usual job/pay.

Actively seeking work usually means taking at least two steps every week to find work. Make sure you agree to what you can realistically do every week. Keep written records of everything you do. If you can't do this, discuss it at the interview.

JSA is normally paid every fortnight in arrears.