THE PROS AND CONS OF SIGNING ON AFTER GRADUATION
Are you struggling to find work, running out of cash – and considering signing on for Jobseeker’s Allowance? Is the money you get worth the hassle of applying? And can you do internships (either paid or unpaid) while you claim JSA? In this article we take a look at what Jobseeker’s Allowance benefits are available to graduates, and weigh up the pros and cons of making a claim…
WHAT IS JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE?
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is a financial benefit provided by the government to people who are either not currently in employment, or who are only working a small number of hours – but who are actively searching for work. It’s designed to relieve some of the financial stress caused by being out of work. So, if you are fresh out of university, struggling to land your first graduate role and running out of cash fast, it’s a helping hand you should consider taking.
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Anyone who’s struggling financially can apply. However, how much money you’ll receive will depend on a number of factors, including your age, whether you’re in a couple, what work you’ve done in the past few years, whether you have any savings, and whether you are currently earning anything at all. Due to a shake-up of the benefits system, there are actually four types of financial support available – two ‘old system’ benefits and two ‘new style’ benefits:
Old system:
Contribution-based JSA
Income-based JSA
New system:
‘New Style’ JSA
Universal Credit
Note that the first two on the above list are actually being phased out and replaced with the last two on the list. In fact, you can only make a claim for the Contribution-based JSA or Income-based JSA if you receive something called the severe disability premium (and meet the other eligibility criteria). If this is you, it is likely you have already been made aware of what employment-related benefits you are entitled to, and this is probably not the advice article you need.
For the purposes of this post, we will assume that most readers do not receive the severe disability premium – in which case, it’s very likely that if you do make a claim for financial support, it will be for the ‘New Style JSA’ and/or Universal Credit. Let’s take a look at which one is right for you…
NEW STYLE JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE (JSA)
The New Style jobseeker’s allowance is provided for up to 182 days (six months) to those who have been employed and paid enough Class 1 National Insurance contributions over the past 2-3 years. You’ll have to also meet other eligibility criteria, which includes: being aged 18 or over; not in full-time education; unemployed or working less than 16 hours per week; and actively searching for work. You must also have the right to work in the UK and not be claiming the severe disability premium.
How much you receive is solely based on your personal circumstances. If you have a partner, their income or savings won’t be assessed or affect your claim.
TIP! If you are a recent graduate and you haven’t worked a lot during your years at university, you might not have enough Class 1 National Insurance contributions to make you eligible to claim the New Style JSA. In that case you’ll need to make a claim for Universal Credit.
GRADUATE FOG CLASSIC! This super-popular post was first published in May 2014 and has been updated recently for accuracy
UNIVERSAL CREDIT
Universal Credit was introduced in 2013 and has slowly replaced a number of other benefits (including the Income-based JSA and Housing Benefit). It is a payment provided to those over the age of 18 who are out of work or on a low income and is means-tested (not based on your National Insurance contributions or your recent employment). To claim it, you must be: over 18; out of work (or on a low income); living in the UK; and have less than £16,000 in personal savings.
Note that unlike the New Style JSA, it’s not just your personal circumstances that are assessed as part of your claim – if you have a partner (see below for definition), their income and savings will be taken into account too (so you’ll need a combined savings of less than £16,000).
With Universal Credit there are no limits on how many hours you can work (unlike JSA, which is 16 hours maximum). However, the more you earn, the more your payment reduces. You can use a benefits calculator to work out how much you can get.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! If you’re 25 or older, you’ll receive higher payments than if you’re below this age. Ugh, sorry – we know it’s annoying and unfair
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU GET?
How much you’ll get will depend on factors such as your age, earnings and/or savings. (So, if you pick up some bar work or still have some student loan money left over this can affect how much allowance you’ll receive).
Jobseeker’s Allowance is usually paid every two weeks. Here is the maximum amount you could receive – per week – when you make a claim (for any type of JSA):
Aged 24 or under: £58.90
Aged 25 or over: £74.35
Couples over 18: £116.80 per couple
Universal Credit is usually paid on a monthly basis. Here is the maximum amount you could receive – per month – when you make a claim:
Under 25: £342.72
Over 25: £409.89
Couple under 25: £488.59 per couple
Couple over 25: £594.04 per couple
HOLD THE CHAMPERS: Jobseeker’s Allowance won’t make you feel rich, but it can help to tide you over while you find a good graduate job
Don’t forget, you might not receive the maximum amount.
NOTE! The New Style JSA can be claimed alongside Universal Credit (if you meet the eligibility criteria for both, that is). If you apply for both, the JSA amount you are eligible for will be deducted from the Universal Credit amount you receive.
SINGLE SAVINGS: Applying for Universal Credit? You’ll be considered a couple if you’re in a romantic relationship and live together – and this may reduce how much money you receive. Applications for JSA are unaffected by your relationship status
WHAT CONSTITUTES A COUPLE OR PARTNER?
The government defines a couple as two people who are in a relationship and living in the same household together. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t married, are living with other people (i.e. in a student flat-share), or paying rent separately to a landlord – if you’re in a relationship and living under the same roof, you’ll be classed as a couple.
If you have a boy/girlfriend who stays over a couple of nights a week, but has their own home they pay rent/ bills on, then you won’t be classed as a couple.
Being in a couple won’t affect your New Style JSA claim as it doesn’t take into account your partner’s income/savings. However if you are in a couple you’ll need to make a claim for Universal Credit as a couple. Your combined income/savings will then be assessed to determine how much you can claim.
CLAIMING BENEFITS WHILE DOING INTERNSHIPS
If you’re doing a paid internship and working over 16 hours a week, then it’s likely that your Jobseeker’s Allowance will be reduced (either partially or completely) – as you’ll be earning a wage. However, you might be able to claim other forms of support if your income is really low e.g. Universal Credit or working tax credits.
If you are doing an unpaid or expenses-only internship (which you shouldn’t be, as your employer is probably breaking the law!) you won’t be eligible for benefits as you will not be actively searching for work, and fully available for interviews.
FRUSTRATING: You probably can’t do an unpaid internship while claiming JSA, but you probably can work unpaid in a shop, if the placement is organised by your local Jobcentre Plus. Weird but true
Those familiar with the government’s various ‘back to work’ schemes may spot a double standard here. For example, one scheme open to young job seekers involves up to 30 hours per week of unpaid ‘work experience’, which looks very much like a job or internship to us. Hmm.
There was a famous case in 2012 involving a geology graduate called Cait Reilly. She had an unpaid internship lined up at a museum, but was told she could not claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while doing that. Her Jobcentre Plus told her that she could, however, go and work at Poundland in a work placement organised by them… where she did unpaid shifts on the shop floor. Reilly challenged the Department of Work and Pensions and eventually won on a technicality – but this remains a murky area with inconsistent logic.
*HAVE AN UPDATE TO SHARE? If you manage to claim JSA or Universal Credit while doing a paid or unpaid internship that you set up yourself, please contact us so we can amend this article. Thank you!
THE PROS OF CLAIMING JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE/UNIVERSAL CREDIT
There are many good reasons why graduates should consider making a claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance, including:
1) The extra money comes in handy. It’s not a long-term solution, but while you are between jobs, an extra few hundred pounds a month can help you with your rent, bills and food costs. It’ll save you from having to eat into any savings you might have, take out a loan you can’t afford where you’ll pile up interest, or call on the Bank of Mum and Dad for help (not that there’s anything wrong with doing that, if you’re lucky enough to have parents who are able to help).
2) Free prescriptions. There are many added benefits of being on Income-based JSA or Universal Credit, such as free prescriptions and free dental care through the NHS. This means you don’t have to sacrifice your health to pay for other important things.
FREE PRESCRIPTIONS! Graduates claiming JSA or Universal Credit don’t pay for their prescriptions or dental care
3) Discounted council tax. If you’re claiming JSA, you may be eligible to get up to 100% discount on council tax (depending on where you live) and access to free legal advice. If you claim Universal Credit, you may also be able to get support with your rental costs in addition to your monthly credit payment.
4) Help with finding a job or work experience. For obvious reasons, the government wants you to find work as soon as possible. So they offer a wide range of ‘back to work’ schemes, including: work experience placements (lasting 2-8 weeks); work trials (lasting up to 30 days); and volunteering opportunities. They may also support you if you want to start your own business.
5) Discounted travel. If you have been receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit for over three months, you may be entitled to a 50% discount on selected rail and bus tickets, including the Tube if you’re in London.
6) Routine. You are required to look for work, and by doing this, you can get yourself into a routine.
ON IT: Having a routine and someone to report progress to can help graduates stay focussed on their job hunt
7) National Insurance credits. As a young graduate just starting their career, claiming a pension might be the last thing on your mind. But it’s important to think about the future. Whilst you aren’t paying National Insurance tax, you can fill in the gaps with National Insurance credits, an automatic add-on if you receive JSA. This means that your future state pension benefits won’t be affected if you are not able to pay enough tax right now.
8) You don’t have to pay your student loan debt. You only start paying off your student loan when you are earning £372 per week (Plan 1) or £511 per week (Plan 2). As your benefits won’t be that much, you won’t have to make any student loan repayments for now.
THE CONS OF CLAIMING JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE/UNIVERSAL CREDIT
1) It isn’t that much money. Unless you’re living with your parents, you’ll still struggle to make ends meet each month.
2) You’ll have to meet with your Job Centre coach every two weeks to ‘sign on’. During this meeting, your coach will grill you on how active you’ve been in your job search and what jobs you’ve applied for. They can be stressful if you’ve had setbacks during that period, such as difficulties with motivation, or with your mental health.
3) Stigma. There is no reason to feel this, but some claimants are ashamed of signing on. It’s important not to see claiming benefits as a sign of failure. The graduate market can be brutal and there will be lots of other graduates who are in a similar position to you. And it won’t last forever – it’s just a stop-gap solution while you work on your grand plan!
4) Pressure to look for jobs outside your chosen sector. Unfortunately, it’s quite common for graduates to report that the staff at their local job centre don’t take enough care to match them with roles that utilise their education effectively. It can seem like they are trying to shoe-horn you into any role they can, to get you off their ‘unemployable’ list. This can be really frustrating and demoralising, when you’ve spent the past three or more years studying really hard for a career in a particular field or industry.
HOW TO APPLY FOR JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE/UNIVERSAL CREDIT
If you decide the pros outweigh the cons (and they really do if you’re struggling for money), then you can submit a claim online for either Jobseeker’s Allowance and/or Universal Credit. Once you;ve submitted your claim, you’ll be contacted to discuss the next steps.
It’s important to remember that once you’ve made a claim for JSA, you must inform Jobcentre Plus as soon as your circumstances change. If you’ve made a claim for Universal Credit you can report a change by logging in to your online account. A change of circumstances can mean anything from starting work, moving in with a partner, going into hospital, or going abroad. The full list of reasons can be found on the government website.
BEWARE! When interacting with the benefits system, don’t be tempted to pretend you forgot to mention something important, or that you made a mistake. If you fail to report a change to your circumstances promptly or fib on any part of your application you could face a penalty charge or even be prosecuted. We know this is not a great moment in your life, but for goodness’ sake don’t make it worse!
* ARE YOU CLAIMING JSA OR UNIVERSAL CREDIT?
What are the benefits — and are there any down-sides? If you’re eligible but aren’t claiming, what’s stopping you? Have we missed anything from our guidance above? Have your say below…
Ridiculous. JSA is there for those who need it when they come on hard times. Just coming out of uni is one. I signed on once straight out of uni and once when I got made redundant. For about 3-4 weeks each time. I needed the money as my parents could not afford to support me. The job centre also paid for my travel to and from London for interviews.
Sure it is not the nicest of places. the long term JSA’s who have not ever bothered with a job and are really quite scummy. The people who work there in my experience are horrendous. Awful people who make you feel terrible for signing on.
The fact is, it is money you are entitled to if you have contributed. have had a part time job since I was 12. I paid NI contributions from 16. There should not be a stigma attached to it.
I think for me it was also about wanting to be on the unemployment statistics. I didn’t desperately need the money compared to others and the jobcentre didn’t help me that much.
Best not to leave signing on for JSA for long after leaving Uni as in addition to the £60 odd quid a week you also get your NI stamp paid for, so you need enough NI stamp to get a state pension. State pension of course is getting later and later but if you get there you won’t want to make it any later than it already is. You only need to be short of a few weeks NI stamp each year to have a shortfall and that year not to count as a year’s contribution unless you make it up.
Never really found staff much of a problem the centre I used to go to. One or two occasions but generally they were often quite polite and down to earth, many just went through the motions really which you can understand. Jobcentre not really great at actually helping people get into work though, its all a bit of a processing centre really rather than any attempt to sift and sort people and get connect them with employers in a realistic way or find out what they need. Not the sort of place I would want to go to again.
There is absolutely zero reason not to sign on if you are unemployed. You are a jobseeker. That is what this allowance is for.
The staff at the jobcentre were in my experience not a problem – of course they try to find work for you and are mostly ill equipped to find some sort of training or grad scheme because that is not what JSA is for – it is there to tie people over who are between jobs and not as a careers centre.
However, it does often have a lot of contacts with local businesses who are looking for temp staff and part time work and can help a lot with that and frankly, the advisors there are a resource to use if you need them.
My advisor ranted about how high the welfare bill was in Britain and told me that I wasn’t supposed to ‘live’ of £50 a week I was supposed to get a job! This did nothing for my self-esteem at a time when 2.5m were unemployed and the desperation to get off the dole only impaired my interview performance.
A lot of people don’t really have much choice about whether to sign on, even if living rent free with parents.
And, of course, in my position as a lodger I really have no choice but to claim JSA and Housing Benefit between temp jobs unless I give up and move back to my parents’ house in the country, away from friends and job opportunities (and a recent girlfriend). And even then delays (Housing Benefit is often worse than JSA – HB gets suspended repeatedly whenever anything changes) mean I could easily be on the street by now with my parents’ help and credit, and that you’re sometimes perversely incentivised not to take work.
For instance, if I moved back to my mum’s and wasn’t working (in which case, my mum wouldn’t expect money for board), my choices would be (1) sign on and use some of that to serve my debts (overdraft from uni and periods out-of-work between temp jobs etc) and pay my cheap SIM only mobile phone contract or (2) basically go bankrupt.
*without my parents’ help, I mean
Childless individuals are not priority for emergency housing, so anyone in that position without a family home they can return to etc or substantial savings is at considerable risk of ending up rough sleeping if they lose their job.
You don’t always get a 100% discount on council tax. And someone single and under 35 would find it near impossible to rent anything more than a room with included bills and council tax on JSA plus shared accommodation rate Housing Benefit anyway.
It should also be pointed out that if you live with a boy/girlfriend or spouse (“living as though husband and wife”) who’s working more than a tiny bit, you will be assessed as a household, and only be entitled to contribution-based JSA for up to 6 months if eligible, then nothing.
You’d actually – madly – often be better off living away from your bf/gf, getting JSA & HB, giving most of it to a landlord just to have a tiny bit of income left over. And of course, some people risk a fraud prosecution pretending to live elsewhere.
You can get JSA if you live with your parents, though. But you can’t claim Housing Benefit for places close relatives or partners own.
@Jacob:
“of course they try to find work for you”
The staff at your Job Centre actually tried to find work for you? :O
My Job Centre, when I’m not working, is apparently one of the nicer ones in Birmingham apparently, but they don’t really help you find work.
And the problem with the ones that do “help” people more pro-actively, is that they are also known for sanctioning people – often for spurious reasons too – which can put you off taking up any genuine help offered, in case you find yourself in Cait Reilly’s position of being tricked into working 30 hours a week for a couple of quid an hour, and being threatened with sanction if you quit.
My experience of Job Centres and council Housing Benefit departments is it’s basically an arbitrary shambles. Some people with 11 children may do well out of it compared to (low) average wages.
But the typical childless person who didn’t have family – especially someone under 35 – would risk rough sleeping or ending up getting ever further in debt dealing with all the craziness and delays involved whenever you sign off for a temp job and sign back on when it finishes.
Some may even conclude it was safer not to – perversely – risk rent arrears and homelessness by taking a job, especially if the job was paid monthly even though their JSA was ended on the day of sign off, and their next Housing Benefit payment is suspended until a few weeks after the council receives their payslip.
Indeed, a lot of the more low-level so-called “benefit fraud” becomes if not condonable, more understandable once you’ve experienced the system. Technically, it’s benefit fraud not to declare a fiver your mum or a mate gave you for doing some housework or painting or whatever. But if you declared it, it’d be taken off you and your benefits may be messed up for weeks, i.e. you’d be punished for doing the chore and actually be worse off.
I suspect the writer has no experience of signing on.
They’ll sanction you for any minor offenses, no matter how ridiculous they may be. If they tell you to do something stupid, like apply for management of oil company. Then do it without question, even if one of the requirements is several years of relevant experience.
They’ll try and stick you on workfare. So that will be a few months wasted gaining ‘experience’, that no employer will care about. If the ‘training’ had any value, you would expect the employer to employ you at the end of it. But in most situations they don’t. Usually the employer is more interested in the free labor.
You now have to sign up for universal jobs-match. Possibly the worst job site ever built. It seems to be largely built around allowing your adviser to spy on everything you do. So you will have to be careful to apply to all those dodgy adverts, or risk getting sanctioned. Even if the job advert is simply there to steal your personal information. Ch4 dispatches had a look at some fake adverts. Plus every advert I find seems to have at least 5 repeats of the same advert. (written by different job agencies, but with slightly different wording)
Being on JSA is necessary in order to have some form of income. I had to sign on but I ended up on it for much longer than I anticipated (long enough to be put on the work programme). Signing on is demoralising and you have to do everything you can to get off, because the job centre certainly won’t help you.
I have made an application to Argos to work on the tills. The ball is now in their court. I can’t compel them to respond. I can’t put a gun to the hiring manager’s head and say “Hire me!”. I just need to wait by the phone and hope that my CV will actually be read.
Job seekers allowance can be claimed by anyone who is out of work.
It also isn’t a wise idea for unemployed graduates to turn their noses up at what i would class as a lifeline.
By claiming Job Seekers allowance, not only gives the unemployed enough to live on while job hunting, it also opens doors to the labour market by giving claimants the adequate help they require to move back into employment.
These unemployed graduate’s could benefit from the work experience provided by the governments work program.
The work programs lasts two years, and a large percentage of people who complete it move back into employment.
Desmond.
JSA is supposedly claimable by anyone out of work, but the amount of hoops one is expected to jump through is so demoralising and inefficiently time-consuming it is actually counter-productive & counter-conducive to finding any kind of decent employment. The Job Centre’s Jobs (i.e. those to be found via Universal Jobmatch) are wihout doubt the worst jobs available anywhere and do nothing but drive down the quality of available employment, wages, employment & worker’s rights and working conditions. Consequently the governemnt’s own system of employment assistance is effectively responsible for destroying the quality of the employment market in this country and therefore driving the state of this nation into that of a third world country with regard to employment opportunities. Large corporations and those who represent them (including their lackies in government) will be the first and most vocal (& usually best represented in the media) to agree with the government’s “effectiveness”, but for everyone else not hoodwinked by big business & government economic propaganda, will realise how damaging and deflating it truly is to the actual economy.
The system of penalties and sanctions without doubt costs more money to operate than it saves. Especially taking into account that savings overall due to welfare reform are a mere 3.24%. This includes the devastating destruction to schools & hospitals. Out of the 1/30 (approx) of “savings” made through welfare reform, an even more pathetically smaller franction. Anyone who considers JSA “enough to live on” is an idiot. It’s less than £75 a week. That’s to cover for Gas, Electricity, rent not covered by Housing Benefit, Food, Laundry, toiletries, travel to interviews or the job centre, phone calls an/or internet access (most contact via the job centre is either by phone or online, not to mention stamps envelopes.
Government work programmes are nothing more than government sponsored slave labour.
Sanctions and work programmes do NOT improve claimants abilities to find work. This FACT is based on government commissioned research, which it promptly decided to ignore !
Most of the jobs on Universal Jobmatch are fake or expired.
Best thing to do in the short term is print off your CV and hand it into employers.
I was watching the BBC programme on immigration and that is what young foreign workers do, lo and behold they quickly found employment. Meanwhile a British lad had been stuck on the ‘work’ programme for months on end esentially twiddling his thumbs and losing confidence.
Avoid the job centre at all costs.
Just been told that cannot claim JSA until uni has officially finished i.e end of August, even though I have my degree. Has this happened to anyone else?
Hi Kate
I’ve just checked with GRB (who wrote this piece and are stronger on the details of this subject than me) and they say yes, that’s right 🙁
Here is a link:
https://www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/eligibility
I must admit I didn’t realise that either. I presume you haven’t budgeted for this delay in your income? How do you plan to bridge the gap?
Not sure…trying to get an official letter from Uni to say I have finished and just looking for work
Getting on jobseekers allowance is *absolutely* the best first step for entrepreneurial graduates… It’s not well know, but as a jobseeker you are eligible for “The New Enterprise Allowance” to help you start your own business.
w]Weekly allowance, startup loan, work experience (hello cv filler!) and business support, plus it gets the job centre and your parents off your back for 26 weeks!
https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance
Check the details, but typical packages include…
– A weekly allowance paid for up to 26 weeks (up to a total of £1,274)
– A loan to help with start-up costs (has to be repaid within 5 years)
– Assigned a business mentor
Worst case… If the business fails, likelihood is your mentor will be fairly well connected and could get you a regular job within his network far quicker that the job centre. You only owe the loan (5 year term, worry about it later!)
Best case… you can come join me on the beach in bali running a location independent online business… sod the office
Hi
I’ve finished my 3 year uni course at one uni and have decided to do a one year masters at another.
Does anyone know if I can claim between finishing the undergrad course and starting my post-grad course?
Sue,
The quickest answer is to go to your local job centre and ask at the reception, or phone them. You need to check the end date of your course. For some it is soon after the exam period, for others it is august or september.
Hi can anyone help with advice please has never signed on before getting laid off in a month can i get jobseekers if i got a partner that works thank you .
You can only get jobseekers allowance if you have not gaps in the last two years of working. So if you are in 2014 and the financial year has not ended , they will go off 2o12 & 2013. I know this has claimed twice and there has been a gap, therefore only getting my stamp.
Sue, Yes you can as your getting laid off and JSA is about how much contributions you have put in and not what you husband earns.
It seems like I got lucky with my local Jobcentre (Exeter). I have been claiming for ~8 weeks, and have been told that they understand that the search for a full-time graduate position takes time, and that they’re happy to support me in the meantime, as long as I’m actively looking for something appropriate. They also paid for me to go the other side of the country for an interview. Experiences may vary, but they’re worth at least having a chat with. Give it a try if you can.
In my experience I wish I’d never signed on for Job seekers allowance. It ruins your life!
Every time you apply for a new job your employer can see from the National Insurance records and how long you where on ‘Jobseekers Allowance benefits’, meaning that even if you had no other choice, they are free to presume you are a lazy person and NOT offer you an interview.
The Government aren’t really helping you out either. By declaring your troubles to the world and perpetuating your unemployment, it becomes even harder to find work with the stigma hanging over you on your permanent records.
My personal belief is if job seekers allowance was recorded in a different way, it would help a whole heap of people get back into work faster.
What a load of rubbish. I used job seekers twice when I got made redundant. It was a safety net for me.
You need to get this woe is me attitude out of your head. I found a job within 3 weeks. I took on anything just to get paid.
I’m now unemployed again (due to relocation) and have decided against signing on this time as I think it would be more trouble than its worth. I don’t qualify for JSA due to my savings and my husbands salary, I don’t feel that the job club can do anything for me that I cant do for myself. I know there is national insurance contributions but I’m pretty cynical about the state pension and retirement seems so far away.
@JohnnyHD
Can anyone confirm if this is correct?
Can employers see if you were on job seekers allowance and for how long?
I was made redundant towards the end of last year and signed on while I was unemployed. The job centre staff were generally a fairly grumpy crowd, though my advisor was cheerful and pretty friendly.
I didn’t get any real, valuable advice from them but that might be unfair since I was only unemployed for 3 weeks in the end. Because I’d started applying for jobs before I was officially redundant, I already had interviews lined up by the time I signed on so there wasn’t that much they could say I suppose.
I would say to anyone who’s looking for work: definitely sign on. There’s a stigma associated with it, but that’s just media spin. There’s no shame in it and they don’t treat you too badly(!) Don’t let the likes of the Daily Mail readership get you down!
Remember too that the government would love you to be unemployed but not sign on because it saves them a few quid AND you don’t count towards the unemployment stats so they can point to a lower number and say “look how wonderful everything is!”
Sticking up two-fingers to the government has got to be good, right? 🙂
Regarding employers finding out you were on JSA, they would find out when you gave them your P45. This wouldn’t be until after you started working for them though, so wouldn’t go against you in an interview.
I’ve never heard of this National Insurance record JonnyHD refers to – even if they have your NI number I don’t know of somewhere folk can key it in and find out where you worked (or didn’t work in this case!) and for how long. I’m no expert though so perhaps someone will elaborate.
Of course, employers could deduce from gaps in your CV that you were unemployed but that would be the case regardless of a JSA claim so no reason for that to stop you signing on.
I am a graduate previously on JSA. I was shocked at the treatment I received. Forcing graduates to clean streets or serve soup to the elderly is not going to help us in any way. I mean the issue is not young people wanting a life on benefits. Why spend three years getting a Ba Hons if your just going to sit on JSA afterwards. Us Graduates try are hardest to get jobs but the fact is we are Overqualified to do low skilled jobs, yet companies to not want to give graduates experience they expect you to have 3 years under your belt workong for a top company. How the heck do you get into top companies if they will not employ you. What the “government” should do is target people who refuse to look for work. What abiut the millions of overweight people who refuse to loose weiht to get jobs. Or the woman who have 8 kids and expect to rake in £10000 a week. I mean if the Cameron want’s young people into work give them the opertunity to get decent work experience not forced labour like we are criminals doing comunity service. We have to live a life as well. Taking away vital money from grown adults is not the answer. Some of us do not live with parents or simply do not have anywhere to stay. It sickens me that polotician earn 50 grand and sit there raking in child benefit they do not need driving Aston Martins. If I was in power I would set up companies that only employ the long term unemployed. If you are out of work for 1 year+ you are garunteed a job. If you want us to scrub the streets pay us minimum wage. How is stacking shelves at Poundland for “free” going to help anyone get highend jobs.?
@Tom
You made some excellent points about how the young unemployed shouldn’t be forced into working for their benefits, and I agree with your comparison to community service: this appears to be criminalising unemployment.
“Taking away vital money from grown adults is not the answer.” Absolutely! But why is it the answer if those grown adults are fat or have large families?
I was agreeing with you right up until:
“What the “government” should do is target people who refuse to look for work. What abiut the millions of overweight people who refuse to loose weiht to get jobs. Or the woman who have 8 kids and expect to rake in £10000 a week.”
It suddenly starts to sound like you’re saying YOU should get benefits but these OTHER PEOPLE shouldn’t.
People who refuse to look for work are very small in number, relative to the total claiming JSA. While you were claiming I’m sure you did everything you possibly could to find a job. Guess what, so does almost everyone else.
I would say that the government are quite obsessed with targeting people who refuse to look for work, and many Foggers will report they’ve been sanctioned in that category despite their best efforts.
As for this idea that there are millions of “overweight people” claiming benefits, that’s clearly nonsense. There are millions of overweight people in the workplace, productive, paying their taxes and claiming nothing. People who are so obese that they cannot work are very unlikely to be able to lose weight by suddenly deciding to go on a diet. Yes, they need medical help but that’s what the NHS is for. Do you really agree with Cameron that we should sanction them and leave them to destitution?
Women, or indeed men, who have 8 kids are again a small minority. Your figure of £10,000 per week just shows you haven’t really thought this through and are jumping on a sensationalist bandwagon.
Personally, I’m more than happy for my taxes to pay for welfare. If you believe all you read it funds lavish lifestyles for folk who’ve never done an honest day’s work. But if you put down that Tory rag for a moment and go outside in the real world, you’ll see people genuinely struggling to make ends meet (you don’t even have to go far – there are plenty right here on Graduate Fog).
Yes, some people will game the system; that’s the case with almost anything. But the alternative is leaving those who have fallen on bad luck, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the sick and vulnerable to fend for themselves. That’s not the society I want to live in.
I’m just wondering and needing the pros and cons because from what I’m reading it seems I shouldn’t recommend it. I am ashamed in a way to be wanting to do this as I have never really liked the thought of signing on. But I hate relying on anyone for help since my trial finished in February and I’m really wanting to look for work but at the minute no one has gotten back. I hate having to sit around all day I want to be working and been paid and just now im waking up at 8 going round town handing out cv’s and going on job.gov.uk and filling out loads of job applications but still nothing. ? can someone please give me a little advise ?? My mum said that the job centre are great help but it seems from reading the comments that they actually aren’t.
It doesn’t matter if they are great or not. It is money that helps you support yourself. All you people with pride, it’s stupid. I have signed on twice and it was fine.People have different experiences.
If you sign on you need to be positive and proactive. I was on benefits at a time when my depression and anxiety were really bad and I ended up signing on for two years.
@Hall
Pros: you get some money to help you stand on your own two feet and be a bit more independent of mum
Cons: You have to jump through a few job centre hoops
Not sure why your mum thinks the job centre are a great help. In the spirit of expectation management, they’re not. There seems to be a lot of luck with what your advisor is like.
It sounds like you’re doing the right things to look for work, so you may as well get a few quid to tide you over. Don’t be ashamed; it isn’t your fault the economy is the way it is.
Good luck!
After my experience with JSA, my advise to anyone thinking of applying is apply at your own risk.
JSA should be renamed from “Jobseeker’s” allowance to “Almost-got-the-job” allowance. I am a degree holder who applied a few months after graduation. I have never missed an appointment, always been on time, always filled my book. The Job Centre workers offered no assistance at all, it was always “hi, sign here please, see you in two weeks”. I also only received about 5 texts on my phone, mostly for completely irrelevant stuff like “Are you 16, out of school and looking to earn a qualification?” or “Ever thought of becoming a bus driver?”.
3 months later I get a letter inviting me to an interview that will determine whether I have a “Genuine Prospect of Work”, which I thought was odd because the letter clearly stated that the interview shall be conducted after 6 months of claim. My letter states the interview will be conducted by my personal adviser (this was a lie), and will take about an hour (another lie, mine took no more than 5 minutes). During my “interview” which was conducted in the same exact room where people sign on, conducted by an old lady who could barely use a computer, I was asked no more than THREE questions, including: “Do you have a pending job offer?” and “Have you received a qualification since the start of your claim?”. So apparently my entire potential as a jobseeker can be based on three simple questions, one of which is entirely irrelevant to my personal situation (since I have a university degree). It came as no surprise when I received a letter saying my claim has been binned because I “have not provided compelling evidence that I have a Genuine Prospect of Work”. Apparently all those hours I spent looking for jobs, sending proposals, registering on more job sites, meticulously making notes in my JS book, and even doing “charity” work to build experience and portfolio accounted for nothing, all because I did not already have A JOB at the time of my interview. Isn’t the whole concept of JobSEEKER’s is that I am SEEKING for a job, not that I already have a job?
I’m with AlexW
Lost my job after 17 years in Aug 2013. Allowed the Contributions Based JSA from mid-Sept until I declared an independent 6 week temporary job which paid more than JSA about 6 weeks later and all money stopped and not one more penny did I receive, although a ‘useful’ member of the job centre suggested I should have children if I wanted some money!!!!
Then I applied for income based (had to do that 3 times as they kept ‘losing’ the forms) and then was told there was nothing they could do so I’d be better off signing off in April 2014. I have applied for an average of 2 to 3 jobs per week since my redundancy due to my specific skills and physical limitations. (Should point out I do not qualify as disabled)Had nothing from the state since end of November 2013. Saved up my whole life and now I’m glad I did. Got a couple of months left I think. And all because I have a live in boyfriend. Tell the truth and you get shafted, don’t and you know it’ll be you who gets done!!
My son just started claiming job seekers for about six weeks now, and after being depressed, he found an IT course which required a fee of £3k to fund it which he has borrowed. He told the job seekers that it is a full time course for approx 10 weeks to which they have said he is not entitled to the allowance. He also has to pay out £120 return fees to London weekly. Doing the right thing informing them they have stopped the allowance immediately and there is no help with the course or transport. Does anyone know of anything to help please.
I don’t know what to suggest Jackie but you shouldn’t have told the job centre if you could have got away with it.
It’s bizzare how your son gets punished when I recall my experiences of the job centre… claimants filling in their log book with fake jobs whilst they’re sat on the couch waiting to be called. You couldn’t make it up.
@Shane, @Jackie
Agreed, the only course of action really would have been not telling the Job Centre. A person unsupported by family who tells the Job Centre everything is at serious risk of destitution and homelessness.
Been doing a chore for your mum for a fiver is technically “benefit fraud”, but if you declared it they’d often be little point doing it.
my husband works 24h aweek.idon’t work becouse my
i have two chilren.one under five years.surprisly
jobcentre called for me interview.DO i have to go
alreay i’m not claiming any benefits and i informed
them that my husband start part time job.
The whole system sucks thanks to the race to the bottom that Thatcher initiated and successive governments have supported. Now there’s no jobs (few jobs) and the sheep in vast numbers bought into the lie that it’s all the fault of the lazy “scrounger” individual.
Many of these myopic sheep work in these jobcentres with this same attitude. They are all talentless, visionless people and truly like to make the most of their moment of power. I hope they savour it because they will be of no value at all in any other job.
I am quite proud to claim Jobseekers even though I would very much like to sign off and have a standard of living. The trouble, as anyone with experience knows is jobs are very hard to get.
What I will not buy into is the mind control guilt that they try to instil on me that I am responsible for my situation.
I am not a sheep I can see the big picture. I will claim without shame until an worthwhile opportunity presents itself. I don’t care what sheep think about me.
I signed on for a year before uni, during which I did a month work placement and a few short courses. Nothing came up, and in the end, I signed off and went to uni. Now, I’m coming back with a BA Hons degree, and honestly, going back on JSA would feel like a step backwards. Not only that, but it’d amount to giving my aspirations the finger in favour of what would probably end in being forced into a 0 hours contract. I know from experience how bad they are with sanctions, they don’t impose them on those they should, and do on those they shouldn’t. So, knowing from experience what I do, and knowing that signing on would basically be getting told not to do what I want with my life (I’m a performing arts graduate, and the government are cutting down arts funding. Don’t see how it’s any less relevant than a pub job tbh, but hey ho) because of the potential difficulties. Yeah, sounds really appealing.
I hate the dole treat you with no respect and talk with eight attitude when thys just no need
When one is suffering Chiari malformation, I was told you had to sign on no matter what. Advice please?
can anyone tell me if you can claim jsa while you are still employed by a company and on the sick
can anyone tell me if you can claim jsa while you are still in employed by a company and on the sick
No you can’t claim JSA while employed. If you are sick you need to apply for Statutory Sick Pay assuming you qualify.