Does my friend need to sign on?

[Ripeberry]

Hi, my best friend has just come back from France where she had been living for the last 4yrs as her husband's job needed him to be out there.
They have moved back to the UK and she desperately needs to find a job. Mainly because they can't believe how expensive everything is in the UK and also because she could not work in France as she lived in a small village and could not speak the language well enough.
She wants to go into the Jobcenter and ask about signing on. Can she do this? Even though her husband earns a tidy wage but is quite mean with it?
Is there a cut off point where you CAN'T sign on as your partner should be supporting you?
Sorry, i've never signed on, so have no idea.
Everyone she's met has asked "Why on earth did you come back to the UK, it's a third rate country?"

[Greatfun]

I wouldn't have thought she could as it must be based on house hold income. Get her to have a look at the website entitledto.co.uk.

[flowerybeanbag]

This is quite helpful, talks about contributions-based JSA and income-based. Sounds as though her husband's job means she won't qualify for income-based, and if she's been in France not working for 4 years I imagine she won't have made any NI contributions either so probably won't qualify for the contributions-based version.

[Ripeberry]

Don't think she qualifies for anything.
The Jobcenter won't let her check the database in their 'shop' as she is not receiving benefits. She is going to get a library card so she can search on the internet.
Thanks for your help.