Son quit university

[Tigerbandage]

Hi my son is leaving university this weekend, which is fine, it’s what he wants to do, does anyone know if he will be entitled to job seekers allowance or equivalent whilst he looks for work?
He’s moving home, dh works full time I’m close to it, we earn £36k approx between us, will that affect it?
Would he apply online, is there anywhere he can go for advice our job centre and citizens advice have shut down, I did a calculator on entitled to but I was confused if I had to disclose my earnings/savings
Sorry for all the questions and TIA

Oh he’s 20 by the way

Unlike student finance, benefits aren't affected by parental income for adults.

He will, however, need to check what the situation is with student finance - I can't remember how the rules work, but it would be wise to check if he will need to repay any of his maintenance grant for this term. Where is he currently living? If he's I uni owned accommodation he'll usually be let out of his contract under such circumstances; if it's privately run halls or a house share with a private landlord, it's almost always the case that he'll be liable until the end of the contract regardless of dropping out. Finding a replacement tenant for such properties is invariably impossible as other students are already settled in elsewhere for the year.

He has to pay back £2600 student finance and we are liable for private halls £120 a week approx 26 weeks to pay, yep a lot of money

Do you know if it’s job seekers allowance he should be looking into, I looked online but I don’t really understand the eligibility

we are liable for private halls £120 a week approx 26 weeks to pay, yep a lot of money

And how is he planning to repay you for that massive amount of money that he's left you both up the spout for?! What is his reason for leaving Uni? If he can't keep up with the work and has been asked to leave then that's one thing however if he has just decided it's not for him then that's another as his choice is clearly impacting others.

Surely the halls of residence can only hold you liable until someone else moves into the room. Are they advertising it and trying to get it filled?

I need to call the halls Monday to sort it, he has £5k in his bank so will prob just pay it in one go, he quit in September but only just told us , I opened his student finance letter and saw he had quit, I’m more worried about future income tbh as we aren’t really in a position to support him at home without some contribution to the household

He should be eligible for Job Seekers as he is no longer a student and he is looking for employment. I'm unsure if the benefit differs by area but it used to be £140 per fortnight where I am (Scotland). That was pre-UC system so not sure if the application/pay outs processes will all have changed since the days I knew about it.

His parents income will not be taken into consideration as he is no longer a dependant. If he has his own rental property he may have been eligible for housing benefit but as he lives at home that is a mute point. Hopefully the link below will provide some more helpful info

www.gov.uk/jobseekers-allowance/how-to-claim

It’d be universal credit now. He’s be entitled to the basic under 25 allowance of £251.77 a month and would be expected to work or job search 35 hours a week

Yeah entitled to said £58 a week so that sounds about right then thank you

Is he ok? That sounds like quite a big decision to make and leave to now to discuss with you.

Yes, I would be very worried re his mental health if he both started and quit uni in September but didn't tell you?

He will be able to claim universal credit. Best to make claim ASAP it can be done through www.gov.uk he will be expected to look for work. He will have to wait 5 weeks for payment but can apply for an advance loan which will be repaid through deductions to his universal credit. If he finds work he will be expected to continue to repay.

Even if you don’t have a local citizens advice you can call CAB Adviceline and use the public site www.citizensadvice.org.uk

You should be able to get rid of his room. My son left due to illness last year and the company (Liberty Living) were really helpful in helping me advertise to get rid of it.

It’s his second year, I wish he’d said something before he went back, he’s a bit upset but glad to be coming home Sunday

I have no advice on the finances sorry, but I just want to say that I think it's great that he's opened up and told you, and that you have reacted calmly and you are supporting his decision.

Could he look to transfer to another uni? Is there a reason he’s quit?