to claim JSA when i have been made redundant?

[lifeafterredundancy]

Background:
worked at same company 10 years - being made redundant at end of july.
getting a £25K redundancy package.

DH works but we need both incomes to sustain a moderate standard of living.

I want to claim JSA while i am looking for work. (The work i do is mostly based in London and I live a £40 train fare away so assuming i get interviews the train fare alone will cost me a pretty penny)

I mentioned this to a friend who thought it was a disgrace as i have a redundancy package to see me through. It's got me wondering. On one hand I think that if i am eligible (a whole other question) then why shouldn't I claim as I have been paying into the system for 15 years and I will be an active job seeker, but I also see my friend's point that I don't need the JSA as I have my redundancy to pay for train fares/petrol etc to get to interviews.

So, I've got my hard hat on! Am I being Unreasonable to claim JSA??

Redundancy packages are not included when applying for JSA. My DH had about £25k redundancy and if he hadn't have found a job quickly we would have been living off it as £67 a week JSA would not have paid our mortgage and bills so needed that top up as we weren't entitled to any other benefits.

Contribution based JSA exists to provide for people in your circumstances OP. I sympathise with people who feel it's wrong to claim any benefit that you can manage without, but the problem with this one is that you probably won't be able to get it if you wait until you actually need it. Your entitlement won't last forever, as it's based on contributions from the past couple of years. So you don't have the option of using the 25k for eg the next 3 years then claiming contribution based JSA if you're still out of work then. It isn't a needs based benefit so it doesn't translate well to a needs based claim or scenario, iyswim.

It's not unreasonable to claim it. You should be entitled to contributions based JSA.

Lulabella you should claim now, they will look at your circs and make a decision. The delay is up to 26 weeks but does vary on a case by case basis.

Lula I received it (though it was many, many moons ago) when I moved counties to be with my husband.

OP, you've paid in, you're job seeking, it's what it's for. Claim it.

You can claim JSA cont if you have been made redundant. The only money we will be concerned about is payment in lieu of notice and/or holiday pay as until this runs out. The regs for Leaving Voluntarily do not usually apply in cases of redundancy (make sure you take in your redundancy letter/info to your new claims appointment).

Also, if you have interviews outwith daily travelling distance there is a scheme which will pay your costs (by cheapest public transport) as long as you tell the Jobcentre BEFORE the interview. Used to be called Travel to Interview scheme, is now known as Flexible Support fund.

In Scotland, we also have a scheme whereby training can be paid for during the 13 weeks after being made redundant. Useful if there is specific training you want.

You should sign on anyway to protect your NI contributions against any future claim for sickness, JSA, State Pension.

HTH

Of course you claim it! You've paid in, so are entitled to contribution based JSA. Don't worry, once you're back in work it's only take a couple of weeks for you to give it all back in tax and NI .

YANBU. You've paid taxes and if you're entitled to claim you should do so. You're not earning millions. BTW, my husband didn't claim straight away when he was "let go" due to not knowing what was going to happen with various stuff at work, the people in the benefits office were then very suspicious of why he hadn't claimed straightaway.

You need to claim it - it is the only way to cover the gap in your NI contributions (unless you have that covered from CB already).

You can only claim contributions-based in the first 6months of unemployment, and it is irrespective of other household income or savings. Yo sound like exactly the sort of claimant it was designed for.

YANBU.

Make sure you also claim on your PPI for your mortgage to get paid while you are out of work.

I took vol redundancy in the new year but have not claimed as just a SAHM now so I'm not seeking work (yet). Should I be doing something to keep up my NI contributions then?

This is all really helpful everybody. Thank you so much for replying. I thought i was being reasonable but then got a bit of a jolt!
we do have savings but it sounds like that is irrelevant for contributions based JSA.

Thanks katescarlett for telling me about the claiming back travel costs thing too - i had never heard of that. narkedraspberry you are right, i will pay it all back in anyway fingers crossed i get another job!!

yanbu,god uve paid in,anybody that thinks otherwise is being u

mind after the jobcentre grilling and thumb screw interview you may not bother,lol

YANBU. DH was made redundant last year, and assumed he wouldn't be entitled to any benefits because of my salary and some bits of savings. It was only when someone told him about his NI contribution that he decided to look into it - and found out that he'd have been eligible for the previous 5 months, as household income and savings were not taken into account. He ended up with just one month's JSA, and fortunately got a job after that.

Good luck with the job-hunt.

Yes claim! It is only if you are still unemployed after 6 months that your savings or other household income would stop the payments.

As others have said it is not just the weekly amount that is valuable it is the fact that your stamp is paid for future state pension.

As you are actively seeking work you don't need to worry about being "grilled" as others have said. there is loads of other help that you may not have even thought of that a good employment advisor will help you to tap into.

Good luck with the job hunting!

You can claim contribution based JSA for 26 weeks but when that runs out you may need to sign on every 2 weeks even though you will get no money so that your NI contributions are paid.
They told my DH when he was made redundant that he didn't need to sign on to get his ni paid, they lied so he had a bill as well. Good luck in your job hunt

You would not be unreasonable to claim, but you may not want to.

You will get about £70 per week, paid in arrears every fortnight a few days after you 'sign on'.

Where is your nearest job centre? Mine is nearly 10 miles away. So cost of 20 miles of petrol plus parking every two weeks. Plus the couple of hours it took each time including the travel. In my case the job centre is located in a really not very nice town - hardly any shops left, really unpleasant atmosphere. Most people in the jobcentre were nice and reasonable, a couple were a little interrogatory and didn't really read the computer before they spoke to me so had to justify myself again and again.

I was not offered money towards travel to an interview, even though I told them in advance I had interviews. I was warned when I first signed on not to expect any help to get a job. They used to do that but budgets have been cut so they don't offer anything now. I would assume money like that is limited and it would be given first to people on income based JSA, who by definition need the money more.

Then there are the other jobseekers there. The middle aged men who turn up in smart clothing with a folder who have clearly been made redundant and are really trying. The young teenagers who stand no chance because they have never had a job. The couples who claim together and just look totally hopeless.

The thing that strikes you about the jobcentre is how depressing it is. One of the reasons I think the staff were really nice to me was because I had to take my baby. (You can't change the day of your appointment even if you have childcare other days!)

It is difficult enough emotionally being unemployed, without having to go to the jobcentre. So if you don't need the money, then I wouldn't go. I would certainly not go to 'keep up my NI contributions'. If you are that fussed you can pay them later - I think it is a few £s a week. There may not even be a state pension when I reach retirement age (I'm 29) because by that point we won't be able to afford it. Maybe if you are older, that is a good reason, but it isn't for me.

If you want to apply though, you can apply really quickly online. You don't need to ring. (and get lost in phone system)

Just had a look and paying vol contributions are expensive unless you are self employed - but most people don't need to as you only need 30 qualifying years to get a full state pension.

YANBU. I was made redundant a year ago and it took me six months to find a new job. The salary is one third less and the job is only two days a week so I'm still supplementing my living with my redundancy money. There's not much out there at the moment, so you may have to prepare for a longer period of employment than you would like.

Of course YANBU! You've paid for it all your working life, that's what it's there for.

And Job Centre can be depressing but I did find a job there years ago which led to a better job which led to my current job in a very over-subscribed sector where I live. You make your own opportunities.

Your friend doesn't sound like much of a friend btw. Is she one of those people who just sees, "Ooooh, look at that lovely lump sum!" and forgets you will have no other income once it's gone?

Angelico - you don't actually look for jobs at the jobcentre now. They just tick a box on the computer to pay you. They don't help with job searching at all. Its more a 'benefits administration office' than a jobcentre.

vj they never 'helped' me either - I just wandered up and down those boards. Having said that I was looking 9 years ago when there were still jobs around so it was probably a totally different experience :(