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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Those in receipt of certain benefits not allowed go abroad

84 replies

manicinsomniac · 15/09/2013 13:59

I'm the first to admit I don't know much about the system and am very poor with news etc so apologies if this is common knowledge but - is this for real?!

One of my friends has replied to a group email to say that she can't come a weekend trip abroad because she is on job seekers allowance and her benefits will be stopped if she leaves the country!?

My friend is a highly qualified, intelligent and hard working individual who just doesn't happen to be able to find a job right now. She's not a criminal, why prevent her from leaving the country. It's degrading and humiliating?!

I don't want to question her about it in case she's making it up rather than say she can't afford it right now. I'd be sad if she felt embarrassed to say that but really hope she isn't actually being prevented by the government from leaving the country for a short break.

If it is true it certainly puts paid to all those 'anecdotes' about 5 foreign holidays a year abroad while on benefits!

AIBU to think that this policy, if true, is completely unacceptable and enfringing on personal freedom to a bizarre and uneccesary degree?

OP posts:

ilovesooty · 15/09/2013 14:18

Suppose she had an interview on the Thursday afternoon and they asked her to start work on the Monday? Suppose she was asked to attend an interview on the Friday or the Monday? She would be unavailable for either scenario, and would risk sanction.

EhricLovesTeamQhuay · 15/09/2013 14:19

I expect you could go away between sign ons if you made up your jsa book and didn't tell anyone. But if you aren't there to sign on your money will be stopped, and if you haven't searched hard enough in your two weeks you will be sanctioned.

soontobeburns · 15/09/2013 14:20

If she is due to sign on she could always say she has a job interview or hospital appointment which prevents this and they will change her day.

I did didnt do this when on jsa.

usualsuspect · 15/09/2013 14:20

The job centre don't set up job interviews.

So I wouldn't worry about that.

Original poster

manicinsomniac · 15/09/2013 14:21

yourebeingadick I didn't want to ask her about it in case she was just saying it due to not being able to afford it. I didn't want to embarrass her.

ilovesooty Yes, I suppose it makes sense if you put it like that. But it's much quicker to get back from many places abroad than it is to get from far corners of the UK!

OP posts:

meditrina · 15/09/2013 14:22

The advice in that CAB link says you can have an (agreed) holiday of up to two weeks a year and it must 'normally' be in GB, and it must be somewhere where you can still receive information about job offers.

I suspect that, in these days of email and capped data roaming charges, you could make a pretty good case to travel within EU.

But if your friend has either already had her 2 week holiday, or has plans for one, then she might be reluctant to take more in case they find out (even though for a weekend it's unlikely) and of course affordability may well be an issue, and one it would be tactless to push her about.

YoureBeingADick · 15/09/2013 14:24

ok fine if you don't want to ask her but how does that suddenly translate to being treated like criminals prevented from leaving the country, impinging on personal freedom? you got a bit overexcited there without any reason to believe that was the case.

burberryqueen · 15/09/2013 14:25

haha i will never forget when i was signing on years ago and i went to Tenerife for a fortnight missing my signing day, well I had lied and said i was going to look for work/visit my family in Essex....
the Aussie behind the desk looked me up and down as i was bright orange after a fortnight of camping on the beach....and said...'amazing tan for Essex mate' I told him i had been on a sun bed!
but that was nearly 20 years ago...I am sure things are much tighter these days.

ilovesooty · 15/09/2013 14:25

Since you are required to seek work up to a 90 minute journey in the UK you shouldn't risk going further afield than that to avoid sanction.

Since claimants are being moved over to Universal Job Match "making up " your job book is becoming increasingly not an option, and your adviser is quite entitled to ask for proof in writing of an alternative appointment that prevents you from signing on at the mandated time.

garlicbaguette · 15/09/2013 14:31

You used to be able to go away if you didn't miss a signing date. That's all changed. The JCP can call you in at any time and your benefits are 'sanctioned' if you can't go - it's not a simple matter of signing off & on again any more. If any busybodies know she went away, they could snitch on her and her benefits stopped.

Theoretically, she should be able to advise JCP she wasn't available for work on those days, and just receive reduced benefit for that week. However, they have sanction targets to meet and tend to use this as a cause :(

garlicbaguette · 15/09/2013 14:32

You're right, OP, it is dehumanising.

teenagetantrums · 15/09/2013 14:34

My advisor has not looked at my job search book for the last 6 six weeks, so I suspect I could make it up if I wanted to, I haven't had to yet. I suspect your friend could go if she wanted to and money is the issue here, i know i couldn't afford to go away for the weekend.

Original poster

manicinsomniac · 15/09/2013 14:34

yourebeingadick - well, it seemed a bit like that to me. And that's certainly not overexcited for me - sorry if it offended you, I'm rather a dramatic type of person!

OP posts:

HalooJones · 15/09/2013 14:37

garlicbaguette that has always been the case if the JC suspected someone was on holiday. Just be sensible, don't go telling everyone about it, don't post all about it on facebook, and don't miss your signing day.

burberryqueen · 15/09/2013 14:38

exactly haloojones - strictly a 'need to know'basis

sashh · 15/09/2013 14:40

You have to inform the job centre if its more than 4 weeks.

Not any more, a day trip has to be reported.

ilovesooty · 15/09/2013 14:43

teenagetantrums you obviously haven't been moved to Universal Job Match yet.

expatinscotland · 15/09/2013 14:44

'If she is due to sign on she could always say she has a job interview or hospital appointment which prevents this and they will change her day.'

Must have been a while ago or you're an excellent forger because you now have to bring in written proof of either. And even then, well, my mate had an interview at the exact time as her sign on time. The JobCentre told her to ring them up and change the interview time! Right. Thankfully, she got the job.

ilovesooty · 15/09/2013 14:45

And yes they have sanction targets to meet as garlic says.

Dawndonnaagain · 15/09/2013 14:49

government website

TheAlphaandtheOmega · 15/09/2013 14:49

When I signed on a couple of years ago, I was going to be away for a long weekend in the UK so i asked the advisor if there was a form to fill in and he said to me just to go, and not say anything as it would be a lot of bother for me to fill in the form and I wasn't going to miss a signing on day.

i think it also depends on how long you have been signing on, if its only a few weeks then they are not going to be ringing people up all the time to check they are in, whereas it gets a lot stricter the longer you sign on, this is what I found anyway. They seem too really crack down after 13 weeks. Luckily I found a job before then.

Original poster

manicinsomniac · 15/09/2013 14:55

wow, recent posts make the situation seem a lot worse than earlier ones. Even a day trip needing to be reported really would make someone feel ashamed and degraded, imo.

My friend has been on JSA for more than 18 months so I guess they're likely to be very strict then.

OP posts:

minsmum · 15/09/2013 15:02

My son was on a work placement sorted out by the job centre. One of the days was his signing on day. He told them and the job placement told them that he couldn't sign on that day. They sanctioned him and stopped his benefit for a month. It took 3 months for the appeal to be looked at.
She may be worried about going away and rightly so because how do you manage without money for a month

TheAlphaandtheOmega · 15/09/2013 15:14

I think up to 13 weeks of signing on you would probably easily get away with it, because unless its changed you only sign on fortnightly anyway.

After that I think it is much stricter with weekly sign ons, also if she has been signing on for 18 months she would probably be going on unpaid work placements and things like that, and also would not have very much money.

Alisvolatpropiis · 15/09/2013 15:18

When I was on jsa for a bit late last year they didn't mention holidays just to let them know if I couldn't attend sign on day (which was fortnightly for me) in advance and tell them why. I imagine they expected illness/interview rather than holiday though to be honest.

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