holiday when on JSA

[LalaDipsey]

Hi, I'm currently on JSA for the next 2 months until my new job starts. I have to sign on every 2 weeks. I'm a lone parent so get JSA, CTC and mortgage support. My issue is my parents are taking me and the children on holiday to France at the end of July for 5 days and this covers my signing day.
If I tell the job centre I am going abroad all my payments stop for 5 days and I have to reapply for them. It takes time to set up, in particular, the mortgage support and it's all a whole lot of paperwork for 5 days away.
However - ironically - if I go on holiday in this country I am allowed to complete a 'holiday form' and miss a weeks signing with no penalty.
It's not as if I'm off to an all inclusive 2 week holiday in the Maldives which I've paid for - it's only thanks to my parents taking us we are going.
WWYD? Do I lie and pretend we're going to Wales or do I tell the truth? And, if I lie can they find out?
Thanks

Ifailed - yes I would have to reapply for all of it
Whiskeysourpuss- Thankyou. Will I need any proof of booking? To be fair I don't have it in any case as my parents have arranged it all!

I can check for jobs etc from my phone and reply to any requests for interviews whilst away in any case.

yes I would have to reapply for all of it

Well then, that's just shit. What sort of idiot would come up with this stupid system? (rhetorical)

'Legally' you would be lying, morally you wouldn't. The latter trumps, have a lovely holiday.

BTW, is there someone you trust who could stand in for you phone wise on a windswept caravan site in skegness?

Enjoy your holiday, just make sure u don't take any talkative kids with you when signing on next.

Universal Credit have scrapped the holiday entitlement.

In past I had to miss sign on day when my child was ill or the in hospital -lone parent. There is an allowance for illness and family took us away on holiday and I just had to notified my advisor beforehand

It seems like a crazy rule. It's not as though someone from London is going to be job hunting in Llandudno whilst on hols there.

And a week in Llandudno can work out more expensive than a cheapy last minute deal to one of the Costas.

Enjoy France OP. Bon voyage!

I am one of the most compliant people I know, my job as a compliance officer is all about setting and following rules, but this one is ridiculous.

If you are allowed a holiday in the UK, you could be in Scotland rather than the South West, and less available than in France.

Enjoy your break, congratulations on the new job

It sounds as mad as Santander who just couldn't understand that based on our location going to France for a day trip was far more likely than being on Mull which takes about 4 times as long to get there, yet we needed to tell them about the France trip not the Mull one. They just kept saying 'but Scotland is in the UK' - yeah but not my part of the UK so far less likely that we will be there (average trips to Scotland 0.5 per year) than France (average 2 trips per year).

What would happen if you heard about a possible job opportunity in France (while we are still in the EU seems a fair thing to do) but then didn't get the job? Enjoy your trip.

Thank guys! Kids will be with me when I sign on after the holiday ..... good point... might try and see if I can get a couple of good friends to help out! Am requesting the holiday when I go in tomorrow - wish me luck!

On JSA, you can take up to 2 weeks holiday within the UK. However, if you wish to continue receiving JSA for the period you are away you have to declare that you would be available to start work asap if you got a job offer while you were away (so you would have to come home asap if needed) and also you have to continue looking for work asd much as is feasible (so checking online etc.) while you are away. You also have to provide the address you will be staying at, plus contact details so they can get hold of you there/confirm you are there if they need to - so a phone number for the hotel, for example.

if you go abroad, you have to sign off and then do a rapid reclaim when you return. If you notify them in advance, they can do their best to book you a Rapid Reclaim appointment for as soon as you get back, which helps to get your claim restarted asap (it's generally restarted very quickly anyway with a rapid reclaim). So you wouldn't (or shouldn't anyway!) be waiting ages for your new claim to go through.

I've seen signs up in airports before warning passengers they need to sign off before leaving the country if they are claiming JSA. I doubt the funds exist to routinely link up passport data and JSA claims, but if anyone suspects you've been abroad and they investigate, it will be very easy for them to get that info. I wouldn't risk it personally.

Missed your update, sorry.

Along with the JSA, would you also have re-apply for the CTC and mortgage support if you went on a foreign holiday?

Mortgage Interest - yes. That will also be dealt with quickly as you have a prior claim that ended within the last 13 weeks.

CTC - That shouldn't stop if you go abroad as far as I'm aware? You don't need to stop claiming CTC if you go on holiday as it isn't conditional on you being available for work. Can you imagine the nightmare it would be if everyone on CTC had to reclaim every time they had a holiday? Mind you I wouldn't put it past this government...

Thanks Roomba. You're making me re-think now. The ridiculous thing is I am in no position to take any job in as I have one starting 1st Sept and am about to have 3 children off school for 6 weeks! Regardless of whether I'm abroad or here. From having made the claims in the past I'm aware of how soul destroying it is to even make a phone call to try and sort anything out and that's what puts me off more than anything. Rapid reclaim sounds lovely but my job centre won't book an appointment more than a week ahead in any case. Oh bugger. And - my bills aren't suspended for 5 days whilst I'm away either! That's the silly thing.
Job centre had advised all benefits apart from child benefit stopped if we went abroad during the joy of the month of daily visits. However good to know CTC won't. Why is it this year when I'm on JSA my parents are taking us abroad???? Aaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhhhhh. Am now so worried about being caught out will have to be honest and now am worried about paying all my bills especially if there's a delay in setting up again. And taking the kids in time and time again over the holidays when, by the time we get back, I will only be claiming for 4 weeks.

Roomba

'plus contact details so they can get hold of you there/confirm you are there if they need to - so a phone number for the hotel, for example.'

This is the part I don't get tbh. If you ring a hotel they won't tell you if a guest is there or not for data protection reasons surely?

I've been reading the instructions for the same situation for UC as I am currently self employed and on WTC and we are booked to go abroad and it says you can go abroad for up to a month but mustn't miss any sign on appointments which makes no sense. Does anyone know what happens there?

You do not need to provide j.c with hotel number etc. Reception is shit in Skegness abroad Nor if you was to go camping in your own tent in middle of nowhere.

Give the kids sweets whilst u waiting to sign on something they need to chew on.

Also your parents are taking you on surprise holiday or taking your kids away whilst you go be on yoga retreat.

Keep it simple. Change subject to your new job to divert conversation if they ask to many questions. There are points for whoever gets someone signed of JSA. (Done some work for j.c for abit)

They will ask for contact details while you are on holiday. Camp site details etc. they sometimes check up. They asked my friend and she lied. She gave a number. They rang her. They had never heard of her. She was abroad. They stopped her benefits.

And the really annoying thing is we are only away Sun-Thurs and it happens to be my signing week. If it was the week in between no-one would be any the wiser. Bonkers that it's worse to goto France for 5 days than anywhere in England for 2 weeks! Am thinking about a half lie - for the past 4 years my lovely parents have taken us away in this country for a week. I could say this is happening again and be unaware my parents have booked France as a 'surprise'. Could that wash? Why am I getting the feeling I will be the one they check up on ?!

When a woman I used to know went to the job centre in a 2013 car, wedding ring on and designer clothes.....they NEVER investigated her.

Yet she had her husband & 2 daughters living there. Husband and 1 daughter was working.

They had full rent
Full council tax paid
He earned 25k a year
Daughter earned 15k

40k going into that house, they didn't pay any rent or council tax for 4 years!

Only bills and cars

She also got 50k in inheritance and didn't bother telling them.

She was never investigated.

My point is, they won't check up on you

Yes say the surprise. I'm a shot liar but if any questions was asked I could talk about previous holiday.

If you to worried, then give yourself a contagious illness or if your kids are young enough give them chicken pox. JSA are allowed illness and allowed to be excused if lone parent looking after ill children. I've missed appointment when I've had my kid in hospital.

Just keep reminding yourself you signing off soon, go in a fill that holiday form. You are allowed a holiday.

Ex DWP.

UK holiday. The system is shit!

Ex DWP.

UK holiday. The system is shit!

Aaagggh! Went in yesterday and said in 4 weeks time I can't sign on as on hols for 5 days. She said 'this country?' And I said 'yes'. She then said that's ok then because if it's abroad we have to shut your claim down and restart when you're back. She said when I go back in a fortnight I will have to fill in a holiday form. What will be on the form? I don't actually have any details of where we're going in any case, and haven't had for the past 4 years as my lovely parents have taken us on holiday. I can pretend it's the same place again - and if they ask for details I guess that's where I step out of the room to check with my mum and 'find out' about the surprise.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do now - why does this system have to be so complicated? I'm worried that when the lady asks the kids when we're back what Devon was like they will obviously spill the beans and I won't ask them to lie - and to be honest they're too young to in any case.
I think the system does suck but actually I think I'll get found out by my children if I lie so I might have to tell the truth when I go back in a fortnight.....

Just had a nose online. It's an ES 674 form apparently. There's a pdf you can download and it'll give you an idea of the questions. Good luck.

LalaDipsey
I sure someone here can give you details of a cheap caravan for let in, say, the next 4 weeks?

I used to work for the DWP, nobody tracks your passport (that's beyond ridiculous) - tell a little white lie

Thankyou guys! Really useful about the form - if anyone has any suggestions of a caravan to to rent that would be amazing....

You went camping in tents in a field in Wales. You can't remember the exact place but it was somewhere near Snowdonia.

Lie your arse off. It's a stupid rule.

Or you came to visit me. I can give address. Or u visited family member far away, we've had holidays like that.

Give the kids sweets or something to distract them from talking. Holiday form only asks for dates.

Remember if they ask about holiday just change subject to your new job, even asking question like so when do I come in and sign off etc.

If you rocked up with a Marbella suntan in middle of winter then that might cause some question but they would need proof.