some info from \link{www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/TUC_JSA_sanctions_Oct_2004.doc -\here}
sorry can't make the link work due to undrescores I think
Claiming JSA
When a person loses their job they may need to claim benefit, so the details of how the job ended will be important. When claiming JSA, the jobseeker attends a New Jobseeker?s Interview. At this, particular attention will be paid to why the last job ended. A sanction can apply (not paid JSA and sometimes not awarded National Insurance credits), from 1 to 26 weeks for:
? Leaving a job voluntarily without just cause, or
? Losing it because of misconduct.
As long as the other conditions are satisfied, JSA will continue to be paid until such time as a sanction is imposed, if one is appropriate.
Leaving voluntarily
The rules about leaving voluntarily without just cause are applied like a two stage test:
? First of all, Jobcentre Plus has to show that the person left the job voluntarily.
? If they can show that, then payment of JSA may be affected unless the person can show they had ?just cause? for leaving it ? if they did, benefit should be paid.
First stage: if the Adviser at the New Jobseeker Interview thinks a person left voluntarily, they should be asked to complete a form giving their version of events. The former employer might also be asked for their version. When filling in the form it is not enough to make general statements, the relevant facts must be entered in detail, even if they are embarrassing. The papers will be passed to a Jobcentre Plus Decision Maker.
The onus is on the Decision Maker to prove the claimant left employment voluntarily. If s/he does, it is then up to the claimant to show just cause.
Second stage: The guidance produced by DWP for Decision Makers says that they should consider all the relevant circumstances as well as using law and case law when making a decision. There are no hard and fast rules for Decision Makers to apply when making ?just cause? decisions because the reasons for people leaving work are so varied. The guidance gives examples that can help the Decision Maker think more clearly about whether just cause for leaving a job was shown, for example:
? The claimant must show they were not irresponsible in leaving work;
? There must generally have been some effort made to find another job before leaving;
? You must show that it was responsible for you to leave work;
? If the general public knew what the Decision Maker knows about the case, would they think leaving work was the reasonable thing to do?
? The guidance says that urgent employment or family problems may be just cause, but the Decision Maker will need to see evidence that leaving the job was the only option. Leaving work because another job was offered but then fell through might count, for instance.
The level of pay does not count as just cause, except for not getting the national minimum wage, which will ? but only if attempts were made to persuade the employer to pay it and s/he refused. The following would probably count as just cause for leaving a job:
? Disability, racial or sexual harassment, or
? Being harassed for enforcing a statutory right, such as the national minimum wage.
This means that a claimant will not be regarded as having left their job voluntarily if the contract of employment came to its natural end, if the employer ended the contract (except for reasons of misconduct), if there was a voluntary redundancy situation or the job ceased to exist - if the employer went into receivership, for example.