Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Tessa the Duchess]

Very sadly my younger son got made reduntant yesterday He is very depressed about it and went to sign on. They told him that as he was made reduntant he couldn't claim any money for 6 weeks if he had been sacked he could claim immediately!

This sounds very unfair to me, I know nothing of the benefits system, anybody clear this up for me.

 

Tessa

[Helen&Lee]

Sorry to hear about your son Tessa.

 

I am no expert, but thought that if the losing of your job was your employers fault you could sign on immediately, if it was your own doing ie. voluntary redundancy, walking out etc. you wouldn't be entitled to anything for 6 weeks.

 

This sounds totally different to what he was told, was he paid redundancy money? Perhaps this makes it different....

 

I know what it is like looking for work at the moment... Good Luck wishes to him.

[Tessa the Duchess]

Your version sounds much more fair to me. If you get the sack then it's probably your fault, whereas redundancy is not something you are to blame for. No, he didn't get any redundancy pay off. I will check back with him and see what's what. Thanks

 

Tessa

[Guest]

There should be some redundancy money surely? (Edit: not if he wasn't there long enough!)

 

There are two types of 'dole'; one is low income benefit (can't remember quite what it's called but it's for those on a very low or non-existent income) and then there's job-seekers allowance which is for those who can show they are actually looking for work. There seems to be a delay before you're allowed this and of course everything depends on how much you have in the bank!

 

What a blow Tessa. I am really sorry. It's a frightening thing to happen to anyone. My DH has been made redundant three times. The first was his choice and he got another job as he left his office for the last time (very lucky), the second was a complete shock and immediate (he was out of work for 15 months) and the last he knew was coming but was quite unpleasant (took 7 months to find another job). I wish your son the best of luck in finding something else soon, but in the meantime, I hope he can relax a little and make the most of his time off.

[Tessa the Duchess]

There should be some redundancy money surely? (Edit: not if he wasn't there long enough!)

 

That's it, he wasn't there long enough, took him ages to find the job too:( Apparently they have a 'last in, first out' policy, he was very unlucky.

 

Tessa

[Guest]

Either that or it's the way they run it to save money. I'm certain DH's second redundancy was doing that - making people redundant just before the 2 year qualifying period.

[Seagazer]

I don't know anything about the dole, sorry, just wanted to say to say sorry about your son. My OH has been made redundant a couple of times but luckily had redundancy pay which saw us through. Good luck to your son in his search for a new job.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

So sorry to hear that, Tessa . I've no advice to offer, I'm afraid, just wanted to wish him luck.

[Egluntyne]

Rotten luck. I hope he finds something quickly.

[chocchick]

It's called jobseekers allowance...

 

Who did he talk to-was it the phoneline or an advisor in the jobcentre? You can appeal a decision if you have applied. You could try asking the phoneline/advisor if there is nothing else you can do or asking the CAB. I'd point out that there was no redundancy money or other income since that date. It wouldn't surprise me if it was one of their rules after dealing with them.

 

The process for applying is to phone a phoneline who asked lots of questions and started the process and backdated everything to that point.

I then had an appointment in the jobcentre and they told me the decision and gave me paperwork to start signing on. You have to actively look for work and keep a record of what you do. You agree to do certain things to look for work e.g. look on specific websites, use their database and agree on the type of work and salary.

 

The first type of JSA £80something a week depends on income and if you have a partner working then you might not be able to claim. The partner only has to work about 16 hours pw on minimum wage and in some cases they count voluntary work! You may be eligible for tax credits even if you can't get JSA if you are on a joint low income.

 

The second type is from NI contributions and is £60something a week.

 

I've found you only get exemption from health/dental costs on the income based JSA. For contribution based JSA you need to have paid sufficient NI in the years they assess. Sadly they don't count the last 10 months I worked and look at when I wasn't working and writing up my PhD. So I just get £7.50 NI a week.

[chocchick]

the website is at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Employedorlookingforwork/DG_10018757

it has the phone number for jobcentre advisors

[chelsea]

They told him that as he was made reduntant he couldn't claim any money for 6 weeks if he had been sacked he could claim immediately!

This sounds very unfair to me

 

Tessa

 

Thats ridiculous Tessa!

 

How does everyone else that swans into this country get benefit then? (I shall stop myself now before I get into a real rant).

 

Seems to me they go out of their way for "shirkers" but penalise the poor people that actually want to work in this country.

 

Good luck to your son Tessa.

[KateP]

As I understood it, if someone has been made redundant and hasn't received any redundancy pay or has only received the statutory amount, they should be entitled to claim JSA straight away?

 

Also, if someone has been sacked then there may be a possible sanction period where they wouldn't be entitled.

 

It may be worth him checking with the Citizens Advice Bureau. They have benefit specialists there and they will probably be more helpful that Jobcentre staff!

[Tessa the Duchess]

Thanks for all your replies guys, you are a font of information He is giving himself the weekend to slump around being depressed, but on Monday he is going to spring into action and check it all out and of course start looking for a new job.

 

Tessa.

[Tiggy]

my 19 yer old nephew stayed with me for 6 months last year & got a job very quickly (I didn't give him a choice), but I went with him to the benefit office & sat with a very nice advisor who got an emergancy payment for him within a week - apparently because I was not his parent I could not be expected to keep him, - I wonder if they have a different view if he is living with a parent

[Flo]

My brother is trying to claim jobseekers allowance whilst he looks for a job. He is being very proactive and even managed to get some un-paid work experience for a company relevant to the type of work he wants to do. He wants to work in the kind of industry where not having the right experience really holds you back from getting a job and the only way to get experience is to do unpaid work.

 

He has now been told that the work experience (unpaid) may mean that he can't claim for the weeks he was doing it as he was "not available for work"! Seems rather silly as he may have got a job out of it, but if he had been available for work (i.e. sitting by the phone waiting for a call) he would still not have a job but would be entitled to claim JSA!

 

Good luck to your son Tessa - it can be very demoralising being out of work so hope your son finds something else soon!

[ScottishMike]

My minimal experience of the dole was when my wife was between jobs many years ago and went to sign on - as a university graduate she had never been on the dole, and was actively looking for another job. What transpired was that the dole was basically set out to benefit (sorry - "to not disadvantage") the long term unemployed (unemployable?) - workers facing a short spell of unemployment were basically left unsupported and out in the cold!

 

Not only that, but with the myriad daft schemes in place, various allowances and stuff, the only people who understood how to get every penny out of it they could, were the career unemployed

 

Nah - it's a rubbish, rubbish system

[freddie]

Twice in the past we have tried to advertize for staff with the jobcentre; First time , they advertised in Manchester for a job in Devon(!!), last time, they didn't get the job title, description, or location correct, when I rang to try to put it right, and ask if they had anyone on their books for us, I was told that they did not "match"jobs to their "clients"

Job Centre???

Good luck to your son, he sounds pretty proactive, I really hope he gets a decent job with a good employer soonest. Wish him all the luck from us all.