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Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance (JSA) Fact sheet April 2014

As compiled by Professor听Eileen Evason

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Introduction

JSA may be payable to persons who are not in full- time work-that is, not working 16 hours a week or more. This is a more complex benefit than many imagine.

To start with JSA is not one benefit but two:

* Contribution-based jobseeker鈥檚 allowance (CBJSA)

* 听and Income-based job seeker鈥檚 allowance (IBJSA)

Additionally, as the following paragraphs indicate, the amounts payable are rather less than is popularly thought and the conditions attached to receipt are more onerous than many realise.

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Contribution-based jobseeker鈥檚 allowance:听

CBJSA is a national insurance benefit so the core condition for this relates to the claimant鈥檚 national insurance record. 听To qualify for CBJSA claimants must have actually paid the specified number of class 1 contributions in one of the two complete tax years preceding the year of the claim.

In addition, they must have paid, or been credited with, the specified number of class 1 contributions in both of the two complete tax years preceding the year of the claim.

What this means, in plainer English, is that the self-employed, who pay class 2 contributions, are excluded from this benefit. Additionally, people may have paid class听1 contributions for many years, but a deficiency in their national insurance record in the period preceding the claim can mean they have no entitlement. 听

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Once entitlement is established the payments are modest and of limited duration. The current rate of CBJSA is 拢72.40 a week for claimants aged 25 and over with 拢57.35 being payable to claimants under 25.

There are no additions for dependents and听听CBJSA is payable for twenty six weeks only.

At this point claimants may claim IBJSA but if, for example, they have a spouse/civil partner who is in employment they may have no further entitlement. Claimants with occupational pensions of over 拢50 will have the excess deducted from their CBJSA. Benefit will also be reduced if the claimant has earnings with a disregard of, typically, the first 拢5. No account is taken of savings or other capital. 听

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Income-based jobseeker鈥檚 allowance:

IBJSA is a means-tested benefit. IBJSA may be paid to top up CBJSA or where there is no entitlement to CBJSA or where entitlement to CBJSA has been exhausted.

The means-test is very complex and the amount payable will vary depending on the circumstances of the claimant.

The basic amounts are 拢72.40 for a single person aged 25 or over and 拢113.70 for a couple where both are aged 18 or over. In the case of couples, income and capital are aggregated, lumped together, in the assessment of means.

Given this provision and the lowness of this benefit, the part-time job of a spouse can mean exclusion altogether of a couple from this benefit. Where capital exceeds 拢16,000 there is no entitlement regardless of how low weekly income is.

Capital below 拢6,000 is disregarded with capital between this and 拢16,000 being assumed to generate a weekly income of 拢1 for each block, or part block, of 拢250.

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As well as satisfying the means-test, claimants must satisfy a range of other conditions.

First, there are the habitual residence and right to reside tests. This is a very specialist area and advice should be sought immediately by persons affected.

Secondly, claimants with partners in employment for 24 hours a week or more are automatically excluded from this benefit.

In such cases entitlement to tax credits should be checked. Finally, in the case of couples not in employment, unless there are dependent children, a joint claim will be required with both partners meeting the labour market conditions outlined below.

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CBJSA/IBJSA - Common rules:

In addition to the above, claimants must satisfy four other sets of conditions.

First, claimants must be under pensionable age, and not, with some exceptions, in full time education.

Secondly claimants must be able to work. The term used here is 鈥渘ot have a limited capability for work鈥�.

Thus, persons excluded from ESA on the grounds that they are fit for work 鈥� do not have a limited capability for work - must be deemed to meet this second condition.

Thirdly, claimants may be disqualified from benefit for up to 26 weeks if they left their previous employment voluntarily without just cause or lost the job because of misconduct.

Note, for CBJSA a disqualification for 26 weeks will mean total loss of this benefit though a claim for IBJSA can then be made.

Fourthly, claimants must also satisfy the labour market conditions and may lose benefit if they do not. This means they must demonstrate that they are available for work, that they are actively seeking work and claimants must have a jobseeker鈥檚 agreement in place.

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In more detail, whilst there are modifications relating to caring responsibilities and disability, in general terms, availability for work means being prepared to work at least 40 hours a week, being able to start work immediately, being willing to do any kind of work-though some may be given time to find employment in the work that they normally do 鈥� and being prepared to take any wage at, or above, the minimum wage.

The actively seeking work provision means that claimants must, when required to do so, be able to prove that they听have taken steps to secure employment in that week of their claim.

听The jobseeker鈥檚 agreement sets out various points including how the claimant will go about seeking work. No benefit can be paid until the agreement is signed by the claimant and the employment officer.

Finally, it should be emphasised that at many points across this process - as a result of, for example, failure to attend interviews or comply with directions - claimants can be sanctioned.

This means that they will lose part or all of their benefit for a specified period. If appropriate, claimants should seek advice on challenging such a decision.

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Conclusion

Much more could be said on all of the points above. Claimants in difficulty should seek expert help from their local CAB or Independent Advice Centre as quickly as possible as appeals against any aspect of this process must be lodged within a month.