People who are unemployed may be able to claim Job Seekers allowance. This article should help with the basics of claiming.
Job seekers is a state aid to help people who are unemployed or low income who are looking for work. Dependant on national insurance contributions, people claiming job seekers allowance (JSA) will receive non means tested contribution, means tested (New style). The local job centre will determine which category the job seeker sits in.
New Style JSA
A job seeker is eligible for new style JSA if they have paid enough National Insurance contributions over the last 2 previous tax years. This can be claimed if the job seeker is low income and has a partner, has a disability or caring for a person with a disability.
This can be claimed for 6 months, after which the job seeker will be switched to another type of JSA.
This JSA can be reduced by pensions or secondary incomes.
Income Based JSA
If a job seeker has not made enough contributions over the last 2 years and is of low or no income, they may be eligible for income based JSA. In large parts this has been replaced by universal credit.
This type of JSA is dependent on circumstances and will be affected by savings and secondary incomes.
Eligibility
To be eligible
Those self employed may struggle to claim New Style JSA but should be eligible for Income based.
Use a benefits calculator to determine what you are eligible for
How to claim
The updated guidance is to register online
Traditionally this would have resulted in a face to face interview, however due to the influx of applications during Covid 19 will now be done electronically.
During this meeting the job seekers will be assigned an advisor, who will create a plan of action to get the seeker back to work. This will be sone through a number of means, training, cv writing and preparing for interviews.
All information will be recorded and the advisor will provide a date for the first payment to go into the job seekers bank account.
To continue to receive JSA, payment can be frozen for 13 weeks if
An interview with an advisor is missed
Fail to improve skills
Fail to apply or accept a role which has been recommended
Loose place in training or employment due to misconduct
It can be frozen for 3 years if
You don’t apply for a job the advisor tells you about
Don’t accept a suitable job
Leave a job voluntarily
Don’t take a compulsory work related program
Writing a good CV can be one of the toughest challenges of job hunting.
Most employers spend just a few seconds scanning each CV before sticking it in the 'Yes' or 'No' pile.
Here are the top tips for writing a CV that'll secure the all-important interview.
Not found the right job yet, be productive and work on your CV instead. Employers won’t reject you because you’re unemployed, it’s how you market yourself that counts.