distance to sign on.

[samuelcat]

Hi. My friend lives in a remote village and is 10 miles from the nearest town. Her son is signing on and has always stuggled to get to job centre because there is no public transport and he has to rely on my friend to drive him. Problem is she works permanant nights and the job centre want him to sign on every week which is going to make things very difficult. He has asked about any funding towards his motorbike test so he has transport but dwp said they may help but only if he finds a job.
Anyway, my question is. can they really make him do this,i thought there used to be something about if you lived a certain distance from the job centre you could sign by post.
Thanks

[northernmonkey]

1 - sign on by post.....no
2 - if he puts in for a budgeting loan theres a good chance of him getting the ££ to do his Motorbike test ......

[samuelcat]

thanks. she said he asked dwp and they said they will not fund test because there are no jobs but if he gets a job they will reconsider. now that makes sense. think they are taking the P.

[northernmonkey]

maybe I didn't explain clearly .....
He may be able to get a Budgeting Loan if you or your partner have been claiming or getting payment of one of the following benefits for at least 26 weeks:

•Income Support
•income-related Employment and Support Allowance
•income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
•Pension Credit
and you need help to pay for any of the following:

•furniture or household equipment
•clothing or footwear
•advance rent or removal expenses for a new home
•travelling expenses
•things to help you look for or start work
•improving, maintaining or securing your home
•repaying hire purchase or other debts you took out to pay for any of the above

(Part 1)

[northernmonkey]

You can apply to borrow between £100 and £1,000. The final amount of Budgeting Loan you get will depend on:

•whether you are single
•whether you are a couple
•whether you are single or a couple, with children
•any existing money you owe to the Social Fund
•your ability to repay the loan
•your savings - your award will usually be reduced by the amount of any savings you or your partner or civil partner have above £1,000 (or £2,000 if one or both of you is over 60)
The following can't be taken into account:

•the urgency of your need
•any health problems you or your family might have

How it's paid
The loan is usually paid into your bank, building society or other account provider's account that you have nominated.

How do you repay it?
Your repayments, which are worked out at the time your loan is agreed, are usually automatically taken out of your benefit. If you're not getting benefits, another method will be agreed.

You normally have to repay a Budgeting Loan within 104 weeks.

The repayments are interest-free which means you only pay back what you borrowed and no more

(part 2 of 2)

[4getmenot]

there is still a thing where you can sign on by post but he would have to have a meeting about this at job centre

[sara3]

why has he been asked to sign on weekly, when it's usually fortnightly?

[craft1948]

Where is he going to get a job.....if he has no transport his employment prospects seem to be only in the village.

[northernmonkey]

sara - depends what stage he is at

[samuelcat]

i think he is signing weekly because it has been 13 weeks.he is in a no win situation.he cant afford the bike test because he is on £60 a week but if he found a job he needs to have transport which he hasnt got because..... and on it goes.
thanks for the explanation northernmonkey. i will pass that on to my friend.
thanks 4getmenot.i will pass that on as well.
i thought there was something but only being 19 i guess he doesnt know the right questions to ask.and the dwp are never very good at passing on info that might actually help.
thanks everyone.

[dothawkes31]

what he should do on his job search profile is stipulate that he needs a job with a company that provide staff transport, motorway services and many large factories do this, the jobcentre and his advicor cannot refuse this stipulation, he can also stipulate how far he is willing to travel, this has to be a reasonable distance based on his ability to travel, and in his case it is a small distance unless there is the chance of transport provided by a larger employer.

[factor-fiction]

In theory the purpose of signing on is not just to sign apiece of paper- it is also to find out about vacancies, discuss ways of getting back to work. Even people wholive closer may struggle to pay the transport cost but it's the price you pay.
The other choice is not to claim benefits

[northernmonkey]

Samuelcat
Did your friend's Son find the information about the Budgeting loan useful?
Just thought I would ask (lol)
Simon

[joko]

they will only fund you with things if it is essential to you getting a job...in that you have been refused work because of it...such as no smart suit or somehting

why do you think they should pay for him to ride a motorbike? they dont just give out cash because you want it to make your life easier...
many people dont have their own transport

im amazed you are so indignant over it...

the only way they will pay is if he was to become a motorbike courier or something, or if he has a letter or 2 from a company stating that they would employ him if he could ride a bike or had his own transport - but when the dole pay up, they must then give him a job...

they paid for me to have driving lessons becasue i got various rejection letters from jobs saying, i hadnt got the job because i couldnt drive, as they would have had to hire a driver and vehicle for me in order to perform my duties, and proved to them it was the only obstacle to me getting work.

what sort of work is he looking for?