job seekers allowance

[cornishpixie]

i gave up work on the 12th August 2006 to look after my mum. mum passed away on boxing day.my husband earns around 24k a year can i get job seekers allowance.We have a daughter who is about to leave school and go to collage and we live with my father

[Ethel]

If you are actively seeking work, prepared to sign on once a fortnight and go through regular 'interviews' to assure them you ARE actively seeking work, you may qualify.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Bfsl1/BenefitsAndF inancialSupport/DG_10018757

[bednobs]

why dont you just try and get a job instead? Its much better for your self esteem, better money, better for society etc. If you go down the jsa route they might put you forward for all sorts of jobs you dont want to do and expect you to go after them ... surely better to look for a job you actually want and go for that? What about your old employer>? could you approach them?

[bednobs]

why dont you just try and get a job instead? Its much better for your self esteem, better money, better for society etc. If you go down the jsa route they might put you forward for all sorts of jobs you dont want to do and expect you to go after them ... surely better to look for a job you actually want and go for that? What about your old employer>? could you approach them?

[DJerba]

Are you sure you want to claim jobs seekers allowance? I used to work in the 'industry' so to say and I would say to anyone who is considering this, make sure this is your LAST resort and heres why - when on jobs seekers you are allowed to work up to 16 hours a week which is fine until you get to 6 months of being unemployed. Once you have gone past 6 month threshold the job centre will refer you to a 'training centre' if you imagine a place packed to the brim with the most low life people you can imagine then you might be getting close. once at the training centre you will most probably be put on a 13 week training course which aims to get you back to work helping you write a CV working with basic skills etc however you have to treat this training like a full time job and if you miss a session you get thrown off the course if you have a part time job you cant attend the training course which means you have to decide between 16 hours of paid employment or your benefit. If you get thrown off the course you will loose all benefits associated with searching for work. These training centres are not nice in the slightest little bit. When I worked there I only lasted 2 months and everyday fights would break out, you would have to work with ex cons who were commiting fraud and had no intention of going out to work and earning themselves a devent living! although there was nothing you could do about it as the whole system is so unorganised. I'm not trying to scare you I'm just being really honest you've clearly gone through a hell of a lot over the past few months and I dont think the job centre or a training centre would do you any favours.

[DJerba]

PArt 2 -
The job centre itself is the most unorganised organisation you will ever come across, they are so heavily targeted everyone claiming benefits is just a stat very few advisors actually give a dam about the person sitting in front of them, I'll give you a prime example. I was once referred someone who was 6 months preg and homeless now how the hell are they in any fit state to work?! but it didn't matter they were just another stat from JCP (job centreplus) if she had refused to attend the training centre full time she would have been lef with nothing.
Also something to seriously consider once you've been out of work and claiming benefits employers tend to not want to know and so it will be really dificult to find a job afterward. Again I know that for a fact as thats what I used to have to do and no one wanted to know apart from charity shops were you could volunteer for 13 weeks insead of attending the training centre. Please please please dont do it unless you really really have to, you will just end up in a spiraling slippery slope that is extremely hard to get out of. You will have very little support from anyone there! The training centres are 2 big charities that the job centre sub contract the work out to and they dont even hit targets either it's a shame and a disgrace, everyone tends to blame unemployed people for their situation and 'not getting off their 'ar5e' but it is honestly the system they are stuck in good luck cornishpixie hope that in sight helped.

[cornishpixie]

many thanks for the answers they are all very useful