Tempory Housing Benefits In Shared House With Live In Landlord

[enfable]

I have a friend who has just finished his teacher training and has a job which starts September but would not get paid until the end of that month. He has very little savings and is not able to pay his rent until his salary is paid. His rent is £340 per month including bills. He has previously worked part time and has paid tax and NI but is not currently undertaking any work or has any lined up.

My questions are;

Would he be entitled to any benefits?
If so how would he be best approaching this?
What information would he need to supply?

Thanks in advance

[MallyJ]

It would be sensible for your friend to work through the summer and therefore either be able to pay his rent or satisfy his bank that he is sensible and safe to pay back any loan or overdraft .. that is what I did in the same position ... a long time ago. If he wants to sign on he needs to discus this with an adviser at the job centre. He will be saying that he is available for employment. There are quite a few agencies out there which would help him find temporary work.

[Buenchico]

If he registers as unemployed (and indicates that he's seeking a temporary job, of any kind, until he starts his full-time employment) he'll be eligible for Job-Seekers' Allowance (or whatever it's called under the the new unified arrangements). If he's made sufficient NI contributions he'll get contribution-based JSA, which isn't means tested. If not he can be considered for income-based JSA, which is means-tested. (He has to fill in the same form in either case, which requires him to declare his savings and any income he might be in receipt of. He'll also have to attend an interview).

If he's got any holiday planned though he'll have to sign off JSA for the relevant period and then sign on again when he returns. (Anyone leaving the country, even if only to nip across to Dover for a few hours to buy some cheap booze) is required to sign off JSA and then go through the whole signing-on process again, including the interview, upon their return).

He should also be eligible for Housing Benefit, which is available to anyone on a low income (irrespective of whether they're working or not):
https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/overview

Claiming benefits all comes down to a lot of form filling (and submitting documents, such as the past 6 month's bank statements) and can be tedious in the extreme but it'll be worth it in the end.

He might not have to wait until the end of the month for his first salary payment though. Many teachers are paid in the middle of the month that they're working. (When I started teaching, the school term didn't start until a week into September. I got my first month's pay only just over a week later!)

[fiction-factory]

I think there may be a complication here if he shares the house. I recall the forms will ask for details of the live in landlord's earnings too.

[Scarlett]

Find out the specific end date of his course. If he's technically still a student until 31st Aug then he won't be eligible. If his course end date is 31st July or something then he should go and sign on to Jobseekers. I personally would not tell them he had a job offer but just tell them right now he is not working so needs some help. Then look for part time work. Then sign off when the teaching job starts.

[enfable]

He has been to the job centre and they have asked him if he is available for work until he starts as a full time teacher - which he is. They are giving him job seekers allowance and are contributing a proportion of his rent, he he having to attend the job centre, write CV and should that he is applying for work before starting teaching. He thanks you all for you advise.

[THECORBYLOON]

CHRIS if a JSA claimant leaves Great Britain, the days of departure and return do not count as days outwith Great Britain. Folk can also leave GB for a pre-arranged job interview without their JSA being affected.

[EDDIE51]

I Think that the housing benefit can be claimed until he actually gets his first pay in the bank. So it does not have to end the day he signs off to start work.

[Mamyalynne]

Glad your friend got sorted.