Holiday and Jobseekers Allowance

[kloofnek]

We have a large family reunion in Cape Town in Dec.which has booked for over a year.
However,my daughter during this time has had to begin signing on for jobseekers allowance plus gets HB and CT benefit.

Is there anyway she can go ...of course would not get her JS All.. As this holiday was booked before,is there some way it can be worked round so as not to have to go through all the rigamole of re-signing up again

[Maydup]

I'm sure there is accomodation made for a holiday on JSA unless you're going for an unusually long period.

Ask for a holiday form and they'll explain the process.

She can certainly go - its just a case of whether or not she'll receive any money. I'm not up to date on that but others might be. If not just ask next time she signs on.

[factor-fiction]

Actually there isn't provision for this. I had to sign off job seekers allowance (contribution based) when I went abroad on a pre-booked family holiday for a week. However there is an efficient rapid re-signing process- I just had to phone up to reactivate it, and maybe fill a form in, without having to go through all the interviews and major form filling exercise again.

[factor-fiction]

I'd also warn her that they may try to ask detailed questions about how she will be funding the holiday. I was on contribution based JSA so it wasn't means tested (hence I still had to pay for prescriptions for example) so I should have just told them to mind their own business. If her JSA is income based JSA they will certainly ask questions- maybe to establish whether she has savings they don't know about or is deliberately getting rid of savings or has a secret source of income.

[kloofnek]

Thank you.
Realise she will not get her JSA,but would be nice if she can do what Factor30 says.
By the way can you explain about "contribution based" to me please.

[factor-fiction]

All explained here:
http://www.direct.gov...gforwork/DG_10018757.

Basically there are two main types of JSA.Jobseeker's Allowance: 'contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance' and 'income-based Jobseeker's Allowance'.

Contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance. You may be entitled to claim contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions (NICs). Jobcentre Plus can pay this for up to 182 days. Generally, self-employed contributions will not help you qualify for contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.


Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. This is based on your income and savings. You may get this if you have not paid enough NICs (or you've only paid contributions for self-employment) and you're on a low income

[factor-fiction]

I think your daughter probably gets the Income Based version of JSA as she also gets Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit.
Whilst I'm sure about the signing-off/rapid resign process for CB JSA she needs ask at the Job Centre Plus/DWP. She may also lose her CTB and HB while she's away but she needs to check

[factor-fiction]

... and she needs to think in advance about how she will tackle any questions about how she can afford it.

[kloofnek]

The holiday is paid by her father and myself,in fact ,for the whole family.No way she could afford it..so no problem regards as to how she can afford to go.

[bushbaby_de]

My sister was waiting to be able to claim (she had to wait 6 months - I think because she left her last job voluntarily?) and her first sign-on date was the week of my wedding abroad (which had been booked for a year and paid for by my parents) She explained this to the benefits people, who told her if she couldn't make it in that week she couldn't claim at all, and she then had to wait another 6 months to claim anything. This doesn't seem to tally with what other people are saying on here and I'm not sure why, but it's what happened to her.

[kloofnek]

Eddie51,Sorry not replied sooner,been away....we are going to South Africa for 27 days,so will not be able to sign on during that time.
Bushbaby..it would depend on who attended to her,some are on the ball,others are not,very few of the former, unfortunately!!!