JSA & goning away for 3 weeks ? need advice...

[Potless1]

hi i am in my 50's & on jobseekers allowance since last october when i was made redundant & for the first time in my life i am out of work with a wife & 2 teenage daughters who are still at school & on a measly £62 a week which does not even cover my food bill !

I have a chance of going to China for the trade fairs with an importer that i know & he is willing to pay for my flight, accomodation & food for the 3 weeks we will be there so that i can get some idea of how importing works & what items & ideas to look for to import into the UK that will sell & hopefully make a profit without having to rely on the £62 the JSA begrudge giving me.

I am a skilled tradesman by proffession but i cannot see me ever getting a job back in my trade due to lack of jobs available & also my age so i need to look elsewhere & importing is somethimg i am interested in doing if i can get the finance side of things sorted but getting the chance to go to the China trade fairs is a step & a good opportunity.

I am just worried what the JSA people will say as at the moment i am signing every week & i will be away for 3 signings so i assume they will stop my benefit which i need although its very little it helps & without it, it would be a struggle as every penny counts at the moment.

 

Does anyone know what i can say the the JSA people or what i am entitled to do regarding helping my future employment chances.

 

Thanks

[travellingred]

hi i am in my 50's & on jobseekers allowance since last october when i was made redundant & for the first time in my life i am out of work with a wife & 2 teenage daughters who are still at school & on a measly £62 a week which does not even cover my food bill !

I have a chance of going to China for the trade fairs with an importer that i know & he is willing to pay for my flight, accomodation & food for the 3 weeks we will be there so that i can get some idea of how importing works & what items & ideas to look for to import into the UK that will sell & hopefully make a profit without having to rely on the £62 the JSA begrudge giving me.

I am a skilled tradesman by proffession but i cannot see me ever getting a job back in my trade due to lack of jobs available & also my age so i need to look elsewhere & importing is somethimg i am interested in doing if i can get the finance side of things sorted but getting the chance to go to the China trade fairs is a step & a good opportunity.

I am just worried what the JSA people will say as at the moment i am signing every week & i will be away for 3 signings so i assume they will stop my benefit which i need although its very little it helps & without it, it would be a struggle as every penny counts at the moment.

 

Does anyone know what i can say the the JSA people or what i am entitled to do regarding helping my future employment chances.

 

Thanks

 

 

If you are out of the country then the JSA will deem you to be unavailable for work. You will therefore have to terminate your JSA claim and re-commence on your return. There is a rapid reclaim facility which should enable your claim to be restarted easily without going through the whole long-winded process again.

[mawt]

As a side note,

 

... my "rapid" reclaim just took 7 weeks to process.

 

You could also apply for a work "taster", where you can continue to have JSA paid for 2 weeks while an employer trials you (for free). I forget the name of the actual programme.

[bazak1]

If you holiday in this country, you have to complete a 'Going Away from Home' form before you go. You must still be available for work for each day that you claim for and prepared to return if the opportunity arises. You can be excused actively seeking work but not being available for work so you must give contact details on the form-mobile number, or somebody's number who can reach you whilst you are away. If the form reflects this, JSA will still be payable. You should be given a date to return to the Jobcentre to let them know that you have returned.

 

If you go outside of the country, you are not entitled to JSA as, as a previous poster has stated, you cannot be available for work. They do not take into account when the holiday / trip was booked I'm afraid.

[The GodMother]

Actually from what i have been told. U can take a holiday anywhere in the world and just inform the Jobcentre of when the dates are you will be unavailable. They will make a note of it.

 

Under the rules u are techinaclly employed when you are claiming JSA so under the employment rules u are entitled to 4 wks holiday a year.

[Zamzara]

I don't now where you heard that GodMother but you must be present in the UK to be entitled to JSA. You can go on holiday in the UK but only for 2 weeks a year. You can also go abroad for 7 days to attend a job interview, but I don't know if a trade fair counts.

 

To the OP, if your wife has little or no income you should be getting the couple rate of income-based JSA, and maximum child tax credit. You should also be getting some kind of housing costs whether housing benefit for rent or mortgage interest in your JSA.

[Potless1]

i have been trying to get some help with my mortgage since last october & because i have remortgaged during my 15 years at my house a couple of times they are asking for itemised lists of what every penny was spent on with the extra money that i borrowed. im sure they think i remortgaged 10 years ago because i knew i would be getting made redundant 10 years later just to f..k them !

The worst thing is i have paid my tax & nat ins for the last 36 years & you see terrorists living in the UK with half a dozen kids & 2 wives getting a £750,000 house to live in & £350 a week to live on in the daily newspapers & the same ones are abusing our soldiers on parade....

 

my one regret is i never emigrated to australia when i was younger, this country has truly gone to the dogs !

[zazen.warrior]

you see terrorists living in the UK with half a dozen kids & 2 wives getting a £750,000 house to live in & £350 a week to live on

 

But only in the Daily Mail which isn't really a newspaper...

[Zamzara]

But only in the Daily Mail which isn't really a newspaper...

 

And thanks to those types of lies, there's a very real chance that in future people like the OP will be forced to pick up litter full time in return for their £62 per week.

[Potless1]

i see you are one of the PC brigade, in fact it was the times where i have read it & also on questiontime on BBC but i suppose they could all be on the act & making these stories up together, poor terrorists !

 

by the way a terrorist who was arrested on terrorism was awarded £60,000 for being hurt by the police who arrested him (in every daily newspaper today)

 

lucky he wasn't arrested in his own country where he would have been stoned to death ! or is that a myth also made up by the tabloids ?

Edited March 19, 2009 by kthmurrell

[MONX]

Now lets just stick to the original question!

 

Your situation is your situation, it has nothing to do with terrorists or anti war protesters (not necessarily the same thing by the way), or any other group of people no matter how aggreived you are at the situation in this country or how public mood is stirred up by a scurrillous tabloid press.

 

Your question was could you go to China for three weeks and still claim Jobseekers Allowance.

 

The answer is: No.

 

The qualifying conditions for Jobseekers Allowance are that you should be:

Available for work.

Actively seeking work.

Capable of work.

 

The way the Jobcentre look at it is, if you were abroad for three weeks then it is doubtful that you would qualify, should you be matched to a job here in the UK within that 3wks...how likely is it that you would return in time for an interview?

 

How right do you think it is for a person to be out of the country, not looking for work and recieving benefits! Rather hypocritcal considering your stance on scrounging terrorists!

[MARTIN3030]

I would suggest that the OP signs up to new deal or Inbiz programmes.If this is a genuine attempt to get off JSA and look into self employment then no one should knock it.

There IS provision on this for holidays.

I think though I would maybe question the choice of business,given the current climate-the exchange rates with the £1 coupled with huge increases in Chinese raw materials costs have significantly increased costs of importing many lines from China in the last 6 months.

 

Your local Chamber of Commerce will undoubtably give you lots of guidance on this.

Another good source is the Chinese business directory-you simply register your interests and you get responses from those looking to do business in China.

I was subscribed to this myself and found it very good.

[Potless1]

i have been out of work for 7 months, the first time in my 36yrs of working (printer by trade) & after paying taxes & NI all of my life, dont you think i deserve benefit ? if i went away for 3 weeks or not, i know that there wil be no jobs arising for me as there have not been in the last seven months. I believe that benefits should be assessed on what contributions you have made during your working life in the UK as it is from the taxpayers that the benefit money comes from.

charity (should) begins at home !

[The GodMother]

I don't now where you heard that GodMother but you must be present in the UK to be entitled to JSA. You can go on holiday in the UK but only for 2 weeks a year. You can also go abroad for 7 days to attend a job interview, but I don't know if a trade fair counts.

 

To the OP, if your wife has little or no income you should be getting the couple rate of income-based JSA, and maximum child tax credit. You should also be getting some kind of housing costs whether housing benefit for rent or mortgage interest in your JSA.

 

 

Not according to my local JCP. I also have a friend who has that info i said IN WRITTIN from the JCP.

[insyder]

Godmother,

 

I'd love to see what she has in writing.

 

Zamzara's information is correct. You can only claim JSA abroad if you are going to be travelling for a proven job interview and will be returning within 7 days. Other than that JSA is not payable when someone goes abroad.

[skonk]

I have a friend who works for JCP, and she tells me that you are allowed two weeks holiday in the uk, only. Yu still have to fill a holiday form, and tell them what day you will be back, then you have to sign on. She did mention what Martin3030 said as well, but she said you have to llok into them as she doesn't know that much about it, due to not being trained!

 

There is now way you will get JSA if you go abroad for three weeks, whether or not you deserve it for all the contributions you've given. They won't see it as someone trying to better themselves, jobwise. All the will see is someone wanting to go on holdiay for three weeks. Sad, but true.

[sallysas]

Your family need money to live on though (if you do go to China). Your wife should see about claiming either IS or JSA.

 

When you get the mortgage relief sorted out let the council know within a month. All the best.

[Potless1]

Didn't know income support still existed, where do you go to inquire about that ? can you get IS when you are on JSA ? as i am getting just £62 a week with 2 teenage girls who are still at school to support & £62 dont go far !

[mustang67]

Three weeks in China for a 180 quid, go for it, sort it when you come back:smile:

[sandysue103]

You can't receive Income Based JSA and Income Support at the same time. If you have been out of work for seven months then you really should have been asked to widen your jobsearch past your normal type of work. I can understand it is frustrating but there have to be basic rules about what people can and can't do while in receipt of benefits. If everything was looked at case by case then it would be an administrative nightmare and cost a fortune.

 

Good luck if you go to China. You will definitely have to sign off as Zamzara has said and then make a rapid reclaim when you come back.

[Zamzara]

The worst thing is i have paid my tax & nat ins for the last 36 years & you see terrorists living in the UK with half a dozen kids & 2 wives getting a £750,000 house to live in & £350 a week to live on in the daily newspapers & the same ones are abusing our soldiers on parade.

 

Last word from me on this issue, but it sounds as though you're referring to this story, and since you've raised it it needs to be challenged.

 

The council in this case made a momentous cock-up by housing them in accommodation that was grossly and needlessly expensive. This massively profited a private landlord to whom the rent is paid directly at no benefit to the family whatsoever. The council overpaid for the house as it is not particularly mansion-like as the outside photo shows, yet the family now cannot afford to heat it on the money they actually receive as heating is not covered by housing benefit.

 

Of course the tabloids, rather than focussing on the council's incompetence, turned it into racially motivated abuse of an innocent Asian family, which you have picked up on by labelling them 'terrorists' and saying they abuse our soldiers as though all foreign people somehow count as a single legal entity.

 

The focus in the story on consumer electronics is irrelevant as mobile phones etc. are relatively cheap items compared to the general costs of living, yet they have still been paid for on credit cards which shows the family could not afford them on the money they get. As the story points out, they cannot afford a holiday, which they are somehow also blamed for, even though it was very likely the newspaper who raised the issue.

 

A classic example of why the tabloids are the only toilet paper that leaves more **** on you than to start with.

[Potless1]

well i stand by what i say, charity (should) begins at home but unfortunately here it dosn't which is why outsiders take advantage of our generosity which leaves genuine british tax payers, oap's, nurses, teachers etc etc short

 

sorry for being patriotic but we should look after our own before we look after others !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last word from me on this issue, but it sounds as though you're referring to this story, and since you've raised it it needs to be challenged.

 

The council in this case made a momentous cock-up by housing them in accommodation that was grossly and needlessly expensive. This massively profited a private landlord to whom the rent is paid directly at no benefit to the family whatsoever. The council overpaid for the house as it is not particularly mansion-like as the outside photo shows, yet the family now cannot afford to heat it on the money they actually receive as heating is not covered by housing benefit.

 

Of course the tabloids, rather than focussing on the council's incompetence, turned it into racially motivated abuse of an innocent Asian family, which you have picked up on by labelling them 'terrorists' and saying they abuse our soldiers as though all foreign people somehow count as a single legal entity.

 

The focus in the story on consumer electronics is irrelevant as mobile phones etc. are relatively cheap items compared to the general costs of living, yet they have still been paid for on credit cards which shows the family could not afford them on the money they get. As the story points out, they cannot afford a holiday, which they are somehow also blamed for, even though it was very likely the newspaper who raised the issue.

 

A classic example of why the tabloids are the only toilet paper that leaves more **** on you than to start with.

[sallysas]

Well I sympathise with the family concerned. This woman is bring up 7 children on her own and doing a good job by the sound of it. One is already at university, another attending college and she is learning english. Dosn't suggest a family on the make to me.

 

Some of this story sounds distorted to me and some of it may very well be untrue - the idea that one son has expensive cars he sells and indulges in road races may simply be a lie. NEVER LET THE TRUTH GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY........

 

What does sound obvious is not being able to heat their large house and having a water bill she is unable to pay. This happens to people living on the edge all the time so while some people may say look at the amount of money she has coming in imagine the food bill for that number.

 

Most immigrants have jobs within 2 years (some even sooner) and are adding to the economy so to call them a drain on resources is incorrect. I work for benefit services and the number of people I see year after year still on JSA are people who were born here and don't appear to have any desire to work, ever.

[Potless1]

"Most immigrants have jobs within 2 years (some even sooner) and are adding to the economy so to call them a drain on resources is incorrect"

 

is that so ! take your blinkers off, i have friends who use eastern european workers because they are cheaper to use than skilled british workers & who work for cash, one for instance is a builder who does a lot of insurance work & one of his biggest chores is plastering, if a whole house needs plastering a skilled british worker will charge £6,000 to do it, he employs a polish plasterer who has no qualifications but had done plastering back in poland & he will pay him £2,000 cash & pockets £4,000 for himself as he still bills the insurance co for the skilled british plasterers price, the polish guys work is not as good as the british guys but it is acceptable & passes the inspection, you cannot blame my friend for using these people as he makes £4,000 for himself each time but for you to say that they are not a drain on our resources is ludicrous, it is putting british tradesmen out of work. You look outside any inner London Wickes store any morning & there are dozens of immigrants waiting to be picked up by builders who can use them on the cheap without paying british tradesmens wages. so if they wasn't in this country British tradesmen would have a lot more work & less tradesmen like myself would not be on JSA. You also state that they add to our economy, i know a couple of polish workers & a czech worker & a couple of Latvian's & they all work to send money back home via western union, i have been in numerous mewsagents where the shop does western union transactions & there are always eastern european's in there sending money home so you tell me how that adds to our economy !

Where are the jobs going to be available for our children when thousands upon thousands of eastern europeans are coming here to work for less than a british worker & you cannot blame the companies for employing someone for a minimum wage, the government has ruined this country for opening the floodgates to anyone either legal or illegal & if you ask any police officer in any inner london borough what has been the biggest drain on their resources they will all say the eastern european criminal gangs who have upped the crimes of prostitution, drugs, extortion, guns, fraud, robbery & most other crimes & if you deny any of that then you must be living in the outer hebrides !

[42man]

I deal with one company who employ workers from all over the globe, they are a British company and employ Indians, Romanians, Poles, Philippinos etc....their Chief was telling me they had 12 disciplinaries last year....every one of those disciplinaries was for a British worker.....not one was from overseas. Plus the Poles are now having problems as the Ukranians are taking the Polish jobs IN Poland !!!