The Social Fund

[EYECATCHER]

Can i apply to the social fund for a grant? After nearly three years of unemployment due to redundancy I have at last started full time work with a local company. The problem we have is that it is monthly paid and as i started on the 17th of the month we will receive no wages until the end of December. I appreciate that we will get help with rent and council tax but as we have only received the £100 back to work grant and £81 end of job seekers allowance we will have a total of £181 to last six or seven weeks. This will not cover Gas,Electricity and fuel for travelling to and from work never mind food and bills. I made a point of going in person to the job-centre

to sign off on the 16th and asked what help we could get, they informed us they could do nothing apart from the above mentioned.

Edited November 23, 2010 by EYECATCHER
incorrect grammer

[ErikaPNP]

You can't get a grant for living expenses from the Social Fund, but you can apply for a loan for living expenses (known as a "Crisis Loan) which, if successful you can collect from the local jobcentre usually the same day - unless you ring late in the afternoon in which case you might not get a payment until the next working day. Ask for an alignment to wages Crisis Loan to meet your immediate living expenses. Your local jobcentre will give you a telephone number to ring for this which will be freephone - they are also free from a mobile too. The lines open at 8:30 in the morning and that is the best time to call. They tend to become more busy as the day goes on and getting through is a nightmare. The lines are now on a network which means you can get through to anyone in the Country though so you will be directed to the first available person.

 

They will ask questions such as what you have done with the money you did have, what money you have in any accounts, if you have other resources that you can get help from, and if you can ask your employer for an advance.

 

If you are not sucessful in your application you can ask for the decision to be reviewed. Failing that, or if you are unable to get through there are other avenues available such as food banks - a google search will reveal if there are any in your area. An example is here

For utility bills, some providers can be rather accomodating for situaitons such as these and will extend the payment period without imposing a penalty.

[Norman1066]

if you're already employed and your claim has ended then you have no rights to claim anything. You should inform your employer of your circumstances and ask for a partial payment of your wages.

 

if that can't happen then you'll have to borrow money from friends and family to survive.

 

Now that you're working though it will all be worth it. struggle for 6 weeks and then reap the rewards.

[ErikaPNP]

There is no requirement to be in receipt of benefits for the purposes of a Crisis Loan; if successful in an "alignment to wages" Crisis loan claim, the awarded amount should be sufficient to pay for living expenses up until the date the payment of wages is expected.

 

Crisis loans - who can apply

[Norman1066]

I have had many friends in these same circumstances over the years and they have always been refused crisis loans on the grounds that their claims are no longer live. or rather they have been put off from claiming by job centre staff because of that reason.

 

good information, thanks for sharing.

[ErikaPNP]

It's generally a good idea to ignore Jobcentre staff when they suggest not to claim, and put in a claim anyway. Most Jobcentre staff are not trained in claims processing, and there is rarely recourse to a non claim for bad advice - it can be challenged, but favourable results are rare. If you claim and get a wrong decision, there is a right to independent review or appeal with most benefits.