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This factsheet is a basic overview of JSA. You can find out more detailed information in our Disability Rights Handbook, available at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh36.htm.
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This factsheet is a basic overview of JSA. You can find out more detailed information in our Disability Rights Handbook, available at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh36.htm.
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Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) is paid if you are unemployed and available for and actively seeking work. There are two forms of this benefit, contribution-based JSA and income-based JSA.
This is based on the national insurance contributions you have paid in certain tax years. It is also only paid for 6 months .
Contribution-based JSA is not paid for dependents so if you have a partner or if you do not have enough national insurance contributions to get this benefit you should apply for income based JSA.
You must be present in the UK to claim Contributions-based JSA (see below for details of presence).
This is worked out in the same way as income support (see below).
You also have to be present in the UK, pass the "habitual residence" test and have the right to reside to receive this benefit.
Present means physically present in the UK. There are specific rules that allow you to be treated as present during a temporary absence. See the Disability Rights Handbook for further details.
The term "right to reside" is not defined but is dependent on your immigration status and nationality. You might have a right to reside under United Kingdom rules, EC law or because you are a British citizen.
The habitual residence test is a test to see if you normally live in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the Isle of Man. The test will be applied if you have been living abroad.
There is no legal definition of 'habitual residence'. Relevant factors are where you normally live, where you expect to live in future, your reasons for coming to this country, the length of time spent abroad before you came here, and any ties you still have with the country where you have come from.
However, the test should not be applied if someone:
If these do not apply, a Decision Maker (DM) will decide whether you are habitually resident or not. Get advice if you fail this test.
Periods of residence, insurance and employment in another European Economic Area country may help some claimants to get certain benefits. Reciprocal agreements between the UK and some other countries can include similar rules.
See the Disability Rights Handbook for details.
The rate for contribution based JSA is:
age under 25 - £53.45
age 25 or over - £67.50
Income based JSA is calculated in the same way as income support so the amount you get will vary depending on your circumstances.
You can view the current benefit rates from our website at www.disabilityalliance.org/benrate.htm.
Income based JSA assessments are divided into three parts.
These are paid to you for the people in your household. The amounts paid depend on your age, whether you are single, a lone parent or part of a couple (whether married or living together or a civil partner).
Your household only includes your partner. Anyone else living with you such as a friend or other relative may be able to make their own claim for income based jobseeker's allowance.
If you have a child or young person living with you then you may be able to get child tax credit. See our Factsheet F9 - a guide to tax credits for more information.
Some people, already on income based jobseeker's allowance, are getting personal allowance payments for their children. These will eventually be phased out and replaced by child tax credit.
You can get extra amounts in the form of premiums if you satisfy certain conditions.
Some people already on income based JSA are getting premiums for their children instead of child tax credit. As above, these will eventually be phased out and replaced by child tax credit.
You can get any or all of the following premiums if you satisfy the rules for them:
carer premium
disabled child premium
enhanced disability premium
family premium
severe disability premium
In addition to these premiums you can get one of the premiums listed below. If you qualify for two of the premiums on this list you will get the one which pays you the most:
family premium lone parent rate
disability premium
pensioner premium
You or you partner must be entitled to carer's allowance, even if you are not actually paid it because you receive another benefit. This premium is payable for each person who qualifies.
You must be under the qualifying age for pension credit and one of the following applies to you or your partner:
If you have a partner you will be paid the couple rate of this premium.
You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20 who is getting disability living allowance or who is registered blind. The premium is paid for each child who qualifies.
You may get this premium if you are already on income based jobseeker's allowance. You cannot get this premium if you are making a new claim for income based JSA.
You or your partner must satisfy one of the following:
If you have a partner you will be paid the couple rate of this premium.
You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20.
You may get this premium if you are already on income based jobseeker's allowance. You cannot get this premium if you are making a new claim for income based JSA.
This premium is paid instead of ordinary family premium. You may get it if you have been on income based jobseeker's allowance since before 6.4.98.
You cannot get this premium if you are making a new claim for income based JSA.
You or your partner must be the qualifying age for pension credit or over. If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium.
You or your partner must satisfy all of the following:
There is a couple rate if both of you qualify.
The standard interest rate used by the DWP to calculate housing costs help is set at a level equal to the Bank of England’s published monthly average mortgage interest rate. This is currently 3.63%.
Since 5 January 2009 most job seeker’s allowance claims that include mortgage and related housing costs help came under new rules including:
The 104 week limit will not apply if you (or your partner in the case of a joint claim) were claiming either income support or ESA in the 12 weeks prior to your JSA award. In calculating the 104 week period, some temporary breaks in your claim can be disregarded.
For more information about housing costs see Disability Alliance's Disability Rights Handbook.
You cannot get income based JSA if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) are above £16,000. Your benefit will be affected if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) are above £6,000 (£10,000 if you live permanently in a care home).
If your capital is between the lower and upper limits, a ‘tariff income’ is assumed: one pound a week for every £250 (or part of £250) above the lower limit is included as your income.
For example, if you have capital of between £6,250.01 and £6,500, £2 a week is included as your income. Each time capital gets into the next block of £250 (even by as little as one penny) an additional £1 is included as income.
Some of your earnings are not taken into account when working out income based JSA. This is normally £5 if you are single or £10 if you have a partner. You will have £20 of your earnings disregarded if you qualify for the disability premium, the carer premium or are a lone parent.
Some benefits are not taken into account when working out means tested benefits. These include child benefit, attendance allowance and disability living allowance.
You claim by completing forms JSA1 and ES2 (ES9 if you are age 16 to 17) available from your local Jobcentre Plus office and also by signing a jobseeker's agreement.
You can also make an online claim from the DirectGov website at http://tinyurl.com/lldb9k or phone the following:
Telephone: 0800 0 55 66 88
Textphone: 0800 0 23 48 88
Welsh language: 0800 0 12 18 88
Lines are open from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Charges may apply to calls from mobile phones, but the contact centre will call the customer back if requested.
You will be required to sign a jobseeker’s agreement, which contains a description of the type of work you’re looking for, the hours you are available and the action you’re expected to take to look for work and to improve your job prospects, details of any restrictions on your availability for work.
You must be prepared to take up employment of at least 40 hours a week and less than 40 hours if required to do so. In most cases, you don’t have to accept a job of less than 24 hours a week.
For a ‘permitted period’ of up to 13 weeks from the beginning of your claim, you may be allowed to restrict your availability and jobseeking to your usual occupation and/or to your usual pay. After this you must be prepared to widen your availability for work and job searching activity.
You can restrict the hours available if you are providing care. If you have a disability you can also restrict your availability in any way (eg pay, hours, travel time, type of work), providing the restrictions are reasonable given your physical or mental condition. If you are a lone parent and your youngest child is under 13 you can restrict your availability for work to the child's normal school hours.
Either you or the adviser can propose to vary the agreement at a later date.
You will have to sign on every fortnight at a Jobcentre Plus to confirm that you are following your agreement.
If you have a partner, but no dependent children, and either of you are over 18 and born after 28 October 1947 you must both be available for work and meet all the other JSA rules. This does not apply if one of you is eligible to claim income support.
Students attending a full-time course are normally excluded from JSA until the end of the course, or until they abandon it or are dismissed from it but there are exceptions.
If you have a partner who is also a student and you have responsibility for a child (aged under 16 years) or a young person (aged under 20 years old, undertaking a full-time course of non-advanced education) you can get JSA during the long vacation as long as you are available for work.
You can also get JSA temporarily while you are waiting to return to your course after an agreed break because you were ill or because you had to care for someone. You can claim JSA once you have recovered or your caring responsibilities have ended until either the date you go back to your course or the date your education establishment has agreed that you can go back, whichever is earlier, but only for a maximum period of one year and providing you are not eligible for a student loan or grant during this time.
You can study part-time and get income-based or contribution-based JSA if your course or training takes place outside of the hours you are required to be available for work. These times are usually recorded in your jobseeker’s agreement.
If the course overlaps with the hours in which you must be available for work, you can still get JSA for part-time study if you are willing and able to rearrange the hours of your course immediately to take up employment or willing and able to give up the course if a job becomes available.
You are unlikely to have worked for long enough to satisfy the contribution test for contribution-based JSA.
You may qualify for income-based JSA if you satisfy the normal conditions and fall into one of the specified groups of people who can claim income support (see Factsheet F45 - income support) or employment support allowance (see Factsheet F31 - employment and support allowanc). You may qualify for a limited period if you are laid off or on short time working.
You may also be able to get income-based JSA for a short period in special circumstances such as if you are forced to live away from your parents or will suffer severe hardship if you do not get JSA or you are a member of a couple who has responsibility for a child.
The DWP has issued guidance on severe hardship payments.
To qualify for income based JSA you must register for work and training with the Careers Service or Connexions Service.
You can get help and information at your local advice centre, such as a Citizens Advice Bureau. You can get more information about where to get personal advice from our Factsheet F15 - Finding a local advice centre, available at www.disabilityalliance.org/f15.htm.
This Disability Alliance factsheet is a basic introduction to jobseeker's allowance. You can find out more detailed information in Disability Rights UK's Disability Rights Handbook, available at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh36.htm.
All our publications are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/shop.htm. You can also place an order by contacting Disability Rights UK on 020 7247 8776 (this is not an advice line) or by fax on 020 7247 8765. All our factsheets are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/fact.htm.
20 January 2012
