Lost Work? Less Pay? Help if you are laid off, on short time working or lose your job. Also available in large print and other formats

Transcription

1 Lost Work? Less Pay? Help if you are laid off, on short time working or lose your job Also available in large print and other formats

2 Contents Page Jobseeker s Allowance (JSA) 3 How to claim 3 What happens when I claim? 4 Jobseeker s Allowance rules 4 Help finding work 8 What else do you need to know about JSA? 9 Getting paid 0 Backdating your claim 0 What if I can t get JSA? 0 Claiming for children Help with housing costs 2 Other help 3 Tax refunds 3 Other benefits 4 Laid off or short-time working? Jobseeker s Allowance 5 Other benefits 6 Self-employed? 7 Debt and money problems Debt Advice 8 Money advice in Lancashire 9 Help with debts and budgeting 20 Employment advice 22 Jobseeker s Allowance (JSA) If you are unemployed you should claim JSA. But there may be other benefits you can claim as well as, or instead of JSA. Jobcentre Plus should advise you about these but get independent advice as well. Claim as soon as you finish work. Your claim will only start from when you first contact Jobcentre Plus unless you have special reasons for claiming late. Make a note of any dates you ring them and keep copies of any letters. If your job finishes on a Friday ask for your claim to start from Saturday. Don t wait until after your final pay, pay in lieu of notice or holiday pay has run out - these don t usually affect when your benefit starts. How to claim Claim JSA by ringing Jobcentre Plus on (Textphone ). Calls are free from a BT landline but you may have to pay if you use another network or a mobile phone. You can ask Jobcentre Plus to call you back. If you have problems using a phone someone can ring for you but you will need to be with them when they call. You can still ask to be sent a paper claim form if you prefer although Jobcentre Plus will try to discourage this. If you have a partner who is also out of work you may have to make a joint claim for JSA if you do not have any dependent children. 6 Help and advice

3 What happens when I claim? Jobcentre Plus will ask you about your circumstances to work out which benefits you should claim. This first call should take about 40 minutes. Make sure you have the following information ready before you ring: Your National Insurance number (and your partner s) Income and savings (joint if you have a partner) Rent or mortgage details The date your job finished You will then be sent a customer statement which includes all the details you gave over the phone - check this to make sure there are no mistakes. You will also get an appointment for your first interview at the Jobcentre Plus office and a reminder of any information you will need to bring with you. Jobseeker s Allowance rules You can claim if you work less than 6 hours a week. There are two types of JSA: Alan took early retirement at 58 and gets a works pension of 90 a week before tax. He claims contribution-based JSA and gets a week because 40 of his works pension is deducted. You claim for yourself and do not get any extra for a partner or children. Income-based JSA is means-tested and can be paid if you (and your partner if you have one) are on a low income and your joint savings are less than 6,000. You can t claim if your partner works more than 24 hours a week. It can be paid on top of contribution-based JSA or on its own. Alice is made redundant and claims contribution-based JSA of a week. Her husband is also unemployed but gets no benefits because his contribution-based JSA ran out a year ago. Alice also gets income-based JSA of a week. You can also get help with mortgage interest and some other housing costs with income-based JSA (see page 2). Contribution-based JSA which you get if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions. This is usually paid for 6 months at a flat rate of a week or if you are under 25 ( or 5.85 from April 200). Any works pension over 50 a week you get and any part-time earnings over 5 a week will be knocked off your JSA. 4 5

4 Extra rules For both types of JSA you have to sign on fortnightly and show that you are: Available for work. This means you should be able to take a full-time job straightaway although there are some exceptions if you have a child under 6 or you are doing voluntary work. Actively seeking work. You must show you are taking (and are prepared to take) reasonable steps to find work. You will have to sign a Jobseeker s Agreement which will include the sort of work you are looking for, the hours you can work, how far you will travel and any things that might limit what you can do (for example any health problems you have). It will also include what actions you will take each week to find work. Think carefully about the answers you give. If you put too many limits on the work you will do your claim may be refused. But if you agree to work that may not be suitable you may be offered a job you can t do and your JSA could be suspended if you turn it down. There are few hard and fast rules - Jobcentre Plus will consider all your answers together and as long as you still have a reasonable chance of finding work you should be alright. But get advice if your JSA claim is refused because of the answers you give (see page 23). A few tips that may help before your first interview: What days/hours can you work? You will usually have to show you are available for at least 40 hours a week. The hours and days should fit in with the type of work you are looking for. For example if you are looking for shop work you may be expected to work on a Saturday, if you are looking for bar work then you may have to agree to work evenings. You will be expected to take part-time work of at least 24 hours a week if this is offered to you. What type of work/wage are you looking for? If you have been working in a particular trade or occupation for a long time Jobcentre Plus may agree to you looking for this sort of work and at your normal rate of pay but only for a maximum period of 3 weeks after you first claim (and it could be less than this or not agreed to at all). Other than this you will have to be more flexible about the type of work you will do and the pay you will accept. How far would you be prepared to travel to work? You are not expected to travel more than an hour each way for the first 3 weeks of your claim, then hour and 30 minutes each way after this. How soon could you start work? You should be able to start the same day a job is offered to you unless you are a carer or you are doing voluntary work. If you have children you will be asked about childcare so think about someone who could help at short notice even if this is just a short-term measure. If you are a lone parent with a child under 6 you should be allowed up to 28 days to arrange childcare. 6 7

5 Are there any health problems that affect the work you can do? Explain what these are and how they could limit the type of work you do, the hours you can work or how far you can travel. As long as you still have a reasonable chance of finding work you should be able to agree some restrictions. But if your health problems mean you would have difficulty finding work you may be better claiming Employment and Support Allowance instead. What are you going to do to find work? Think of the things you have already done and what steps you think are suitable. Your Jobseeker s Agreement will include what you have agreed to do each week to look for work so keep a record of what you do. You could lose benefit if you do not stick to the agreement. If you don t agree with what you are being asked to do you can appeal but you won t be paid any benefit until you sign a Jobseeker s Agreement. You may be able to get hardship payments while you are appealing. Help finding work Jobcentre Plus should also advise you about other help and support, for example training courses and grants that can help you get back into work or set up your own business, for example The travel-to interview scheme may help to pay your travel costs, including overnight stays if needed, for some job interviews. Job Grants of 00, or 250 if you have children, if you have been on benefit at least 6 months and start work of more than 6 hours a week. If you are a single parent who has been on Income Support or JSA for at least a year you can get an In Work Credit of 40 a week on top of your wages if you find work of at least 6 hours a week. This lasts for up to a year and should be claimed before you start work. If you have been getting JSA for at least 6 months you can get a self-employment credit of 50 a week for up to 6 weeks if you start your own business. Jobcentre Plus may be able to suggest other help in addition to these. What else do you need to know about JSA? You won t get paid for the first 3 days of your claim. Most payments you get when your job ends don t affect when your JSA starts. But if your redundancy lump sum takes your total savings over 6,000 you won t get any income-based JSA. You should be careful if you spend any of your lump sum - if Jobcentre Plus think you spent it so that you could qualify for JSA (or get more JSA) they could treat you as still having it and refuse you benefit. Get advice if this happens and you should appeal if you had other reasons for spending the money. Keep a record of what you spend and keep receipts for large items if you can. 8 9

6 Getting paid JSA is usually paid 2 weeks in arrears. You will not be paid any benefit before your first interview (unless this has been deferred). If there is a delay holding your interview your benefit may not be paid when it is due. You can claim an interim payment if you need money to live on while you are waiting - any money you get will be deducted from your benefit when it is paid. If you do not have enough money to live on before your benefit is due to be paid, you can claim a Social Fund crisis loan from Jobcentre Plus. Backdating your claim If you have not claimed benefit on time you may get it backdated for up to 3 months but you will need to have a special reason for claiming late. For example, you may have been wrongly advised by Jobcentre Plus or a solicitor or an advice centre. Or you may have language or literacy difficulties. If you ask for backdating and are turned down you can appeal. What if I can t get JSA? You may be unemployed and still not qualify for JSA, for example if you haven t paid enough National Insurance contributions or if you have a works pension or your partner works full-time. It is important that you still sign on because this will protect your entitlement to Retirement Pension and other benefits by giving you National Insurance credits. Ahmed was made redundant when he was 57 and got contribution-based JSA for 6 months. He continued to sign on to get National Insurance credits even though he already had enough contributions for a full state Retirement Pension. He had a stroke when he was 59 and was able to claim Employment and Support Allowance for the next 6 years until he reached pension age. He would not have been entitled to this if he had not continued to sign on for credits. If you are a man aged between 60 and 65 you only need to sign on as unemployed if you are going to get contribution-based JSA. Otherwise you will get automatic credits which will protect your National Insurance record (although these are being phased out for men born on or after 6 October 950). You should also claim Pension Credit instead of income-based JSA if you are on a low income. Claiming for children You do not get extra JSA for children. You should claim Child Tax Credit instead. If you already get Child Tax Credit this may increase if you have lost your job. Jobcentre Plus should tell the Tax Credit Office when you claim benefit. If you don t claim any benefits through Jobcentre Plus contact the Tax Credit Helpline and tell them you have lost your job (see page 23). 0

7 Help with housing costs If you pay a mortgage you can get extra JSA to help with this. If you are under 60 (although this will be increasing to 65 between April 200 to April 2020 in line with changes to the retirement age for women) you will usually have to wait for 3 weeks before this can be paid and you will only get help with your mortgage payments for 2 years. It will be paid direct to your mortgage lender and may be less than you have to pay each month. If you have a mortgage protection policy this will usually be deducted from any mortgage help paid as part of your JSA. Dennis loses his job aged 45. His wife Maureen does not work and he gets contribution-based JSA of plus an income-based JSA top-up of a week. They have a mortgage of 85,000. After 3 weeks JSA is increased to a week. You can also claim extra for some home improvement loans, ground rent and certain service charges. Make sure you tell Jobcentre Plus about these when you claim. You also get help with these costs if you claim Income Support or income-related Employment and Support Allowance instead of JSA or if you are over women's state pension age and claim Pension Credit. If you pay rent and/or Council Tax you can claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit from your local council. You don t have to be getting JSA or other benefits to claim, you may qualify anyway if your income is low enough. Jobcentre Plus should take your claims for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit when you claim JSA. If you don t claim JSA or any other benefits through Jobcentre Plus you should claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit direct from your local council. There may be other ways you can cut your Council Tax bill as well, for example disability discounts. For more information get our leaflet Help with your Housing Costs or our factsheet Money off your Council Tax. Other help If you get income-based JSA you will get free: NHS prescriptions NHS dental treatment Sight tests and vouchers for glasses Travel to hospital (or similar place) for NHS treatment Vitamins and vouchers for healthy food for children under 4 and pregnant women School meals Education benefits You could also get loans or grants from the Social Fund. You may find that your local council has concessions for people on benefits, for example cheaper rates in leisure centres and swimming pools. Ask at your local council office, or look on their website, for more information. Tax refunds Take your P45 to your first interview at Jobcentre Plus. If you are due a refund you will get this at the end of the tax year if you are on JSA or when you come off benefit if this is sooner. 2 3

8 Laid off or short-time working? 2 Other benefits There may be other benefits you can claim instead of Jobseeker s Allowance. If you think any of the benefits below might be more suitable, claim these instead or get advice. Employment and Support Allowance if you can t work because of health problems. You should claim this even if you fall ill for a short time while you are unemployed. Income Support if you are a lone parent with a child under 0. Income Support and/or Carer s Allowance if you look after someone who gets Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate. Working Tax Credit if your partner works 30 hours a week, or 6 hours a week if you have dependent children or your partner has a disability. Pension Credit if you, or your partner, are aged at least 60. (From April 200 this will increase in line with state pension age for women). You can get a full benefit check by contacting one of the advice agencies listed on page 23. You may have a choice about which benefits you can claim and you could lose money if you make the wrong choice. You should also get advice if your claim has been turned down, if you disagree with a decision or if you don t understand what you have been told. But don t delay. If you want to appeal against a decision you normally have only a month to do this. Jobseeker s Allowance If your hours or pay have been cut or if you have been laid off, you should get advice because you might qualify for extra benefit. If you are not working or if you are now working less than 6 hours a week you may be able to claim JSA. But any earnings over 5 will be knocked off your benefit so get advice before you claim. Contributory JSA usually only lasts for 6 months so if you think you might lose your job it may be better to wait until this happens before you claim, as you won t get full JSA while you still have part-time earnings. If you claim JSA while laid off or working short-time you won t have to pass the usual tests about looking for work for the first 3 weeks of your claim. But you will be expected to accept any casual work Jobcentre Plus offers you. If you are working shorttime you are expected to take any casual work which would bring your total hours up to 40 a week. You can t get Jobseeker s Allowance on any days you get guarantee payments from your employer while you are laid off. You should get guarantee payments for at least 5 days in each 3 month period although your employment contract may give you more than this. If your employment contract does not allow your employer to lay you off or put you on short-time working your employer can t do this without your agreement. You could claim redundancy if you have been laid off, or put on short-time working, for 4 consecutive weeks, or 6 weeks in a 3 week period. If you are not in a union get advice from a solicitor (see page 23). 4 5

9 2 Laid off or short-time working? Self-employed? 3 Other benefits You should think carefully about the points below, particularly if your employer gives you a choice about cutting hours or pay. Everyone s circumstances are different so get advice before making a decision. Tax Credits: if your pay is cut you could get more Working Tax Credit or could qualify for the first time. If you already get Working Tax Credit when your hours are cut or your pay is reduced it may be worth waiting until the following April before telling the Tax Credit Office if you can afford to do so, because an increase in Tax Credits will reduce any Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you get. You could lose Working Tax Credit altogether if your hours drop below 30 (if you have no children) or 6 (if you have children or a disability), unless your partner has a job and works enough hours. You have to inform the Tax Credit Office straightaway if this is the case. Don s employer has offered his workforce the choice of cutting their working week to 30 or 24 hours a week. Don s wife doesn t work and they have no children. He can get Working Tax Credit if he works at least 30 hours a week but he can claim nothing if he only works 24 hours. He gets advice and decides to cut his hours to 30. The Working Tax Credit makes up for some of the pay he has lost. Get our leaflet Working Tax Credit for more information. Rent and Council Tax: you may get some Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit if your income has dropped. You don t have to be on any other benefit to claim. If you live in somebody else s house and they get Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit, they could get more now that your pay has dropped. Self-employed? If you work for yourself you should get advice if your income has gone down. If you are now working less than 6 hours a week you can claim JSA in the normal way, but you won t get the full amount if you earn more than 5 a week ( 0 a week for income-based JSA if you are a couple). Claim Working Tax Credit if you work at least 6/30 hours, or apply for an increase if you already get it, if your income has dropped. Time spent on advertising, chasing contacts, book-keeping and cleaning premises and equipment can count as work as well as actual work you do for a customer. If you are over 60 see if you can claim Pension Credit. You can claim this however many hours you are working if your income is low enough. If you pay rent check if you can get Housing Benefit, if you pay Council Tax you may get Council Tax Benefit. If you are having difficulty sorting out your money Taxaid may be able to help. This is an independent charity that gives free and independent advice about tax to people on a low income who can t afford professional advice. You may also be able to get help from Business Link. Contact details for both are on page

10 4 Debt and money problems Debt and money problems 4 Debt advice If you have lost your job or had your hours or pay cut you may be wondering how you are going to pay your bills. There are organisations and helplines who can advise you if you are in debt or struggling to keep up with payments (see page 24 for details). A few tips: Don t ignore debts or unpaid bills - they won t go away and you may end up owing more if you miss payments, for example penalty charges. Contact anyone you owe money to straightaway if you are struggling. Some debts (known as priority debts) are more important than others. If you don t pay your mortgage or your rent you could lose your home. If you don t pay a fine you could go to jail. If your electricity or gas bill is not paid you could be cut off. These must be paid before credit debts. Make sure you deal with emergencies, for example threats of legal action, straightaway. Don t borrow off loan sharks - it may seem like a quick fix but you will end up paying more money and getting deeper into debt. Even borrowing from banks or other well-known lenders, or using your credit card, can lead to high interest payments on top of the money you borrow. There may be a better solution so get advice. For example, there may be extra benefits or tax credits you could claim. Don t make any rash decisions. Selling, or borrowing money against the value of your home, may seem like a good idea but could cause you more problems in the long term. Most important of all - get advice early. Good money advice can help prevent these problems and give you breathing space until you are back on your feet again. Money advice in Lancashire You should not have to pay for money advice if you are in debt or having money problems. You may see adverts from companies claiming they can sort all your debts out with one easy payment plan. This may not be the best option for you. You could end up paying a fee or commission and still have the same problems at the end of it all. Many of these companies may suggest in their adverts and on their websites that they have been approved by the Government but we would recommend you get advice from one of the organisations on page 24 who offer free and independent advice. If you think you can sort your own problems out there are a number of national helplines and websites where you can get further advice, including self-help packs. You can also get advice about different types of debts, such as rent or mortgage arrears, from organisations who specialise in a particular area. If you feel you need more personal help with your money problems, for example to help you negotiate reduced payments with credit card companies, then you need to contact one of the organisations who help individuals. 8 9

11 4 Debt and money problems Debt and money problems 4 Help with debts and budgeting The table below gives some suggestions for help you may get. Debt/arrears Help available Helps with Who to ask Mortgage Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA or Pension Credit Homeowners Mortgage Support Mortgage Rescue Scheme Help with mortgage interest, improvement loans. Relief on interest payments for up to 2 years Financial support for some households earning less than 60,000 a year Rent Housing Benefit Benefit to pay all or part of the rent Discretionary Housing Payments Deductions from benefit Top up to Housing Benefit for exceptional cases Deductions from JSA, IS, ESA or Pension Credit to pay arrears Council Tax Council Tax Benefit Benefit to pay all or part of Council Tax Discretionary Housing Payments Council Tax discounts/ reductions Deductions from benefit Top up to Council Tax Benefit for exceptional cases Help for some carers and disabled people Deductions from JSA, IS, ESA or Pension Credit to pay arrears Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service Mortgage lender Local council Local council Local council Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service Local council Local council Local council Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service Debt/arrears Help available Helps with Who to ask Gas and electricity Water rates Payment plan Pre-payment meter Social tariff Meters to help budget (but usually more expensive) Cheaper rates for gas and electricity Gas/Electricity Company Gas/Electricity Company Discretionary grants To clear arrears Some Gas/Electricity companies Deductions from benefit Warm Front Grants Local energy efficiency grants and schemes Payment plan Water meter Social tariff Deductions from JSA, IS, ESA or Pension Credit to pay arrears and current use Grants for insulation, central heating and boiler repairs To budget for water rates. Meters may benefit smaller households Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service EAGA Local councils Water company Discretionary grants To clear arrears Some Water companies Deductions from benefit Deductions from JSA, IS, ESA or Pension Credit to pay arrears and current use Fines Deductions from benefit Deductions from JSA, IS, ESA or Pension Credit Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service Jobcentre Plus or Pension Service There may be other help for your particular situation - get advice. 20 2

12 5 Employment advice Help and advice 6 Employment rights If you are a member of a Trade Union they should advise you if you are facing redundancy, being laid off or going on to shorttime working. If you are not a member of a Trade Union you should get legal advice if you are being made redundant, because employers do not always act lawfully. You may also need advice to protect your legal rights. A good employment lawyer should be able to help with the following questions: Has your employer consulted with you properly? Should you be offered other work instead of redundancy? Your rights to redundancy pay can be affected if you accept other work so get advice before agreeing to this. Have you been given proper notice? Have you been unfairly selected for redundancy? What can you do if your employer has gone out of business or refuses to pay redundancy money? What are your rights if your employer wants to lay you off or make you go onto short-time working? There may be time limits, for example if you want to appeal to an Employment Tribunal, so get advice as soon as you can or you could lose money. See page 24 for where to get advice about redundancy and other employment problems. General advice and national organisations Government information on benefits & employment. Independent information on benefits, debt, etc. See phonebook for local bureau details. Tel: To find a solicitor dealing with employment problems. Claiming benefit Tel: Textphone: For benefit claims if under women's state pension age and all Social Fund claims, and for information on benefits, jobs and help returning to work. Tel: Textphone: To claim Pension Credit and Retirement Pension. Tel: Textphone: To claim and for information on Tax Credits. To claim Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and discounts, and local concessions contact your local council. Find their number in the phonebook. For advice and help with benefit and tax credit problems Lancashire County Council Welfare Rights Service. Tel: Or write to us at: Welfare Rights Service, FREEPOST, Preston, PR 8BR (you don t need a stamp)

13 6 Help and advice Debt and money problems or For general advice. Tel: (personal debts) (business debts). Free independent advice (make sure you go to the right website as there are companies with similar names who will charge). See phonebook for details of your local bureau. Tel: For advice on housing debt, repossessions, homelessness and local housing. Tel: For advice about loan sharks and credit problems. For employment and redundancy advice Tel: or your own Trade Union. Redundancy Payments Helpline Tel: For advice about tax problems Tel: (0-2 Monday to Thursday). For advice about self-employment and setting up a business Tel: Stress and depression For the NHS Credit Crunch Stressline. Tel: (8 a.m -0 p.m daily). Energy efficiency advice and grants Tel: Tel: The figures in this booklet will change in April 200 (November 2009).