15. Jobseeker’s allowance

CPAG

Income-based jobseeker’s allowance

Contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance

Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) provides basic financial support for people of working age who are not working full time and who are expected to ‘sign on’ as available for work. There are two types of JSA: income-based JSA (see below) and contribution-based JSA (see here).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the administration of JSA.

Income-based jobseeker’s allowance

Note: income-based JSA is being replaced by universal credit (UC) and you cannot make a new claim for income-based JSA. Eventually, claimants who are on income-based JSA will be transferred to UC.

Income-based JSA is means tested and is for people with a low income. You do not have to have paid any national insurance (NI) contributions to get income-based JSA.

Who can get income-based jobseeker’s allowance

If you are not in the UC system, you qualify for income-based JSA if:1ss1, 3 and 13 JSA 1995

•you are aged 18 or over (some people can get income-based JSA if they are aged 16 or 17 but there are extra rules) and you are under pension age; and

•you are available for work. You must be willing and able to take up work immediately (although some people are allowed notice). You must be prepared to work full time. Disabled people and people caring for a child or for a disabled person can restrict themselves to fewer hours; and

•you are actively seeking work; and

•you enter into a jobseeker’s agreement. The DWP calls this a ‘claimant commitment’. This sets out, for instance, the hours you have agreed to work, the type of work you are looking for and any restrictions on travel and pay; and

•any work you do is for less than 16 hours a week; and

•your partner, if you have one, is not working for 24 hours or more a week (there are some exceptions to this); and

•you or your partner (if you have one) are not getting income support (IS), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) or pension credit; and

•you are not a qualifying young person – eg, aged 16 to 19 in full-time, non-advanced education; and

•you do not have limited capability for work (although you can continue to get JSA for limited periods while sick); and

•you are present in Great Britain, satisfy the ‘habitual residence test’, including having the ‘right to reside’, and are not a ‘person subject to immigration control’. These terms are explained in CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook; and

•your income is below the amount set for your basic living needs (known as your ‘applicable amount’); and

•you have no more than £16,000 capital.

If you are a member of a couple, one of you gets income-based JSA for both of you, and your joint income and capital is taken into account.

1 ss1, 3 and 13 JSA 1995 »

Amount of benefit

The amount of income-based JSA you get depends on your circumstances and the circumstances of your partner (if you have one). The amount also depends on your income and capital. Some kinds of income are ignored. For details, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook.

Income-based JSA is worked out in the same way as IS (see here). The amount you get is made up of:

•personal allowances (see here); and

•premiums (see here); and

•housing costs (see here).

The total of these is called your ’applicable amount’. If you have no other income, you are paid your full applicable amount. Otherwise, any income you do have is topped up with income-based JSA to the level of your applicable amount. If your weekly income is above your applicable amount, you are not entitled to income-based JSA. See here for how to work out your applicable amount. The rules are almost the same as those for IS, except that:

•the higher rates of personal allowance are payable to couples under 18 in slightly different circumstances;

•joint-claim couples can get a disability premium (at the couple rate) if one has had limited capability for work for 364 days (196 days if terminally ill). You need to claim ESA to establish limited capability for work even if you will not get it.

See the relevant chapters of this Handbook for more information on how specific income (eg, fostering allowances and payments from the local authority) is treated.

Contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance

Contribution-based JSA is not means tested. You must have paid NI contributions to get contribution-based JSA. It can only be paid for up to 26 weeks.

Who can get contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance

You qualify for contribution-based JSA if:1ss1 and 2 JSA 1995

•you are under pension age; and

•you are available for work. You must be willing and able to take up work immediately (although some people are allowed notice). You must be prepared to work full time. Disabled people and people caring for a child or for a disabled person can restrict themselves to fewer hours; and

•you are actively seeking work; and

•you enter into a ‘claimant commitment’. This sets out, for instance, the hours you have agreed to work, the type of work you are looking for and any restrictions on travel and pay; and

•if you are doing any work, it is for less than 16 hours a week; and

•you are not in relevant education; and

•you do not have limited capability for work (you can continue to get JSA for limited periods while sick); and

•you are not getting IS; and

•you are present in Great Britain; and

•you have paid sufficient NI contributions (see below).

National insurance contributions

You must have paid at least 26 weeks’ class 1 contributions on earnings at the lower earnings limit in one of the two complete tax years (6 April to 5 April) before the start of the benefit year (which runs from the first Sunday in January) in which you claim. You must also have paid or been credited with class 1 contributions on earnings of 50 times the lower earnings limit in both of these years.

1 ss1 and 2 JSA 1995 »

Amount of benefit

Contribution-based JSA is paid at different weekly rates, depending on your age.

Weekly rate
Under 25	£61.05
25 or over	£77.00

You may get less than this if you have part-time earnings, or an occupational or personal pension. Other income does not affect the amount you get. Contribution-based JSA is only paid for up to 26 weeks. Unlike income-based JSA, you only get amounts for yourself, not for a partner.

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