Who can get income-based jobseeker’s allowance
If you are not in the UC system, you can get 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.