1. What is 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.

Full-time students are normally excluded from JSA, but there are exceptions. Part-time students are eligible if they are available for work.

If you have paid sufficient national insurance contributions, you get contribution-based JSA for the first six months. This is paid on top of any student or other income you might have. Otherwise, you may get income-based JSA. This is means tested, so most of your student income and most other income is taken into account when working out how much benefit you get. Chapter 16 explains how your income affects your benefit.

Note: you cannot make a new claim for income-based JSA, as it is in the process of being replaced by universal credit (UC). If you already get income-based JSA, the government plans to transfer you to UC by the end of 2024.