Get on a bus and find a job

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by Chris

There is a discretionary payment of up to £250 to cover the costs of starting work.

The keyword there is discretionary though.

He'd already had money for a suit for an interview, and travelling expenses for interviews, so they decided he could only claim back the first weeks travel.

They suggested a budgeting loan but they can take 4 weeks to come through so a lot of good that would have been.

Originally Posted by TheDon

The keyword there is discretionary though.

He'd already had money for a suit for an interview, and travelling expenses for interviews, so they decided he could only claim back the first weeks travel.

They suggested a budgeting loan but they can take 4 weeks to come through so a lot of good that would have been.

plenty of people i know have got budgeting loans or emergency loans from the dole on the same day or the next .If as you say the system will not allow for people having to work for a month before getting paid then it is a very poorly thought out system .

[TheDon]

Crisis loan you can get same day, but you have to show an urgent need, there's a fairly limited set of reasons they can be paid out.
Budgeting loans you have to apply for by post and they take a while to come through.

It's not that the system doesn't work for anyone, that JSA is paid in arrears means you'll never be more than 2 weeks from your last payment to your first pay cheque, but if you have high travel costs due to looking for a job outside your local area it can quickly turn against you. Which is my point, it's all very well saying get on the bus and look further afield, but you have to make sure the system can support all cases of that.

But then maybe the Tories big society involves having your mates bail you out so the system doesn't have to.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Chris

There is a discretionary payment of up to £250 to cover the costs of starting work.

as far as i am aware, you only get this after you have been signing on for 6 months. also you get 4 weeks grace with housing benefit,

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Chris

There is a discretionary payment of up to £250 to cover the costs of starting work.

I wonder how many are aware of this, I wasnt. They dont seem to advertise the point.

---------- Post added at 21:25 ---------- Previous post was at 21:22 ----------

Originally Posted by TheDon

Crisis loan you can get same day, but you have to show an urgent need, there's a fairly limited set of reasons they can be paid out.
Budgeting loans you have to apply for by post and they take a while to come through.

It's not that the system doesn't work for anyone, that JSA is paid in arrears means you'll never be more than 2 weeks from your last payment to your first pay cheque, but if you have high travel costs due to looking for a job outside your local area it can quickly turn against you. Which is my point, it's all very well saying get on the bus and look further afield, but you have to make sure the system can support all cases of that.

But then maybe the Tories big society involves having your mates bail you out so the system doesn't have to.

This arrears thing is a new one to me, last time I was on JSA when I notified them I had a job they immediatly stopped payments. Everyone I know who has been on JSA (granted only a couple of people) also got it immediatly stopped when they found work.

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Oh don't get me started on rubbish bus services and rip off bus fares..But yes it is reasonable to expect people to get out and about looking for work.In fact I reckon the travel expenses could get pretty difficult to keep up with on the JSA...

Yep, £2 from the railway station to where I work. One way, no returns available. It takes me 25 minutes to walk, so about a mile and a half.

Refuse to use the service, healthier to walk anyway...

[Arthurgray50@blu]

I think people are living in cooko land, When l was signing on, l was given several oppotunites to obtain a loan to get to job interviews, but to get the loan, l lost part of my benefit.

And here is a classic of what the JCs are like, l was picked out of the queue to sign on, by being told that l would be woking as a temp for 'special events' at Chelsea Fc for one day, l was one of 30 people sent by Hounslow JC, we all met in a car park in a coach, we were told we would get £30.00 for the day.

On the day l signed on, l advised them what had happened and that l was sent by the JC, my benefit was suspended for a week, and when l did get my benefit, l was stopped £25.00 as l had worked for that day.

I did not even get any special benefit for travelling for that day, l had to wait six weeks for the £30.00 from ' special events ' and then the JC took that.
So you cannot win

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

I think people are living in cooko land, When l was signing on, l was given several oppotunites to obtain a loan to get to job interviews, but to get the loan, l lost part of my benefit.

And here is a classic of what the JCs are like, l was picked out of the queue to sign on, by being told that l would be woking as a temp for 'special events' at Chelsea Fc for one day, l was one of 30 people sent by Hounslow JC, we all met in a car park in a coach, we were told we would get £30.00 for the day.

On the day l signed on, l advised them what had happened and that l was sent by the JC, my benefit was suspended for a week, and when l did get my benefit, l was stopped £25.00 as l had worked for that day.

I did not even get any special benefit for travelling for that day, l had to wait six weeks for the £30.00 from ' special events ' and then the JC took that.
So you cannot win

If anyone is living in 'cuckoo land' it is you, Arthur - you did a days work for which you were paid & that pay was deducted from your benefit.

Why did you expect 'special benefit' for being provided with a free coach? This is the whole point of this thread - travel time & expense for normal working people is not refunded.

If anything, from what you say you were paid £30 & had £25 deducted from your JSA, so you made a fiver on the deal - what definition of 'cannot win' are you using?

[v0id]

Originally Posted by vanman

as far as i am aware, you only get this after you have been signing on for 6 months. also you get 4 weeks grace with housing benefit,

Afte 6 months (plus in some cases) of unemployment it's a £100, it should be paid automatically within ~3 days of signing off as a 'bonus' for finding a job that will last for 3 months.

Any 'adviser' discretionary payments are like trying to get blood out of a stone from whomever you speak to, they can be for interview clothes, tools, or specialist clothing you may need for the job, travel expenses until your first wage and any documentation you may need.
It was upto £300 when I was along term 'doley' way back in 2000

Hmm - my last job was located close enough to cycle to work, it took around 30 minutes, come rain or shine (wind. hail & snow), but then I was made redundant.

My new job requires me to drive 350 miles a week to get there & back - so less hail in the face, but significantly more expense.

OK I'm paid more, overall, but if I hadn't expanded the 'can do' radius of how far I would travel for work I wouldn't have been offered the job in the first place.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

I think people are living in cooko land, When l was signing on, l was given several oppotunites to obtain a loan to get to job interviews, but to get the loan, l lost part of my benefit.

that is a loan that has to be paid back.
if you got the job you still have to pay it back which seems fair to me.
you can get a clothing allowance to attend an interview.
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2...es-shop-spree/
and Travel to interview expenses

---------- Post added at 23:48 ---------- Previous post was at 23:42 ----------

Originally Posted by v0id

Afte 6 months (plus in some cases) of unemployment it's a £100, it should be paid automatically within ~3 days of signing off as a 'bonus' for finding a job that will last for 3 months.

Job Grant

If you find a job but cannot afford to pay one-off costs, such as new clothes or transport, you may be eligible for a Job Grant. It's a tax-free payment that won't affect other benefits or tax credits you're entitled to.
You must have been claiming benefits (for example, JSA or Income Support) for at least 26 weeks in order to qualify. Job Grant is set at £100 for single people or couples without children and £250 for single parents and couples with children.
You have to work at least 16 hours a week in your new job, although you can also get Job Grant if your partner works 24 hours a week and your benefits stops as a result and the work must be expected to last for at least five weeks.
You should automatically receive Job Grant, but you must tell your JobCentre Plus that you're about to start a new job.

and working tax credits if you have kids.
and if you are 50+

You're 50 or over - extra Working Tax Credit payments

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTax...sics/DG_172852
Who can get the extra payments?

To qualify for the 50-plus element you must be:

• starting work straight after coming off certain benefits
• aged 50 or over on the day you start work
• working for at least 16 hours a week or more

You must have been on benefits for at least six months. If you were on and off benefits for short periods, you may still get the 50-plus element if:

• the gap between each period was no more than 12 weeks
• the total time you were on certain benefits adds up to at least six months

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Gary L

£200 a week was a good wage 10 years ago for many. cigarettes were probably £2 for 20 then.

did you have any commitments, or were you living with parents at the time?

They were still about £5 for 20 10 yrs ago.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

Lets make my point a little clearer, I live in Hounslow, if l was offered a job in say Putney, l would have to consider several things, whats the job worth, what the travelling expenses, what time l would have to start.

Then you look at what benefit you get, and if you get the job, the financial strain you will have to face, you don't get working credit until you have been at a job SIX WEEKS, You have to look at all angles, l was told that l couldn't cliam any expenses as l was not on a benefit that allowed me to claim, l was on JSA, l was only given an expense claim when l showed a letter saying l had got the job, and the expense was for one week only.

It is very well the government telling us to get on our bikes to look for work, but would you get out of bed for £13.000 per year.

I would But then I'm on that at the moment, though it isn't full time (27.5 hours a week).
All boils down to travelling costs etc in the end. My office is 1.5 miles away so walking distance if I wanted and my routes are between 5 meters (the route that delivers to my house) and 7 miles away. The further away routes are still walking distance though a little bit of a pain because its all very hilly and I walk for a living so a walk to and from work isn't exactly desirable, especially if its up to 8.5 miles per day on top of the 6 - 8 miles that I walk in work time but I would do it If I had to and did do it last year when we had the ice because I wasn't brave enough to use the car.
Luckily for me my work can support me enough to have a car ( though only just) so its not a big problem for me. Though I live in the real world and I know that though its not a problem for me in my situation that it might be a problem for others in different situations.

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

It is very well the government telling us to get on our bikes to look for work, but would you get out of bed for £13.000 per year.

Having been unemployed for over a year Arthur, and desperately desiring to do something useful for my family and for society, yes, frankly, I damn well would get out of bed for a lot less than £13,000 a year. In fact, I am currently getting out of bed for somewhat less than £6,000 a year.

We have started two businesses of our own this summer. I am working as a freelance writer, which is my main skill, and we as a couple are also running B&B from our home. The writing is proving difficult to get going, but thankfully, due to our beautiful tourist location, the B&B is doing well. It is, however, just one bedroom, max. two people at a time, so it's never going to pay all the bills by itself.

I was up first thing this morning cooking breakfasts, having been up late last night making sure the kitchen was all set. Once the guests were happy and on the road, I turned to my desk and started thinking again about how to make the rest of my business earn me a wage. Because it's not going to happen if I'm too butt-lazy to get up in the morning.

Incidentally, I found HMRC very accommodating and prepared to add working tax credits to my account with them without any quibbles, and without my having to wait six weeks (where did you get that figure from, by the way?). They also accepted the financial projections from my adviser at Business Gateway and were happy to pay at the appropriate rate on that basis.

At the moment, getting out of bed in the morning is for me an exercise in faith and in determination. It is not something I feel I have the luxury of deciding to do or not to do.

Originally Posted by Chris

snippetty snip snip....

At the moment, getting out of bed in the morning is for me an exercise in faith and in determination. It is not something I feel I have the luxury of deciding to do or not to do.