Home
> Advice centre > Benefits
> Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
The Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is dealt with by Job Centre Plus or
Job Centre - you can find your
local office here There is a lot of information in this section. Use
these quick links to go straight to specific topics:
Can you claim?
Contribution-based JSA
Income-based JSA
16 and 17 year olds
Jobseeker interviews
Jobseeker's agreement
Hardship provision
Approaching retirement
Studying
How much is it?
How to claim
If your circumstances change
Free home insulation
offer (npower information page)
The benefit is paid:
• If you are capable of working
and
• you are available for work
and
• you are actively seeking work
Can you Claim?
• If you are under 65 (men) or 60 (women)
and
•You are not working, or are working on average less than 16 hours
a week
Then you can claim JSA
Notes
If you have been paying NI contributions you may be able to get contribution-based JSA.
If you are on a low income you may get income-based JSA, even if you have not paid NI contributions.
Income-based JSA is based on how much the law says you need to live on.
You cannot usually get JSA if you are aged under 18.
People who are studying full-time cannot usually get JSA. For more information about how studying affects JSA and other benefits, see leaflet GL19: "School-leavers and students".
Redundancy payments and other money you get when a job ends, may affect JSA and the date from which you can get JSA.
Contribution-based JSA
You must have paid or be treated as having paid a certain number of NI contributions. For details, contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
You cannot get contribution-based JSA if you have only been paying NI contributions for self-employment, but you may be able to get income-based JSA.
Contribution-based JSA is paid at a fixed rate based on your age for up to 26 weeks.
Contribution-based JSA is reduced if you have an occupational or personal pension over a certain amount.
If you are entitled to contribution-based JSA, but your income is still below the minimum level of income the law says you need to live on, you may be able to get some income-based JSA.
The rules are different for share fishermen, so check with your Jobcentre.
Income-based JSA
Savings over £8,000 (£12,000 if you or your partner are aged 60 or over, £16,000 if you live in a residential care or nursing home) usually mean you cannot get income-based JSA.
(Partneris used to mean the person you are married to or the person you live with as if you are married to them).
Savings over £3,000 (£6,000 if you or your partner are aged 60 or over, £10,000 if you live in a residential care or nursing home) usually affect how much income-based JSA you can get.
If you have a partner who works an average of 24 hours a week or more you cannot usually get income-based JSA. This work does not affect your contribution-based JSA.
There are new rules for people bringing up a child or children whose parent lives somewhere else in the United Kingdom. When you or your partner claim income-based JSA it will be treated as an application for child maintenance unless you or your partner opt out.
If you have a partner who works an average of less than 24 hours a week, their earnings will usually affect the amount of income-based JSA you can get.
You may be able to get extra money to help towards certain housing costs.
You can usually get extra money for your family.
Pregnant women and children under age 5 get free milk and vitamins.
If you or your partner are not bringing up children, you may have to make a joint claim to get income-based JSA. For more information contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
If you could get contribution-based JSA, but your income is still below a certain level, you may be able to get income-based JSA.
The rules are different for share fishermen, so check with your Jobcentre.
To find out whether you are on a low income for income-based JSA claims, check with your social security office, or Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
16 and 17 year olds
If you are aged 16 or 17 it is unlikely that you will have worked for long enough to pay sufficient NI contributions to get contribution-based JSA.
If you are an unemployed 16 or 17 year old you may be able to get income-based
JSA for a short period in special circumstances. For example, if one of
the following applies:
• you are forced to live away from your parents and will suffer severe
hardship if you do not get JSA
• you are a member of a couple who are responsible for a child
If you want more information about these special circumstances, contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
Before you go to your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre to claim JSA, you should register at your Careers Service or Connexion Service office for training and work. If they think you may be able to get JSA, they will give you a form to take to the Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre. For your nearest Careers Service or Connexion Service, click here or look under Careers Service or Connexion Service in the business numbers section of the phone book.
If you are aged 16 or 17 and are unable to work you may be able to get Income Support.
If you want more information about who can qualify for Income Support, contact your social security office.
Jobseeker Interviews
If you decide to claim JSA, you will be given an appointment for a New Jobseeker Interview and a claim form to fill in.
At the interview, an adviser will:
• make sure you understand the rules for JSA
• discuss the kinds of work you are looking for and the best ways
of finding a job
• give you information about jobs, training and other opportunities
• check that you have filled in your form fully
To get JSA you must have a Jobseeker's Agreement. You will make this with the adviser at the interview, and you will both sign it. A private room can be provided, and additional support, such as an interpreter, but you need to let the Job Centre know in advance.
You will usually need to go to the Jobcentre every two weeks to confirm that you are still entitled to JSA.
You will also be asked to regular, more detailed interviews to look at your situation.
Jobseeker's Agreement
This includes details of:
• your availability for work
• the kind of work your are looking for
• what you will do to look for work and improve your chances of finding
work
• the services Jobcentre Plus provide to help
If you and the adviser cannot agree on the content of the Jobseeker's agreement, a decision maker will decide if the proposed contents are reasonable. If you do not agree with their decision, you can ask for it to be looked at again by another decision maker. If you still do not agree, you can appeal.
You will not usually be able to get JSA until you have a Jobseeker's Agreement, though in some situations you may be able to get a reduced allowance under the hardship provision.
Hardship provision
You may be able to get a reduced amount of JSA under the hardship provision, if your JSA cannot be paid under the normal rules for any of the following reasons:
• you are not available for work
• you are not actively seeking work
• you do not have a Jobseeker's Agreement
• you unreasonably make yourself unemployed (for example, you leave
your job voluntarily without good reason, you lose a job because of misconduct
or you turn down a job offer)
• there is a doubt about whether any of these apply to you
You must be able to show that you or someone in your household would suffer hardship if you do not receive any JSA.
If you are in a vulnerable group and you qualify for a hardship payment, you will be paid the next time you would usually get your JSA.
You are in a vulnerable group if you or your partner:
• are pregnant
• are looking after children
• are single and looking after a 16 or 17 year old
• have a disability
• have a long-term physical medical condition
• are caring for someone who is long-term sick or disabled
• are aged 16 or 17, in some circumstances
If you are not in a vulnerable group you will have to wait at least 2 weeks until you become entitled to a hardship payment, and you will get the payment the next time you would usually get your JSA. This means it could be up to 4 weeks before you get a payment.
These rules apply to both you and your partner if you have a joint claim. For more information, contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
To claim JSA under the hardship provision, contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
Approaching retirement
If you take voluntary early retirement you may not get JSA straight away.
If you get an occupational or personal pension, it may reduce your JSA.
Men aged 60 to 64 who do not want to sign on at the Jobcentre every 2 weeks can claim Income Support instead.
Studying
You cannot usually get JSA if you are studying full-time.
If you are one of a couple who are both full-time students and one of you is responsible for a child, you may be able to get JSA during the summer vacation.
If you are studying part-time, but are still available for and actively seeking work, you may be able to get JSA. This will also depend on the number of hours you study and your other circumstances.
If you are aged 25 or over and have been unemployed for 2 years or more, you may be able to do a full-time employment-related course for up to a year and still get JSA.
You may be able to do an Open University course and still get JSA.
How much is it?
Only use the amounts shown as a guide. The rules for benefits mean that your individual circumstances may affect the amount you can get. This means you will not always be able to work out exactly how much you will get by using these amounts.
These are all weekly amounts:
Contribution-based JSA
| Aged 16 to 17 |
£35.65 |
| Aged 18 to 24 |
£46.85 |
| Aged 25 or over |
£59.15 |
Income-based JSA Personal allowances
| Single person aged 16 to 17 |
£35.65 |
| Single person aged 18 to 24 |
£46.85 |
| Single person aged 25 or over |
£59.15 |
| Couple both under 18 |
£35.65 |
| Couple both under 18, one disabled |
£46.85 |
| Couple both under 18, responsible for a child |
£70.70 |
| Couple one under 18, one 18 to 24 |
£46.85 |
| Couple one under 18, one over 25 |
£59.15 |
|
Couple both 18 or over |
£92.80 |
| Lone parent aged 16 to 17 |
£35.65 or £46.85 |
| Lone parent aged 18 or over |
£59.15 |
|
Dependent children from 0 to under 20 |
£47.45 |
How to claim?
Claim straight away. If you delay you may lose benefit. To claim JSA, contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre. You will be given a form to complete and a date for a Jobseeker's Interview.
Changing Circumstances
If you are getting JSA, you should tell your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre straight away if your circumstances change.
• If you go into hospital, or someone you claim for goes into hospital, nothing will usually happen to your JSA straight away, but your benefit can be stopped if you don't inform them.
• After 2 weeks
If you are the person in hospital, your JSA will stop. You may be able
to get Incapacity Benefit or Income Support.
• After 4 weeks
If your partner is the person in hospital and you get a Severe Disability
Premium for them, this will stop.
• After 12 weeks
If you get extra money for a dependant who is in hospital, the extra weekly
money will usually be reduced.
• After 13 weeks
If your partner is the person in hospital, your JSA will usually be reduced.
If you go abroad
You cannot usually get contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
You may be able to get contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance in the
EEA for up to 13 weeks if you:
• are entitled to contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance on the
day you go abroad
• have registered as a jobseeker for at least 4 weeks before you
leave (or less in special circumstances)
• are available for work and actively seeking work in Great Britain
up to the day you leave
• are going abroad to look for work
• register for work at the equivalent of a Jobcentre in the country
you are going to within 7 days of last claiming Jobseeker's Allowance
in the UK. If you do not, you may lose benefit
• follow the other country's system for claiming benefit
and
• follow the other country's benefit rules, such as being available
for and actively seeking work, that would have applied if you had stayed
in the UK.
The rules are different if you get a training allowance.
You cannot get Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance if you are going abroad permanently.
You cannot usually get income-based Jobseeker's Allowance while you are abroad for a temporary stay.
For more information contact your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.
Families of service men and women going abroad
If you go abroad because you have a partner who is a service man or woman who is serving abroad, and you have been getting contribution-based JSA in the UK, you may be able to carry on getting help.
Where you are posted can affect the benefits you can get.
The rules for going abroad are the same as for anyone else going abroad. See above.
If you start voluntary work
(Voluntary work can be anything from being a good neighbour to working with charities or other organisations such as social services departments. Volunteers give their time without pay, but they may get reasonable expenses.)
You can do as much voluntary work as you like. Your JSA will not usually
be affected as long as:
• you are still looking for work as agreed with your adviser
• you can be contacted quickly if the chance of a job comes up
• you are willing and able to start work or go for an interview within
48 hours
• you do not receive any pay other than to pay for expenses like
fares or special clothing you need for the voluntary work
• it is reasonable for the person or organisation you are doing the
voluntary work for not to pay you. If it is unreasonable for them not
to pay you, we will reduce your JSA by an amount you could expect to be
paid for the work you are doing, even though you are not being paid.
You must tell your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre if you do any voluntary work. You should also tell them if you are paid in any way, including payments in kind, which could be something like meal vouchers.
If you go into residential care or a nursing home
You should get advice straightaway from your Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre.