self employed no work no income can i claim benefits?

[george07]

for the 1st time in 9 yrs self employed i have been without work for 5/6 wks of late after a 2 yr contract finished & the company is now very quiet without anything for me...i have been paying my rent council tax all other bills + food/fuel etc out of my savings frm working overtime paid tax on... im digging into my savings to the tune of £300 a week just to break even without any luxuries nights out etc! ive tried to gain employment or even all the agencies without success...and am very annoyed at not getting anything back out of the system that ive paid tens of thousands into! as i have savings im not sure i can tbh although not sure until i go into the benefits office this week..im probably not alone in this frustrating scenario and would like to know all the ins and outs or similar situations and the options availible as this cant continue..feel like ive worked for nothing! ffs

 

[big-all]

do you have a partner ??
do they earn ??
are your savings greater than 6k??

look at gov direct
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/AdvancedSearch/Searchresults/index.htm?fullText=self+employed

 

[1john]

This is the problem being a subby and putting all of your eggs into one basket, I used to rely on a firm for about 50% of my work, which at the time was only electrical work, had two employees and so on, the company changed hands and I had no work from them, Im still trying to fill some of that 50% void, I now work on my own and sub in assistance where required. I understand your in the s**t at the moment but take this experience as a lesson, I would never rely on one source for work again!

 

[TonyW2]

Benefits is a minefield to negotiate and to understand. The onus is put onto the claimant and "help and guidance" seems to be not part of the function of he benefits office.
I suggest that a visit to the local Citiens Advice Bureau would be beneficial ASAP, although you may find that the demand for their services means a long queue.
Good luck.

 

[FiremanT]

I suggest that a visit to the local Citiens Advice Bureau would be beneficial ASAP, although you may find that the demand for their services means a long queue.
Good luck.[/quote]

Yep. it is a problem. I have an upcoming health issue, and this is a concern. If you have always been self sufficient, you have no idea of how to negogiate the benefit maze. If, however, your family and friends are regular claimants, it seems easy.

ButIi know where I would prefer to be.

 

[NewOrder]

Probably not as you have savings, it seems unfair but it is the way it is. Job seekers allowance is designed for those in real poverty who can't afford to put food on their table.

It does seem unfair but its the way it is.

Also if you do go on JSA you're expected to seek work.

I have quiet times in my self employed job, it hurts but its just the nature of the business (I am not a spark).

 

[1john]

Have you considered other avenues of work in order to keep your savings or reduce the flow of them until something turns up?

 

[kirkgas]

Probably not as you have savings, it seems unfair but it is the way it is. Job seekers allowance is designed for those in real poverty who can't afford to put food on their table.

It does seem unfair but its the way it is.

Also if you do go on JSA you're expected to seek work.

I have quiet times in my self employed job, it hurts but its just the nature of the business (I am not a spark).

i dont think basic job seekers allowance is means tested, if you are an emplyee paying tax and full NI and lose your job you sign on the next week and get your JSA (think it is either £45 or £65) if you have no money and/or dependants there are other benefits you can claim, but im sure if SE you cant get JSA, unless you relinquish the SE status, but you cant do it to get JSA then dump it again next week if you get a job coming in (well you could but you cant switch back and forth is what i mean)
i think as SE they will tell you that you have chosen this route and should save for the rainy days, (which i appreciate you have done and are getting royally peed on at the moment, hope it all works out for you

 

[Bodgeitandleggit]

for the 1st time in 9 yrs as a self employed spark i have been without work for 5/6 wks of late after a 2 yr contract finished & the company is now very quiet without anything for me...i have been paying my rent council tax all other bills + food/fuel etc out of my savings frm working overtime paid tax on... im digging into my savings to the tune of £300 a week just to break even without any luxuries nights out etc! ive tried to gain employment or even all the agencies without success...and am very annoyed at not getting anything back out of the system that ive paid tens of thousands into! as i have savings im not sure i can tbh although not sure until i go into the benefits office this week..im probably not alone in this frustrating scenario and would like to know all the ins and outs or similar situations and the options availible as this cant continue..feel like ive worked for nothing! ffs

George...you have my sympathys as you have put in the pot for the last nine years and when you try and get some back they laugh at you....no wonder all the benefit claimers laugh at us...I dont know the ins and outs of what you are entitled to by surely the cab can point you in the right direction

 

[Johnmelad]

I highly recommend the CAB.

 

[NewOrder]

JSA is means tested, if you more than x amount in the bank you can't get any money, but you can still sign on so you will get free dentists etc.

But yep you can't sign on if you are self employed, you have to exit being self employed how it works in reality I am not so sure.

 

[spreadandlay]

surely if you buy a safe put your saving in there . . . .

 

[mattylad]

surely if you buy a safe put your saving in there . . . .

Having been through the debacle of having to claim JSA in the fast few years I would also agree with this.
Dont let the buggers know what you have, lol

 

[ladylola]

Mattylad is right . I was laid off last year and on the dole for about two months. Unfortunately I played by the rules and told them what I had in the bank . I've since been told that they have no power to investigate your accounts without your permission although presumably if it becomes a fraud case then they may obtain a court order?
Anyway having over £16,000 in the bank resulted in me getting £67.50 JSA per week.
The was one really galling thing however. Because the firm I had been working for went into liquidation I recieved redundancy and was also entitled to severence pay as "compensation" for not having a notice period to work. This totalled 12 weeks pay capped at £400 per week.
After the 12 weeks this money came through. However, from the £4800 awarded I had to pay back all the JSA I had been paid , plus money earned from a job I started after 8 weeks on the dole and then pay tax on the remainder leaving me with a little over £2000.
The really irritating thing was paying the money from the job I'd got as this in effect meant I had been working for nothing for four weeks, I could have sat on my backside for another 4 weeks and got paid , how's that for an inducement to work?
One thing to remember the dole office isn't interested in trying to find you a job , they're only interested in finding ways not to pay you any benifits.

 

[joinerjohn]

One thing to remember the dole office isn't interested in trying to find you a job , they're only interested in finding ways not to pay you any benifits.

How true Ladylola, although they don't help you find work, they fully expect you to find work,,,,,,,, any work.. When I was unemployed last year, they expected me to apply for at least 3 jobs per week (increased to 5 after so many weeks) One advisor even told me to apply for a job (advertised as needing graduate qualifications as a requirement. I have 3 A levels and he fully expected me to lie on the application form)
Jobseekers centre are probably unfit for purpose as they are. Almost everytime I went, there were at least 10 people sitting behind desks doing less work than I was. (and I was the unemployed one)