Forum Home → Discussion → Income support, JSA and tax credits → Thread
GPOW and other benefits
HEEEELLLLLPPPP Please.
Sorry, I don’t know where best to post this because it seems to cover a lot of things.
Client is a Czech national and has lived in the UK for 8 years. She is married but is separated from her husband due to Domestic Violence issues. She had a single claim for JSA following their separation, approx. 18 months ago. She has just failed GPOW test and so JSA has stopped. In the 8 years she has been here, she has either been claiming JSA or her husband was working and she was reliant on him financially. She has never worked. Her English is not great, but she is studying ESOL so is making progress.
Husband is still in the UK but his whereabouts is unknown, and it is unclear whether he is working. She also has a brother in the UK who lives in the local area and is working.
Her JSA and HB have both stopped. She has 3 children in Education (aged 5, 7 and 9).
Can she derive a right from anywhere at all to get her benefits back in to payment? Ive explained GPOW and that we might not be able to get her an award back in to payment, and that working, even only 10 hpw, might be the only way get rid of the jobseeking label.
Any thoughts? Any help would be much appreciated.
Well- the most obvious route would be to argue she is family member of her estranged husband. She can’t provide evidence of what he is currently doing but so long as she can provide the basic info (name, DOB, and whatever else she has) the DWP should do what they can to investigate his current circs. If he’s a worker she’s home & dry (and may well have a permanent ROR in view of the length of time she’s been in the UK).
I think she could also potentially argue she has a derivative ROR via the children in education despite not having worked in the UK herself (I suppose she definitely hasn’t ever worked- even temporarily or on a part time basis?) but I’m getting a bit foggy on that point…
Thanks for that.
Yea, definitely no work, even temporary.
Would gaining a right from her husband allow JSA to be paid again?
yes, she should have RTR with the children in education. CPAG page 1578 i think
and ensure she has all the CTC she’s entitled to I guess
I can find mention of it in the DMG if you’d like me to
Thanks for that.
If you could find it in the DMG that would be a big help, thanks
Problem with the derivative route (via the school age children) is that she’s not worked in the UK at any point apparently. I know her estranged husband has but I’m not sure that’ll help her. Which was why I thought it might be easier to argue she has a RTR via him. If he’s a worker she’s fine for HB/JSA/CTC and if she has permanent ROR via him she’s off the RTR hook forevermore.
My gut feeling is that a RTR from her husband might be the starting point. As long as she can provide me with some basic details then it is worth challenging.
She is keen to get back in to work, so even 10hpw of genuine and effective work could be enough to get her HB and JSA (if income allows) so I think that would be the end goal.
thanks for all your help folks. much appreciated.
Is the estranged husband an EEA national?
no your right, if absolutely no work ever ...
Is the estranged husband an EEA national?
Hi,
Yes, Czech National.
My gut feeling is that a RTR from her husband might be the starting point. As long as she can provide me with some basic details then it is worth challenging.
She is keen to get back in to work, so even 10hpw of genuine and effective work could be enough to get her HB and JSA (if income allows) so I think that would be the end goal.
thanks for all your help folks. much appreciated.
It’s more than worth challenging, as far as I can see she has various avenues, through the husband, through the brother (That’s iffy as she will need to apply for a family member residency permit for an extended family member of the brother and dependant on him) and through the kids. There is also the possibility of permanent residency as earlier suggested.
The fact she has never worked in the UK does not prevent a derivative right, all that’s required is for the husband to have worked at the same time as 1 of the kids in education entered the UK and/or started school.
The permanent residency would have been attained by now based on the combination of worker and retained worker statuses over 5 years. The husband *may* also need to have completed 12 months registered employment.
If the husband is currently employed, also as earlier suggested, then she has RTR because they are not divorced.
Any one of the above routes gives rise to JSA and HB/CTR.
I agree with Chacha.
The original post says “In the 8 years she has been here, she has either been claiming JSA or her husband was working….”
Then all other things being equal (satisfied any registration requirements, etc) she will have a permanent right to reside. A derivative right to reside based on Teixeira merely requires either parent to have worked and the child to be installed with that parent when that parent was working. The parent does not have to still be working when the child starts school. So she will probably also have a derivative right also. And finally, if her husband currently has a right to reside then so will she on the back of that, until divorced.
Is it
Kerr v Department for Social Development (Northern Ireland) [2004] UKHL 23 (6 May 2004) at para 24
Kerr available here - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldjudgmt/jd040506/kerr-1.htm
No one’s picked up on the point which I think was implicit in the Victor’s first question above. If the husband is an EEA national and was working when the children were in eduction she has a derived right via them. Possibly she can provide proof of his past employment and cut red tape that way?
No one’s picked up on the point which I think was implicit in the Victor’s first question above. If the husband is an EEA national and was working when the children were in eduction she has a derived right via them. Possibly she can provide proof of his past employment and cut red tape that way?
No, it was picked up.
........................... and through the kids. ..........................The fact she has never worked in the UK does not prevent a derivative right, all that’s required is for the husband to have worked at the same time as 1 of the kids in education entered the UK and/or started school.
I agree with Chacha…............................. A derivative right to reside based on Teixeira merely requires either parent to have worked and the child to be installed with that parent when that parent was working.
I think the problem is gathering up the required information, which really shouldn’t be the case at all, as Lady Hale pointed out in Kerr, the DWP have access to the information.