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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Income support, JSA and tax credits  →  Thread

what support is given to people over 60 who are on JSA

Sue123
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EEA Family Support, Children's Centre Calderdale

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Total Posts: 135

Joined: 16 February 2015

Hi
could someone please point me in the right direction to some guidance (if there is any) to what support do people over 60 get while they are on JSA?
A client who is over 60 years old, from Czech Rep has been on JSA for around 5 years (has permanent residence).
She’s received a letter inviting her to attend interview and she’s worried about this. She was advised before that she could look for work for 16 hours a week as her health was not great. Now she’s worried that might try to force her to start looking for work of 30 hours or more or jobs that she cannot physically do due to her health problems.

I would really appreciate any help to find some guidance she could take with her.

thank you

benefitsadviser
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Sunderland West Advice Project

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I believe JSA claimants have to declare they are fit for full time work

the 16 hour limit can be a discretionary decision , but if they decide that you have to do 30 hours
then you have to do 30 hours.

I think he should check his jobseekers claimant commitment

I dont think the rules differ due to age

if they work 16 hours they can claim working tax credits, so there is support for workers over 60 but not JSA.

Sally63
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Generalist Adviser, Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau

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Zuzana - 16 February 2017 12:05 PM

Hi
could someone please point me in the right direction to some guidance (if there is any) to what support do people over 60 get while they are on JSA?
A client who is over 60 years old, from Czech Rep has been on JSA for around 5 years (has permanent residence).
She’s received a letter inviting her to attend interview and she’s worried about this. She was advised before that she could look for work for 16 hours a week as her health was not great. Now she’s worried that might try to force her to start looking for work of 30 hours or more or jobs that she cannot physically do due to her health problems.

I would really appreciate any help to find some guidance she could take with her.

thank you

If she cannot work and she has permanent residence then could she not claim ESA?

Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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Joined: 17 June 2010

She could claim ESA if the meets the usual (WCA) conditions, but if she falls into that limbo where she is not ill or disabled enough to get ESA, she can still restrict her availability to 16 hrs.

Regulation 13(1) and (3) of the Jobseekers Allowance Regulations 1996 SI 1996 no 207 as amended provides:

13.—(1) In any week a person may restrict his availability for employment in the following ways, if the circumstances set out apply.

(3) A person may restrict his availability in any way providing the restrictions are reasonable in the light of his physical or mental condition

The provision is not strictly speaking discretionary but permissive.  The question is simply a judgement call as to what is reasonable..

This is tempered somewhat by Regulation 10 which provides

Reasonable prospects of employment

10.—(1) For the purposes of regulations 7 and 8 and paragraphs (2) and (4) of regulation 13, in deciding whether a person has reasonable prospects of securing employment, regard shall be had, in particular, to the following matters–
(a) his skills, qualifications and experience;
(b) the type and number of vacancies within daily travelling distance from his home;
(c) the length of time for which he has been unemployed;
(d) the job applications which he has made and their outcome;
(e) if he wishes to place restrictions on the nature of the employment for which he is available, whether he is willing to move home to take up employment.
(2) It shall be for the claimant to show that he has reasonable prospects of securing employment if he wishes to restrict his availability in accordance with regulation 7 or 8 or paragraph (2) or (4) of regulation 13.

In CJSA/ 4435/1998 Mr Commissioner (as then was) Levenson considered how a claimant could show that he had reasonable prospects of securing employment when he had restricted his availability

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