Hi ya, this is my first time, so be gentle. I have a client who moved from Manchester to take a job in Lincolnshire as a trainee pub manger. The job included live-in accomadation.

By all accounts the working conditions were intolerable. He was working over 100hrs per week, taking extreme verbal abuse by the landlord (I actually witnessed this, as I sometimes frequented the establishment) and all for the princely sum of £70 per week.Despite this he manged to last two years.

Two regulars convinced him that he should quit and knowing that he would lose his accomadation offered him a place to stay. After a particulary bad Saturday night he left. The two regulars then decided that they did not have enough space to put him up, so he was now jobless and homeless.

For the last two weeks he has been sleeping rough, as he has no family or friends who can help him. He has been classed by the council as having no fixed abode and they have not prioritised him as homeless because he left his job/accomadation and has no physical or mental problems. At present he has no income as he is having difficulty getting JSA as he lack any real forms of identification His boss never paid tax or national insurance and he has no bank account, driving license or passport. To make matters worse he changed his name by deed poll twelve years ago and doesn't have these documents either.

His first priority is accomadation. Does the council have any duty to house him? If so, please can you include any relevant legislation, to confront the housing department.

Secondly whether there is anything we can do to get him JSA, as it would be nice if he could afford to eat.

Any help would be gratefully received. I have posted this elsewhere on the site but was hoping that some JSA experts would advise me on how to get ths lad some money.

I have posted a link below to the Shelter Web Site that gives advice on what rights a homeless person has. I hope this is some help to you.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-135.cfm#wipTest-2874-2

With Regards to claiming JSA, your client may have difficulty in claiming purely for the fact that he walked out of his job. The Decision Maker has the right to sanction payment as he left voluntarily, however you will have to show that he had 'Just cause' in leaving. You can more out in the DMG paras 34379 - 34383.

Problems about ID can be resolved by obtaining a letter either from his Doctor, a solicitor or other representative, or a support group or official organisation, confirming who he is etc. You should not be refused benefit simply because he has no ID.

Doesn't help with the benefit side of things but I wonder if it may be worth seeking some employment advice for your client, with regards to a claim for constructive dismissal?

With regard to your client "leaving voluntarily" his employment, it may be useful to gather evidence of the conditions under which he was working. Witness statements could be useful supporting evidence, and the fact that he was working for an employer who effectively employed him illegally by not paying tax or NI contributions, let alone paying far below the national minimum wage, should all support his case that he effectively had just cause for leaving his job.
It is often the case in this situation that when the client completes their claim form for JSA they do not supply the full picture as to why their last employment ended. I know it's obvious, but the decision maker can only act on the information that they have been supplied.