× Search rightsnet
Search options

Where

Benefit

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

From

to

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

Full time / Part time student

Damian
forum member

Welfare rights officer - Salford Welfare Rights Service

Send message

Total Posts: 211

Joined: 16 June 2010

I have a client who has been knocked off JSA / HB because he became a full time student. He signed a learner agreement which included attendance at some non core subjects (basic literacy & numeracy) but in practice he was not required to attend these with the agreement of the college after he produced evidence that he was already at the required level (he had some certificates from a JC+ basic skills course he had done in the past). He said the majority of his class was in the same position. WIthout these classes he would be under the threshold.

The text of the learner agreement remained unaltered. The JSA regs refer to the number of hours set out in “his learning agreement signed on behalf of the establishment”. Is it worth arguing that the agreement had effectively been varied or does the wording of the reg mean that it is only that which is on the paper document which counts?

Ariadne
forum member

Social policy coordinator, CAB, Basingstoke

Send message

Total Posts: 504

Joined: 16 June 2010

If you can get any form of written confirmation from the college of their agreement to the variation that should be clear enough evidence. It is possible for an agreement (eg a contract of employment) to be varied by a course of action, which in this case would be that he doesn’t attend those classes and no objection is raised.
Why not try arguing that the college has expressly agreed that he does nto need to attend this part of the course, whatever it may say in the signed agreement?
If the agreement can’t be varied to take account of changes of circumstances or mistakes, it seems pretty silly and also pretty unusual in the context of similar issues with other types of agreement.

ClaireHodgson
forum member

Solicitor, CMH solicitors, Tyne And Wear

Send message

Total Posts: 186

Joined: 17 June 2010

whilst not on all fours with your case, the CA has very recently discussed what counts as full time education:

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/699.html - Secretary of State for Work & Pensions v Deane, about a carer who went on a full time course and lost her carer’s allowance, but relevant on definition of full time education.

nottsadvisor
forum member

Welfare rights - Nottingham City Council

Send message

Total Posts: 129

Joined: 29 June 2010

I used to work as a welfare advisor at a college, one of my jobs was to provide ‘learning agreements’ for students to take to the Jobcentre.  They were pretty informal documents - just basically a bit of paper with the college logo on saying the student was enrolled on such and such a course of however many hours a week. The tutors never got involved in the process at all but the jobcentre used to accept them as proof anyway.  I think the students signed a more formal document at the start of the course but these didn’t seem to find their way to the jobcentre. 

I think it worth getting someone at the college to write and say the student is not doing the extra numeracy and literacy courses and see if the jobcentre will accept it.  Or the college may be able to provide a further learning agreement with the correct details perhaps.