Out of work since the 22nd still waiting for JSA but have a week of work with an agency does my claim stop?

Keep quiet about the agency work. Once the JSA starts you also need to apply for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

JackC is spot on. Why did your bf leave it so late ? The JC will expect him to live off the final earnings, pay rent etc. and they only start the claim from the day you informed them then deduct 3 days - they DO NOT backdate it to when he finished working, he should have made a rapid reclaim the next working day. He will have to inform the JC of the hrs he works this/next week when he next signs on, this results in loss of benefit for that period if it's 32 hrs or more over the two weeks. The JC may inform housing as well of this info so any benefit may be cancelled so contact housing/council tax dept asap as well to see if he can apply for help, he will need proof of earnings for 2 months or the last 5 weeks, they again only backdate to the day he made his JSA claim. Keep any income details from the agency too for reference just in case it's needed - basically, he needs to decide if this is worth it as it so short term and will he be worse off because of his rent etc. ? I worked part time for a while and was financially worse off. Hope he finds a solution soon and the agency offer him long term work. *Maz* - read your edit and my situation was similar :( they screw the hard working persons but I took legal action and won my case. I too thought last year I would find work after leaving my job and didn't claim a penny, lived and paid my bills from savings. Look into Tax Credits honey to assist yourself and bf as you are working. You are a couple so may be entitled to something you didn't realise. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/TAXCREDITS/ I get sooo annoyed to read posts like this from decent people who get shafted and wish you well :)

The best thing to do is to work for that week then when he next signs on he should declare the work. If the job lasts longer than a week he will need to sign off but would still get his back dated housing benefit and job seekers allowance, also, when the work ends he will be fast tracked back onto benefits, meaning he will not have to wait another x amount of weeks before the claim went through.

There is a DWP process called "rapid reclaim" or something along those lines which is intended to help in cases such as your own where a claimant temporarily signs off and can then start claiming once again as soon as the temporary work comes to an end. At least, that's what the JobCentre will tell you - I spoke to a woman a year or so ago who had done this and was then left for six weeks without any benefits with which to feed herself and her baby while the JobCentre faffed about in their usual unprofessional and deliberately antagonistic way. Sadly, successive British governments have given us little reason to believe they actually care about those who are genuinely in need of financial aid, preferring to treat all claimants as potential benefit thieves and doing all they can to prevent anyone claiming anything so that they can massage the unemployment figures and make it look as though they have reduced the number of people out of work. My only suggestion is that your boyfriend asks them about the rapid reclaim process and makes sure that he very carefully checks the conditions and small print, being careful to obtain copies of all information given to him and to keep those copies. Secondly, there's every chance that you're both going to feel as though you're banging your heads against a brick wall as the JobCentre do their utmost to obstruct you in any way they possibly can, so be prepared for what could turn out to be several weeks of hardship - don't be tempted to treat yourselves using the money he earns from his temporary job, save it and spend it only on essentials as it may be all you have until either his claim gets sorted out or he finds more work (which I hope he does, and soon). Citizen's Advice Bureaux are well aware of the problems that jobseekers are faced with on an daily basis as they deal with a large number of people in your situation. If you do experience problems with his claim - and I fear that this is highly likely - they'll be able to offer advice and may be able to offer tips on how to go about hurrying the JobCentre along. Good luck!