Can i still claim jsa if i earn £85 a week?

Can i still claim jsa if i earn £85 a week?

• i started a part time jobs a few months back its very low income of only £85 a week and i dont get paid holidays as its only taking kids to school,as soon as i started i let the jobcentre know this but they continued to pay me the full jsa amount,today at work my manager said they received a letter from the jobcentre asking questions about me like how long ive been there and what my hours are which i dont understand why as i thoght they knew all this,it might just be me thinking to much into it,but this jobcentre are so rubbish and u might aswell speak to yourself,im just scared that they dont have the correct info about me and im going to get into trouble of no fault of my own PLEASE HELP

• Answer:

  The form that has been sent to your employer is an automatic procedure if you start doing part time work whilst claiming JSA so I wouldn't worry about it. I'm basing my answer on the assumption that you are in receipt of Income Based JSA? The rules are different depending on which one you are in receipt of. You can work up to 16 hours per week and still claim Jobseeker's allowance, once your hours hit 16 per week, your claim will be closed. In this case, you would be better off claiming Working Tax Credits. When you attend your fortnightly Jobseeker Review (i.e. when you go to sign on) you need to declare how many hours you have worked in the previous 2 weeks on a form called a B7 and submit all up to date payslips that you have. With regards to whether you can still receive any payments from Jobseekers if you are earning £85 per week depends on whether you are on a single claim or a joint claim. For a single claim, £5 is disregarded from your earnings and the rest is deducted from your JSA pound for pound. For example, the current rate of JSA for 25+ year olds is £65.45 per week. If you earn £85 that week, £5 will be disregarded and £80 taken pound for pound from your JSA. This would end up wiping you out of benefit. For joint claims the amount that is disregarded is £10. The current amount of JSA for a couple is £102.75. So, if £10 is disregarded from your £85 earnings, £75 would be taken into account on your JSA, leaving you with £27.75.