self-redundancy or work for 0 - claim JSA?

[helplessin]

I am the MD of a small retail company - 3 directors with only me being considered an employee. We are going to close our shop as it is doing poorly and I cannot invest in it anymore (nor do I think I can sell it in the state it is).

I have not paid myself in over a year and plan to close by 31 Dec. I still 'work' in the shop but for no pay. Can I claim job seekers allowance while I attempt to find another job? Can I go further back and claim JSA or other benefits? I have kept it going to try to get it through Christmas for our one full time member of staff; before I make her redundant and wind things down.

Thanks for any advice.

[ASB]

It seems to me you are not available for work. That rules out JSA.

Obviously since you are working you are not redundant.

Of course if you did stop working a claim may succeed. Though being the director of a company complicates it. But it can be done. Search on here should yield lots of people who have done it.

[helplessin]

I am only working to keep it going for the staff's sake but if I need to I could walk out on the day to take a job. Do you have any advice as to what terms I should use to search for more details on the forum? I tried some searches but maybe my situation is too unique.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

This probably isn't the best forum tbh. Try ukbusinessforumsDOTnet. It's a more general business forum and will doubtless have subscribers with similar experiences.

[BolshieBastard]

I am the MD of a small retail company - 3 directors with only me being considered an employee. We are going to close our shop as it is doing poorly and I cannot invest in it anymore (nor do I think I can sell it in the state it is).

I have not paid myself in over a year and plan to close by 31 Dec. I still 'work' in the shop but for no pay. Can I claim job seekers allowance while I attempt to find another job? Can I go further back and claim JSA or other benefits? I have kept it going to try to get it through Christmas for our one full time member of staff; before I make her redundant and wind things down.

Thanks for any advice.

I was one of the first people to work on the JSA Project back in 95 - 97. When I left I went contracting!

To answer your question, in a word no.

JSA is split into contributory JSA based on you NI contributions or credit and Income Support JSA based on your needs if you have no other income. You cannot retrospectively claim JSA either. The date you claim is effectively the date you would receive the benefit from.

You cannot get JSA while you are working. If you close your business or just 'walk away' you are not entitled to IS based JSA for something like 6 or 12 weeks (cannot remember exactly). You will however be entitled to Conts based JSA if you have paid enough NI contributions or been awarded credits because your income was below the NI Conts threshold.

Note, you will not had got any NI credit if you havent been paid for 12 months and havent informed DWP.

HTH

[psychocandy]

I was one of the first people to work on the JSA Project back in 95 - 97. When I left I went contracting!

To answer your question, in a word no.

JSA is split into contributory JSA based on you NI contributions or credit and Income Support JSA based on your needs if you have no other income. You cannot retrospectively claim JSA either. The date you claim is effectively the date you would receive the benefit from.

You cannot get JSA while you are working. If you close your business or just 'walk away' you are not entitled to IS based JSA for something like 6 or 12 weeks (cannot remember exactly). You will however be entitled to Conts based JSA if you have paid enough NI contributions or been awarded credits because your income was below the NI Conts threshold.

Note, you will not had got any NI credit if you havent been paid for 12 months and havent informed DWP.

HTH

Correct. You cant claim retrospectively. Yes, it will also depend on contributions.

6/12 weeks hmmm. Not sure about that. As a contractor, I have done this, strolled in with my P45, told JSA people, I have no work on and claimed successfully. Of course, I was available for work but they will leave you alone to get on with your own job search for so many months so its not an issue.

[BolshieBastard]

Correct. You cant claim retrospectively. Yes, it will also depend on contributions.

6/12 weeks hmmm. Not sure about that. As a contractor, I have done this, strolled in with my P45, told JSA people, I have no work on and claimed successfully. Of course, I was available for work but they will leave you alone to get on with your own job search for so many months so its not an issue.

If you deliberately give up work or are sacked due to misconduct etc, you can be sectioned under JSA and barred from receiving income support related JSA. I think you can still claim your conts based JSA in this period but you wont get anything else for dependents unless you prove hardship.

You're forgetting JSA is split into conts based and income support related elements. What you claimed was conts based JSA which is around £70 a week IIRC. You normally have to go in for an interview before they pay you anything.

[ASB]

I am only working to keep it going for the staff's sake but if I need to I could walk out on the day to take a job. Do you have any advice as to what terms I should use to search for more details on the forum? I tried some searches but maybe my situation is too unique.

claiming jsa /site:forums.contractoruk.com


Stuff the above in google will give a load of threads. These should give some general pointers.

[psychocandy]

If you deliberately give up work or are sacked due to misconduct etc, you can be sectioned under JSA and barred from receiving income support related JSA. I think you can still claim your conts based JSA in this period but you wont get anything else for dependents unless you prove hardship.

You're forgetting JSA is split into conts based and income support related elements. What you claimed was conts based JSA which is around £70 a week IIRC. You normally have to go in for an interview before they pay you anything.

Yes. It was conts based and yes I had to go and yes it was £72 a week.

If you quit a contract, I would agree you're on dodgy ground. If you're out of contract like I was then you can claim and its not that big a deal. They dont understand it of course but hey ho.

But you're right. Getting more than this if you've got a partner who works in impossible.

I remember at the time mrs was on half- pay maternity - £450/month and they said no chance for anything else. So not even enough to cover mortgage.

Makes you think mind. People out there who live on benefits by choice but someone who pays tax for years and got costs to pay - basically you're stuffed.