How Many Jobs Should I Apply For On Jobseeker’s Allowance? Benefits

The purpose of job seeker’s allowance is to make sure that you are financially stable whilst you’re out of work. However, this agreement comes with a responsibility to be actively seeking out employment. One of the questions that we’re often asked is how many jobs you should be applying for on JSA. In order to give an answer, we’ve put together the following guide.

How Many Jobs Am I Expected to Apply For?

When you take a look at the government’s advice for being eligible for ‘new style’ job seeker’s allowance, it states that you’ll need ‘to take reasonable steps to look for work.’ However, that can be a little vague for people looking to claim. The truth is, there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to how many jobs you will be expected to apply for.

This can be influenced by a variety of factors. When you go to your JSA interview at the Jobcentre, you will discuss the types of jobs that you’re looking for and from there, construct a jobseeker’s agreement. Once completed, you will be told the terms of your JSA agreement which will include the amount of jobs that you’re expected to apply for. The amount can vary depending on the Jobcentre and advisor as some may only require you to submit three applications a week whereas others can expect ten or more. A good way to look at this responsibility is to treat it like your job. This attitude can help when setting aside time in the day and making targets.

What Job Seeker’s Allowance is Available?

When looking to receive Job Seeker’s Allowance, there are three different types available. These are:

  • Income based
  • Contribution based
  • ‘New Style’

As a result of Universal Credit being rolled out across the UK, you can no longer claim for income or contribution based JSA in most cases. The only people that can make new claims are those that receive a severe disability premium. Instead, you may now be required to apply for either Universal Credit or ‘new style’ JSA. The latter works very much the same way as its predecessor, the contribution based JSA. As a result, your eligibility relies on a number of factors, primarily whether you have made enough NI contributions. A full list of the eligibility factors can be found in our guide to ‘new style’ JSA.

How Can I Apply For ‘New Style’ JSA?

Once you’ve checked to make sure that you’re eligible for ‘new style’ JSA and you’re sure that it’s the right step for you, you can make your claim. The application process can be completed online using the government portal. However, there are a number of things that you should have handy to ensure a smooth and simple process. These are:

  • National Insurance Number
  • Your bank or building society account details (or those of a family member or friend that you trust)
  • Details of your employment for the past six months, including the contact details and dates that you worked with them
  • Statement letter from your private pension

If it is that you are looking to reclaim JSA, you will need to apply again, even if nothing has changed.

During this process, you can also backdate your claim if you were not able to claim sooner for a good reason. This could be anything from having a family bereavement to being given the wrong advice on whether you could apply. In order to do this, you’ll just need the date that you would like the claim to start from and the reason for your delayed claim. If successful, you can backdate your claim by up to three months.

Ask For Advice From the BBO Team

If you have found yourself in a position where you could benefit from welfare support and benefits for you and your family, please contact us. Here at Building Better Opportunities, our team is dedicated to helping those in need across South Staffordshire and Stafford with their financial and career prospects, helping to deliver a brighter future for all.

In addition to helping you to get back on track financially, we can also help with training, personal development and gaining new skills. In order to start working with our Advocates to develop a plan towards future goals and aspirations either give us a call or attend one of our drop in sessions. We would love to hear from you.