Job seekers allowance - question

run_Forrest_run · 04-07-2007 8:33am #1

Hi,
Recently my wife was made redundant and is now receiving job seekers allowance. I may be moving to Germany for 6 months to work in the the german office there (still the same company), still employed by the Irish office.

Now my question is, Will my wife stop receiving this allowance if she comes over with me for the 6 months? She will not be working over there as she will be looking after our child while I am working.

I know she usually has to sign on every month but if she is away I am presuming she will not receive the money??

Also if this is the case will she receive the money when she comes back or will the time period be back dated?

Any advice would be great.

Covenline · 04-07-2007 9:20am

ring the citizens advice people or call into their office on o connel street

dame · 04-07-2007 10:09pm

run_Forrest_run wrote:

Hi,
Recently my wife was made redundant and is now receiving job seekers allowance. I may be moving to Germany for 6 months to work in the the german office there (still the same company), still employed by the Irish office.

Now my question is, Will my wife stop receiving this allowance if she comes over with me for the 6 months? She will not be working over there as she will be looking after our child while I am working.

I know she usually has to sign on every month but if she is away I am presuming she will not receive the money??

Also if this is the case will she receive the money when she comes back or will the time period be back dated?

Any advice would be great.

This may sound harsh but it's a job-seekers allowance. If she's not seeking a job then what's she doing claiming it? What would happen if every housewife started claiming it? Should we just start calling it, the anyone-who-doesn't-want-to-work-for-a-while allowance? We'll all sign up!

You're saving money anyway by not paying creche or childminder fees and I presume the company will be paying you extra while you're away or at least giving you some expenses related to your change of location.

run_Forrest_run · 04-07-2007 10:40pm

dame wrote:

This may sound harsh but it's a job-seekers allowance. If she's not seeking a job then what's she doing claiming it? What would happen if every housewife started claiming it? Should we just start calling it, the anyone-who-doesn't-want-to-work-for-a-while allowance? We'll all sign up!

You're saving money anyway by not paying creche or childminder fees and I presume the company will be paying you extra while you're away or at least giving you some expenses related to your change of location.

yes it does sound harsh. You don't have a clue of my wife's situation. She is seeking a job. She has been actively seeking jobs from the day the job losses were announced.

Also please note that she is simply receiving money through her stamps, ie; money which she paid her taxes with in the first place for 10 years!

Anyway back to the original point, my company will not pay me extra to work abroad, it is simply an opportunity to work abroad to experience a different culture and work ethic.

I simply posted a question seeking advice on something. If you don't have any advice then please don't make rubbish comments on something you have no idea about.

dame · 05-07-2007 12:20am

I know she won't be seeking work while she's in Germany for six months - you've said so yourself.

We all pay taxes, get over it. That does not give your wife or anyone else the right to claim job-seekers allowance for an extended period while they effectively take a break.

My advice: Stop looking for ways to get money from the state for your wife's extended holiday.
(1) Clean your house (if you have one) and rent it out while you're away, or stop paying rent on your house in Ireland if you're currently renting (you can always find somewhere else to rent when you return).
(2) Sell your car(s). Six months is a long time to have a car idle and left at home. You can always get another when you return.
(3) View the money you are no longer spending on a creche or child-minder as your wife's earnings for the six months and be happy that she is getting to spend this time with your child.
(4) There's always the option that your wife could stay at home and continue looking for a job, attending interviews etc. (and claim job-seekers allowance). One or other of you can fly with Ryanair as often as you like (and can afford).
(5) You could look for extra money from your company due to relocating.
(6) You could pass up the opportunity and all stay at home.

run_Forrest_run · 05-07-2007 8:15am

Dame, you seem to be coming from the angle of trying to save money. I never mentioned anything about wanting to save money. Maybe you are a person who thinks in monetary terms all the time, very sad.

Yes I pay taxes and I have no problem with that but judging by your reply it seems you have a chip on your shoulder about something.

My original question was aiming to try and find out what would happen to the allowance while we were away. For example is the allowance period frozen until we return as the allowance is based on a certain time period based on individuals tax situation.

You are clearly a fool for making remarks like 'extended holiday' when you don't know anything about our work situation.

Also your advice to sell the car really does show your lack of common sense! What if their is a loan out on the car? What if the car is fully paid off, selling it and then having to take out another loan to buy another car on return..hardly a wise option eh!

I asked for advice on one topic and you reply with silly unrelated drivel..pop back into your own ideal little world.

dellas1979 · 05-07-2007 12:53pm

Sorry Run, but I have a massive chip on my shoulder in that case too.

There are genuine people out there looking for jobs on their stamps/prsi.

It is for genunine people looking for work -to keep you afloat in hard times. These are not to be used for a "holiday" type venture. She is more than titled to claim this (as you put it she worked hard for it) if it is in the right conditions.

There is noway in hell social welfare are going to allow your wife to claim the dole and live in Germany, least alone if she is not looking for work.

Most of all, she will have to provide evidence to the welfare that she is actively looking for work here.

I 100% agree with what Dame said and Im afraid that its yourself who is being a bit pigheaded/silly about this. We cant see it from your angle, because what you are proposing is illegal.

run_Forrest_run · 05-07-2007 1:33pm

dellas1979 wrote:

Sorry Run, but I have a massive chip on my shoulder in that case too.

There are genuine people out there looking for jobs on their stamps/prsi.

It is for genunine people looking for work -to keep you afloat in hard times. These are not to be used for a "holiday" type venture. She is more than titled to claim this (as you put it she worked hard for it) if it is in the right conditions.

There is noway in hell social welfare are going to allow your wife to claim the dole and live in Germany, least alone if she is not looking for work.

Most of all, she will have to provide evidence to the welfare that she is actively looking for work here.

I 100% agree with what Dame said and Im afraid that its yourself who is being a bit pigheaded/silly about this. We cant see it from your angle, because what you are proposing is illegal.

What am I proposing???
I am not trying anything illegal. Listen of course I understand what job seekers allowance is for and I am not trying to abuse it. I do not believe in abusing the system because what goes around comes around.

I am also annoyed with what Dame was saying because he/she has no right to make various assumptions by offering silly pieces of advice which is totally unrelated to the topic.

How am i being pigheaded? I am simply replying to Dame's crazy comments about 'extended holidays' etc when dame hasn't got a clue about my situation.

So to clarify, I am not trying to break any rules, not trying to be illegal.
So can you forget that and see what I was originally asking, what would happen to the time period for the allowance if my wife is not in the country and hence not seeking a job for that period. What happens to the time period when she returns and begins seeking a job...or as it seems to be interpreted around here, she wishes to end her 'extended holiday'. If people don't know then that's fine but please don't start posting crazy assumptions and false accusations.

Never mind, I spoke to some right minded people about it and I have my answer and no, they did not lock me up thinking I was trying to break the law!

Sorted, thanks.

dellas1979 · 05-07-2007 1:44pm

It was a genuine question that you asked, just that you seemed to get a little mad at a poster who was expressing their opinion.

So, did you get official clarification on it? Would be interesting to know.

run_Forrest_run · 05-07-2007 3:15pm

dellas1979 wrote:

It was a genuine question that you asked, just that you seemed to get a little mad at a poster who was expressing their opinion.

So, did you get official clarification on it? Would be interesting to know.

I was getting mad at the opinion the poster was expressing because it was not about the topic, it was more of an opinion on the character of me and my wife to be seen trying to abuse the system, which I never hinted at.

The poster did not give information on the topic, instead he/she made unfounded remarks.

dellas1979 · 05-07-2007 3:54pm

Fair enough. Best of luck in Germany

Mrs. MacGyver · 09-07-2007 7:39pm

Jobseeker's Allowance cannot be paid by this State if you are living in Germany. However if you are on Jobseeker's Benefit it can be 'exported' to Germany for 78 days provided all the normal conditions for seeking payment are satisfied eg available for and genuinely seeking work. It is not used for persons to take an extended holiday, it is used for persons genuinely seeking work.

If she wants to join you she is allowed up to 12 days paid Jobseeker's Allowance while taking her holidays abroad in Germany and she would have to call in to her Social Welfare Office on her return. Before she goes to Germany sher will be asked to complete a form stating the destination and duration of her stay. If she takes over 2 weeks holidays in Germany then she would not be entitled to payment for any extra days she took. The most allowed is 2 weeks.

run_Forrest_run · 09-07-2007 10:43pm

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

Jobseeker's Allowance cannot be paid by this State if you are living in Germany. However if you are on Jobseeker's Benefit it can be 'exported' to Germany for 78 days provided all the normal conditions for seeking payment are satisfied eg available for and genuinely seeking work. It is not used for persons to take an extended holiday, it is used for persons genuinely seeking work.

If she wants to join you she is allowed up to 12 days paid Jobseeker's Allowance while taking her holidays abroad in Germany and she would have to call in to her Social Welfare Office on her return. Before she goes to Germany sher will be asked to complete a form stating the destination and duration of her stay. If she takes over 2 weeks holidays in Germany then she would not be entitled to payment for any extra days she took. The most allowed is 2 weeks.

Thanks for that info Mrs. Mac. As I was saying before on this thread we are not trying to pull a fast one or anything. We do not want to try and con the system, that's dishonest and stealing...I aint like that (despite what some were thinkin here

)

dame · 10-07-2007 12:50am

Fair enough; you're not trying to con the system, but your earlier posts (especially the first one) did sound like you wanted to have job-seekers allowance paid to your wife while she was in Germany with you. The fact that you were posting a query on a discussion board rather than discussing it with the relevant authorities (who would have had a clear black and white answer) did make it look like you wanted pointers. Looks like you've now been given the correct information by Mrs. MacGyver.

By the way, there is merit to my suggestions, even though you fail to see it. For example, selling a car would mean you could immediately pay back whatever is owed on it, eliminating those repayments (with their accompanying interest charges). You'd also be saving on tax, insurance etc. If when you returned next spring you were to buy a car of the same make, model, engine size and year as the one you had sold, you'd be buying it for less money than you'd be getting for the one you sold (due to the car now being a year older). It's all very simple really. On the other hand, you could just leave a car sitting idle for six months, keep making repayments, and letting it depreciate in value. Perhaps you're in the position of having your car paid off, if so lucky you, but it'll still be depreciating while it's sitting there. If you were thinking of holding onto it so that you'll be able to drive it for a few days over Christmas if you're home (tyres and battery will probably be flat), then you'll have to tax it and insure it, even though it's off the road for the rest of the six months. To rent a car for a few days would cost less than that (unless your own car is an ancient banger with a tiny engine). A car is a car. It is an inanimate object, nothing to get too attached to. It is a vehicle which gets you from A to B. If you do not need it to get you from A to B then it is unnecessary.

Thinking in monetary terms is actually quite useful to do now and again, even for people who obviously aren't accountants or business managers. It can help people consider things clearly, trim the fat, and make better decisions (such as cutting out the waste described above).

Sorry for any offence caused in thinking earlier you were out to claim money to which your wife would not be entitled.
Enjoy the trip, all the best.

run_Forrest_run · 10-07-2007 10:41pm

fair enough Dame.
The thing about the car is that it is fully paid off so it makes no sense to sell it (it's not worth much anyway). I will leave it in a relatives and ask them to start it up every now and then and drive it around the yard (private land) just to keep it reasonably fresh.

dame · 11-07-2007 12:24am

run_Forrest_run wrote:

fair enough Dame.
The thing about the car is that it is fully paid off so it makes no sense to sell it (it's not worth much anyway). I will leave it in a relatives and ask them to start it up every now and then and drive it around the yard (private land) just to keep it reasonably fresh.

They'll need to drive it for over ten minutes when they start it. Otherwise, repeated starts will give you a dead battery. It takes a while for the alternator to replenish the charge used to start up.

run_Forrest_run · 11-07-2007 11:06am

dame wrote:

They'll need to drive it for over ten minutes when they start it. Otherwise, repeated starts will give you a dead battery. It takes a while for the alternator to replenish the charge used to start up.

true, oh I know all about the alternator and batteries

Actually as long a I have it taxed the old man can drive it under his insurance and he can take it to work once a week or something.

old boy · 07-08-2007 10:32pm

hi its a pity that you are not fron eastern europe, you could sign on over here, work away unoticed, get childerns allowance payed for your kids at home

Mrs. MacGyver · 07-08-2007 10:48pm

That is not an acceptable comment to make. Racism will not be tolerated.

atkin · 08-06-2010 2:33pm

Hi,
Your wife if she was recently made redundant should be on Job Seekers benefit. The allowance is paid after a year with a means inspection from the welfare. You may have a low income the reason she is on an allowance if that is true. Welfare benefits and allowances can be transferred to Germany for a period of 3 months or more if you can show reason. The money from welfare and a job are combined for tax .

To the ranting ravers that are more than likely civil or public servants.
The government gets too much money and it just gets squandered anyhow.

atkin · 08-06-2010 2:45pm

The comments about Eastern Europe. The government is responsible for this mess.They allowed the new EU citizens to come and work here without restrictions in 2006.The only country apart from Holland to do so.
The social welfare swipe cards are outdated.A new chip and pin card with a photo is already in use in so called third world poor countries as ID.
The government spent 50 million on an e vote system that is now useless .A more secure and updated card could have been developed.
There is no exit stamp on foreign passports when people leave the country most countries have an exit stamp.A certificate of freedom is not required when you marry a foreign person only a divorce cert.The government was puzzled by the rising number of marriages.
You cannot blame people for using the system when the government still has its head in the sand on so many issues.
To the ranters torment your local TD

atkin · 18-12-2011 4:46pm

My situation updated.
My job seeker benefit finished.I applied for job seeker allowance.
This was refused as my wife is self employed on income Euro 15175 in2010.
Then because she is self employed there is no F.I.S even with 4 children.
I will get no welfare .The community officer tells me its the law that my spouse must support me.My experience women are not so likely to give support .My question is how much support ?
I want to divorce but my solicitor advises do not move from the house,I could rent a place then get job seeker allowance and rent allowance.I am looking for a job as the best option for now.

Joe_the_paddy · 18-12-2011 7:44pm

you must be resident in the state to claim Jobseekers Allowance

Job seekers allowance - question

Comments